Graham Cotter

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Graham Cotter
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Born (1925-01-12) January 12, 1925 (age 99)
St. Ann, Jamaica
NationalityCanadian
Occupation
  • Academic
  • Theologian
  • Social Activist
  • Author
  • Anglican Priest

Reverend Canon Dr. Charles Graham Cotter, primarily known as Graham Cotter (born 12 January 1925), is a Canadian academic, theologian, social activist, author, and Anglican priest. Cotter is known for his contributions to the Anglican Church of Canada, as well as for his social service activism in Toronto in the 1960s and 70s. He was pivotally involved in the establishment of the Toronto Distress Centre in 1966, a service agency dedicated to suicide prevention. Along with his wife Evelyn, Cotter co-founded the Sacred Arts Trust of the Anglican Foundation of Canada, which provides grants to actors, dancers, artists, and musicians in liturgical dance, drama, and visual arts. He is the author of multiple books, poems, plays, articles, and a weekly blog that explores the intersection between science and theology.

Early Life, Education, and Ordination

Graham Cotter was born in St. Ann, Jamaica in 1925. He is the only child of Norma Wright Cotter, a Canadian artist,[1] and Charles Cotter. Cotter was educated in both Ontario and Jamaica. He received his PhD in 1952 at the University of Toronto, completing his doctorate on English poet and playwright Robert Browning.[2]

Dr. Cotter taught English Literature briefly at U of T before becoming ordained in the Anglican Diocese of Toronto in 1957.[3]

Personal Life and Family

Graham Cotter married his first wife, Evelyn (née Eva Maguire), in 1950.[4] They went on to have four children—Sean Cotter, Charis Cotter, Cate Cotter, and Simon B. Cotter—and four foster children.[5][6] Evelyn Cotter was politically active, running as a candidate for the New Democratic Party of Canada in 1974[7] and serving as a Trustee for the Toronto School Board from 1975 to 1978. She was also an academic; Innis College credits her for establishing their leading role in creative writing and writing instruction at the University of Toronto, largely for her development of "Writing Labs" at both Innis and Woodsworth colleges.[8] Evelyn Cotter died in 2013.[9]

Cotter married his second wife, Margaret Bailey, in 2016.[10] They were married for two years before her death in 2018.[11]

He is a nephew by marriage to Florence Kinrade, also known as the "Lizzie Borden of the North," a notorious vaudeville performer who was suspected of murdering her sister in 1909.[12]

Cotter's house, located near Warkworth, Ontario was christened “Bag End,” after the famous residence of Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings.[13]

Social Service and Activism

Beginning in 1958, Graham Cotter served as Executive Secretary of the Toronto Diocesan Council for Social Service.[14] He held the position for seven years.[15] Over this period, Cotter was active in numerous social service causes, including supervising the Diocese’s Urban Board, an organization devoted to the study and continuation of inner-city churches.[16] One of his most notable contributions was his involvement in the foundation of the Toronto Distress Centre—a service agency committed to providing support for people in crisis, namely suicide prevention.[17] While serving as the Director of the Anglican Information Centre for Immigrants, another venture during this seven-year period, it was reported that Cotter became “impressed with the amount of despair and helplessness he found among many of the people his Centre tried to serve.” He identified the need for a local telephone crisis intervention service and travelled to England to meet the founder of the Samaritans (charity), a British suicide helpline. This led to the first iteration of the Toronto Distress Centre, a single branch that was formed in 1966. The organization has since expanded to become the Distress Centres of Greater Toronto.[18]

Cotter was also outspoken about the racism he witnessed while working at the Anglican Information Centre for British Immigrants in the 1950s, writing in The Anglican: "We have learned there is widespread discrimination against colored people in employment. Canadians are inclined to boast that they have no color problem, but it seems that we will have one if we are not prepared to treat them as brothers and sisters."[19]

Cotter was an early advocate for the New Democratic Party of Canada. In 1962, he distributed over 1000 letters around the Rosedale riding of Toronto urging voters to support the party in the federal election.[20]

Ministry

In 1965, Cotter acquired a parish, at St. Mark’s Church in Parkdale, Toronto (now called the Church of Epiphany & St. Mark), where he served as minister for eighteen years.[21] Afterwards, Cotter took a position as Associate Priest at St. Cuthbert’s Church in Leaside, Toronto, where he remained for five years. In his retirement, Cotter began serving as Honourary Assistant at St. Mark’s Church in Port Hope, Ontario, where he remains an active member of the congregation.[22]

Writing and Journalism

Graham Cotter is the author of multiple books, articles, memoirs, plays, and poems. In the 1970s, Cotter was a regular contributor to the Toronto Star with his column, "Youth Clinic," in which young readers would write in for advice on emotional and social issues.[23] The column, which also featured a physician, a psychologist, and a social worker, was controversial at the time, with many readers taking offence to a priest advising youth on topics of pre-marital sex.[24] Cotter edited excerpts from the column into a book titled Youth Hotline, which was published in 1979.[25]

That same year, the Anglican Book Centre published his book, Good News for Modern Marriage. It was followed by a second, Marrying in the Church, in 1983.

While Cotter was working as Associate Priest at St. Cuthbert’s Church, he wrote, produced, and directed ten liturgical dramas, seven of which were amalgamated into a collection, The Mysteries at St. Cuthbert’s.[26]

In 2020, Cotter released his first novel, Drumlin Fever, a children’s book about a family that becomes embroiled in time travel and environmental politics in his local town of Warkworth.[27] Its sequel, The Topher, came out in 2022.[28]

He is also the author of multiple unpublished and self-published memoirs, poems, and theological writings.

Science and Theology

Cotter has a notable interest in the intersection between science and faith, studying for a time at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, California.[29] In 1986, he organized a three-day conference through Trinity College, Toronto that touched on the topic, titled “Faith and the Imagination,” which was attended by notable thinker and writer, Madeleine L’Engle.[30] He has also authored a weekly blog on science and theology since August 2010.[31]

Labyrinths and Liturgical Dance

Cotter is an enthusiastic promoter of the use of labyrinths, liturgical dance, and liturgical vestments. He and his wife Evelyn were schooled on the use of labyrinths and dance while studying at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California.[32] Back in Canada, Cotter produced his own liturgical dances and has been involved in the creation of several labyrinths,[33] including mowing one into his own lawn at his house near Warkworth, Ontario. He advocates for their construction and use as a form of meditation and prayer.[34]

Companion of the Worship Arts

In 2014, Cotter was bestowed with a medal, honouring him as a “Companion of the Worship Arts.”[35] The medal was awarded as recognition for his lifetime of contribution towards worship and the arts within the Anglican Church of Canada.[36]

Published Works

  • Youth Hotline: Answers to Questions Kids are Afraid to Ask (Musson Book Co., 1979) ISBN 0773710329
  • Good News for Modern Marriage (Anglican Book Centre, 1979)
  • Marrying in the Church (Anglican Book Centre, 1983) ISBN 9780919891067
  • The Mysteries at St. Cuthbert's (Childe Thursday, 1985) ISBN 9780920459195
  • Jamaica Paintings and Poems (Hidden Book Press, 2019) ISBN 9781927725740
  • Drumlin Fever (Baccalieu Books, 2020) ISBN 9780991913923
  • The Topher (Baccalieu Books, 2022) ISBN 9780991913930

References

  1. ↑ "Artist/Maker name "Cotter, Norma Wright"". Government of Canada. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "About Graham Cotter". Graham Cotter. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Mailed 1,090 letters: Priest backed NDP, bishop to view case". The Globe and Mail. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail. 14 June 1962. p. 14.
  4. ↑ "Marriage Announcement 2 -- No Title". The Globe and Mail. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail. 13 June 1950. p. 13.
  5. ↑ "DEATHS". The Globe and Mail. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail. 6 April 2013. p. S7.
  6. ↑ Cotter, Graham. Good News for Modern Marriage. The Anglican Book Centre. p. Back cover copy.
  7. ↑ "Other 4 -- no title". The Globe and Mail. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail. 10 July 1974. p. 10.
  8. ↑ Greenwald, Roger; Riendeau, Roger. "Remembering Evelyn Cotter (1923-2013)". Innis College University of Toronto. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "Margaret Cotter Obituary". Toronto Star. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "Class Notes". Trinity Magazine (Fall 2016). Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "Margaret Baily Obituary". Northumberland News. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  12. ↑ Jones, Frank (16 October 1988). "Florence puts on the act of her life". Toronto Star. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Toronto Star. p. D5.
  13. ↑ "DEATHS". The Globe and Mail. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail. 6 April 2013. p. S7.
  14. ↑ "Need Knows No Creed". Toronto Daily Star. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Toronto Star. 26 September 1958. p. 37.
  15. ↑ "About Graham Cotter". Graham Cotter. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  16. ↑ Julian, Glenn (25 March 1961). "Anglicans Chart Course to Revitalize our 'Inner City'". Toronto Daily Star. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail. p. 55.
  17. ↑ Leenars, Antoon A. (2000). "Suicide Prevention in Canada: A History of a Community Approach". Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health. 19 (Fall): 65. doi:10.7870/cjcmh-2000-0015. PMID 11381738. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  18. ↑ Roy, Inori (January 20, 2023). "The Mental Health Crisis on the Other End of the Phone". The Walrus. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  19. ↑ "Discrimination Cited: Jobs Refused Colored Anglican Writer Says". The Globe and Mail. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail. 10 October 1958. p. 15.
  20. ↑ "Anglican Priest Supports NDP". Toronto Daily Star. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Toronto Star. 13 June 1962. p. 43.
  21. ↑ Knelman, Judith (22 October 1983). "Window quilts keep home warm in winter". The Globe and Mail. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail. p. H20.
  22. ↑ "About Graham Cotter". Graham Cotter. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  23. ↑ "Unwed girl,15, wants to keep her baby". Toronto Star. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Toronto Star. 6 July 1973. p. 59.
  24. ↑ "Public 'fed up' with Youth Clinic". Toronto Star. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Toronto Star. 15 Jan 1979. p. A9.
  25. ↑ "Answers for the Young". Toronto Star. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Toronto Star. 12 April 1980. p. I27.
  26. ↑ Kawano, Roland M (June 1988). "The Mysteries At St Cuthbert's // Review". Anglican Journal. Anglican Church of Canada. 114 (6): 17. ISSN 0847-978X.
  27. ↑ "Drumlin Fever". The Tribune (June 2020): 11. June 2020.
  28. ↑ Maillet, Sean; Traber, Chris. "Old Boys News" (PDF). The Andrean. 66 (Spring 2022): 45. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  29. ↑ "The Reverend Canon Graham Cotter". St. Mark's Church Port Hope. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  30. ↑ "The Sacred Arts Trust" (PDF). Anglican Foundation of Canada. p. 3. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  31. ↑ "About Graham Cotter". Graham Cotter. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  32. ↑ "The Sacred Arts Trust" (PDF). Anglican Foundation of Canada. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  33. ↑ Williams, Leigh Anne (25 July 2014). "Weaving liturgy and mission together". Anglican Journal. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  34. ↑ Cotter, Graham (6 December 2010). "The Labyrinth of Life". Graham Cotter. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  35. ↑ "National Worship Conference, AB". Foundation Update [Anglican Foundation of Canada] (21): 1. August 2014.
  36. ↑ "Anglicans, Lutherans name 2014 Companion of the Worship Arts recipients". 3 June 2014.

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