Church of the Epiphany (Anglican)

Eight months into my ministry here at the Epiphany and I need to begin by thanking you all again for the warmth of your reception and the consistency of your hospitality since Rachel, Calvin, Sara, Hugh and I arrived in June of last year. You have been very kind to us in large and small ways and this is commendable.  You also showed a willingness to take a risk on a relatively untried priest to be the rector of a well-established parish and you have been patient with me as I continue to grow into the role.

The Church of the Epiphany finds itself in a significant moment of transition in its congregational life.  Without doubt, the smallest transition to be made is that of the long-tenure of a loved priest to new priestly leadership. The usual challenges with such transitions have, and will continue to come. None of these are major and there is lots of goodwill on all sides to work through them. I am grateful for your support and prayers and ask that the latter continue.

More significantly, the Epiphany faces a significant transition in its internal demographics. In ten years, if God and the bishop keep us here, we will be a very different congregation than we are now. In itself, this is neither bad nor good; nor is it a challenge that is unique to our congregation. It simply is a challenge that all of us need to face honestly and prayerfully as we plan for the future. How will we pass on the “faith once delivered to the saints” in a way that remains fresh and vital for future generations?

And third, the Epiphany faces a significant transition as the city of Sudbury begins to enact major changes to the downtown, including increasing the number of residents from around 600 to 3500 over the next 10 years, increasing office and business space, building the new school of architecture, and hopefully realizing plans for a new art gallery, library, as well as hotel and convention spaces. If the plan is even partially realized, we will be in a very different neighbourhood in 2022 and in one we would not now recognize in 2042. In God’s providence, I pray that the Epiphany will still be here in 2022 and in 2042, that the Epiphany will still be a community of vibrant Christian faith and witness. If we are going to be, we need to begin to lay the groundwork in place today so that we can grow and adapt as our neighbourhood changes.

All this to say, change is upon us. Change is never comfortable or easy. But not changing is not an option. I would like to reflect with you for a few moments on what needs to be put in place over the next year so that we can begin to assess in a clear way how we can best respond to the transitions we now face.

First, over the next year, we will become clear on fixed points of reference. Change for change’s sake is never a good thing. Change that fundamentally alters who we are and what our mission is, is likewise foolhardy. What fixed points of reference can we continually return to, that will keep us on track? There are three.

(1) The Scriptures and the Sacraments. These are the modes of Christ’s presence with us. They are the voices through which the risen and ascended Lord speaks to us by his Spirit and even effects his reign amongst us by his Spirit. How we live together is never simply how we get along with each other (though it is that) but how we get along with each other both under the reign of Jesus and with him living amongst us as the source of our life. The Scriptures and Sacraments are thus the wellspring of our common life. We will always return to the Scriptures and the Sacraments for guidance as we consider just how to respond to the challenges ahead.

(2) Anglican forms of Worship. We are an Anglican community and are identified as such primarily through our forms of worship as prescribed in the Book of Alternative Services and the Book of Common Prayer.  These texts work in two ways. Internally, they work to give us a sense of identity amongst the various faith communities in our area. Externally, they contain the key gift that we, as a community, are called to offer to our neighbourhood:  the beauty of the liturgy. Functioning both as an internal shaper and an external gift, these forms of worship will give us the trajectory as we continue to develop in the downtown as we move into the future.

(3) Higher forms of Liturgy. This parish has a tradition of higher forms of liturgy. It is not quite Anglo-Catholic, but neither is it a tweed and tie, morning prayer only, low church parish. That way of crafting our services will continue. I am not, in saying this, casting an aspersion on low church Anglicanism or Anglo Catholicism. I am simply saying that to move in either direction would mean a fundamental change in identity. And I propose that the way we worship together—even as it develops slowly and organically over time—continue to be one of the points of reference from which we address change, rather than be the change itself.

Second, over the next year, we will become clear on the Principles of Leadership that will be deployed to meet the challenges that lie ahead of us. Again, there are three.

(1) Empowered Lay Leadership. This is a conviction that I have brought with me and from which I will operate throughout my time here. This is your church. It will be your church long after I am gone. (I do hope to stay, by the way, for a long time). Because it is your church, you need to make and own the decisions that are made. The organizations through which those decisions are made are the Annual Vestry Meeting, and the Parish Council, which is made up of the committee chairs whose committees do the day to day running of things. In actual practice, the main decision making body is the Council. According to our canons, there are two ways in which a Parish Council might function. It may advise the Corporation (the wardens and the incumbent) even as the Corporation makes and implements decisions or it may be the main decision making body led by the Corporation. I and the wardens are unequivocally committed to the latter. This requires that Parish Council be honest, reflective, and deliberate in the ways its goes about its business, even if and when such an approach leads to difficult conversations.

(2) Consultative Processes. A second principle of leadership is to employ, whenever possible, consultative processes. These are already built in to our organizational structure; they do not need to be invented. Vestry meets regularly, Council meets monthly, and so on. If leaders embark on a direction and no one follows, we are not leading. We are just taking a walk.  Our processes need to be and will be consultative. This does not mean those in leadership will embrace every idea that comes forward or squelch each initiative that invites disagreement. It does mean that we will consult as often and as broadly as we can. What this requires of us all is that we take our roles at Vestry and on Council seriously. These are the places where business is done; business is not done, as one priest once told me, in the parking lot after Council.

(3) Willingness to Risk. Just as it is true that a leader with no followers is only taking a walk, a leader who sticks in the middle or even rear of the pack is not leading. The challenges that lie ahead of us both as an aging congregation and one in a neighbourhood about to undergo extensive physical and demographic change will not be met  successfully with a “steady as she goes” approach. Taking our bearings from our fixed points of reference and being as consultative as possible, leaders will need to be willing to risk discomfort and disagreement to accomplish what needs to be done to keep our parish vital and vibrant.

Third, over the next year, we will become clear on the purposes of change: i.e., those goals which we hope all changes will realize. Again, there are three.

(1) Accessibility. Over the next year, we will become comfortable asking the following questions of our practices, both established and proposed. Does it make our boundaries more permeable? Does it enable us to explain ourselves, our mission, our common life and our Lord to others better?

(2) Efficiency/Simplicity.  Over the next year, we will become comfortable with evaluating projects, decisions, and changes according to the following questions. Does this make us more efficient in the deployment of our resources? Will this enable us to accomplish our mission while living within our means? Will this reduce the complexity that simply comes with the passing of time?

(3) Faithfulness to the Gospel. Over the next year, we will become comfortable asking whether a strategic decision is made to draw us closer to the Gospel of the Lord as it is found in Holy Scripture and made visible in the Sacraments. We will also be willing to ask whether such a decision in fact moves us away from the same criterion. Change for the Christian is never undertaken in order to “get with the times.” It is always undertaken in prayerful submission to the Lord as he gives himself to us in Scripture and Sacrament, always undertaken to draw us and others closer to him.

I am very, very happy to end this address by telling you about some of the exciting things that have already begun to happen in our parish.  We have had two Laurentian students who, because of the welcome they received here, have asked to contribute to our common life in formal ways. I won’t give you the details because no final decisions have been made yet; applications will be presented to Parish Council on March 20. I am also very excited by the numbers and kinds of people who have signed up for our Christian Basics Class, that will be taking place through Lent. Not only will Epiphany regulars seeking a refresher and hoping to be confirmed be there. There will also be—Lord willing—several preparing for baptism, seeking to reaffirm their vows, or preparing to have their children baptized. And all of these are new people!

As our demographics change, in the mercy of God, these kinds of stories will I pray become all the more regular.