Algoma Churches Mobilize to Support Northern Ontario Wildfire Evacuees
As devastating wildfires continue to burn across Northwestern Ontario, the Diocese of Algoma is mobilizing to support evacuees who have been forced to flee their homes, many leaving with little more than the clothes they were wearing.
Following reports that communities were being evacuated and residents were arriving in Thunder Bay, Archbishop Anne Germond reached out to clergy across the Thunder Bay–North Shore Deanery to learn what assistance was already underway and how the Diocese could best support local efforts. Alongside Hope, the Anglican Church of Canada’s national relief and development agency, also confirmed that emergency funds were available to assist ministry responding to the crisis.
Those conversations quickly developed into a coordinated deanery-wide response. Working alongside local organizations and Indigenous partners already serving evacuees, Anglican parishes are focusing their efforts on meeting practical needs while ensuring that support complements the work already taking place on the ground.
The Matawa Training and Wellness Centre, one of several organizations welcoming evacuees to Thunder Bay, has become a central focus for the deanery’s response. Rather than collecting the same items at every location, each parish has adopted a specific area of need:
· St. Michael and All Angels – Toiletries and hygiene products
· Gathering Table – Non-perishable food
· St. Stephen the Martyr – Clothing for all ages
· St. George’s – Books, puzzles, and board games
· St. Paul’s – Baby supplies
· St. Thomas’s – Blankets and towels
· West Thunder Bay – Pet food and pet supplies
To make donations as accessible as possible, St. Michael and All Angels and St. Paul’s are serving as north- and south-end collection points, receiving donations during regular office hours.
In a pastoral message shared with the deanery, the Rev. Elizabeth Sipos, Regional Dean of Thunder Bay–North Shore, invited Anglicans to respond in the spirit of the early Church. “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” She stressed that many people have lost everything, fleeing only with their lives and, in some cases, their pets. She encouraged churches to be “a witness of Christ’s Love, Compassion, and Hope during this dark season.”
In addition to donations of essential supplies, parishioners are encouraged to support organizations providing direct assistance to evacuees through financial contributions, including
the Canadian Red Cross, White Sand First Nation, the Salvation Army in Thunder Bay, and True North Aid.
As the wildfire emergency continues to unfold, clergy across the deanery remain in close contact with community organizations to respond to changing needs. The Diocese asks the faithful to continue praying for those who have been displaced, for emergency responders, and for all communities facing uncertainty in the days ahead.