Give to the Anglican Journal Appeal

Dear reader,

Warm greetings, on a cool fall day, from the Anglican Journal! As another year nears its end, I’m writing to thank you for the generosity you’ve shown us in the past—and to remind you of the importance of your donations to the Anglican Journal Appeal. In supporting our work here at the Journal, I believe you’re helping to build a better church. I’ll explain how a little later in this letter. First, a bit about what we’ve been up to.

Once again, the Journal has had no shortage of stories to tell this year. But the biggest news, in my opinion, has been the church’s setting out on a course of dramatic change—a key event in this process being the near-unanimous approval, this summer at General Synod, of the “Pathways” report with its recommendations of the next concrete steps in the church’s journey to transformation. The Journal was there, with on-the-spot coverage of these critical discussions. We’ve been doing our utmost to bring you the most complete and timely news we can on this process, informed by the most thoughtful and diverse voices the church has to offer—and we’ll continue to do this as the story unfolds.

The approval of the Pathways report was the highlight of an eventful summer. Also at General Synod, we saw the election of a new Primate. In August, Indigenous Anglicans from across the country gathered for Sacred Circle in Calgary, where, among other things, they discussed how to move the Indigenous Anglican church toward a more truly Indigenous form of representation. We’ve made sure to keep informed about these key developments, but also all the other things—the controversies, the concerns, the proud accomplishments—that make up the life of our beloved church.

We told you, for example, about what Anglicans across the country are doing to help the hungry in their own neighbourhoods, to build flourishing, dynamic parishes and to preserve their beautiful buildings. We’ve shared the latest with you about the Indigenous church’s mental health programs for youth and men. And we brought you the voices of Anglicans who have been doing exceptional things, in Canada and overseas—including a doctor who spent nearly a month caring for the sick and injured at a hospital in Gaza, finding hope amid a brutal conflict. Finally, we’ve been proud to offer you spiritual reflection from insightful guest columnists as well as our Primate and national Indigenous archbishop.

I’m always happy to remind you that the Anglican Journal Appeal also supports the excellent diocesan newspapers that are inserted into issues of the Journal. This means your gift helps keep Anglicans across the country up to speed on developments in their dioceses and nourished with spiritual reflection by bishops, editors and columnists.

So what does all this have to do with building a better church? Well, it’s my conviction that the better informed and connected a community is, the more empowered it is to discern the best way forward. That’s why your support is so important: your generous donation will help us at the Journal give Canadian Anglicans the best news, features and reflections we can, at this time of critical decision-making, when reliable information and solid connection have perhaps never been more important for the church.

My counterparts in diocesan newspapers across the country and I are proud to be tasked with keeping you informed about, and connected with, the church you love—and we’re all so grateful to have supporters like you who allow us to do it! I hope you’ll consider making a donation. You can be sure that any amount, large or small, will make a difference.

In gratitude,

Tali Folkins
Editor, The Anglican Journal