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Huron Church House
190 Queens Ave.
London, ON
N6A 6H7
Tel: (519) 434-6893 or
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Nancy Devine
Compass Rose Society
In a hot, dusty African village, a group of preschool children crowd into a building that is smaller than the average Canadian one-car garage. Here, they learn songs, their ABCs, and how to live life now that their parents are dead or dying from HIV/AIDS.
Rev. Canon Philip Poole, president of the International Compass Rose Society and incumbent at Trinity Anglican Church in Aurora, Ontario, surveyed the scene almost two years ago during a mission trip with other members of the society. The group had travelled to the Diocese of the Highveld in South Africa to visit with those who are on the frontlines in dealing with the pandemic of HIV/AIDS that has swept across the continent.
"It's an image that is just stuck in my brain," says Canon Poole. "These young children, orphaned by AIDS were learning in a church-run nursery co-operative, it was supposed to be a daycare, but reality was that some of those children had no one left to care for them. Their playground was literally in the dirt. But there was hope there. I can still see the smiles on their faces and hear the songs on their lips."
His work with the Compass Rose Society afford Canon Poole the chance to see how others in the Anglican Communion live out their faith. The Society is comprised of individual and corporate members from across the Anglican Communion, including the Dioceses Huron, Toronto, and Niagara, St. James Cathedral and individual parishes, like Trinity Anglican Church.
In addition to the annual meeting in England, and dinner at Lambeth Palace with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Society members are invited by the Bishops of various dioceses around the world to see first hand the needs and work of fellow Anglicans. Mission trips have included visits to Cuba, Jerusalem, Nigeria, Tanzania, and just recently, Scotland and Wales.
In sharing these yearly mission trips, members have the unique opportunity to see where money is desperately needed and how limited resources are put to the best possible use. The Compass Rose Society is not only about raising money - it is also about raising awareness.
It was formed in 1994, following a visit to the Sudan by then Archbishop of Canterbury, the Honourable and Right rev. Dr. George Carey. Appalled by the conditions he saw in that war-torn area of the world, Dr. Carey established a way to communicate the needs of the Anglicans around the globe, and provide a means of funding education and social programs throughout the 164-member Anglican Communion.
Now, more than 18 months after his return from Africa, Canon Poole has joined with others in his community to raise money and awareness about the plight of Africa,
where the current life expectancy for an average male is no more than 25 years of age.
"There is an entire generation of people who will never reach old age," he says. "This is a crisis. We live in great wealth here in Canada, and we have to share."
Canon Poole was elected president of the International Compass Rose Society at its annual meeting in London in October. He is the first Canadian elected to the position.
He will be working with the International Board of Directors, which includes membership from the United States, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Canada and the United Kingdom.
"I'm so excited to be a part of this," he says. "The Compass Rose Society gives me an opportunity to work with and learn from people from other parts of the world, and share in the Anglican expression of Christianity. our work is not just about providing for others we receive so much more than we give."
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