The national church’s communications work has an updated mandate after Council of General Synod (CoGS) voted on June 12 to accept a proposal from the Pathway 4 team/Communications Coordinating Committee that aims to make communications more strategic, integrated and financially sustainable.
The threefold new mandate focuses the national church’s communications work on corporate communications, fundraising/development communications and resource facilitation and sharing. It positions the Anglican Journal—an essential news source for Anglicans across the country—as the official voice of the church rather than a separate journalistic enterprise.
Pathway 4—Communications is one of six pathways for transformational change adopted by General Synod in 2025. The Pathway 4 team was tasked with reviewing the existing mandate, format and funding model of the national church’s communications work, drawing up an updated mandate and developing a detailed strategic communications plan.
Under the new mandate, which takes effect immediately, the Church House communications team will focus on telling the story of the church and informing, engaging and connecting Anglicans through a variety of print and digital media, including the Anglican Journal. Repositioning the Journal as a communications tool rather than a journalistic enterprise will help ensure that all the church’s channels work together to serve Anglicans in a context where resources are constrained, Pathway 4 chair Jamie Tomlinson told CoGS, and that staff are empowered to manage financial, legal and reputational risks.
The Anglican Journal’s reporting will continue to be factual and objective, Tomlinson added. Later in his presentation he said that communications will also contribute to fostering a culture of transparency and accountability through a variety of other tactics, including the publishing of highlights from governance meetings, livestreaming of General Synod, public posting of audited financial statements, town hall meetings and impact reports.
The communications team is also joining forces with the development team to support the national church’s fundraising efforts. While Church House is moving toward being self-funded as much as possible, it currently needs to raise funds to pay for its operations and for the Anglican Journal—which also supports the diocesan newspapers—as well as to support the Council of the North and Sacred Circle.
Finally, the communications team will continue its work of facilitating the gathering and sharing of common materials and resources for Anglicans, including liturgical resources, as approved by CoGS and General Synod. Resources are made available on anglican.ca and the e-store.
This fall, the Pathway 4 team will draw up new terms of reference for the Communications Coordinating Committee, as directed by CoGS in June, and develop a detailed strategic communications plan for the national church.
