Diocese provides information during pandemic
On April 29, 2009, the World Health Organization moved its international Pandemic Alert from Phase Four to Phase Five. The status of Phase Four requires the diocese to activate its Pandemic Response Plan. Please read the following information:
(Jan. 6) Pandemic Alert Update #9
(Nov. 2) Pandemic Alert Update #8
(Oct. 5) Pandemic Alert Update #7
(June 12) Pandemic Alert Update #6
(May 22) Pandemic Alert Update #5
(May 13) Pandemic Alert Update #4.
(May 6) Pandemic Alert Update #3. For Ontario Public Health Information Update attachment, click here.
(May 1) In concert with other dioceses, intinction (dipping the bread into the chalice) is no longer an acceptable practice in the Diocese of Toronto since it is a significant health hazard. This is a revised protocol updated since the publication of the March 2007 Influenza Pandemic Response Plan and the 2003/2004 protocols regarding the use of the common cup.
(Apr. 30) Pandemic Alert Update #2
(Apr. 29) Bishop Colin Johnson writes a pastoral letter to all clergy.
(Apr. 29) Pandemic Alert Update #1
(Apr. 29) The diocese’s Influenza Pandemic Response Plan provides protocols and a checklist for congregations.
(Apr. 29) See below for background information and links.
Emergency Preparedness Background Information:
In January 2006, the bishops of Huron, Niagara and Toronto issued a pastoral letter raising their concern regarding the threat of an influenza pandemic (often referred to as the avian flu pandemic). This threat, if realized, will have far-reaching effects upon our society and our faith community.
In February 2006, the College of Bishops met to discuss this concern and the decision was made to strike a bishop’s working group charged with the task of preparing a Diocesan Pandemic Response Plan.
Since then, this working group, chaired by the Rev. Canon Douglas Graydon, coordinator of Chaplaincy Services, working with the Tri-Diocesan Pandemic Preparedness Working Group (Diocese of Huron, Niagara and Toronto) and the national office, has developed a response plan template which has been contextualized to address the needs of the Toronto Diocese.
The goal of the working group was to incorporate into diocesan emergency protocols the tools to equip the diocese to respond to an influenza pandemic. This pandemic response plan will work in concert with the Ontario government’s pandemic preparedness plan and local public health officials.
The Diocesan Pandemic Response Plan contains a communications strategy for the Diocese, theological reflections on risk, illness and our pastoral response by Bishop Victoria Matthews, the Rev. Canon Dr. Linda Nicholls and the Rev. Canon Eric Beresford.
A pandemic preparedness checklist enables individual congregations to develop their own pandemic plan. A diocesan process is under development for the provision of educational workshops and resources for implementing the plan within the parish setting. Such resources and workshops will be posted on the Diocesan Bulletin Board as they become available.
Finally links to government, medical and public health websites, and other related Diocesan resources are listed for additional information.
For more information regarding pandemic preparedness, or to share comments and reflections upon the current plan, contact the Rev. Canon Douglas Graydon, Coordinator of Chaplaincy Services, 416-363-6021, ext. 236.
