“Where is your church now, and where do you want the Anglican Church of Canada to be by 2019?”
I find this process a real challenge since I prefer to discuss these questions with a small group of different minded people.
That said I don’t have the time right now to bring together people and submit the results to you, but maybe in time you might consider facilitate focus groups to obtain opinions using this method.
I believe the Anglican Church of Canada represents a wide variety of spiritualities and religious beliefs and this is good since I believe God’s grace is found in diversity. However, at the grace roots I don’t experience the embracing of diversity, tolerance and inclusion. An example is reflected in the prayers of the people when victims and not assailants are prayed for. What ever happened to the practice of reaching out to our so-called enemies?
In 2019 I want to the Anglican Church of Canada to be in partnership with other faiths, sharing outreach programs, spiritual development programs, worship, and buildings. I want the church to be more than tolerant of others to the point of embracing, accepting and inclusive. I want the Anglican Church to be truly representative of the cultural demographics of the locations where there are congregations. I would like to see the fostering of hospitality, outreach, spiritual development and a sense of compassion for all people. For too long the church, being the people, has practiced an attitude of take it or leave. In other words if you don’t like the worship and the program go somewhere else. I believe this contradicts the Christian mission as I understand it. I support a concept being put forward by W.Paul Jones in his book The Art of Spiritual Direction: Giving and Receiving Spiritual Guidance, that placed spiritual direction at the centre of church and faith development. The sepcific chapter is entitled, “Spiritual Direction and Church Renewal.” I like the idea that church renewal requires individual and corporate renewal using the sensitive attention to individual and group spiritual direction. Worship as I understand it and experience it is group spiritual direction and needs to be planned and facilitated with this in mind. Worship is not merely a predetermined diet that has no consideration for the unique needs of individuals and groups that make up the church at any given time. Paul Jones is now a Roman Catholic priest who supports some of the practices and example of John Wesley, which appears to me to be in itself the embracing of diversity, and a willingness to learn from various traditions.
I welcome this opportunity to express these views to you. I wish you well in these endeavours.
Blessings
Peter+
What would it look like,this partnership with other faiths? Worship, say.
Could we worship with Muslims? They think Jesus is a prophet, but not God’s Son. They think he wasn’t crucified on the cross.
For Anglicans who are Christians, we see Jesus as Saviour of our souls, having offered to God a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, one that demonstrates God’s grace to sinners.
These beliefs are incompatible. Christians and Muslims do not worship the same diety.
I don’t get what you’re saying – it certainly doesn’t make sense. If you’re thinking of sharing worship with other Christians of a different denomination, then I’m all for it. God’s Kingdom transcends denominational lines when Jesus is at the centre of our interest. That’s why so many Christian radio stations are successful. The speakers preach the Scriptures, not church life. The songs magnify Jesus Christ, and CHristians can wholeheartedly worship him without constraints of denominational focus.