Anniversary Retreat Focuses on Faithful Living in Times of Crisis

This October, as part of the diocese's 150th anniversary celebrations, Bishop Susan Bell is hosting an online spiritual “mini” retreat, Meditations on the Christian Life: Faithful Living in a Time of Crisis.

“It seemed only fitting that part of our anniversary celebrations included the opportunity for prayerful reflection as a diocese,” said Bishop Susan Bell. “So, we were intentional in planning a retreat.” 

The retreat will be offered twice, allowing participants to choose the option that best fits their schedule: Tuesday, October 21, from 2-4:30 pm or Wednesday, October 22, from 6-8:30 pm. Registration at the links above is required to ensure participants receive the Zoom link and necessary resources. Anglicans, lay and ordained, from across the diocese are invited and encouraged to attend; no other preparation is required.   

Our 150th anniversary falls at a time when the world faces division, economic uncertainty, and climate crises. “The retreat will focus on God’s mission in Niagara,” explains the bishop, “inviting us to give thanks for the Spirit-led endeavours of our forebears, and to look with joyful expectation at the missional possibilities Jesus is calling us in this time of polarization and crisis.”  

Throughout the last 150 years of Anglican life in the diocese, this is not the first time that faithful Christians have lived through such seasons of division and challenge.  During this retreat, Bishop Susan will guide our diocese through classic Christian sources of faithful witness that provide timeless inspiration, hope, and direction for living in a fractured world. “I’ll be drawing on some of the wisdom of my beloved George Herbert, priest and poet of the 17th century, among others, for inspiration and as a jumping off point on the exigencies of the Christian life.”

Other initiatives during the diocese's sesquicentennial anniversary included a diocesan picnic and Canterbury Hills in June,  Stations of the Resurrection, Pentecost celebrations, and the launch of the 150th Diocesan Anniversary Curacy Fund to help form ordained leadership for the diocese's next 150 years of ministry.

As the diocesan anniversary celebrations come to a close, Bishop Susan looks forward to the retreats as a faithful and meaningful way to end the celebrations, adding, “I’m really excited about the retreat, and I’m hopeful it will be a balm for the spiritual life of participants.”