Biannual gathering helps colleagues offer mutual support for episcopal ministry
As Anglican bishops from across Canada gathered at the Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre in Niagara Falls, Ont. from Oct. 5-9 for the latest meeting of the House of Bishops, they sought to open a window for the wider church into what happens at the biannual assembly.
The national House of Bishops meets twice each year, typically in the spring and fall, and includes all active diocesan, coadjutor and suffragan bishops in the Anglican Church of Canada. The Anglican Journal has long provided on-the-ground coverage from meetings of General Synod and Council of General Synod (CoGS), but not for the House of Bishops, which unlike General Synod and CoGS is not a governing body of the church.
Archbishop Shane Parker, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, says the House of Bishops provides a space for bishops to meet as colleagues, build relationships, get advice, critically support one another in their ministry and better understand differences.
“When the bishops meet, it’s a privileged place for bishops just to relax and share and learn and listen without scrutiny, basically,” Parker says.
“It’s not so much that it’s all secret,” he adds. “It’s just that it’s a place where there are bishops talking about their ministries in a way that can be easily understood because no one has to explain what the job is all about … I think there is a desire amongst bishops to let the church know the nature of the meetings, the kinds of things that get discussed and how we discuss things.”
Archbishop John Stephens, bishop of new Westminster and metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of B.C. and Yukon, says the House of Bishops is an opportunity for its members to meet in person for discussion and prayer, welcome and support new bishops and share issues in their own lives and dioceses.
“We need that place of support,” Stephens says. “Roles of leadership can be lonely places at times. Building into that a chance to connect with colleagues from across the country is just incredibly helpful.”
Outside the House of Bishops, Stephens says, travel costs can make it difficult for bishops to meet in person, even within the same ecclesiastical province.
“The Anglican Church of Canada covers a massive geographical area,” he says. “It can potentially be very isolating for bishops, but also for clergy in parishes or laypeople in parishes.” The House of Bishops, Stephens says, provides a way to “strengthen that connection with the national church.”
The primate, who has pastoral care of bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada, convenes the House of Bishops and selects a bishop representing each ecclesiastical province to form an agenda team that plans the meetings.
A typical House of Bishops meeting runs from Monday to Friday, starting on the first day with gospel-based discipleship. Shared prayer and Bible study happen throughout the week. Tuesday includes a morning Eucharist, time with the primate, a sabbath time and a lively evening hymn sing.
Wednesdays begin eight or nine work sessions, which run into Thursday and are often facilitated by national church leaders and staff. A major focus of the October meeting was training and informing bishops on areas such as managing legal issues and difficult conversations, along with media relations and advocacy. The bishops also learned about new research on clergy wellness and developments in the church’s pension plan and continuing education. Time was also provided for a thorough briefing on Anglican Communion and ecumenical relationships, and progress on the six pathways outlined in the Creating Pathways document, by which the Anglican Church of Canada is seeking to transform its organization and structures.
There’s much important conversation that isn’t on the agenda, the primate says. “What happens between the formal sessions is super important … That’s where a lot of the deep support happens and a lot of good conversations happen as well,” Parker says, adding that “collegial relationships among our bishops are important for our church as a whole.”
Before the gathering, Anglican metropolitans met with bishops from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). The Anglican Church of Canada’s House of Bishops and the ELCIC’s Conference of Bishops routinely hold joint meetings and worship as an expression of the two churches’ full communion partnership. Stephens says such meetings similarly allow Anglican and Lutheran bishops to build relationships and learn from each other.
Stephens says by coming together and showing respect for each other’s opinions, the House of Bishops, like CoGS, offers a symbol of Christian unity within the Anglican Church of Canada—one that recognizes theological differences across the country, but also “the importance of still coming together in community as followers of Christ.”
Bishop Jennifer Gosse-Vingerhoeds, the newest member of the House of Bishops after her installation as bishop ordinary of the Anglican Military Ordinariate on Sept. 15, reported feeling “blessed” in a Facebook post she wrote after attending the October gathering.
“This House, as I experienced it, is a true community in Christ,” Gosse-Vingerhoeds said. “We prayed with and for each other. We shared our joys and our struggles and encouraged one another. I felt embraced by my brother and sister bishops and welcomed home. I am so grateful for the love and support I felt here … I know these people are upholding me in prayer and only a call away should I need their advice and wisdom.”
