Video Update on our Progress...

The ARC is now the CECE!

What's in a name? A lot, apparently! Due to input we've received from various folks we've decided to the change the name of our resource centre from "The Anglican Resource Centre" to "The Centre for Excellence in Christian Education." The concern was that the former name implied that we are an official programme of the national church, which we aren't. We're sorry if this caused any confusion, we were mostly just emulating the example of other such resource centres. Also, we like the "ARC" acronym!

-t

Next Meeting: Tues Dec. 8 at 4:30

The next meeting of our group is December 8th at 4:30 at the CECE (Centre for Excellence in Christian Education) at St. John's York Mills. All those interested in helping us to build this resource are welcome to attend!

-t

Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you.--John 14:27
Praying for peace in Christ, peace in our hearts and peace in the world

Virtue for October: Gratitude

Here is an example of how the Toronto Catholic District School Board is teaching the virtue of Gratitude:

Thanksgiving Message

from the Director of Education, Toronto Catholic District School Board

It is appropriate that the virtue we embrace for the month of October is gratitude. This month we are reminded to focus on the many things in our lives for which we are grateful.

In our personal lives it may be the precious gifts of our families and friends and the support and love that we share. In our professional lives it may be the support of our colleagues and the challenges of our jobs that inspire us and give us a sense of accomplishment.

As Canadian citizens, we are grateful that we live in a peaceful and democratic society where opportunities abound, individual freedom is valued and diversity is encouraged and respected. (source)

September – the month of respect, hospitality …

As we await the opening of the school year and also prepare to welcome our parishioners back to church after the summer months, we are reminded that schools in the Toronto District School Board will be focusing on the character attribute respect for the month of September. They will encourage their students from Kindergarten to grade 12 to treat each other with courtesy and consideration.

In the Toronto Catholic District School Board they will focus on the Christian virtue of hospitality and being welcoming of one another. This too is kindergarten to grade 12.
You are encouraged to discuss what is happening regarding character education in the schools with the children and youth in your parish. You may investigate how a particular character attribute might relate to living a Christian life – a reminder that it is not only about good works but the faith that drives the good works.
‘I by my works will show you my faith … For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.’
James 2:18, 26

The Anglican Resource Centre (ARC) has a number of resources to help Christian educators and leaders uplift character as seen in the secular world to the level as it would be understood in the Christian community.

Your feedback to this blog is welcome. You are also welcome to visit the ARC as we begin to set up at St John York Mills Anglican Church in Toronto, second floor, education wing.
Please email us if you would like to visit the ARC so that we can arrange for someone to be there to greet you.

In Christ,
The ARC/CCC Team

Please check out the following links to find out more about character education in the schools and how the church can respond and let us know what you think:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/character.html
http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=9997&menuid=6685&pageid=5824 http://tcdsb.org/virtue%20of%20the%20month/virtue.htm http://www.ugdsb.on.ca/departments/program/character_education.pdf
http://www.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/page.cfm?id=ICM200701
http://www.ycdsb.ca/departments/InstructionalServices/ReligiousEd/equity.htm
http://www.ourlanguageourstory.org/virtues_themes.html

Calling all Lawyers...

As the Anglican Resource Centre has begun organizing ourselves we realize that we need to establish ourselves as a registered non-profit corporation. This will facilitate fund-raising as well as ensure that the ARC remains mostly independent from any one parish. We are wondering whether there are any lawyers out there willing to volunteer their time to help us become incorporated...

-t

Meeting tomorrow: 4pm at SJYM

The ARC group is meeting tomorrow (Thursday) at St. John's, York Mills at 4pm. This is a chance for us all to reconnect from our summer wanderings, take stock, and make plans!

Note that Tay received a donation of eight boxes of Christian Ed. resources and a promise for a bunch more. Our little library is starting to grow...

-t

Meeting with Principal of St. John of the Cross Catholic School

On Tuesday June 30th Tay Moss and Catherine Keating visited Mary Ann O'Mahony, Principal of St. John of the Cross Catholic School in Mississauga. Since all publicly funded schools in Ontario are integrating Character Education we were interested in how this might impact or align with the local parishes.

Mary Ann told us how she works to incorporate what is happening in the schools with the church calendar and children's liturgy. She described a training program for Church School teachers and invited us to attend the next one in the fall.

We are looking forward to finding out more about what this in-service looks like and how it might be beneficial to us in the Anglican community.

-t

Peel District School Board Researches Character

The Peel District School Board is in the process of determining which character attributes to use to structure their character development curriculum. They are doing this with a survey in which they list 14 character attributes and ask participants to choose the six that are most important to be taught in school. It strikes me that character ought be based on more than just popular opinion about desirable attributes, but rather grounded in a comprehensive vision of human life and social well-being based on something like psychology, ethics, or (God help us) theology. This is part of the point of the Christ Centred Character Project that spawned the ARC!

-t

The First Books...

Here we are taking a look at the haul from the Diocese. The excitement of actually getting these boxes into the rooms for our Resource Centre made us a little gitty.





-t

Video Update from Friday's Meeting

Here is a short video in which some members of the ARC team reflect on the day's meeting at St. John's, York Mills.


-t

Moving Day...

Today several of us went down the Diocesan H.Q. to get about nine boxes full of books and other materials for the ARC shelves. These were formerly part of a resource centre that once existed and then they were part of the Diocesan Youth Ministry person's collection. Now they will once again be accessible. Tomorrow the ARC group will meet at St. John's York Mills to move these boxes into the room we will be using for the ARC. It is starting to feel very real now!

-t

Wanted: A Theological White Paper on Character Development

It seems as though one of the most important things the church can offer educators in the school system interested in character are some well thought out reflections on what character is, precisely. One of the reasons that the definitions and schema of character (or virtue) differs between school boards is that "character" is actually a rather vague term. It has become a catchall for all kinds of attributes which might be valued in our society, but not necessarily every society. Given the long tradition of moral theology in Anglicanism, it seems as though we ought be able to offer a valuable perspective on what constitutes virtue or good character. We have come across one short essay discussing this, but I wonder if anyone is aware of other thinkers who have written about this?

-t

Next Meeting Scheduled - May 1st

The Next meeting for the CCC (Christ-Centred Character) Group is Friday, May 1st, at 2 pm. We are meeting at St. John's, York Mills. Anyone is open to join us as we talk about the future of the ARC and related projects!

-t

Valuable Roles of the ARC

As a youth pastor, there are three invaluable roles that the ARC will help to address for my needs:

1) Materials, resources and curriculum.
Sifting through the available materials and finding that which is appropriate for the specific task is a time consuming and often very costly task. Very often I resort to simply writing my own because I don't have time to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge that already exists. Particularly difficult is finding materials that address teaching from an Anglican perspective. Maintaining a collection in a centralized location allows for many time and cost saving advantages.

As well comes the added advantage of,

2) Dedicated (Sacred) Space.
As a Church we believe in dedicated space. Not because dedicated space is necessary to perform any function, but because it is beneficial. By dedicating space to a role, we understand how our natures work. We understand that action shapes both being and thought, which is then a boon to the specific task. Separate yourself to pray, and you find yourself focusing more on prayer. Separate yourself to meditate, and there are fewer distractions to the meditation. Suddenly, the space itself starts to feed in and support the function.

And of course, when the space is dedicated to the task, you receive,

3) Communal support.
Space to meet, space to learn, and space to encourage, the ARC is a place for the mutual support and encouragement of each other's ministries. One ministry leader meeting with another and offering suggestions and feedback from their own experience. The social support helps build itself into the very fabric of the Church.

A place of learning, a place of gathering, and a place of support. We're all very excited about the progression of this vision.

Welcome to The Anglican Resource Centre, Toronto

A group of lay people and clergy in the Diocese of Toronto have committed themselves to promoting Christian Education and formation for all ages. One effort to spring from this group is the creation of a Diocesan "Anglican Resource Centre" (The "ARC") that will serve as both a library of resources as well as a centre of community.

This blog is a place to track the development of that initiative. Welcome!

-t