From many peoples and places, we have come to London, Ontario, Gichi Nibi (Ojibwe), to walk together in the forty-fourth session of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, under the inspiring theme, They Will Soar on Wings Like Eagles. Welcome, and may the peace of Christ be with you all. Thank you, Bishop Todd and the Diocese of Huron, for your gracious and generous hospitality. Thank you, church, for the trust you have placed in me to serve as your Acting Primate. It has been an immense privilege to be the bridge between the14th and 15th Primate of our church.
For centuries, the Deshkan Ziibi, the flowing waters of the Antler River in London, have had great significance for the Anishinaabe, the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, the Haudenosaunee, and the Lunaapeewak peoples who have lived close to them.
We give thanks for the enduring presence of the first peoples of our land on this and on all the other lands we call home as we commit to walking the road of peace, truth telling, justice seeking and reconciliation with Sacred Circle and all God’s people who are part of it.
This area, known as The Forks, was a vital meeting and trading site for First Nations peoples, and later also for the settlers. It has served as a strategic location for transportation and gatherings due to its accessibility and natural resources. The Antler River is a source of life, sustenance and spiritual connection for Indigenous communities.
It is a place of remembrance, of ceremony, of healing and connection. Over the next five days, we will be engaging in all these things, and so it seems most appropriate for us to be meeting here at The Forks to do this holy God-given work.
“Whatever you do,” writes St. Paul, “work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” (Colossians 3:23) God has declared that our shared and holy work here has value, and so it does.
So let us offer all we do and say as something beautiful for God, strengthening the ties that bind us to one another in agape love through prayer, study of the scriptures and joy-filled worship, through our careful listening and through the opportunities we are given for thoughtful discussion and lively debate.
I extend an especially warm welcome to those of you for whom this is your very first General Synod, our youth delegates, those for whom General Synod is something never to be missed, and of course, our invited and honoured guests:
The Most Rev. Marinez Bassotto, Bishop of the Diocese of Amazonia and Primate of the Episcopal Church of Brazil and preacher at the Eucharist for the Installation of the 15th Primate of Canada
The Rev. Michael Blair, General Secretary of the United Church of Canada
The Most Rev. Michael Curry, former Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church, attending on behalf of the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, and preacher at the opening Eucharist
The Rev. Susan Johnson, National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and preacher at the Celebration of Holy Eucharist on the day of the election for the 15th Primate
The Rev. Dr. Betsy Miller, Ecumenical Officer, Moravian Church Northern Province
Pastor Peter Noteboom, General Secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches
The Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo, Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion
The Rev. Canon C.K. Robertson, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Ministry Beyond, The Episcopal Church
We hoped that Archbishop Hosam Naoum, Archbishop in Jerusalem for the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East could be with us, but their Majma (Synod) is meeting at the same time as ours. I have sent a video greeting, and we will be receiving greetings from the Archbishop in return.
The Theme of General Synod
They Will Soar on Wings Like Eagles are prophetic words spoken by Isaiah thousands of years ago to an exiled and weary people who were making final preparations for the journey back home to Jerusalem. Their experiences in exile under foreign rule had sapped them of their energy. Isaiah’s words were an invitation for them to draw on God’s strength for renewal to make the journey possible.
But they were afraid to go back. One can almost hear their questions: “Why should we go back? What’s in it for us? It will be so much work to rebuild our homes and the communities that are in ruin. How will we know that God is even with us? It feels like God has abandoned us.”
In the verses around our theme, one can almost hear the pleading tone in the prophet’s words, inviting them to remember who they are in God. Ultimately, it is God who exercises sovereignty over the political and military authorities of the day. Even though they seem to hold all the power now, it is God, the prophet reminds them, who holds the real power. Isaiah is clear that those who wield great power now, are, to God, like plants that a strong wind could blow over. The breath of God will accomplish that and more.
Isaiah’s words, while apparently an encouragement for the exiles to “go back” are not really that at all. They are an encouragement for them to “go forward,” to accept a new adventure, and, with bold hope and courage, rebuild for the future.
We all know the story. The people of God did go back, but not the same as before. Their whole reality had changed. They could not go back to the old ways of being the people of God, they could only move into God’s new future.
What might these evocative words be saying to us as we enter these days of discernment and holy listening? You see, much as we might want to, the church cannot go back either. We can only move forward into an uncertain world.
And we know the truth of that world only too well. It’s one that is torn asunder by those who hold great power and wealth, by those whose greed and influence gets them ahead.
We live in a society that does not communicate effectively, often using the language of division instead of the voice of unity.
We are part of a church that is losing its influence to effect change in the public square in a meaningful way.
Sadly, both the world and the church are caught up in the “us and them” narrative that only drives people further apart from each other.
We cannot be a church divided into east and west, north and south, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, gay or straight, progressive or conservative, rural or urban, well-resourced or poorly resourced. There is no east or west in the kingdom of God – there is only “one great fellowship of love thru’out the whole wide Earth” (In Christ There Is No East or West, Common Praise #484).
If we are to succeed at all, we can only be the church walking together into the future with bold prophetic hope, extending the hand of grace to one another at every opportunity. My hope for us is that we embody the African concept of Ubuntu coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, where the idea of “humanity to others” is fully realized. Ubuntu says this: I am what I am because of who we all are together. I need you and you need me.
Shedding our feathers
There are so many portrayals of our chosen theme, Isaiah 40:31, as an inspirational verse on T-shirts and posters and in spiritual songs. The eagle soaring high above, hovering there in flight—a symbol of strength and power and a thing of great beauty.
I wonder, though, whether this verse might not be depicting an eagle spreading its wings to soar and mount up, but rather a molting eagle who exchanges its old feathers for new ones? For eagles, this process of shedding or molting helps them maintain their feathers, especially the primary ones used for flying. It doesn’t make the eagles weaker; the shedding is necessary to help them soar.
Maybe this theme and image is an invitation for us as the Anglican Church of Canada, working together as national church, provinces, dioceses, actively engaging with Sacred Circle in all we do, to shed some of our old feathers and be midwives, bringing the new thing that is being imagined to birth. Our bones are good; we have a strong foundation—this shedding will help us soar!
Over the last five years or more, we have been engaged in a deep listening process, out of which have emerged the Five Transformational Commitments as well as the final offering of the Primate’s Commission, The Pathways document, which we will be hearing more about in the coming days.
I am convinced that our holy listening and deep engagement have not been in vain and that the seeds for new growth have already been sown and are even taking root, and that we are now being invited into a time of holy and sacred risk taking, with a sense of holy patience—as real change done well takes time—and urgency, bearing the gospel of hope and prophetic grace as we steward that portion of God’s kingdom with which we have been entrusted.
Our chosen theme calls us to remember the faith that formed the church; a faith that includes God’s power and creativity as well as the affirmation that God knows us and sees us. God is intimately involved in our lives and loves and cares for us. God will give us the energy to move with confidence into an unknown future. You do believe this, don’t you?
We sing together:
“The church that offers healing discerns its wounds and loss;
The church that faces dying shares life beyond the cross.
To people torn and broken your mercy is revealed;
We praise your name who love us,
The Healer and the healed.”
(“You Call Us Out to Praise You,” Common Praise, #600)
As we continue to be shaped by the Risen Christ, let us hold tenaciously onto the promises of God, trusting in God’s never-ending faithfulness to be with us in all our doings.
Now, let’s hear from the 14th Primate of Canada, the Most Rev. Linda Nicholls with whom I am sharing this presidential address.
Archbishop Linda’s reflections
Thank you, Archbishop Linda.
Our prophetic witness in the church for the world
Walter Brueggeman, theologian and author of Virus as a Summons to Faith, writes of the church in a post-pandemic world being countercultural— proclaiming abundance in the face of scarcity, courage in the face of fear, generosity in the face of greed and peaceableness in the face of violence.
“Friday in our drama of faith is countered by Sunday, by the inscrutable gift of new Easter life in a world that has been shut down by despair.”
(Walter Brueggemann, Fall 2020: How Do We Not Live in Despair?)
What does this mean for us as a people who are named, blessed, called and sent by God to do God’s work in the world? Being countercultural begins with us and with the reordering of our own lives in rethinking our priorities in what we value, desire and seek. For the Jewish people, the exile was not only punishment for deeply ingrained idolatry and systemic injustice, but also a divine call for re-examining their faith and reordering their society.
As we consider our future, I urge us to continue being advocates for peace and justice at home and abroad, and to continue communicating the promises we made in baptism and through the Transformational Commitments in our prophetic witness to the world.
As someone who grew up in South Africa during the height of the apartheid era, I saw that Canada was one the world’s leaders in pushing for the imposition of sanctions on that country. When Colin and I left South Africa in 1986, we were unable to get a visa for Canada because the embassy had shut down. Those actions made a difference. And it was the church within South Africa, through prophetic leaders like Archbishop Tutu, that became the voice of hope for those who despaired of ever living in a democratic country.
“Hope,” wrote the Archbishop, “is like having a little light shining inside your heart that keeps shining, even when things are dark and difficult around you.” Let us never cease to speak out against unjust structures in society whenever we encounter them. The disenfranchised victims of societies caught in the middle of war and famine are depending on us to do that for them.
Acting Primate
It has been a great honour to serve as the Acting Primate for our church during this interim time. I have come to see the whole church with fresh new eyes and to love it even more than I did before. There are literally hundreds of people to thank as you have stood with me on the bridge these last nine months. Thank you for walking with me, for your acceptance of me in this role, your prayers, wise counsel, and all the support and encouragement I have received.
Aside from the administration and meetings that have been part of the role, the ministry of being your Acting Primate has been a ministry of presence, being with the people of God in Canada and on one international trip:
- Preaching at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa on New Year’s Day
- Being an invited guest to the Church of England’s Synod in February, with invitation to preach at Holy Eucharist and address General Synod
- Monthly visits to Church House in Toronto
- Being together with the National House of Bishops for their fall (2024) and spring (2025) meetings in Niagara Falls. Since General Synod 2023, nine bishops have been consecrated and/or installed, and we will be welcoming at least two more before the end of the year.
- Attending the National Chancellors Conference in Toronto.
- Attending the annual meeting of our partners, The Anglican Foundation of Canada and the national gathering of Alongside Hope. How blessed we are by their generosity and engagement and all they bring to our church.
- Being able to present one of the five Anglican Award of Merit recipients their citation in person—Suzanne Rumsey. Congratulations to Canon (lay) Ian Alexander, Nancy Hurn, Teresa Mandricks and Jane Osler, who will be receiving theirs from the new Primate at a date yet to be decided.
- Attending the Consecration of Bishop Rod BrantFrancis in Moosonee (dual role) and Bishop Chad McCharles in Saskatoon.
My role as Acting Primate has also involved the spoken word in preaching and the written word in writing reflections, letters and statements on behalf of our church, sometimes with only my signature and sometimes with our full-communion and ecumenical partners.
Bridges serve a truly important purpose. They make a way. They connect one part to another. Some provide a passage across a divide. It was Isaac Newton who said, “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.”
Each of us has an indispensable part in building bridges in the church and in the world today. Our gifts, our shared stories of faith, our many and varied cultures, our talents, were all given to us by God to serve the body of Christ. And that is difficult and holy work, too.
We are on the cusp of electing a new Primate for our church. Some would say that those who consent to let their names stand for this position are brave, while others would say they are utterly naïve. I say they are neither. Those who consent have answered a God-given calling and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
At a meeting of the Primates of the Communion, one of the Primates, Archbishop Winston of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, described the primacy as a “gift rather than a right, a privilege.” He said that the position of Primate was “gifted to the role bearer as a responsibility for a time and for the future.”
As we prepare for the election this week, my prayer is that God will bring us a faithful shepherd who will guard the flock and go all out to look for that one sheep; a sentinel who will keep their eyes on the horizon, looking to the east for the Easter dawn; a messenger who will carry from coast to coast to coast messages of good news, and a unifier who will hold us all together in God’s love.
The night before Jesus died, he prayed, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-22)
I close this address with the words of His Holiness Pope Leo 14th on the day of his inauguration, who called us, as siblings in Christ, to be “a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.”