April issue chronicles journeys to renewal

Moving beyond pain towards new life, Anglicans envision the future with ever greater focus in the April issue of the Anglican Journal.

The emerging Indigenous church within the Anglican Church of Canada takes a major step forward as Sacred Circle releases its foundational documents, The Covenant and Our Way of Life. The Journal offers a deep dive into both documents, painting a clearer picture of what self-determination for Indigenous Anglicans looks like in practice. We also report on Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s upcoming visit to Canada, where he will meet with residential school survivors and Indigenous leaders to focus on reconciliation.

The question of whether General Synod will meet this summer has been answered, after the Assembly Planning Committee—tasked with planning a joint meeting of the Anglican Church of Canada and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada—decided that an in-person event would not take place until at least 2023 due to the pandemic. As COVID-19 restrictions ease across the country, public health experts and church leaders are urging caution in the church’s reopening.

Yet with the coming of spring and easing of public health measures, many Anglicans eagerly anticipate a return to something approaching traditional church life. Anglican Foundation executive director and award-winning composer Scott Brubacher, in this issue’s arts and culture reflection, looks forward to the return of live choral and congregational singing, especially during Holy Week. The April issue of the Journal also presents more reader submissions of stained-glass windows from our continuing series, Capturing the Light.

A new institute at Wycliffe College features prominently in our coverage of recipients of grants from the U.S.-based Lily Foundation. One of four Anglican seminaries in Canada to receive Lily grants, Wycliffe will use its $1.27 million influx to establish a new institute for church research and analysis in what program director Stephen Hewko calls a potential “game-changer”.

Catalysts for great change can also be seen on a more personal level in our April edition. In “The Dixie Cup font”, Coast Salish author and visual artist Jenn Ashton recounts an experience from her time as a multifaith hospital chaplain, in which efforts to baptize a dying man led her to a new level of understanding on finding peace.

Archbishop Linda Nicholls, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, reflects in her April column on Holy Week and journeying beyond pain to hope. National Indigenous Archbishop Mark MacDonald discusses the force of truth in confronting the genocide of Indigenous peoples in Canada—and his hope that the discovery of truth will create a path to renewal.

Read the April issue of the Anglican Journal on anglicanjournal.com or in digital PDF.