Parishes Awarded $40,000 through WOW Grants

Parishes across the diocese are furthering their Mission Action Plans (MAP) and responding God’s mission in our communities in all kinds of unique and engaging ways. $40,000 dollars has been awarded to parishes across the diocese to support their goals and initiatives borne out of their Mission Action Plans.

Walking on Water (WOW) grants support transformational, creative, innovative and missionally inspired initiatives through parishes and affiliated ministries.

“The MAP process has helped us revitalize our ministries, surfacing new ideas and vision, while also gifting us with a better understanding of why we’re here as a Church and what we’re supposed to be doing about that both now and in the near future,” said Bishop Susan Bell. “Through our WOW Grants program, recipients are able to dream bigger and live out God’s mission more boldly.”

WOW grants have supported God’s call for innovation in liturgy, discipleship, storytelling, hospitality, invitation, affirmation, and inclusion. Through these grants, parishes and affiliated ministries have boldly followed God’s invitation and furthered God’s mission as we are called to life and compelled to love.

Building on the success of their MAP focused and WOW grant funded project from 2023, All Saints, Dain City will continue to grow their community garden through garden beds specifically set aside to support and mentor youth in growing vegetables and caring for the land, as well as offering classes relating to gardening and food preparation, like canning and pickling.

St. Luke’s, Smithville’s “Unified West Lincoln Project” supports a growing mental health program that has been created in partnership with the Township of West Lincoln. The parish has used the Sanctuary Mental Health program, which is widely used within the Church of England to provide faith-based programming to support mental health and well-being.

Mission in Acts, a ministry of St. Luke’s, Palermo, is providing bilingual bibles, Mandarin hymn books, and bilingual worship booklets to support newly established and growing Sunday worship communities at St. Cuthbert’s and St. Luke’s. These materials will help clergy and lay leaders form Mandarin speaking worshipping communities formed in the Anglican tradition.

Church of the Epiphany, Oakville is advancing their MAP goal of providing death and bereavement support through their “Journeying Together Through Grief and Loss” initiative, which will feature public showings of films designed to open up and further conversations about grief and loss.

St. Cuthbert’s, Oakville received funding to support and grow a youth music program that began in 2022. Through this funding, The Youth Music and Event Players will have increased capacity and ability to missionally take their performances to community hubs like nursing homes and other parishes.

St. Stephen’s, Hamilton received funding to improve their family-friend area to provide a more welcoming atmosphere for families.

St. David’s, Welland, also received funding to missionally engage international students from Niagara College. Over the past 10 years, the diocese has invested almost $700,000 in more than 75 initiatives in all regions of the diocese. If you have questions about advancing your parish Mission Action Plan, please contact Emily Hill, parish development missioner, at [email protected]