All Saints Church is the subject of the book My Parish is Revolting [General Publishing Co. Ltd., 1974]. The book chronicles the transformation, under the supervision of Father Norman Ellis, of this Anglican parish church in the urban core, from a failing congregation in the 1960s and 1970s as more affluent members left for suburbia, to a revitalized Centre for the low-income people that were left behind. The revival of the church’s presence in the urban core continued into the1980s under Father Brad Lennon’s leadership. As the working-class neighbourhood was re-populated and renovated by affluent “white-painters,” the issue switched to preserving housing for the Centre’s low-income patrons who were threatened with displacement.

The Church’s Board rose to the challenge. It engaged the groups using the Centre to plan for the whole site. The need for housing was on everyone’s agenda. The Board convinced the Anglican Diocese of Toronto to apply to re-zone the land for housing, and to contribute the land to a project to build community space, offices for programs, and housing. The housing was financed with a provincial non-profit program.

The units were small but all self-contained, different from the rooming-house-based models elsewhere. Prospective tenants were involved in design meetings, and continued on as management committee members, cleaners, and repair workers.

The entrance in between the Church and the old parish house to the east (where programs are held), is obviously newer construction, but evokes the Church and parish house architecture. The housing has its own entrance, which serves as an unobtrusive backdrop to the historic church buildings, but is physically linked to the buildings on either side. The complex of buildings preserves the presence of the low-income community that has been based in the neighbourhood for over 100 years. The old and the new, the drop-ins and permanent housing, and the government, secular agencies, and the Anglican Church in partnership with the low-income community, make it a fascinating island of hope in the urban core.

Bill Bosworth