I think our church needs to be about . . . CHILDREN.

Holy Baptism !

Holy smoke, I say. ( Wasted opportunities, time after time. ) We treat this opportunity as a ” one of” when really, it can become a life long love of our Anglican way.

Young parents may not attend church, but they sure want their babe’s blessed in this ancient ritual.

Babes in arms offer a wonderful opportunity to engage the child’s family. The extended family too, as they often participate in the Christening. Let us . . . love them !  Invite them back, tell them we need them to do a small, specific task ( reading next Sunday ? ) Later, call to see how the baby is doing, send a card . . . casually, with kindness & interest. Odds are, out of ten babies baptised, a church could offer at least three families a home !

A Nursery; clean, bright & well equipped is an essential ministry. Volunteers can paint & reupholster old furniture.  Nursing Mothers would appreciate the quiet spot. Infants and toddlers have a safe place to play while parents worship. Volunteers can, flexibly, take turns looking after the room 7 little ones.

Sunday School ! This is too often an area of gloom. People will come forward to be teachers, if clear lessons are available and they are honoured.

Children want God. They are intensely curious about Him. Stories of Jesus, told well, will be the rock each child builds their faith on.

The Diocese of Keewatin has a ” Virtual Sunday School,” on line. Each week’s lessons, tied to the lectionary, are downloadable.

A new Google Group, Canadian Anglican Sunday School Teachers” brings opportunities for all teachers, rural & urban, to share ideas and care about each other. Coast to coast to coast !

Clergy can offer children the chance to greet, to serve, to pass the collection plate, to read to make their own Prayers of the People.

Vestry can include children’s interests in each monthly meeting.

The parish will accept children, as soon as children begin to be more valued.

If this happens, our church will continue.

Thank you.

Coline B.

What are my prayers and my dreams for the Anglican Church in 2019? I remember someone saying that when you ask people what their dreams are for their parish, diocese, national church and the Anglican Communion, the trick is not to tell them that they are really praying. Our dreams are our prayers.

First of all, I would see the Church being strong, loving and wise.  Strong enough to stand up for what it believes to be right. Loving enough to live together in spite of our differences and difficulties. Wise enough to steer a path that will carry us forward to 2019 and for years beyond.

Martin H. from Edmonton has provided us with a wonderful image in the parable of the snake.  While it continues to be a snake, it periodically renews itself by shedding its skin. It does not look back to what its skin used to be but forward to what it may become. While continuing to be the Church,  the Anglican Church of Canada, as a constituent member of the Anglican Communion continues to grow, to face old and new challenges, to continually reflect on what it means to be the people of God in God’s world.

May we recognize each other, walk together  in spite of differences in race, colour, doctrinal positions, gender, sexual orientation, financial status, seeing God’ s love reflected to all person in each other, One of my favourite quotes is from Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “there is nothing we can do that will make God love us less, there is nothing we can do that will make God love us more,”

My academic interest is the development of the Church and Christian doctrine and theology. St. Athanasius was exiled from Rome at least six times before his view of the Trinity was accepted as orthodox.  Wecannot expect to solved all the questions surrounding human sexuality and other isuues in twenty of thirty or forty years.  We need to walk together respecting both those who want change and those who do not.

I remember a prayer  that Bishop Timothy Matthew used to us, it is most applicable to the church today

May the Lord Jesus who walks with wounded feet

walk with you to the end of the road

May the Lord Jesus who serves with wounded hands, help you to serve one another.

May the Lord Jesus who loves with a wounded heart be your love.

Bless God where ever you go, and may you find the face of the Lord Jesus in the face of every one you meet.

May God bless us all.

Warren M.

How I see the Anglican Church now and my hope for the Anglican Church in 2019..

I have been an Anglican all my life. The Anglican Church has been the vehicle by which I have been privileged to express my Christian faith. I love the richness and dignity of all it has to offer, the worship, which involves ones whole being, high regard for scripture, as the recorded word of God, the sacraments, the emphasis on tradition and reason. It allows me to express my faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in fullness and reasonableness.

But I am saddened that there are things happening that have greatly disappointed and grieved me in its leadership over the past years.

The church is in a terrible crisis – people are hurt, people have left the church. Relationships have been strained or broken. People felt so strongly that they were not being listened to – totally ignored and that there was no alternative but to form their own branch.

Many in the pews are wondering what is happening and don’t know the truth of the matter.

One of the most frequent questions asked in any group within the church is “Why are young families and young people not coming into the church”?

Congregations are getting smaller and funds are getting scarce.

When over the last number of years we have made all sorts of changes to make the services and everything relevant to their needs –new liturgies, new prayer book and hymn book, new hymns etc – but they haven’t come!

If the church isn’t offering anything different than the society in which we live is there any good reason for people to attend? They want the church to stand for something and not be just another organization for entertainment.

The Bible is being interpreted to make it say what we want it to say as if those great Anglican Christians of the past had got it all wrong and we in our enlightened age have been given some great new revelation of God.

In 2019 I would hope to see the Anglican Church turn again to the truth and richness of the faith of Jesus Christ and teach all who come through its doors that faith thus enabling it to rise above the culture of the day as St. Paul did in the many places that he ministered.

Yes we can be very good at caring for those in need which is very important but the faith is far deeper than that. We must teach why we are who we are!

Jesus said “If you love me you will keep my commandments”. To love is to live and to edify God’s ways through an informed faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. Human nature has not changed no matter how sophisticated we may think we have become we all need the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ!

The church is to make a difference in the world, not the world making a difference in the church.

I believe God is alive in the Anglican Church throughout the world and will continue to be in 2019  but we must get our priorities straight.

Lord hear our prayer!

Where is the Church Today?

• The Anglican Church of Canada is madly trying to define itself to help us pull out of the theological and financial crisis we are in — and that’s good as long as we don’t become too introspective.
• The Anglican Church of Canada is just starting to move itself out of being a somewhat  power-driven Institutional Church where rules and individual power can rule and speed of change is often  measured in decades rather than in months.
• The Anglican Church of Canada in places is experiencing winds of the spiritual renewal but not across theological, geographical, diocesan or generational lines. God is, I believe, alive in our ACC and sowing seeds of Hope and there are places alive with His Spirit.

What is my vision for the ACC in 2019?

• My dream is that more of our very able theologians will dedicate themselves to publishing so that we can begin to define who we are and not have to look only to other provinces.
• My dream is that we will be celebrating open altars across this country where all who feel drawn to Christ may partake of the Eucharist.
• My dream is that lay people will be taking their rightful place within ACC,  will be telling their own stories of their faith journeys and will be working alongside our ordained to build a Church faithful to our Baptismal Covenant.
• My dream is that we will have had the courage to re-structure the organization of our ACC without throwing out the essence of who we are as Anglicans.
• My dream is that we will recognize, be open to and listen to the voice of our modern-day prophets who may come from unsuspecting places.
• My dream is that God will still be alive in the ACC and that more ministry and mission will be done to the glory of God.

God bless us everyone in our journeys in the next 10 years!

I attach two files. One is the homily I preached this last Sunday.

What follows is a transcription of the prayers people handed in after the homily, a selection of which were read as part of the Prayers of the People.

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Our Sunday School teachers, at our opening meeting of the year took time to respond to the Church wide exercise for Vision 2019.  Please find below our collective responses.  Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the direction of our Church.

Where is our Church now?

• At a crossroads-division is hurting many.
• We remain a strong community despite recent tribulations.
• Struggling financially-locally and nationally.

Where do you want the ACC in 2019?

• Unified-recognizing the diverse congregations W/I the AC and celebrate and embrace it!
• remain true to our faith, doctrine and Bible teachings.
• young people uplifted to want to be involved.
• to build passion in people of all ages.
• the Bible will continue to be recognized as the word of God.
• that we as Anglicans will continue to be true to the core doctrine of our Church.
• As Anglicans we need to spread the word of God and particularly, involve the youth in receiving this message and sharing this message.
• A growing Church
  1. people
  2. relationships
  3. friendships
• Planting seeds-talking about our faith
• Growth without the focus on money
• Breaking down denominational barriers by joining youth programs with other Churches-barriers-based on relationships, let’s develop positive relationships
• Worship-be willing to change to make it easier-explain the liturgy-teaching why we do what we do-Instructed Eucharist, etc.
• Community outreaching

Submitted by the Rev. Bob Bettson, Rector South Parkland Parish, Diocese of Brandon, from a homily preached on August 3,2008 at St. Paul’s, Dauphin, Manitoba

On October 5th 1952, at the age of almost five months, I was baptized in an afternoon ceremony at St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church in Toronto. Only my parents and godparents were present along with the priest. That’s the way baptism was done then. It wasn’t a parish event.

But that day I became a member of the body of Christ, part of the Anglican Church of Canada, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

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