December 2009 CoGS Wheels

Over the past year I have participated in more than fourteen meetings of various councils of the Anglican Church of Canada. I have been present at the elections of all four Metropolitans (Archbishops), which is unprecedented for one year in the life of our church. The Anglican Consultative Council has met in Jamaica, and there have been other significant events including the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, and significant legal rulings affecting dioceses in Canada and the USA. So as we enter a new church year, I thought it would be helpful to reflect on the church as I am fully experiencing it.

"The Mighty Wind of the Spirit: New Beginnings" and "Feeling the Winds of God — Charting a New Course" are the themes of the Sacred Circle 2009 and the General Synod 2010, respectively. These reflect the desire for change and finding different directions in actualizing the Mission of God. Change involves disruption, and in many cases, turbulence. We long for new destinations and peaceful waters. So what is happening? In my view Vision 2019 has been slow in gaining traction in the church but this movement will certainly be a major focus of General Synod. The fundamental question is where we want to see the Anglican Church of Canada three General Synods from now (2019). What do we need in place to fully understand and fulfill our baptismal ministries? Are we serious about the five Marks of Mission? Are the UN Millennium Goals important for Canadian Anglicans?

I have previously outlined new proposed structures for National Indigenous Ministry. We will need concerted efforts for this to mature, and for us to wrestle with significant problems including poverty, marginalization, and reconciliation. We continue to struggle with issues around sexuality and the inclusion of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT) people in the full life of the Church. We are weary of the long struggles and impatient when we cannot settle our differences. Legal disputes around property and jurisdiction sap our energy for the real work of the church. Disaffected Anglicans are being invited to leave our fellowship.

We lament our diminishing financial resources and failures in evangelization, particularly for young people. Our national church governance is being tested and criticized as we attempt to streamline our diocesan, provincial and national bureaucracies. The Governance Working Group is trying to focus CoGS and General Synod on making our canons and ecclesial structures work for God's Mission, rather than confine God's Mission with canons and outdated structural concepts. Are we deploying our human and financial resources in optimal ways? Should we continue to define dioceses based on historical trade routes? Is the Mission of God advanced when dioceses function independently and are critical of the national church or behave indifferently to its work? Are we over-governed? Do we provide episcopal "services" in the most effective ways?

Internationally we see ourselves as an enlightened and progressive Province of the Anglican Communion but we are assailed by schism and mistrust. Canadian Anglicans are contributing very constructively to the development of a new Anglican Covenant but many see this as a means of centralizing ecclesiastical power and stifling the discernment and pursuit of God's Mission for the world.

So there are many unanswered questions, and a profound sense of uncertainty in our church life together. Recently, however, Canon Kenneth Kearon, General Secretary of the Anglican Communion, gave an optimistic forecast for the worldwide Anglican Communion. Based on his travels around the world, he sees the problems besetting Anglicanism inexorably moving to creative solutions, particularly as we recapture the sense of Mission — that which God wants us to be doing in the 21st Century. I also sense this across the Canadian Church as the large majority clearly desires to move on, to enter into new relationships, to create new visions, and to experience a renewal of faith. This comes from an overwhelming need for our church to be spiritually relevant again in an increasingly secular world. When the disciples encountered the turbulence of a storm, Jesus said, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" (Mark 5:40). Let us remember these words as we move forward.