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Review responses from other Canadian Anglicans below (most recent responses are at the top). You can also view responses by diocese, and add your own story.
Please find copies of two documents that are part of a work in process for the visioning initiatives for our parish. The first is a statement of welcome approved at our last annual meeting and the second a statement of our vision expressed in the form of a statement of faith. We recognize that a vision is never static and always a work in progress. We look forward to the results of the national project.
The following responses are from the Trinity Anglican Youth Group in Marathon, ON. A discussion was held with the youth, who are on the average 10-12 yrs old, on where our church is and where we want it to be in 2019.
Where we are:
- We are struggling – to keep people coming to church
- We like our congregation, but it is a small one
- We enjoy our church
What we want in 2019 for our church:
- Want the world to be good to people
- Where people don’t hurt people
- No more war
- Help feed the homeless
- More spending time together – fellowship
- Youth more involved in the church – more activities
- Meet together more
- More Fundraising for Mission Work
- Youths to do more “good deeds”
- Priests to give more help to those who don’t believe in Jesus to get the word out, to help them believe
- Priests & Youths to go to people who can’t come to church and hold services or bible studies in their homes
- Wheel chair accessible, easier accessible church
- Youth Pastor – Sunday school
- Give stickers or other promotional items to kids to encourage them to come out to service or youth group
- Find ways to bring more of the youth to our church
Vision 2019
“Where is your church – now?”
Our church seems to be in a slow decline as far as membership is concerned. I have developed a website for our church with the hope that we would become more transparent, reaching out to the people and inviting them to join with us.. http://battleriverparish.ca
I believe that it’s time to get back to the basics. By this I mean that the Gospel should come first, common sense second and tradition third. From what I observe in the church, it would appear that tradition is first, common sense second and lastly comes the Gospel.
I also believe that when sermons are give or the scriptures are read they should be delivered in a like manner as God, Jesus or the disciples would have. I think it’s wrong to make the messages more appealing so that it does not offend anyone. The Lord said “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Is putting a different slant on things written in the Bible any different from altering the words?
“And where do you want the Anglican Church of Canada to be by 2019?”
This question begs the question, what will the church be doing if the Lord returns within the next few years? Is the church ready for our Lords return? What part would our churches play after his return?
I can’t help but wonder why our church is not pointing out to its people, the signs of the times, and how those signs relate to the bible and the coming back of our Lord. Would this not be very interesting to the people and help them prepare for His return? The Lord said “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
In regard to same sex unions, I fail, to be able to find any support for this in the bible. I do not believe that under any circumstance that this could be a “Blessed” union as it would appear to me to be an abomination in our Lords sight. Are we allowing Satan to influence our thinking? We are told in the bible that he will try. As for a marriage I believe this is a Blessed union sanctified by God between a man and a woman only.
I believe that if we all put our heads together, we can build a better church community. We need to find new better and exciting ways to get people involved.
In closing, I want you to know that I am very open minded and am open to comment that might help me see things differently than I have portrayed. I look forward to the results.
May God Bless our Church and oversee the results of this initiative.
Lenn H.
On September 13th our congregations were invited to respond to the Vision 2019 project. We are a 5 point parish in North Central Alberta at the lower end of the Diocese of Athabasca. Three of our congregations are Anglican, one is Lutheran and one is a shared ministry partnership of Anglican & Lutheran.
Unfortunately, not many members took advantage of the invitation to respond. However, here are the responses received.
I am saddened by the current state of the Anglican Church of Canada on a national level. I see bullying tactics being used by many “conservatives” and “liberals” alike in an attempt to force members, parishes, and Dioceses to take sides in issues that those same bullies do not want to “discuss”. Certainly not willing to discuss in open, Christ-centered conversation. They would rather turn away from the table fellowship.
At the same time that I am saddened, I am also excited. I am excited because I believe we are being shook up for a reason. I am also excited at the local level to witness, and be a part of, the ongoing full communion discussions, projects, and programs taking place with other denominations.
I pray that our church will move in to the future focused on our calling as Christians to bring about the Kingdom of God here on earth. Kingdom first, Anglican second. That means being faithful to the Gospel, sometimes saying no, and sometimes yes. We must put Christ and the Cross first in all that we do. I pray that we will seek to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, comfort the afflicted and shine light into the darkness of the world. I pray that we will listen twice as much as we speak. I pray that we will refuse to be bullied. I pray that we will continue conversations at all levels because if we say there is no room for conversation, we are saying there is no room for God.
Lesley+
I think we are in a real crisis and need new leadership that is listening to what God wants us to hear. We need more visiting around the Diocese and Parishes.
Maybe we need to look at the length of time a Bishop stays in office – a little stale being there too long. We need to find a way to minister to the younger generation of today so that we have a full church in 2019.
(author unknown)
We are improving in attendance and have services every week, Having a minister and a lay minister willing to come with strong messages has helped.
In 2019 with the help of our Lord we will have a larger Christian family.
Cecil H.
Where we are now – God bless us, we are working to stay like we are.
Where do I want the Church to be in 2019 – just hope it will be as good as it is now and we pray for the Lord to help keep it there.
(unknown)
Where we are now – In crisis, not focusing on CHRIST. Too many distractions – political and personal.
Where would I like the church to be in 10 years? Still open so we can worship the Lord. I have my doubts, maybe it is lack of faith.
Jo S.
Vision 2019
In 2019 we find a church that is not anxious about protecting its ‘religious turf’ but united with Anglicans and other Christians seeking to know & practice the love of God in the world.
The discussion at St. Marks centered around the Five Marks of Mission
To proclaim the good news of the Kingdom:
Now:
Proclamation happens through many programs related to:
2019
To teach, baptize & nurture new believers:
Now:
2019
To respond to human need through loving service:
Now:
2019:
To seek to transform unjust structures of society.
Now
2019:
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
Now:
2019
VISION FOR THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA 2019
I want a church in 2019 that
By 2019, I hope that the church will have moved past the divisions and struggles of the past ten years related to acceptance of sexuality. We are all children of God.
By 2019, I hope we will be embracing our call and promise to strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being. We spend too much time talking and too little time doing. Few congregations understand what it is to walk in solidarity with people struggling to survive. Few people want to recognize the “third world” in Canada and many think it is far beyond our border. People want to put money in an envelope and think that is all there is.
By 2019, I hope we, the laity, will have gained (regained?) a desire to speak out about our faith and not leave that responsibility to the ordained.
By 2019, I hope to see ministry of all the people. And I hope we will have gained the courage to become truly ecumenical. we seem to preferto each work in our own little silo and have no truck folk from other denominations. We should be embracing of the Lund Principle – to do all things together except those that by conscience we must do apart.
My vision for the Anglican Church of Canada for 2019 is the following:
I feel that the church as it is now has detoured from the path that it was supposed to take. It has become obsessed with issues about gender, marriage, and budgets. When I preach on what the Gospel says to me, I hear comments of, ‘Thankyou, I always get fed when you preach. You challenge us.’ I am sick of reading about division, strife, betrayal and sometimes absolute ignorance of what is happening in our society and what the church is called to do, (or not do.) I am weary of ministering to people who feel marginalized and rejected, not by society but by the church.
However, having said this. I had not answered the question formally before. At my age, I don’t expect to be around in 2019. I kept my vision to myself, except when it was appropriate to express it in sermons etc.
I am now forced to reply, having received that inane poster of a baby wearing a mitre. Is the vision of the National Church a church in which white male Bishops still rule? I hope not. My vision is of an inclusive, multi cultural, gender inclusive church in which the ‘people of God’ means all those who have chosen to take up the cross and follow Christ, whether they are straight, gay, black, white or whatever. It should not matter. This cross section of humanity would not gather in huge buildings that cost the earth to maintain. They would meet in small groups, doing eucharist and then going out to be Christ in the world.
I could go on and on, but this is briefly my reply to your questions.
Lettie J. Montreal
From Holy Trinity Emmanuel Parish, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Sad to say that the Anglican Church is at the point of ignoring the meaning of God’s word, in having the blessing of homosexual or alternative lifestyle. It is time to go back and teach the true word of God, instead of changing the words of the Bible to other beliefs. We should be trying to teach the beliefs of God to others non believers.
By 2019 I would like to see the Anglican Church of Canada to be a good faith to follow. Also to try and put more old time religion in our services. So we can get more younger people involved in the Church. We need more guidance to its members and the world around us.
We are in need of more people, we are not in good shape. The people are aging and we don’t have the young people. We have to figure out what happened to family values. Music is big part of church and we don’t have what youth like.
For 2019 I would like the church to be a family place. Bring back the children, youth. We need a thriving place. Believe in the Lord and make this a better place to live.
The Anglican Church seems to be suffering from becoming increasingly irrelevant, and unattractive to a world, at least in North America, which has other things to be concerned with, and other things of more pressing interest. The Anglican Church in Canada doesn’t seem to function well where duty to be part of church is replaced by a voluntary way. Also the Anglican Church’s message to a “needy world” is confused and not clear as the church responds to conflict from within. Our problems around what is of God and what is not of God has members voting with their feet, while others simply pass us by.
Moving towards 2019 may the words “…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength……You shall love your neighbour as yourself” be both a personal and a corporate mission statement. All other considerations are in this day and age “details” to be worked through.
Perhaps a thought to also keep in mind is the old saying “the devil is in the details” Hmmm…….
The Anglican Church of Canada is now at the point of apostasy. When the church rejects the Word of God as truth or just some collection of fables or attempts to redefine what God has defined then the church is in utter error. The leaders who are trying to redefine the church in this way either need to repent and return to true Christian values and reject the influences of the world around them or they need to be excommunicated from the church.
When 2019 comes I would like the Anglican Church of Canada to be truly representative of the Church of God, even if it means that our numbers will be smaller, for Jesus said in Mt. 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” I would like the Anglican Church of Canada to have eradicated the impure elements (personal and improper doctrines) from the church. I would like the Anglican Church of Canada to be a leader for the Christian community in evangelism, helping the poor and providing clear and proper biblical guidance to its members and the world at large. The reforms need to be exclusive of external influences of the world around and inclusive of the eternal influence of God and His Word. God has a word of warning to the leaders of His Church: From Ezekiel 34.1-10 …..there is prophesy against the shepherds of Israel for many actions of neglect and selfishness that leave the flock scattered, leaderless, hungry, threatened…..”Thus says the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand…”
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