Primate encourages engagement as church approaches ‘extraordinarily important time’
Mississauga, Ont.
The church is approaching a time of important decisions—one which Anglicans can and should embrace with hope, Archbishop Anne Germond, acting primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, told Council of General Synod (CoGS) in her opening remarks March 7.
At this session of CoGS, meeting March 7-9 in Mississauga, Ont., the council is, among other things, receiving a report of a commission established in 2023 by former primate Archbishop Linda Nicholls, tasked with re-examining Anglican Church of Canada structures. The 48-page document, to be discussed as the weekend goes on, suggests six pathways along which the church could organize work to update and strip down its governance to improve efficiency, clarity and inclusion.
In her speech, Germond encouraged CoGS to see the challenging conversations involved as part of a hopeful story of renewal feeding into the upcoming General Synod national gathering this summer. That Synod will include discussions of the pathways, the implementation thus far of the “five transformational commitments” made by General Synod at its last meeting in 2023 and the election of a new primate—all of which, Germond said, made this a time of vital spiritual discernment.
“Let us embody bold hope through our words and in our actions as we prepare for this extraordinarily important time,” she said.
To illustrate the importance of a positive and hopeful attitude toward change in the church, Germond shared an excerpt from a speech she picked up on a February visit to the Church of England’s General Synod. The Rev. Alex Frost, vicar of St. Andrew the Apostle church in Burnley, Lancashire, known for his transition from managing a business to serving the members of a parish in a “very poor” community, gave a speech to that synod on the need for change in ministry to include the working class, the poor and the marginalized, said Germond. She believed one part of his message resonates just as strongly in Canada.
“He said, ‘One of my coworkers’ frequent challenges to me was this: If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got,’” she quoted to GoGS. “‘And what we have got now is a shrinking, vulnerable church with reduced numbers of ordinands and people training for ministry. And I want to say to the Church of England, this is an opportunity to be bold, be ambitious and be faithful.’”
In that spirit, she encouraged CoGS to promote the work of the General Synod in their home parishes—especially the significance of the upcoming primatial election—ensuring Anglicans know important work is afoot. “The General Synod cannot be at the periphery of the church in these important times,” Germond said. “We need to be standing alongside one another, understanding fully what is happening in our church.”
In closing, Germond said she had brought prayer cards bearing the image of the Cross of San Damiano which originally stood in the church of San Damiano in medieval Assisi, Italy. St. Francis of Assisi was praying before this cross when, according to Roman Catholic tradition, he received a commission from God to rebuild the church. At first, Germond said, Assisi thought God was calling him to fix the building of San Damiano, which was in poor repair.
“But as he prayed in front of that crucifix, he came to understand a much deeper truth—that he was being invited to be part of rebuilding the Church,” she said. “And we’re being constantly invited into that space. The Church [is] in constant formation, is being built, and our part is to steward that ‘building’ now in this time.”
She closed her speech by leading the room in a prayer of St. Francis, written on the prayer cards she handed out: “Enlighten the darkness of my heart. Give me true faith, certain hope and perfect charity. Fill me with understanding and knowledge that I may carry out your holy and true command.”
