Transition & Transformation
Dear People, Neighbours, and Friends of St. Thomas’s,
I’m very pleased to announce that Philip J. Fillion, our guest organist these past few weeks, has agreed to stay on as our Acting Assistant Director of Music, at least through the end of the year. That stability gives the churchwardens and me, in close collaboration with our Organist and Choirmaster, Elizabeth Anderson, the room to undertake a detailed needs assessment and to design a process for meeting those needs in 2027 and beyond. We will be guided by the Friends of Music Committee and by counsel from both within and outside the parish. We are currently drafting terms of reference for an Advisory Committee to Corporation, and we will update you as plans develop. I am grateful to Philip for making this ongoing discernment possible.
When Manuel Piazza announced he’d be moving on to continue his academic studies, my top priority was to see that the foundation he laid so lovingly with the young St. Thomas’s Choristers would be built upon by someone not only technically proficient but who clearly enjoys teaching children — and who could direct a summer choir camp that was both fun and musically formative. We found that person in Philip, who happened to be on paternity leave following the birth of his second daughter, Cecilia.
Philip Fillion, Acting Assistant Director of Music
Philip comes to us most recently from the Cathedral Basilica of St. Michael, where as Cathedral Organist he accompanied the choirs of St. Michael’s Choir School at three sung Masses each weekend, in concert, and on national and international tours. He is also part of the music team at Royal St. George’s College, where he accompanies the choirs and trains the organ scholars. Before moving to Toronto in 2022, he was Assistant Director of Music and Organist at Saint Michael and All Angels, Dallas — one of the largest congregations in the Episcopal Church — where he trained the boy and girl choristers and produced the music theory curriculum now in use at St. Thomas’s. He earned his master’s degree in sacred music and organ at Westminster Choir College and his bachelor’s degree in organ at Wheaton College. A fuller biography may be found on the music staff page of the parish website.
If “Wheaton College” rings a bell, that is because it is also the alma mater of our Associate Priest, Fr. Micah Latimer-Dennis, who graduated a year ahead of Philip. And that’s not the only connection between them. Fr. Micah spent his early years on the same street as Philip’s wife, Melody — herself later a Wheaton graduate — and the two were childhood playmates before Micah moved away at six.
By separate paths both families ended up in Toronto, and were surprised and delighted to find they now live only a few blocks apart. Philip and Melody’s elder child, Mirabel, attended choir camp two summers ago under Manuel Piazza’s direction, which gave the two young families the chance to reconnect; and when Cecilia came along, Fr. Micah had the honour of baptizing her here.
Philip remembers Fr. Micah arriving on their doorstep the day after Cecilia was born with flowers, soup, and the Prayer Book to bless her — and being struck that a church which cared so much about music and liturgy also did such a fine job of pastoral care. For his part, Fr. Micah told me that while baptizing a newborn is always special, baptizing the daughter of a childhood friend felt extra special, and that it is a joy now to watch their children learning together under Alison Juurinen in Children’s Church.
Not to be left out of the Wheaton club, I should note that my wife Anne’s parents both graduated from there, and to top it all off, her paternal grandfather taught linguistics on the faculty. At the moment, however, we are not in the position to confirm or deny any rumours of a complete merger with that institution. I will go on record as stating that it is unlikely, but I would not rule it out, as there could always be a coup d’état masterminded by my Illinois-trained colleagues. When it comes to Wheaton College graduates, one can never completely let down one’s guard.
While I’m not aware of any further plans for these two institutions, I do have plans for this institution, most of which you have already heard about in thrilling detail. See in particular the most recent Cornerstone Corner in the current issue of The Thurible. The bottom line is that we continue to see signs of growth everywhere, though we would like to see less growth when it comes to construction costs, and will be working very hard in this area in the weeks to come!
But on the subject of welcome growth, have you noticed the increased number of people in the pews of late? Last Sunday alone we counted a grand total of 230 across our five services of Morning Prayer, Low Mass, Sung Mass, High Mass, and Evensong. Of course, some clergy, acolytes, choir members, and “double-dippers” in the nave, who come to services both in the morning and in the evening, are counted more than once, so the number of individuals who cross our threshold every week is a bit lower, but that reduction is more than offset by those who join us each week via livestream or who watch the recordings later.
What has pleased me most of late is the mix of generations. This parish is not monolithic or monochromatic in any way, and that certainly keeps things interesting. To those of you who have been here many years, and in some cases several decades: thank you for welcoming those who have only recently come through our doors. To our newcomers and visitors: I am thrilled you are here, even if my middle-aged brain is struggling to keep up. I think I have added a couple dozen new names and faces to my working memory just since returning from vacation, but I know I’ve got to cement several more before I can call each of you by name, which is my ultimate goal.
When Fr. Micah blessed the students and educators of the congregation this past Sunday, I know I couldn’t name every person standing in front of us, and it looked to me like two-thirds or more of the people in the building came forward — an encouragement to me personally, and a testament to the ministry Fr. Micah and Alison Juurinen have been undertaking to nurture all ages in the Christian faith and life. Looking out at those who remained in the pews, in the choir, and among the acolytes, I spotted several retired educators and recent graduates who no longer technically qualified. Perhaps next year we will add a prayer for them, and get them out of the pews, as well.
Screenshot showing only a fraction of the educators and students blessed last Sunday.
So as we focus on our ongoing transition in music and on the ongoing transformation of our congregation, I ask two things of you this autumn:
Come and be part of the discernment. Over the coming months, those whom the churchwardens and I engage to lead us in discernment will convene a series of structured conversations with choir members, parishioners, and friends of the parish about what St. Thomas’s needs in order to carry out our mission as a church grounded in the Anglo-Catholic tradition in Toronto. Some of these consultations will be in person and some will be via Zoom to ensure that those of you who join us from afar can have your voices heard. Deep listening only works if you are in the room — or on the screen. Stay tuned for announcements for these consultations. And if you would rather speak with me privately, the rectory parlour is a comfortable place to sit down, and you may request a time to do so by visiting my appointments calendar at rector.youcanbook.me.
Keep coming back, and keep bringing more people in. The growth we are seeing is not an accident; it is the fruit of people like you showing up week in, week out, and also inviting others to come and see. So invite someone this month. And when you see a face you don’t recognize on a Sunday or at a weekday service, as I suggested in my sermon a few weeks back, introduce yourself and learn that person’s name. And then ask me whether I’ve met them, too, by name, so that I can continue to add to my working memory as we work together to nurture the growth of this parish in ministry and mission. The music, the liturgy, and the welcome are, after all, one work. I am grateful to be undertaking it with you as we continue to grow into the community God is calling us to be.
Yours in Christ’s service,
Nathan J.A. Humphrey+
VIII Rector
