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