London, Ont.
Archbishop Anne Germond, acting primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, addressed General Synod, meeting in London June 23-29, with a message of unity and anticipation of major changes. The time ahead will be one in which the Anglican Church of Canada is called to move forward into an uncertain future, she said, comparing the situation to that of the people of historical Israel returning to Jerusalem after exile. In doing so, she said, the church will need to be able to give up its internal divisions and see its way to cooperation.
“We cannot be a church divided into east and west, north and south, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, gay or straight, progressive or conservative, rural or urban, well-resourced or poorly-resourced,” she said.
“You see, there is no east or west in the kingdom of God. There is only one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth. If we are to succeed at all, we can only be a church walking together into the future with bold, prophetic hope, extending the hand of grace to one another at every opportunity,” Germond said.
That cooperation will be important as the church enters a time of what she called “holy and sacred risk-taking,” in reference to the discussions on change to church leadership and governance structure recommended by the primate’s commission tasked with reimagining the church for the needs of the coming years. Discussion by General Synod of that commission’s work began with a presentation of its report, Creating Pathways for the Transformational Change of the General Synod, by commission chair Archdeacon Monique Stone later that afternoon, followed by table discussions.
The commission’s document, presented to the Council of General Synod in March, calls the church’s structure top-heavy and larger than necessary at every level. In a line Stone told the Journal is meant to be more provocative than strictly literal, it challenges decision makers to consider how the size of those governance structures might be reduced by 75 per cent. It challenges them to rethink what form the church might take if its governance were being designed for the first time for today’s needs and resources. To do this, it suggests the church proceed along six pathways: streamlining its governance structures; restructuring the national office; increasing inclusion and diversity in decision-making; reviewing the needs and strategy of its communications, including the Anglican Journal; developing its partnership with the Indigenous church and reviewing the needs and funding model for ministry in the North.
General Synod is scheduled to debate and vote on whether to proceed with the pathways June 27. Another resolution before the assembly this week proposes allocating $2 million from the General Synod discretionary fund to pay for further work to implement governance changes, including possibly hiring outside consultants. The resolution says the current staff resources of the Office of General Synod are not sufficient to pursue the work.
Germond also added her prayer that General Synod, which is electing a new primate this week, would elect one who is best suited to foster unity and guide the church through the difficult decisions ahead.
“My prayer is that God will bring us a faithful shepherd who will guard the flock and go all-out to look for that one lost sheep, a sentinel who will keep their eyes on the horizon looking to the east for the Easter dawn, a messenger who will carry, from coast to coast to coast, messages of good news—and a unifier who will hold us all together in God’s love,” she said.
The primatial address also included a video message from former primate, Archbishop Linda Nicholls, who added her own calls to courage, unity, responsibility for the future and commitment to the church’s Five Transformational Commitments.
Correction: General Synod runs June 23-29, not June 23-30, as stated in an earlier version of this story.
