Synod 2010 highlights

For those of you who were able to stay current on the progress of ANiC’s synod by reading the AEC blog, the following will not be news. But for others, these highlights – condensing 2½ full and productive days – might be of interest. A more detailed account of each day of Synod is still available on the AEC blog. Many of the presentations are now posted to the ANiC website at: http://anglicannetwork.ca/anic_synod_1110.htm. Video of key sessions will be posted later – hopefully before Christmas.

Moderator’s charge:

Bishop Donald Harvey covered a lot of ground, including:

· The new focus on church planting and evangelism, saying we are no longer a “life boat” for disaffected Anglicans, but a “fishing boat” for those who do not know Christ.

· ANiC’s response to the criticism that we should not plant churches in the geographic “territory” of less radically liberal Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) dioceses. He said, “…we do not regard borders…as being a factor… when it comes to imparting the Word and bringing souls to Jesus Christ…. There is nowhere in North America where we will not go to plant a church, if we are so invited by people who feel their own church has let them down to the degree that they no longer can stay with it… [F]or the most part, the numbers of unchurched are such that there is room for any number of church planting initiatives…”

· A suggestion that it would be appreciated if orthodox clergy and laity remaining within the ACoC would “…publicly call upon their Primate and Bishops to erase…” a statement released by Archbishop Hiltz and the four Metropolitans of the day calling the ministry of ANiC clergy “inappropriate, unwelcome and invalid”.

· The need for ANiC, as we mature, to support ministries to those affected by sexual brokenness, such as Zacchaeus Fellowship.

· A call for even more youth delegates next year.

· Encouragement for all parishes to offer the “Blessed Sacrament” every Sunday.

He also made the following announcements:

· Our first Chancellor Cheryl Chang is retiring from that role but will stay on as Special Counsel to ANiC. The newly appointed Chancellor is Michael Donison who attends St George’s (Ottawa).

· The Registrar’s baton has been passed from Brian Ellis to the Rev Tom Carman (St Aidan’s Windsor, ON).

· Our financial administrator Ron Bales – who has been serving as a full-time volunteer – is also retiring.

· The Rev Archie Hunter, Episcopal Commissary on Church Planting in Ottawa, will now add to his responsibilities, Episcopal Commissary for the Diocese.

The contribution of each retiring leader was specifically acknowledged during synod.

Archbishop Bob Duncan, Primate, Anglican Church in North America (ACNA)

Archbishop Duncan spoke of the work going on within the ACNA. Our mission, he said, is to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. He also told us that:

· A “classic” Anglican congregation is accountable to Scriptures, to tradition, and to transforming society.

· In regard to the work undertaken by the Task force on Catechesis, holiness must be our goal – producing people living holy lives who are “in” the world but not “of” the world. Such people understand that tithing is the starting point, not the end point.

· The Taskforce on Liturgy and Common Worship, which includes ANiC’s theologian emeritus Dr J I Packer, is working on draft five of the ordinal.

· A Taskforce on Theological Standards of Formation is identifying Anglican “tracks” in various seminaries. Interestingly, the fastest growing stream of students in evangelical seminaries is often the Anglican stream.

· Globally, there is growing recognition of the ACNA as the orthodox province in North America. As evidence of this, Archbishop Duncan presiding at the Eucharist at the recent Global South meeting in Singapore.

· In terms of ecumenical relations, ACNA is gaining standing and we are gaining recognition as being “what Anglicans are supposed to be” in terms of orthodoxy.

ANiC strategic priorities (Bishop Charlie Masters and Ven Darrell Critch)

Bishop Charlie Masters and the Ven Darryl Critch presented the strategic priorities for ANiC and our parishes this coming year.

ANiC’s mission is: Building biblically faithful, Gospel-sharing Anglican churches

ANiC’s vision is: Every region, enduring churches, excellence in leadership, equipped members

Declaring “the honeymoon is over”, Archdeacon Critch said that ANiC has not had the “success” – the influx – that many had hoped. However, he and Bishop Charlie asked every parish to spend Advent praying over the priorities given by the bishops and discerning what action God would have them take to address these priorities.

These three priorities are:

Grow in Grace – Discern where your parish is lacking in discipleship
Grow in numbers – Implement intentional strategies for Gospel growth
Grow in financial stability – Encourage tithing in Biblical obedience and in response to God’s goodness

Saying that these priorities will be realized through the equipping of the saints, Bishop Charlie offered three avenues for going deeper in the Bible:

The topical Bible memory system offered by the Navigators
A Bible in a Day seminar providing the grand scope and chronology of the Bible
The E100 Scripture Union Bible reading plan

He also challenged every member to learn to:

Share their personal testimony
Share the Gospel
Lead a person to Christ

New ANiC Council elected to replace ANiC’s appointed Board

A slate of council members was elected by acclimation. While many members of the board agreed to stand for election to the Council, several chose to retire.

Retiring board members are:

· Joyce Lee (Vancouver)

· Frank Johnson (Ottawa)

· John McKay (Vancouver)

New council members are:

· Elaine Pountney (Victoria)

· Michael Bentley (Vancouver)

· Professor Jonathan Patrick (Ottawa)

Business of synod

Both the Canons and Constitution were adopted.

Treasurer’s report and the 2010-11 budget

ANiC Treasurer Claus Lenk expressed gratitude for God’s provision. On June 10, he was predicting a $50,000 deficit at the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year (June 30), but the Lord provided and ANiC had a surplus of $2757 on June 30.

Claus stressed the importance of parishes sending in their tithe to ANiC promptly. The tithing model ANiC and ACNA encourages is: Parishioners giving 10% to the parish, the parish giving 10% to the diocese, and the diocese giving 10% to the province.

Bishop Don added that ANiC relies heavily on volunteers in the office with few paid staff members.

The 2010-2011 operating budget was passed. It projects income of $1.193 million – only $728,000 of which is expected to come from parish contributions. This means that $465,000 must be raised from individual donors. Total expenses are projected to be around $1.192 million.

Chancellor’s report

In her final report to synod as ANiC’s Chancellor, Cheryl Chang reminded us that the litigation is not about property but about persecution and standing up for our faith. However, she indicated that ANiC parishes were fully prepared to abandon their buildings should the courts ultimately find against them.

· Vancouver-area case – A decision is anticipated soon in the case involving ANiC congregations and the Diocese of New Westminster. Should the decision be negative, the churches and legal committee would consider the reasons given for the decision and the willingness within the group to fund further appeals, and, of first importance, would seek to discern God’s leading. Any appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada would first have to be granted leave to appeal by the Court. If leave to appeal is not granted, the BC Court of Appeal decision would stand and would set the precedent for churches across Canada.

· Niagara area case – Although the legal situation involving St George’s (Burlington), St Hilda’s (Oakville) and Good Shepherd (St Catharines) has gone quiet recently, there are signs it could heat up. St Peter’s (Hamilton), although never a party to the litigation, has chosen to reach a settlement with the Diocese of Niagara and vacated their building at the end of October. Through God’s grace, they have been able to find and purchase a new building and are now known as St Peter by the Park.

· St Aidan’s and the Diocese of Huron – The Diocese is aggressively pursuing St Aidan’s with a possible trial date in the spring of 2011.

· Ottawa – After three mediation sessions involving St George’s and St Alban’s and the Diocese of Ottawa, the parties continue to negotiate through correspondence.

· Vancouver Island – The litigation involving St Mary’s, now known as Open Gate, is dormant and will likely remain so until the Vancouver case is finally decided.

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali’s messages

Addressing Synod Friday morning, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali focused his remarks on 1 John. The letters of John – the apostolic testimony of John – were intended to bring people into Christian fellowship, “an ever widening circle of ever deepening faith”. Christian fellowship requires:

1. Right believing/doctrine – orthodoxy.

· A wrong view of God is at the root of heresy. There are many within Anglicanism who have a wrong view of God and are not necessarily Christian.

· There is much blasphemy within the church today regarding the work of the Holy Spirit. John’s letters tell us that the work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus.

· Right understanding of God (theology) will result in a right understanding of people (anthropology).

2. Right belonging – Fellowship is based on a common (right believing) faith; this is a spiritual, not on a structural relationship.

3. Right behaving – If we say we have fellowship with God, but walk in darkness, we lie. (1John 1:6)

The brokenness in the Anglican Communion is a result of light not having fellowship with darkness. The Communion must be reformed to continue within the Church Catholic. There is hope, however, for those who have gone wrong; there is a way back through confession and repentance. Confession and repentance are essential to continued fellowship.

On Friday evening, Bishop Nazir-Ali began by saying he was tired of being called a conservative. “This is about radical discipleship!” He focused on the need for the church to actively engage in mission to the oppressed and marginalized. We promote Biblical standards because we are convinced these are good for society. But it isn’t enough to oppose societal moral degeneration and unbiblical public policy, the church must actively provide alternatives – such as support for families, thorough marriage preparation, Christian hospices, adoption.

He also discussed the church’s need for faithfulness to apostolic and Scriptural teaching. And said we are not the ones who have destroyed the unity of the Anglican Communion. Unity must be principled. The instruments of unity in the Anglican Communion have failed; there has been a failure to gather, a failure to decide together, and a failure to discipline. He mentioned, by way of contrast, that at GAFCon (in Jerusalem in June 2008) he saw what it was for God’s people to come together – from all backgrounds, ethnicities, and churchmanship.

The three marks of the church are:

1. Confessing – adhering to the Gospel, apostolic teaching and historic creeds

2. Conciliar – ministering and deciding together as a body

3. Consistorial – exercising ecclesiastical discipline to ensure what we teach and decide “sticks”

He concluded by urging us to not elevate institutions above the Gospel – a besetting sin of Anglicanism in recent times. Evangelical revival can’t wait for institutional and bureaucratic propriety. We need spiritual renewal; we need to look outward.

Other sermons

Synod was blessed by the faithful delivery of God’s Word with words of exhortation and encouragement from the Rev Jim Salladin, the Rev Andrew Hewlett, the Ven Michael McKinnon, the Ven Ron Corcoran and the Ven Paul Crossland.

Church planting

The Rev Ray David Glenn, Bishop Ron Ferris and the Rev Sean Love teamed up to present the church planting movement within ANiC. Jesus has promised, “I will build my church”. (Matt 16:18) Between 80,000 and 100,000 people worship each Sunday in ACNA churches. And ACNA is committed to planting 1000 new congregations by June 2004 – facilitated and supported by the Anglican1000 movement. Proportionately, ANiC’s share of that commitment is about 30 new church plants. Already 20 new congregations have begun – 14 of which are brand new, while six are “life boat” congregations. And 10-20 new congregations are in the “pipeline”. 1000 new congregations is a target, not a limit. We want to exceed that number.

A church planning policy/framework has been developed and approved which can guide and support ANiC leadership as well as church planters. ANiC wants to be strategic, thoughtful and prayerful in church planting activities. The church planting working group is ready to consider applications for funding for new church plants.

Parish presentations

Parishes and projects that have recently joined ANiC each presented their congregation, their ministries, their vision and some prayer requests. These were:

· Peninsula Anglican Church, Saanichton, BC

· Church of the Good Shepherd, Richmond, BC

· St David’s the Faithful, Winnipeg, MB

· Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church (Moncton) and satellite congregations in New Brunswick

· New Life Anglican Church – Sturgeon Falls, ON

· Christ The King, Toronto, ON

· Church of the Epiphany, Hamilton, ON

· The five New England missions of Holy Trinity, Marlborough, MA

· Saint Michael & All Angels' Anglican Mission, Amherst, MA

· Christ the King Anglican Mission, Athol, MA

· Christ the Good Shepherd Anglican Mission, Manchester, NH

· Saint Brigid of Kildare Anglican Mission, Medway, MA

· All Saints' Anglican Mission, Rutland, VT

In addition, synod heard testimonials of God’s grace and goodness from four ANiC parishes:

· Saint Matthew's, Abbotsford, BC

· Christ the King, Victoria, BC

· St George's, Ottawa, BC

· Good Shepherd, Sioux Lookout, ON

Missions emphasis evening

The first evening of Synod was devoted to a Missions emphasis. Even the evening meal – a simple bowl of rice – reminded us of the great need in our world.

ARDFC – ANiC’s global aid arm – the Anglican Relief and Development Fund Canada (ARDFC) – presented its work which is undertaken in cooperation with our sister organization the ARDF, our province’s US-based global aid arm. The ARDFC is a very lean organization, with no paid staff, that raises funds for projects implemented by Global South dioceses – a true partnership. Its motto is “Restoring health, hope and dignity in Jesus’ name”. Projects are closely researched and monitored and address pressing needs within Global South dioceses, helping them build bridges for the Gospel in their communities.

The current project is designed to “Take the bite out of malaria” in the Diocese of Maseno West, Kenya. $50,000 is needed to purchase mosquito needs and provide malaria prevention education. Nearly one million people die from malaria each year – 90% of them in sub-Sahara Africa; every 30 seconds malaria claims the life of a child. Donations can be made through ANiC parishes or online. (See www.ardfc.ca)

Anticipated future projects are:

· 2011 – A health improvement project in Myanmar, where recent flooding and famine have caused much devastation

· 2012 – A skills-building, employment-creating project for poverty stricken indigenous people in Chile

Asian Mission in Canada – Bishop Stephen Leung spoke of the ministry to restaurant workers in Richmond, BC which meets on Tuesday nights at 10:30pm – after the workers’ shifts end. Two have already been baptised and more are considering taking this step. He also spoke about a ministry to Karen refugees from Burma, as well as a ministry to abandoned and disabled children in China. International China Concern cares for these little ones in care centres in two cities in China and hopes to open a third centre in another city. Asian Mission is considering organizing a short-term mission to China to work with International China Concern.

Parish missions testimonials – Two parishes told of their deep involvement in missions, challenging other ANiC churches to becoming more fully engaged in global missions:

· Peninsula Anglican Church (Saanichton, BC) presented their partnership with King’s Daughters Ministry in Uganda which rescues women from the streets, introduces them to the Lord Jesus, and equips them for productive lives.

· Good Samaritan (St John’s, NL) presented their partnership with the Arms of Jesus Children’s Mission in Guatemala and their parish mission trips to Guatemala. The congregation sponsors 67 children, all from one village, and has developed a close relationship with that village.

Additional presentations

Artizo – The Rev Eric Thurston presented Artizo, a program that identifies, trains and mentors young Christian leaders for the ministry. See: www.artizo.org

Anglican Agenda books – The Rev Archie Pell encouraged broader use of this growing series of books written by the Ginger Group – a group of Canadian Anglican theologians – and edited by Dr J I Packer. These short books cover a range of important topics making this series perfect for study by small groups within the church. See: http://anglicannetwork.ca/ginger_group.htm

Order of St Joseph’s Guild – The Rev St Clair Cleveland presented his vision for organizing interested craftspeople across ACNA to construct furnishings – even buildings – for new church plants and congregations forced to leave everything behind when they join ACNA. See http://anglicannetwork.ca/order_of_st_josephs_guilds.htm

Prayer

There was time set aside during Synod to intercede for the persecuted Christian Church – especially in Muslim, Communist, Hindu and Buddhist lands.

Bible dramatizations

A highlight of Synod was the Rev Paul Donison’s Bible storytelling – the dramatic recitation of Scripture. He gave three presentations over the course of synod – bringing John 12:12-36, Matthew 25, and John 20-21 to life. (Paul is associate minister for discipleship at St George’s Ottawa as well as a professional actor and drama instructor. He is willing to work with parishes to offer training for those interested in this method of Bible memorization and performance.)

Marilyn Jacobson

Anglican Network in Canada communication

1-866-351-2642 ext 4020

mjacobson@anglicannetwork.ca