(This message should be displayed with a non-proportional typeface,
such as Courier or Terminal.)
------------------------------------------------------------
___________________________________
S y n o d N E W S e x t r a
friday, june 2, 1995
the primate's
presidential address
___________________________________
p r e s i d e n t i a l
a d d r e s s
The Primate welcomed the Synod not as delegates but as
members, chosen to exercise responsibility and
accountability for the good of the whole of the Anglican
Church of Canada no matter how strong their local and
regional commitments.
Speaking in French, the Primate indicated the presence of
the Governor General, noting that it was the first time
since 1918 that the Governor General had attended the Synod.
His visit witnesses to the deep interaction between his role
as chief of state and the role of our church in Canadian
life.
Some years ago the Governor General had received the right
to confer coats of arms and the church had decided at the
time of the General Synod's centenary to "repatriate" our
heraldic tradition. The Governor General's act this evening
(in conferring the arms of the Anglican Church of Canada)
would reinforce our vocation to be a church of our own
place, embedded in a multicultural context and at the
service of the people among whom God has placed us.
The theme of this Synod is "prepare the way," words in the
Book of Isaiah which were written during the exile of Jewish
captives from their homeland by a prophet who called people
to prepare the way for God who would turn upside down all
the suffering and sorrow of the present reality.
This prophet chose to see the salvation of a people rather
than their death and, without rejecting the learnings of the
past, he called his people to let go of what had been and
accept a "new thing.'. The Primate quoted Walter Brueggemann
who has argued that, "the loss of the authority of the
dynasty and temple in Jerusalem is analogous to the loss of
certainty, dominance and legitimacy in our own time." Both
State and Church have come under fire: the vision of
Canadians is diminished and the church is holding together
with a sense of unease, even fearfulness.
The Primate said he wanted to call his hearers to hope, to
new imagination, and to look with the eyes of the prophet
and choose to see a new thing.
The Synod has gathered in Ottawa, the nation's capital and
consequently for some a place of anger, blame, and distrust.
At the same time, Ottawa is a symbol of unity, chosen to be
the capital of the young nation as a new beginning beyond
the sectional identity of major francophone and anglophone
centres. Ottawa is a good place to search not for what
distinguishes us from everybody us, but for what unifies us
with everyone else, for the search for what unifies us is
the source of our ultimate hope. Preparing the way
(searching for the things of the Spirit) means risking more
chaos but it also means openness to the possibility of
grace, connection, relationship.
The Primate recalled that three years ago the General Synod
had asked the National Executive Council to develop a
strategic planning process for presentation to this Synod.
The NEC has applied itself to this task. A small group
called "the Beginners" coordinated consultations in many
areas and levels of the church. Slowly a plan was shaped and
a proposal is before the Synod which will involve members in
testing, assessing, wrestling together in order to make it
their own and eventually discern the will of God.
The Primate reported that in May 1993 the NEC asked that he
apologize on behalf of the church around issues relating to
former residential schools at a time when he felt it
appropriate. He listened for two days to stories about the
effects of these schools at the second Native Convocation in
August 1993. The time was right and he made the apology and
he remains grateful for the opportunity to participate, for
the openness of the participants, and for the grace of their
acceptance of the apology. Not everyone has agreed with his
words and some have felt targeted or blamed. He said these
people are not to blame; however the church was captive to a
system which did much damage and in which specific instances
of abuse were well-documented. The apology was meant to
acknowledge the past and to prepare for God's new thing.
In 1994 representatives of the indigenous people of the
Anglican Church agreed to call their people into a new
self-determining community within the church and to work as
partners with those who would help them build a truly
Anglican indigenous church in Canada. The Anglican Church of
Canada has been involved with the indigenous people from the
beginning. Since 1969 we have been trying to walk a new
path, marked more by common cause in concerns identified by
the aboriginal community, and now we are called into a new
partnership which will involve both loss and gift but also
potential for growth and dialogue and "mutual responsibility
and interdependence."
The last General Synod began to address the issue of
homosexuality which is on the agenda of societies
everywhere, including the Anglican Communion. The recent
Primates' meeting called for a process of reflection, which
we began in 1992 with a forum which highlighted both
differences and our ability to speak honestly and listen in
a context of support and caring.
The 1992 Synod set in motion the development of the Task
Force on Homosexuality and Homosexual Relationships which
will report later in the Synod, providing opportunity for
hearing and response. Throughout history the church has
wrestled with issues of discipline and has, for example, in
the cases of divorce and contraception been able to change
its discipline while making it clear that there is no change
in doctrine. Issues of morality are so conditioned by
culture and mores that they are unlikely to stand tests of
time and eternity applicable to doctrine. The Primate called
the Synod to participate with sensitivity, reminding members
that they will be discussing not only principles but people.
During the last three years the church has had to address
reduced resources at diocesan and national levels. The
national church has had to cut block grants to the North and
to partner churches and last year cut national staff by more
than 20 positions. This situation has led to tensions, but
also to a will to be and work together. Signs are
encouraging. Dioceses report better results and the Anglican
Appeal last year reached its goal.
Last June there was a gathering in Montreal known as
Essentials, which has led to ongoing local meetings. Those
involved have reflected love for the church and a resolve to
wrestle with the basics of the faith. The process has
produced lively debate and discussion and we can only be
better for it. At the same time, the Primate said he wanted
to discourage a tendency to suggest that one group is right
and another not--a tendency that moves into issues of power
and talk about winners and losers rather than brothers and
sisters. He said he would pray that we will be generous in
our common search.
In this troubled age some people say the church is giving in
to the trends of the times. But the real danger is not in
yielding in ethics or morality or in forsaking scripture or
the Christian faith but is the battle against cynicism and
hopelessness. The prophet of the exile chose to believe in
and to proclaim hope. Let us choose the path of hope and
demand of one another that we be the Body of Christ and thus
prepare the way for God to do a new thing among us.
------------------------------------------------------------
* END OF TEXT *