By Neil Armstrong

When many gathered at Verity Centre for Better Living on Sunday, it was not only for the Black History Month worship service titled “Led to Love” hosted by senior minister Reverend Lameteria D. Hall, but also to celebrate the 46^th anniversary of the church.

Some were also there to congratulate Ken Noel, a congregant and executive director of The Walnut Foundation, who is the 2026 recipient of the Mabel-Helen-Rose Foundation Stone award for his service to community.

Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, he navigated treatment with resilience and intention. His research found that there was a paucity of information about prostate cancer among Black men, and an associated silence and stigma surrounding it in the Black community.

Noel soon joined The Walnut Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to education and prostate cancer support. Since 2014, he has led the convening of an annual prostate cancer conference centred on Black communities, elevating awareness of increased risk, treatment options, and the life-saving power of early detection.

Noel said prostate cancer continue to impact Black men disproportionately at high rates. “Too many of our fathers, brothers, uncles and friends are diagnosed too late. Too many avoid screening, too many believe the strength means silence. Too many Black men believe that if we don’t know it won’t hurt us.”

He said real strength is responsibility, early detection, education, vulnerability and community.

“This award recognizes those individuals whose leadership, service and vision have served as foundational stones in strengthening community and elevating collective consciousness within Toronto’s African Canadian community,” said David Lewis-Peart who came up with the idea to name it after three women who were active in the history of that church.

In her sermon titled “Make Room for the New,” Rev. Hall said it was calling for everyone individually to take on leadership and action for stronger and healthier communities.

“True spiritual leadership is not passive, it’s active, loving and intentional. To make room for the new means to release old limitations and embody love and the ways that uplift people and strengthen the collective life of community.”

Also speaking were Alica Hall, executive director of the Nia Centre, under the theme “Leading Community in Love,” and Anthony Henry, president of The Walnut Foundation and Tracy Reece who both spoke of Noel’s work in community.

Alica Hall, whose family has a history of involvement in the church, noted that the Nia Centre has been around for the past 16 years but in the fall of 2023, it completed a major renovation and opened its doors.

Hall said patience is love and it is important to meet people where they are and to stay true to one’s self. “Leading in love means building spaces where people are not diminished. It means creating environments where people feel seen and supported.”

Henry said Noel has been pivotal in growing the organization into the force for good that it has become in the Black community over the past few years.