"Anglicans across Canada are being called to demonstrate -- in the 22 days following the closing event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission -- that this ending is only the beginning of healing and reconciliation with Canada's Indigenous people. Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and National Indigenous Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald have issued a call to the whole church today to participate in #22days, a campaign that will stretch from the start of the closing of TRC event in Ottawa on May 31 [2015] to National Aboriginal Day on June 21 [2015]. 22days was first conceived of by a group of cathedral deans from cities in which a national TRC event was held and was 'heartily endorsed' by the House of Bishops" (p. 10). "The General Synod communications team has created a web page -- 22days.ca -- that will offer resources, including 22 videos featuring former residential school students and staff describing their experiences in the schools. The videos are not the typical 30-second sound bytes people are used to viewing on television, they are about 15 to 20 minutes each, in order to tell the stories in a more whole and sensitive way, said Anglican Video senior producer Lisa Barry. One video will be added daily to the website during the 22-day period and each will be accompanied by a prayer, written by various people in the church" (p. 11).
"Anglicans will now be able to see and hear singer-songwriter Jaylene Johnson perform her song 'Hope' in a video posted to the Anglican Church of Canada website at anglican.ca/hopesong. The song which won the 2011 'Living the Marks of Mission' song competition, was chosen from more than 70 entries that ranged from sacred to folk and rock genres. 'Hope' was produced by Randy Murray, communications director for the diocese of New Westminster, and filmed by Anglican Video. 'We love the song and working with Jaylene', says Anglican Video senior producer Lisa Barry. 'I think people are really going to like the song'. Johnson, who is also ministry co-ordinator at saint benedict's table, an Anglican missional church in Winnipeg, wrote the song in 2010 in collaboration with Jim Kimball, a Nashville-based guitar player who also works with country music stars such as Reba McEntire". [Text of entire article.]
"The Anglican Church of Canada was in the forefront of Canadian Christian denominations when it established it video arm in 1988 under Lisa Barry. A vibrant component of the church's Communications and Information Resources Department, Anglican Video has always been committed to capturing the stories out in the field rather than recording them in the studio. Its first big project was documenting the inaugural Native Convocation (now called Sacred Circle), a national gathering of indigenous and other Anglicans held over two weeks in Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask., in 1988. Video is an optimal fit for working with indigenous people, says Barry, 'because First nations culture is rooted in oral tradition'. The church's video arm has also reached out to encourage the participation of Anglicans at large. In 2008's award-winning Amazing Grace project, for example, it used social media to collect footage of groups across Canada performing the world's best-known hymn. The project raised more than $100,000 for suicide prevention in northern Canada. 'People were even using their cellphones to send in their versions', says Barry". "Anglican Video's story has been one of rapid technological change. In the early years, Barry could scarcely lift the bulky cameras of the day and had to hire help. Now she travels light with digital camcorders and sometimes she does the shooting herself. She can edit footage on a laptop anywhere and upload it immediately, instead of sending tapes to Toronto". "We remain committed to telling the Anglican story to the world', says Barry. 'It's the most important thing we can do'."
Eight page insert (1-8) with May 2013 issue of Anglican Journal. Anglican Church of Canada Ministry Report. Insert produced by Resources for Mission Dept.
"The Anglican Church of Canada has embarked on an ambitious project to create its next long-term strategic plan, Vision 2019. The church is asking for input from all Anglicans in Canada on a two-part question: 'Where is your church now, and where do you think it should be in 2019 ?'" "Lisa Barry, senior producer at Anglican Video, is head of a staff group in charge of the project at the General Synod offices in Toronto." "The focus is on the five marks of mission. A study guide to stimulate discussions can de downloaded from the Vision 2019 page of www.anglican.ca." "Submissions will be accepted until Oct. 1 [2009]. Videos should be kept to a 10-minute length and voicemail messages to five minutes".
"Canadian Anglicans are supporting the work of our military chaplains by video-recording themselves singing the popular Christmas carol, 'Silent Night'. As of Dec. 14, 2010, nearly 500 submissions had been received at the Anglican Church of Canada's national office in Toronto, according to Brian Bukowski, web manager. The videos came from as far away as the peaceful fishing and trapping community of Aklavik, NWT, and war-torn Kandahar in Afghanistan. 'It's exciting, it's great', says Lisa Barry, producer for Anglican Video. Barry edited the submissions and compiled them into a single video. On Christmas Eve day, the compilation video was posted to YouTube for the world to see. The recordings offer 'Silent Night' in French, English, Japanese, Munsee, Inuktitut and Cree" (p. 1). "Funds raised through the project will be used to support the work of the Anglican Military Ordinariate, which ministers to the needs of women and men of the Canadian Forces and their families. There are more than 85 Anglican military chaplains, both clerical and lay, working around the world" (p. 2). "The Silent Night Project was modelled after the 2008 Amazing Grace Project, in which thousands of Anglicans across Canada recorded themselves singing 'Amazing Grace', raising about $100,000 for suicide prevention projects in northern Canada" (p. 2)
[TORONTO] Dec. 15, 2008 -- What started as an orientation exercise for a national communications committee has turned into an unprecedented display of unity and generosity by thousands of members of the Anglican Church of Canada in congregations right across the country.
More than 500 of about 2,000 congregations that make up the Anglican Church of Canada responded to a request to come together in song on Sunday, Nov. 23, by singing the hymn Amazing Grace. As requested, participants videotaped themselves singing the beloved hymn and then deluged the church's General Synod offices in Toronto with the videos.
Since then, more than 500 of these contributions have been posted to YouTube and today, a 10-minute compilation video that includes segments from every contribution received before Dec. 1 will be posted to the Anglican national website.
Canadian Anglican participants involved in the project were also invited to contribute a toonie to support the Anglican Church's Council of the North, a group of dioceses involved in work and ministry in Canada's North. They responded to that request with donations that total more than $30,000 to date.
The project ended up requiring an unexpected tour de force from Lisa Barry, senior producer of Anglican Video which produced the compilation released today—Amazing Together and from website staff who worked virtually around the clock on the YouTube postings.
Amazing Together provides a never-before-seen glimpse of a church united in a simple exercise of worship and faith. And although organizers had no idea of what the response would be when they issued the challenge, that was exactly what it was supposed to do.
A year ago, the Anglican church's communications committee was invited to puzzle over how Canadian Anglicans could come together is a "statement of faith." What form should such a statement take?
The idea of asking all church members to sing Amazing Grace on the same Sunday emerged from that. "From the beginning, several of us—committee members and staff—felt that the idea could be made to happen," says Ms Barry. "We took it from there and the response was overwhelming."
Amazing Together shows Anglicans in song in churches across the country, on beaches in the Maritimes, in small groups in the North, around a fireplace, on a Newfoundland wharf, in a prison—and there is even a contribution put together from Kandahar in Afghanistan. Anglican bishops at last summer's Lambeth conference sang Amazing Grace as did workers in an AIDS hospice in South Africa.
There are bagpipe versions, a kettledrum version, full-accompaniment versions, a cappella versions and even a rap rendition. Amazing Together stands as a strong example of what Canadian Anglicans can do when something captures their imagination, said Archdeacon Michael Pollesel, the General Secretary of General Synod. "We often hear church unity described as a fragile thing," he said. "This demonstrates conclusively that in the hearts and minds of Anglicans from coast to coast to coast, the church is strong and it is united."
- 30 -
For more information, please contact: Lisa Barry, senior producer, Anglican Video: lbarry@national.anglican.ca , (416) 924-9199 ext. 295; or Vianney (Sam) Carriere, director of communications, (416) 924-9199 ext. 306
TORONTO - May 27, 2003 -- In a gala evening event in Toronto on Saturday, May 24th [2003], Anglican Video was honoured with an award from the Canadian Corporate Television Association for the video program "Gathering at the River" (2002).
The national video competition received hundreds of entries from across Canada: "Gathering at the River" won a Bronze Award in the "under $30,000 category".
The video was produced by Lisa Barry for the diocese of Rupert's Land Indigenous Council. It documents an historic gathering of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Anglicans engaged in a process of healing and reconciliation.
In her acceptance speech, Ms. Barry acknowledged all who participated in the "Sacred Circle" depicted in the video for their "honesty and courage in sharing their stories".
"Gathering at the River", a 30-minute video, is available from the Anglican Book Centre, 600 Jarvis St., Toronto, ON M4Y 2J6 (416) 924-1332 or toll free (in Canada) 1-800-268-1168.
An Anglican Video production that tells the dramatic story of a residential school survivor will premiere at the IMAX Theatre in Winnipeg on April 5 [2005].
"Topahdewin: The Gladys Cook Story" is a multi-faceted production by Anglican Video senior producer Lisa Barry that relates the story of a remarkable woman's life in the context of residential schools and how they affected the lives of children sent there. Gladys Cook not only survived the school, where she was raped at the age of 9, but went on to rediscover a profound faith that acknowledges both Christian and native spirituality, and to carve a distinguished career as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor.
Her contributions to society have earned her a Governor General's Award and a Canada 125 medal, among many other accolades.
The video is the culmination of a relationship between Ms. Cook and Ms. Barry that dates back to 1989. Ms. Barry notes that the video is the product of many encounters over the years and that it also makes use of extensive archival footage.
The premiere of "Topahdewin: The Gladys Cook Story" at 7:30 p.m., April 5 [2005], is sponsored by Anglican Video, the Anglican diocese of Rupert's Land and the local Indigenous Council.
Bishop Donald Phillips of Rupert's Land will open the evening and the screening of the video will be followed by remarks from Archbishop Terry Finlay, special representative on residential schools for Anglican Primate Archbishop Andrew Hutchison.
The program was produced by the Anglican Church of Canada as part of an initiative to memorialize the experiences of residential schools survivors, as the church agreed to do in an agreement with the federal government ending litigation over its role in running the schools.
- 30 -
For more information, please contact: Vianney (Sam) Carriere, Director of Communications, 416-924-9199 ext. 306; scarriere@national.anglican.ca OR Lisa Barry, Senior Producer, Anglican Video, 416-924-9199 ext. 295; lbarry@national.anglican.ca
Anglican Video's production Search for Healing has been awarded second prize in its category by the Canadian chapter of the International Television and Video Awards.