The 2012 Heart & Vision Awards Evening has been scheduled for Metropolitan United Church on Monday May 14, 2012. Save the date for the year’s biggest United Church celebration!
Check back often for details on the 2012 Award Recipients and entertainment line-up.
Here’s a brief introduction to the Heart & Vision Evening:
The Toronto United Church Council’s Heart & Vision Awards are presented in celebration of our church’s commitment to social justice. It is the program’s intent to recognize individuals whose lives and work have contributed significantly to the growth of Canada’s embrasure of Social Justice.
In an evening of musical celebration, the event also raises funds for significant social causes initiated by the church. In 2009 and 2010, the 40 Oaks project in Regent Park was the beneficiary of the evening’s fundraising. In 2011, funds were raised for capital construction and maintenance at the children’s camps with which Council works.
The program’s maestro, Mr. Jason Jestadt, brings to the evening its musical excellence with performers and selections that complement the evening’s broader theme.
Council is proud of this program which permits us to say “thank you” to the Canadians whose lives clearly demonstrate the nation’s sense of Social Justice.
Gordon Lightfoot The Heart and Vision Award is presented to Gordon Lightfoot for a rich body of work, which in its totality, tells a story of our shared humanity. His songs recognize members of society who have often been excluded or marginalized and render compelling portraits of an environment worth protecting. Gordon’s unique ability to evoke human empathy and appreciation for the natural world has inspired generations of young people, feeding the roots of social and environmental justice. Gordon grew up singing in St. Paul’s United Church choir in Orillia but soon his powerful voice reached a global audience. His professional success promotes the positive human qualities on which his music sheds light. He has recorded more than 20 albums and influenced countless artists. Throughout his highly celebrated musical career, Gordon has received 5 Grammy nominations, 19 Juno Awards and the Governor General’s Arts Award – Canada’s most prestigious award for artists. He is a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and has been appointed to the rank of Companion in the Order of Canada.
The Very Reverend Dr. Lois Wilson The Heart and Vision Award is presented to Lois Wilson for her tireless work in support of human rights. She was the first woman to serve as the United Church Moderator, the first woman President of the Canadian Council of Churches and the first Canadian President of the World Council of Churches. In each role she advanced the Church’s work in human rights causes around the world. Lois spoke out on the 20th Century’s most pressing social justice issues: from opposing apartheid in South Africa and grave human rights violations in South Korea and Chile, to promoting equality for women and for gay and lesbian/LGBTQ people in the church and in Canadian society. Lois has worked diligently to build bridges within and between faith communities and also in the wider, secular world. In 1998 she was appointed as an Independent member of the Canadian Senate. Before she retired in 2002 she became Canada’s Special Envoy to the Sudan, co-founded the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights and cochaired the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace and Security for the UN. She has earned the World Federalist Peace Prize, Canada’s Pearson Peace Medal and the rank of Companion in the order of Canada.
2010
Dr. Cathy Crowe Cathy is presented with the Heart & Vision award for her tireless efforts in caring for homeless citizens of Toronto. As a Street Nurse in downtown Toronto for 20 years, Cathy has become one person who doesn’t sugarcoat her description of Toronto’s true nature. No boosterism, no glossing over the city’s wounds in hope that the future will make things better for everyone. Her love of the city includes a stark understanding of the failure of our society to apportion resources equitably. Cathy grew up in eastern Ontario, the daughter of a strong nurse. She studied nursing in Toronto and did post graduate studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (M. Ed.). Her passion and work have earned her two honourary doctorates. Cathy knows that her profession is her vocation. She knows that caring for other people’s health starts with her, and that given the disparity in the delivery of health services in Canada, she is committed to ensure that those at greatest risk receive care. Cathy is that rare individual whose anger has been made into a positive force. The “rough stone” which was her initial disbelief of the atrocity perpetrated on a vulnerable population has been carefully cut into a shining diamond. This energy is her strength and her gift to us all. In 1998 Cathy co-founded the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC). She has given the homeless citizens of Toronto and Canada a voice that they did not have. She is committed to her cause. In some traditions her life would be called a demonstration of faith.
The Honourable David McDonald David is presented with the Heart & Vision award for his bold work in social justice both overseas and in Canada. Never a follower, when he started his fi rst job as a United Church minister in Alberton, PEI in 1962, he shocked everybody by teaming up with the local priest to tackle local social issues – and this boldness of style has been a characteristic of his life. In 1965 he was elected to parliament as a Progressive Conservative. He was the only MP to vote against the War Measures Act in November 1970. In the 1980s, he educated himself about the African famine, and persuaded Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to send him as emergency famine co-ordinator and later Ambassador to Ethiopia, Sudan and Djibouti. His presence made a difference! David understands that in the resolution of problems, forward movement requires participation from all sides. He is the consummate bridge-builder. Since 1998, he has been a special advisor to the United Church of Canada on Residential Schools. David’s commitment to the environment was first evident when he became chair of Canada’s first parliamentary committee on the environment in 1979. He remains a leader on the environment, leading a multi-sector response to the crisis of the global ocean. As a parliamentarian, diplomat, preacher, environmentalist, famine relief coordinator and social justice advocate David has given to his work boundless energy and creative leadership.
2009
Reverend Gordon Winch Reverend Gordon Winch was ordained as a United Church minister in 1952. In 1964 he took a sharp non-traditional turn by moving his work into the bars and taverns on Yonge Street earning him the nickname the “Padre of the Pubs”. It was here that he discovered that the greatest work he could do was to simply listen to and recognize the many disenfranchised and forgotten people living on the edges of society. With a ginger ale in one hand and an open and understanding ear he tended to an urgent need. Rev. Winch’s discovery of this fundamental need for people in distress to talk to someone led him to found Toronto’s Distress Centre in 1967. This was followed by the founding of Alpha House in 1971, a residential centre for men committed to overcoming drug and alcohol addictions. In 1979 Rev. Winch was instrumental in establishing the Survivor Support Program for people at risk of attempting suicide. In 1985 he helped set up the Assaulted Women’s Helpline. A member of the Order of Canada, Rev. Winch, now retired, continued to serve as a volunteer at the Distress Centre for many years. “I don’t know of anything more worthwhile,” he says, “Almost inevitably you feel you’ve been some use to somebody, and sometimes a lot of use to a lot of people.”
Norman Jewison Norman Jewison’s films have been nominated for forty-six Academy Awards and have earned twelve wins. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame. In 1999 he was presented with the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. He is the founder of the Canadian Film Centre which recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary. He is both an Offi cer and a Companion of the Order of Canada. The Los Angeles film community got together this past April to pay tribute to his body of work. But it is the content of his films, what they say, the thoughts and feelings they provoke, that has earned Norman Jewison the Heart & Vision Award. Mr. Jewison himself has stated, “it is the movies that address civil rights and social justice that are dearest to me.” These movies include the trilogy of racial injustice films In The Heat of the Night (1967), A Soldier’s Story (1984), and The Hurricane (1999). From the theme of cold war paranoia in The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming to the theme of a corrupt legal system in …And Justice for All, Mr. Jewison’s films never fail to make us think, to question and to champion social justice.
Debra McGrath Debra McGrath is an actor, writer and comedian. Her credits include both feature films and television, among them a current role on Little Mosque on the Prairie. In 2002 she won the Canadian Comedy Award for her leading role in feature film Expecting. It was while serving as Director of the Second City comedy company that she met her husband, fellow comedian Colin Mochrie
Colin Mochrie Colin Mochrie is one of Canada’s best known comedians and has featured on both the British and American versions of the popular television show Whose Line is it Anyway. He has toured live and starred in numerous TV series including Getting Along Famously with his wife Debra McGrath and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, for which he received a Gemini Award.
2010
Andy Barrie Andy’s broadcast career started at summer camp when he was nine. He was assigned to wake up the campers every morning over the public address system. His career took him to Washington DC, Montreal, and then to Toronto, where The Andy Barrie Show, and CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Show with host Andy Barrie became the top rated radio shows in Toronto for many years. He is well known for his deep baritone voice, incisive questioning, and for his love of Regent Park.
2009
Don Harron Don is a Canadian actor, director, comedian and musician. He is best known for his character Charlie Farquharson, a comedic social commentator and Canadian television legend who premiered on CBC TV in 1952 and later became a staple of the Red Green Show in addition to appearances on the U.S. television show Hee Haw. In 1980 Don was appointed to the Order of Canada and in 2000, and to the Order of Ontario in 2000.
Thom Allison
Alana Bridgewater
Danny Brooks
Billy Newton Davis
Lauren Margison
Richard Margison
Brenda McIntyre
Yvan Pedneault
Louise Pitre
The Regent Park School of Music
Jackie Richardson
Monica Schroeder
Jennie Such
The Toronto United Church Council works with the church community to connect resources with ministry. Offering access to professional advice, financial support and leadership development, Council helps our church address the social and spiritual challenges of the day.
