I am a military chaplain who has spent the last 20 years serving in this interfaith ministry. I have been lucky enough because of my postings to have served the church in a number of Canadian dioceses, in Europe and on operational postings around the world. I have come to value many things about the Anglican Church that I had previously taken for granted and I have come to the realization that some of the things that I once thought important or necessary are really trappings. When I have been in a position that has allowed it, I have worked hard to maintain my Anglican identity by helping at the local parish.
This summer I am again in the midst of a posting and moving away from a local congregation where I have been associated as an honorary priest for the past 3 years. In my final sermon in that place I used the Vision 2019 concept as the starting point for my sermon. In that sermon I suggested that there were 3 areas where I would like to see my church place some or greater emphasis in the next decade. All 3 of these are ministries mandated in the New Testament and at the core of Jesus ministry among us.
The first is the ministry of building relationships. Human beings are social creatures and in our increasingly technological world there are fewer and fewer human contacts. The extended family has been replaced with the extended friend list on Facebook. Your friendly neighbourhood bank teller has been replaced by a cash machine and online banking. Your checkout clerk at the supermarket has been replaced by an automatic checkout counter. You all know what is happening. Our small communities are disappearing. Our homes are being increasingly configured in such a way that the front porch has disappeared replaced by the privacy of the back deck. In this environment the church has the opportunity to be the place where everybody knows your name. We need to put a great deal more energy into building communities inside the walls of our churches. People who are longing for the contact of neighbours and an extended family need to be able to find it in the church.
The second ministry that we need to offer is the gift of hospitality. I have entered far too many Anglican churches in this country where people have been cold and aloof. We need to find ways to evangelize, to tell people who we are and what we have to offer. Just as importantly, we need to welcome people into the church as if they have come into our home. We need people to leave our worshipping communities for the first time feeling as if they couldn’t have gone to a better place. We have to get better at this and our motivation needs to be this: Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for in so doing some have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2.
And the final ministry that I would give greater emphasis is the ministry of healing. Most of us come to church looking for a message of hope and acceptance. We know that we have fallen short and we also joyfully know that God forgives and accepts us. God also empowers us with the ministry of healing and reconciliation. We need to place a greater emphasis on the restorative nature of God so that we can be an empowered and restored people. The oil of unction is our sacramental symbol of this. I am convinced that this oil should be resourced as commonly as bread and wine and water from our sacramental tool chest.
This is the direction I would like to see the church take in the next decade. There is nothing particularly radical or new. Rather, I see it as the recovery of some of the things that will make us more like the New Testament church and provide a real contrast between the ways of the world and THE WAY.
Commander Rev Canon Baxter Park
Military Ordinariate
