BISHOP'S CHARGE - SYNOD 2000

In the name of God Amen.

First I wish to thank the Clergy, Church Wardens, Lay Delegates and members of Vestries for their participation in preparing for this important Synod. Over 90% of parishes throughout our province and diocese took the opportunity to be a part of the process and struggle with the troubling issues facing the Church today.

The results of your responses make it clear that there is throughout our diocese a profound concern for the loss of younger generations from the Church, and the resulting decline in attendance, and thus aging congregations. Although there are many happy exceptions, mainly in urban and suburban areas, 70% of parishes identify this loss as a number one issue that must be addressed.

Certainly this situation is no surprise. What is new is that for the first time we are naming it and addressing it collectively as a Church, rather than through a few isolated voices. No longer can we pretend that this issue is somebody else's. Having named it we are bound now to address it.

I am also grateful that many of you took the time to suggest to me that these troubling trends are symptoms of a deeper malaise. The loss of our children and grandchildren to the life of the Church is both a cultural and spiritual phenomena that cannot be corrected without a deeper look into things like loss of vision and loss of spirituality.

Any attempt at reversing current trends will involve a serious look at the nature of the Church itself. We must answer important questions: Why God has placed us here? What is our message, our mission, our place of influence in a post-Christendom world?

Throughout all your responses, although seldom named, there is both a deep dissatisfaction with the status quo and a deep desire to reverse current trends.

Nothing would thrill us more than to see our churches attracting two, three, even four generations of people worshipping God together and living that faith out in our homes and communities. If this is to come about it will mean change - change in vision, change in attitudes, change in people's hearts and souls. As Bishop Medley said in a Synod of 1871 "If the Church is to make progress and to show such signs of life as to make it worthwhile for any person to join her she must meet the want of the present generation. Let me repeat that - she must meet the want of the present generation, not be proclaiming old stereotype formulas and negative propositions, but by presenting all scriptural and Catholic truth to the minds of the young in a way that can interest and attract them."

In the weeks following Easter many of the readings from the lectionary are from the Acts of the Apostles. It is the story of the first century Church, its first weeks and years. What I noticed most of all is how the Church struggled with change, how it moved from being a small Jewish sect to a faith fit for its world mission. How it became attractive to people of every race, age and gender. Some of the things I have noticed in the readings are that it was a Church certain of God's mandate and mission, clear in its message to proclaim Christ crucified and risen, dependent on the Holy Spirit and had a willingness to suffer to make all this happen. These ecclesial activities, although obvious, are essential to the well being of the Church not only in the first century but in the 21st.

There was a time scarcely forty years ago when the culture around us was sympathetic, indeed supportive, to Christian belief. The public school system supported it, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation supported it, but because of this interdependence with our culture the Church perhaps lost its distinctive and redemptive edge. But those days are gone. In the 21stcentury the Church that shows "such signs of life as to attract a new generation" will be a growing church - clear about why it exists, clear about its message, clear about its energy source, clear about its willingness to change and willing to pay the cost of that change.

What then is our strategy? Given what the people have said to us, what must we do to be the Church in the 21st century? I am suggesting to you a four point plan for discussion.

FIRST, we must build up and strengthen the Church as it now exists. Before we can invite younger generations to return to the Church we, the Church of today, must be clear about what we offer them, clear about our mission to our world, clear about what we believe and the difference it makes in our lives.
SECOND, having got our own spiritual house in some order we must actively engage people of all ages in our communities, beginning perhaps with those in our own families, especially our own young people. We can do this by learning to share our faith story, by using music appropriate to their culture, by worshipping in ways that both maintain our rich heritage as well as relate to their needs and passions, and by opening the doors of our churches to welcome them with a message that brings redemption and acceptance.
THIRDLY, we must give ourselves the resources we need to accomplish this mission. One of deficits of the Church is the lack of relevant resources we offer our people, resources that build up their faith and prayer life. The training of resource leaders at the local level will be essential if the Church is to grow and develop.
FOURTH we must be able to finance this energetic and ambitious programme. Whether it is for training or educational resources, money will be needed to make it happen. At the present moment the diocese finds itself incurring regular deficits, and many parishes are only able to maintain their buildings and pay their clergy, leaving nothing for new initiatives. This serious situation must be addressed as soon as possible with a plan of stewardship and financial development that is relevant and appropriate for our local situations.

I return then to PRIORITY NUMBER ONE The building up of our present Church. I want to say at the outset that as I journey around our diocese and visit you in your parishes I do not find hopelessness. In fact I find a profound sense of faith and hope. Although our churches are smaller, they are more committed and deeper in Spirit, and I rejoice in that. But as I said earlier we cannot attract younger generations until we have clarity as to who we are as a Church, and what our role is. In his interesting book "Where is a Good Church" Dr. Don Posterski suggests four life signs that he notices that are common to growing and living churches in every region of Canada. These qualities are - orthodoxy, relevance, community, and outreach, and we need to understand and embrace these four themes.

FIRST then, churches that are alive and growing are rooted and grounded in the faith of scripture, the Creeds and the continuing tradition of the Church. But they are also churches that spend effort in teaching that faith, that encourage their members to a life of private prayer and study as well as group Bible Study. Any survey of our membership would reveal a dangerous majority of Anglicans who do none of the above. Knowledge of the scriptures is essential to any renewal. Until we ourselves are built up in the faith we will have little to say to others.
SECOND, churches that are alive and growing are those who seek to make their faith relevant to the daily lives of its members. This includes relevance in preaching, worship and music, and mid-week learning programmes. It also includes programmes and support systems that reach people in their brokenness and pain.
THIRDLY, churches that are alive and growing are those who work at being communities. A member of Vestry in one of our rural parishes wrote me expressing pain over the divisions in her parish. She said "people need to feel parts of the whole instead of just pieces". I find that statement very profound. Churches where members and potential members are warmly welcomed and where you feel that "they know your name and are glad you came" are well on the road to spiritual health.
FOURTHLY, Posterski says churches that are alive and growing have a ministry of outreach to their communities. Seeing a crying need, whether it be for a Day Care facility or a Food Bank, a Drop-In Centre for youth the Church must respond in service and love for those outside itself.

Certainly these four vital signs and activities are not all we need to be, but it is a model that can be used to test the vital life signs in our parish's life. I will be asking the Board of Programme to see this portion of my Charge as their mandate for months to come. But implementation will only happen by the initiative of local and parish leadership. Although
resources and training can be available we depend on the Clergy, Wardens and Vestries to make it happen.

THE SECOND PART of our plan has to do with the REACHING OUT to those who are not yet part of our Church, but could be if we can meet their needs. Vital to this enterprise is learning how to communicate our faith to a younger generation. This not only includes teens of course but their parent's generation as well, those between 35 and 55. The key players in this enterprise are parents, grandparents, clergy, Sunday School teachers, and frankly, every member of the existing church. In the Baptism service the congregation is asked "Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?" And although we all say Yes to it, few of us know how to do it!! I believe we must learn how, and then we must do it.

To do so, I suggest five directions:

THE FIRST has to do with the life and attitude of each congregation. Each one of us must work hard at being a warm, welcoming community of people. The old saying goes "they'll know we are Christians by our love." In short we must relearn the New Testament gift of hospitality, that spirit of gracious generosity and openness where the seeker of God encounters acceptance, care and attention from us. As St. Paul wrote "be devoted to one another, be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, share with God's people who are in need, live in harmony with each other, practice hospitality."
In a culture where community has been reduced by self interest to a collection of self interest groups, fighting to get their own way, we, the Church, must offer the clear alternative of the Body of Christ - although many and different One in Jesus Christ.
SECONDLY we must develop a new focus on the Christian home. By far the greatest legacy we can give our children and grandchildren is our Christian faith. To that end parents must be equipped with training and resources to enable them to articulate their own faith to their children. Simple attractive printed Grace held between the salt and the pepper on every family table would be a beginning!
No longer will our children learn their faith in school or from their friends in the street. They will find it only at home and in Church. Parents especially must learn to articulate their own personal faith to their children. Through all of this we must learn in a broader sense new methods, new strategies to communicate our faith to a younger generation, beginning with the family in a Christian home.
THIRD We must learn new ways of engaging the culture around us. We need to engage it, but never marry it again. We must be aware of its emptiness, critical of its values, responsive to its needs. We must be in a position to offer people in our communities a clear choice, a life of meaning over one of despair, a life of giving over a life of taking, a life of grace over a life of self.
FOUR We must listen to the voices of our young people. These are those, our children and grandchildren who in a broken and confused world hunger for a relationship with God, and yet too often regard the Church as foreign territory. We must listen to their repeated cries for meaning for worship, inspiring music and a clear and articulate proclamation of God's Word.
The last thing young people are asking for is a watered down version of the Christian faith. They just want the truth of Christ in the language they can understand. To this end we need to support programmes for young people, of summer camps, Teens Encounter Christ as well as clusters of parishes, where practical, should consider a joint ministry to youth, sharing the cost of leadership and resources.
I would also suggest a Youth Synod to be held in the Fall of 2001 for the double purpose of encouraging the youth of the diocese as well as giving diocesan leadership an opportunity to listen to their concerns.
FIVE - The music of the Church. Anglicans have a rich heritage of music. Part of the tradition of common prayer and the nature of our worship is participation. Music both provides this essential participation and also lifts the soul as we experience God's power and presence in worship. But music is never a static endeavour, it changes and responds to the culture of the times. A century and a half ago Bishop Medley wrote a series of hymns to make worship more contemporary and to offer an alternative to Methodist choruses. So in our time music in the Church must meet the want "of the present generation" by texts that are faithful to scripture and written in melodies that reflect our contemporary times. I am not suggesting that we loose the good old hymns. They are indispensable to our future, but we must be open to the new as well.

In all of this God is calling only to be His Church, the Body of His Son on earth. No longer a majority institution with privilege and power, but rather that New Testament Church, a minority movement clear about its mission, clear about its message, clear about its power source, and also clear about the brokenness and lostness of people's lives and their desperate need for God's grace.

THE THIRD PART OF OUR STRATEGY is equipping the Church with the right resources to accomplish our task. Let me speak of our spiritual resources, human resources and written and manufactured resources.

FIRST It must be said, that the work of renewal is always the work of the Holy Spirit. "Unless the Lord build the house their labour is in vain that built it". All our efforts, therefore, must be motivated and encouraged by our will to be in line with God's will. Nothing long term or too significant can happen unless we, the leadership of the Church, are dependent upon God's Spirit and Grace for growth. Therefore, it is central to the process that we, the Church, pray for a spirit of openness and receptiveness so that God's transforming power can work among us. We must pray "that things that have been cast down will be raised up, that things which have grown old will me made new, and that all things maybe brought to their perfection in Christ".
SECOND A rich resource in our diocese rests in our people. As I travel from church to church I am always encouraged by the gifts that God has given His people. I also sense these gifts need to be encouraged and put to work on the local level. Training and continuing education will be a necessary part of the future of the Church. We have already made several beginnings at this through our Layreader Training Programme, the new Christian Education Consultant, and Christ and His Family weekend. Many clergy in the diocese have expressed the need for continuing education, and I will be suggesting an annual clergy school to meet these needs. As well as our leadership needs, the deep pool of talent in our lay membership needs to be encouraged, equipped and empowered.
THIRDLY- We will need to discover and invest in written and technical resources so that we can communicate the message of Christ to our present Church, as well as new members as they come to us. Creative resources for worship, education, and outreach are essential. These resources are available, but we must find them and use them. The Alpha programme has offered the Church a good beginning in this direction. But there is more, much more.

THE FOURTH AND FINAL PART OF OUR STRATEGY has to do with the financial resources of the Church. The subject of money in church is often treated like a "burp at a banquet". Over the past few years, although income to our parishes has been level, expenses have increased causing deficit positions for some parishes as well as for the diocese.

We need new resources and training, but how can we afford it if we can't meet our annual income targets? Too often the maintenance of beautiful but tired buildings, together with the cost of clergy and other staff, consumes all our resources leaving little for anything new or creative. To make renewal and strengthening of our Church possible, programmes of stewardship and financial development must be given a much higher priority and profile.

People invest in what they really believe in. A problem for many of our people is that the credibility of the Church has taken a beating in the last number of years. The institutional church with all its problems is probably not regarded as a great investment. But the renewal of people and congregations will bring a change to this so that as people see things that were broken are being put right, and things old made new, they will respond.

A few months ago I was driving through the country with one of our priests. Up on a hill I caught sight of a new church gleaming in the sun. What's that? I asked. Oh, he said, that is a new independent church. Five families mortgaged their homes to make it possible - Wow. Those five families must have really believed their church was a good investment.
A programme of stewardship and financial development must be part of our creative future. Here the diocese must take initiative. It will mean finding the right resources and leadership, and possibly the employment of a consultant for a short time. And then parishes will be equipped and confident in their stewardship initiatives.

So, as I conclude, let me summarize the four main points of my Charge:

FIRST - we must build up and strengthen the Church as it now exists.
SECOND - we must reach out to those who are not yet part of our Church but could be.
THIRD - we must equip ourselves with the resources to do these two things, and
FOURTH - we must give stewardship and financial development a higher priority and profile

It must be clear that although the Bishop and Synod can initiate programmes and directions, implementation will only come by the will and effort of each parish. If there is to be a change in direction, in attitude and spirit, it will be at the will of each Parish Corporation and Vestry. As I have said before, the parish is the engine of Mission in this diocese. The diocese exists to lead, to support and to unite our efforts.

I now commend this Charge to you, members of this Synod. I ask you to read it - in your own time before morning and sincerely pray for the Holy Spirit to guide your sharing and discussion tomorrow, so that we, as the Church in this diocese, might fulfil the mind of Him who loves the Church and gave His life for it - Jesus Christ our Lord! - Amen