Faculty of Divinity Members Respond to COVID-19: Andrea Budgey
Members of Trinity’s Faculty of Divinity community are working on the frontlines of COVID-19. Read a few of their stories in response to the pandemic.
The Rev. Andrea Budgey
The Rev. Andrea Budgey is the Humphrys Chaplain at Trinity College, and the priest-in-charge at St. Theodore Church in Willowdale. She graduated from Trinity’s Faculty of Divinity with an MDiv in 2006, after graduate work in music and medieval studies.
At the moment, as well as working from home, she’s helping to keep the parish’s outdoor Deacon’s Cupboard stocked (it’s available to the neighbourhood 24/7), and responding to food security requests from the community. She’s also signed up to the volunteer registry established by the Willowdale Church Coalition for grocery deliveries and phone support, and to the People’s Pantry project, to cook and deliver meals in the Downsview area, where she lives. On Fridays, she volunteers for the Safe Space at the Church of St. Stephen in-the-Fields in Kensington Market, a drop-in that offers homeless people a chance to sit (or sleep) for a few hours (appropriately distanced), use wifi, and eat a meal; she also helps to prepare food for the next morning’s breakfast program.
People living on the street are among those hit hardest by pandemic precautions, and tend to be overlooked by programs that focus on the shelter population. Andrea chairs the Poverty Reduction subcommittee of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, which is working to maintain advocacy efforts for socially and economically marginalized people during this crisis.
Submitted by Andrea Budgey
Dean Christopher Brittain’s video messages from the DivBunker to the Faculty of Divinity community.
Categories: Alumni; Breaking News; Theology