Fewer staff at national office forecast

Chateauguay, Montreal
It will be a “challenging” year for staff at the General Synod office in Toronto.

More budget cuts will be needed to achieve a balanced budget for 2011 and eliminate deficits by 2012, said Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

“There’s another cut to come and it will be bigger,” Archbishop Hiltz told a meeting of the House of Bishops held Jan. 7 to 9. “We’ll look at a smaller staff.” He said that decisions will be guided by priorities that will be set out at the upcoming General Synod this June.

The primate also reported that he met with the metropolitans (senior bishops) of the four ecclesiastical provinces last December as part of a team-building effort. All agreed to build a relationship where there is “collegial leadership, accountability, mutual support,” and where their meetings can be a “clearinghouse for information-sharing.” They hope to meet once a year.

A new draft of Vision 2019, the church’s long-term strategic plan, is being prepared for presentation to the Council of General Synod in March, the primate reported. There have been “mixed” reactions to the initial draft, he said. Some have criticized it as “nothing new, a rearrangement of deck chairs,” and others have said “it’s quite good.”

A question still being debated is whether Vision 2019 is for General Synod or the Anglican Church of Canada as a whole, the primate added.