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Introduction - from anglican.ca

The Anglican Church of Canada has launched “A Changing Church”, a new strategic planning initiative that will explore the theme “A Changing Church, A Searching World and a Faithful God” and come up with concrete initiatives that will help to unify Canadian Anglicans in embracing the future with confidence and in faith. 

Vision 2019  had drawn to a close and it is time to refocus the work of the National Church over the next decade to better serve the needs of dioceses, parishes and individual Anglicans. As Anglicans we rely on each other to do our part. There are some things best done locally, others best done at the diocesan level and other things of a national or international level that are better done through the National Church.

As the world changes, so must we. The issues of 10 years ago are not necessarily today’s or tomorrow’s priorities. We need to become more agile to ensure our Church’s continued relevance to the spiritual, social and environmental preoccupations of Anglicans of today and those of tomorrow.

How can we offer our gifts to the world, boldly and clearly, in the years ahead? How can we make the most impact in the world with our collective Anglican voice?  How does Anglicanism transform in the midst of our communities, our dioceses and the nation? How can we harness the talent and energy of our youth and speak to their inner search for peace, love and justice? How can we ensure the future sustainability of a vibrant, Gospel-based Indigenous ministry serving Indigenous communities, situated at the heart of our Church?

Archbishop Linda Nicholls writes:

July 22, 2020

My dear fellow Anglicans,

Last July, General Synod in Vancouver passed resolutions calling on the Council of General Synod:

  • to develop and initiate a process to re-examine the mission and structures of General Synod; and,
  • in partnership with the entire church, prayerfully to undertake a strategic planning process for the ministry and mission of the national church, for presentation at General Synod 2022 in Calgary.

It was recognized that this work would need to take place in the context of other discussions around the governance and financial resources of General Synod.

A Strategic Planning Working Group was formed.  Over the fall and winter, they began their work, including:

  • reviewing the outcomes of the national church’s previous plan, Vision 2019;
  • commencing a scan of the internal and external realities facing the church;
  • conducting interviews and surveys with key leaders and staff;
  • developing plans for an extensive consultation process across the church.

The Working Group reported to CoGS in mid-March, just as the COVID-19 lockdown was coming into effect. As we know, everything changed at that moment, and we continue to live in a state of anxiety, uncertainty, and a kind of suspended animation.  Much in our lives will never be the same again.

As Primate, I concluded that no part of the church’s life and work could or should proceed according to “business as usual” – including our strategic planning process.  I suggested, and the Working Group quickly agreed, that we would form a series of “listening groups” to listen actively and openly, attentively and carefully, appreciatively and respectfully, to what Canadian Anglicans are saying, thinking and feeling at this unique time about their church, at the local, diocesan and national levels.

We invited small groups of representative clergy and laity from across the church to come together, organized according to particular areas of interest and responsibility; e.g. younger clergy, people particularly concerned with issues of social justice, etc.  Listening sessions last about ninety minutes, and are structured around a few open-ended questions.  A member of the Strategic Planning Working Group, and a member of CoGS, act as “chief listener” and note-taker for each group.

A full list of the groups, their leaders and participants, can be found below. Please note that some groups are still finalizing their membership. It’s simply not possible to include everyone or every subject in this first round of conversations, but we continue to be open to input from all, and will be introducing many other ways to expand the consultations as we move forward.

As I write, the first sessions have just begun to take place, using remote video conferencing technology. The intention is for each group to meet two or three times over the rest of the summer and into the fall. By November, we will knit together the themes and strands of all the conversations, share them with Council of General Synod and with the whole church, and use them as the basis for the next stages of developing our strategic plan.

It is my hope that this intentional, extended, collective listening process will embody in practice the vision of a mutually interdependent Anglican Church of Canada that I have sought to describe in my paper “On Being Church.” I invite you to read it here and watch it here.

Please pray for this work as it unfolds. One helpful prayer resource is available here. Please visit this Strategic Planning web page regularly for future updates. And please feel free to reach out with your comments and questions.

Yours in Christ,

+Linda Nicholls

 

More about the initiative at anglican.ca (scroll down and expand the headings)