Sunday Sermon - 16 November
This year’s Synod had one unspoken but profound underlying theme. The sustainability of the national church, our Anglican Church in Canada, and our Diocese of Toronto. Yes, there were presentations and reports about all the good and wonderful things happening throughout the Diocese in the present, but the cloud of an unknown future lingered prominently in the air.
The main focus was the work of Cast the Net, essentially the groundwork for the Diocese’s strategic plan which we know best as the 20 Calls to the Diocese. I’ve spoken on this before, briefly both in homilies and newsletters. However, I don’t push the terminology of “The 20 Calls” because I believe that the work we are doing in this parish is not being done because the Diocese mandates it but because this church, our parish, with its new minister, has some work to do and we are just going ahead and doing it, without it being dictated from the Diocese.
That said, since we are expected to be responding to at least 3 or 4 of the Calls, here are the ones that we have and continue to focus upon:
Call #6 - Strengthen Indigenous Ministry and Reconciliation Work
We had our Mapping the Steps workshop in June, and welcomed Pastor Ben and his Curve Lake congregation. We established a land acknowledgment that is now hanging in our narthex and which we’ll continue to refer to on certain occasions. I also connect regularly with Ben and we support each other’s ministries and we’ll be welcoming Pam Hart back in June for the Truth & Reconciliation exercise with Quilt Stories.
Call #3 - Enlivening Worship
We are restoring our music program with a Royal Canadian trained organist and we’re slowly rebooting a choral program.
Call #2 - Recommitting to Children's and Intergenerational Ministry
This is in process and I’ve got a meeting coming up with a few young parents to begin working on ideas and planning some initiatives.
Call #4 - Participating in God’s Healing Work in the World
We are beginning this one on the home front as I’ll be offering a Ministry of Reconciliation and Healing service at 11:15 am weekly on Wednesdays throughout Advent and then monthly thereafter.
Call #13 - Focusing on Ministries to the World
Our support for our refugees, the Salihi family, as their parish sponsors is our primary response to this call and Eric Mann’s presentation regarding the Canadian Foodgrains Bank was also a response to Call 13.
So, that is five Calls that we are currently working on. Again, I don’t always harken back to the Cast the Net 20 Calls but, rest assured, as we seek to do God’s good work in our world we are meeting our Diocesan obligations.
The highlight of Synod for me was having the opportunity to hear and then meet our new Primate of Canada, Archbishop Shane Parker. On Friday night the Archbishop spoke about the national church in this time of transition, he referred to the metaphor “The Church is like a stained glass window.” Our Church is full of differences, like different colours of glass all being held together by oak (the frame) and lead (the leading in between). If we are not careful, if we focus too much on the glass (the individual churches and parishes) being different, independent and unique, the structure or the oak and the lead begin to fail from neglect.
The oak and the lead (the supporting structure and the roots and foundation of who we are as Anglicans) will begin to fail and the Church (the pieces of glass) will fall away and the window will break apart. However, if we focus too much on the oak and the lead and neglect the unique individual nature of each parish, the glass will become dusty and dirty. It will lose its colour and become monochrome, and no longer will it let the different colours of light shine through, unable to form the single beautiful image it is meant to portray. In other words, the Church needs both our unique individuality and our strong foundations.
This is precisely why over the course of my first two to three years here, I am focusing on traditional foundational Anglican liturgy. We are restoring the foundation of this parish, the lead and the oak together, and from there, we will build upon it and grow in our unique way and transform as God calls us into the next decade.
On Saturday morning, I fortuitously had the privilege of having breakfast on with the Archbishop. As it turns out, he was sitting with a friend of mine who is the Synod delegate from St. John’s in Peterborough. She was quite taken aback when his grace asked to sit with her. It was just the three of us and we had the opportunity to talk personally for a bit. I can report that he is a nice man. The national Church is in the midst of some very challenging times and although he didn’t plan on being elected the Primate (he was nominated from the floor after the 2nd ballot), he did accept the nomination and the nudge from the Holy Spirit to serve our Church during these tumultuous times. He said he has a few years before he has to retire (he’s 67) and is committed to do all that he can to serve our national Church during his time of leadership. We are grateful for his service and we pray for him.
In our Gospel today, Jesus speaks of upheaval — the Temple’s destruction, wars, earthquakes, persecution — but urges steadfast faith: “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” says Jesus. The ACW has long embodied faithful endurance, sustaining parish life, supporting community outreach and mission through these changing times of declining attendance, social upheaval, and new challenges in the Church. The ACW has held fast and is truly part of the oak and lead that holds, not just our parish but our Anglican Church in Canada and the world, together.
Jesus is speaking of the Temple’s demise but he could just as easily be talking about our Church today for, whether we like it or not, our Church is in a precarious situation over the next few generations. This, like in Jesus’ time, is not something that should be feared or ignored, but something to be understood so that we can change and move toward becoming the new Church in the new age that God will bring forth - just as he did in Jesus’ time. It is organizations and foundational ministries like that of the ACW that show and model steadfast faith in changing times. The women of the Church show what it means to trust God’s promise even when institutions and traditions seem to tremble in fear of the future’s unknown.
Today, on this ACW Sunday, we pray in thanksgiving for our ACW. For all the women of our Church who serve steadfastly for the good of others. Those who live their call from Christ and show us the way.
Let us pray.
Faithful God,
we give you thanks for all of the Anglican Church Women—
for their steadfast faith, their quiet strength, their generous service.
In these times of change and uncertainty,
you have made them witnesses to your enduring love.
Grant them courage to persevere,
hope that does not fade,
and joy in serving you and your people.
May their example be an inspiration to us all
to trust your promise and walk by faith.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen