I am so pleased that we, the Anglican Church of Canada, are undertaking this work. It is so vital to our life. If we don’t ask the questions how can we ever know that we are truly enabling God’s kingdom here on earth?

I belong to a long established parish that has seen its attendance drop steadily, year over year, for nearly the last 15 years. We are aging, perhaps 75% of us are over 50, and, I fear, growing less and less relevant to the world around us. We have a very strong sense of “being Anglican” but are we overly comfortable with the status quo? I am not sure. Thus I dream that maybe we can be more …

I dream of a Church (the Anglican Church of Canada) that is open to the Word of God, the breath of the Holy Spirit and the example of Jesus.

I dream of a Church where people know and feel God’s love and presence; where spiritual healing and reconciliation are a way of life.

I dream of a Church that is bold enough to stand against the greed, the wrongs and the prejudices of this world.

I dream of a Church that balances successfully its call to Scripture, tradition and living in the world of today.

I dream of a Church that dares to teach the historical Jesus and preach the Christ of faith, freeing us from mindless literalness.

I dream of a Church that dares to be marked by its inclusiveness and ecumenicality, open to all, regardless of race, colour, gender or sexual orientation (Mk. 12:28-31).

I dream of a Church that dares to make deeds as important as creeds (Matthew 5 ff.)

I dream of a Church that is so relevant to the society in which we live that people choose to come here over other places. Where youth and age worship and celebrate together in growing numbers.

I dream of a Church that dares to be different, experiment and innovate; that nurtures meaningful change; and yet is respectful of those less inclined to these aspects.

I dream of a Church less fixated on its bricks, mortar and administrative structures and more driven by spiritual nurturing and small groups.

And so I dream …

I am heartened by what I read of the Dream the Church Vision 2019 website.

May God continue to guide us and feed us as we work for His good.

Ministry is done at the local level. No serious discussion can begin without that overriding fact and concern. Christians that are Anglican need to concentrate their resources at local levels where people need to find and experience Jesus. We already know that our structures are too onerus. We were told several months ago in our national paper that our layers of oversight from diocese, to province to national church are too complicated and expensive. We need the resources in parishes where ministry and outreach occur.

We elect men and women we respect to be our bishops and thereby pastors. But they are caught in ‘reactive’ crises of one sort or another and seldom have time for parishes or their clergy. We should look at the role of our bishops and determine the efficacy of electing pastors to be personnel directors, problem solvers and disciplinarians in variour crises. Bishops should be a resource to the ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ and the ‘proactivity’ of sharing the ‘Good News’ of Jesus Christ.

We need to innovate! Our services can be varied. Some desperately need joy infused. Some need quiet meditation to centre ourselves on God. Others need to experiment with new ideas as well as those ‘tried and true’ liturgies we love. But Jesus moves as he reaches out, and as His disciples we need to walk with Him on the journey to new challenges and opportunities.

Finally, by 2019 I hope we can recognize that we are the church together you and me. We need to listen with love, (the only commandments Jesus gave), and appreciate different views on divisive issues. The scandal of Christianity is our brokeness when Jesus called us to love one another as He loves us. No position on any issue demands walls of certainty and absolute authority. If we are the living body of Jesus now and in 2019, we had better act like and shoulder responsibility together.