Renewing the Church

It has been a busy year! In all of this, Jesus remains very, very good—and always the hope and purpose of the Church.

The Fall has been even busier, starting with “The Way Forward” Essentials Conference at the end of August. (Do you remember when our activities began the first Sunday after Labour Day?) That Conference set up the Federation/Essentials Council; really a continuation of the ten-year old Essentials Council. The Vision of Essentials remains the same, ‘to be the Theological and Spiritual Rallying Point for Historic, Christian Orthodoxy in the Anglican Church of Canada.’

The major change was the election at that Conference of a bishop, priest and lay person from each of the four Ecclesiastical Provinces in Canada, and a reduction of the representation from the three founding groups of the Essentials Council: Anglican Renewal Ministries, Barnabas Anglican Ministries and the Prayer Book Society of Canada. It gives voice to many who accept the Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials, but are not part of the three founding groups. It also recognizes that there are Essentials groups springing up in a number of dioceses, particularly in response to the biblically incompatible resolutions on adult same-sex relationships proposed for, or passed at General Synod 2004.

I was a delegate to General Synod, and received the impression that General Synod can do whatever it wants to do, even if it is incompatible with its beginnings, the Solemn Declaration of 1893. (From the first General Synod, page viii of the book of Common Prayer)

The Federation/Essentials Council also has representation from a new working group, The Anglican Network in Canada. Its Steering Committee was commissioned at The Way Forward Conference. Many within the Anglican Church of Canada believe that Synod 2004 compromised the basic tenets of the faith with its "affirmation of the integrity and sanctity" motion. The work of the Network, concerned with the ongoing direction of the Anglican Church of Canada believes that if this direction continues, full communion with global Anglicanism will be impaired; thus the Network endeavors to set into place the necessary structures to ensure that faithful Anglicans will have a place where they may remain in full communion with the majority of worldwide Anglicans.

There was a much higher than anticipated number of people at the Conference who wanted to be part of the Network. However the majority were strongly inclined to work with the Federation Council as a primary advocacy group seeking to bring reform to the ACC. ARM remains committed to the Federation/Essentials Council: it is part of ARM’s work.

Many of you are on the Essentials email/mailing list. Please make sure your name is on that list, so as to keep up with this important work. Those on email are receiving Essentials messages several times per month, including prayer suggestions. It is costly and more difficult to communicate regularly with those without email. Perhaps you could arrange for someone to receive Essentials messages for you, and print them out. To get on the Essentials list, email to essentials@canada.org with both your mailing and email addresses. You may also telephone the Essentials Office at 1-866-883-7328 or do it through the ARM Office at 1-866-627-1276. ARM would also like your email address as we hope to be able to communicate with you more often when we have the person-power to do it. arm@cyberus.ca

Bishop Malcolm Harding, our ARM Ambassador, is a gifted, Christian leader, and we thank God for him! He continues to travel what he calls “the old sawdust trail” across Canada doing conferences, retreats, and leading Leadership Training (LTI) events. He has been on Vancouver Island and in Newfoundland this Fall, and led one Clergy LTI and the men’s FLAME Conference in the Diocese of Ontario. He was also in the parish that I attend in Montreal to lead a parish LTI. This was really a partial lay LTI, held on Friday evening and all day Saturday, culminating at the main Sunday service. The purpose was to give people a good taste of an LTI, people who would find it difficult to attend a residential Lay LTI. It was a blessed experience for many who attended. There were also six from the parish who had attended a full Lay LTI, and our past Rector had attended a clergy LTI.

The requirements for a parish weekend LTI are that your parish priest has attended a clergy LTI and wants to extend some of this experience to a wider group of people. This can also be done as a group of parishes, with only the expense of bringing in an LTI leader and some meals. It is not residential, as are all regular LTI’s.

Bishop Malcolm and ARM would like to have more and more clergy experience a Clergy LTI. LTI evaluations are as good as you can get for a Christian event. At least one priest claims that the LTI experience saved her ministry. Bishop Malcolm believes that Christian leadership is key to successful parishes: it is not taught at theological colleges! These ARM LTI’s have nurtured many clergy as they have a special time with like-minded fellow clergy and their Lord. The leaders of these events give of their time and share their experience because they believe in this work, as part of the Holy Spirit’s calling through them. Please encourage your priest to take advantage of this opportunity, and assist him financially to attend, if he needs help. Most, but not all clergy have sufficient funds in their Continuing Education Funds, and the major part of these funds come from every parish. I should stress that LTI’s are open to ministers and leaders from other Christian groups.

The first Clergy LTI in the Maritimes will begin on Sunday February 13th in Bathurst NB. There will also be a Lay LTI beginning on February 10th. Plans are under way for Clergy and/or Lay LTI’s in the Edmonton area, North Bay area and Toronto area in 2005, probably in April.

I received some feedback from a recent Lay LTI. There were four from a parish at this event, who all said they were changed people by the Holy Spirit as a result of their experience.

By the time you read this magazine, ARM’s Director of Leadership Training and ARM Board member, Paul Crossland will have moved from Dauphin, MB in Brandon Diocese to Athabaska Diocese, where he and his wife Ann will both be Rectors of the Parish of Boyle.

I ask your prayers for Board of ARM and especially for me, that I may provide God’s leadership for ARM.

Roger Spack is Acting Chair, ARM.