"Quebec's recently-passed Bill 62, which bans the wearing of niqabs and other face coverings to people both providing and receiving government services, could ultimately threaten the safety of the province's Muslims, say Quebec's Anglican and Lutheran bishops. 'To be secular means to be pluralistic, allowing freedom of belief both in one's private and public life', says Mary Irwin-Gibson, Anglican bishop of Montreal; Bruce Myers, Anglican bishop of Quebec; and Michael Pryse, bishop of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada in a joint statement released October 30 [2017]. 'The provision of Bill 62, however they are applied, unnecessarily put that fundamental freedom -- and potentially people's security -- at risk'" (pp. 1, 7). "[I]n the wake of threatening or violent incidents like the January 29 [2017] shooting at Quebec City's Grand Mosque -- Bill 62 is helping foster 'a climate of suspicion and fear' that threatens the safety of Quebec Muslims, the bishops say. Six people were killed and 19 injured, several of them children, during the incident" (p. 7).
"After three years spent in intense debate over a resolution to allow the marriage of same-sex couples, the House of Bishops intends to shift its focus to 'evangelism and discipleship and mission' in the next triennium, says Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, following the house's September 22-27 [2016] meeting in Winnipeg" (p. 1). "Bishop Mary Irwin-Gibson of the diocese of Montreal, agreed, saying in an interview that the same-sex marriage debate had taken up 'way too much airtime' in recent years. She said she hopes the house can 'get on with the mission of the church' by making it 'more vital and adept' at creating disciples'" (p. 1, 10). The September 2016 meeting was the first since General Synod and While each bishop was given the opportunity to speak their mind, Hiltz said there was a general consensus that the matter now rests with the individual dioceses and provinces to continue the discussion in advance of 2019, when the motion will be sent for second and final consideration" (p. 10). "Another theme of the meeting, according to bishops contacted by the 'Anglican Journal', was the desire to create a more functional house over the next triennium" (p. 10). Bishop Larry Robertson, diocese of the Yukon, "who has been a vocal critic of the legislative system as a way of making decisions about same-sex marriage -- echoed these concerns, but cautioned that because the legislative process has begun, it must be carried through to completion" (p. 10).
"After three years spent in intense debate over a resolution to allow the marriage of same-sex couples, the House of Bishops intends to shift its focus to 'evangelism and discipleship and mission' in the next triennium, says Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, following the house's September 22-27 [2016] meeting in Winnipeg" (p. 1). "Bishop Mary Irwin-Gibson of the diocese of Montreal, agreed, saying in an interview that the same-sex marriage debate had taken up 'way too much airtime' in recent years. She said she hopes the house can 'get on with the mission of the church' by making it 'more vital and adept' at creating disciples'" (p. 1, 10). The September 2016 meeting was the first since General Synod and While each bishop was given the opportunity to speak their mind, Hiltz said there was a general consensus that the matter now rests with the individual dioceses and provinces to continue the discussion in advance of 2019, when the motion will be sent for second and final consideration" (p. 10). "Another theme of the meeting, according to bishops contacted by the 'Anglican Journal', was the desire to create a more functional house over the next triennium" (p. 10). Bishop Larry Robertson, diocese of the Yukon, "who has been a vocal critic of the legislative system as a way of making decisions about same-sex marriage -- echoed these concerns, but cautioned that because the legislative process has begun, it must be carried through to completion" (p. 10).
"As Anglican churches across Canada returned or planned to return to in-person worship this spring and summer, some senior church leaders were reporting a considerable level of desire on the part of parishes to continue online services" (p. 1). Article quotes several bishops including: Bishop Mary Irwin-Gibson of Montreal, Archbishop Anne Germond of Algoma, Archbishop Melissa Skelton of New Westminster, Archbishop David Edwards of Fredericton, National Indigenous Archbishop Mark MacDonald, and Archbishop Gregory Kerr-Wilson of Calgary. Bishop Mary Irwin-Gibson of Montreal commented: "I think what is interesting is that [churches] are almost all making plans to maintain an online version -- either separately or at the same time as the in-person service is held" (p. 1). Archbishop David Edwards of Fredericton, who was elected Metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Canada in June 2020, "said one of the main 'learning points' during the pandemic was the development of online resources. Parishes across the province have been engages with this to varying degrees, he said, with most dioceses supplementing and augmenting their efforts" (p. 8). "The church's Indigenous Ministries department was also finding online ministry important to Indigenous Anglicans during the pandemic and was hoping to continue it. In an effort to lift the spirits of Indigenous Anglicans, and of people across the church, the department of Indigenous Ministries had put on two online gospel jamborees, June 5 and July 1 [2020]. As this article was being written, it was planning a third for August 14" (p. 8). National Indigenous Archbishop Mark MacDonald said the pandemic "posed a particular threat to Indigenous people, particularly elders, because of the poverty, scant access to medical care and isolation that many reserve communities face" (p. 8). Indigenous Ministries Coordinator Canon Ginny Doctor also noted that "since the slow internet connections that exist in many Indigenous communities have hampered access to online events, her department and partners in the Anglican Church of Canada have been reaching some areas through regional radio broadcasts" (p. 8). "On April 2 [2020], PWRDF's Canadian Anglican Partnership Program launched 'Praying with PWRDF' a Zoom worship service for volunteers and PWRDF supporters" (p. 8). "The varying extent to which different parts of Canada have been affected by the pandemic has led civil governments to respond in different ways, with some relaxing social distancing rules earlier than others as infection rates of COVID-19 began to fall. Within the Anglican Church of Canada, correspondingly, ecclesiastical provinces, dioceses and parishes have moved toward re-opening with varying rules -- around how many people are permitted to attend a service at one time, for example, and how they might be able to take communion -- and timelines" (p. 8). Archbishop Anne Germond said that the dioceses of Algoma and Moosonee were "hoping to re-open Sept. 6 [2020] but others [were] looking at re-opening a week later. A spike in cases or a second wave of the pandemic, she said, would mean a return to online worship only" (p. 8).
"Archbishop Mark MacDonald is national Indigenous archbishop of the Anglican Church of Canada".
Commenting on reaction to stories about the 6 June 2015 election of Mary Irwin-Gibson as the first woman bishop for the diocese of Montreal, the author reviews the statistics about women bishops in the Anglican Church of Canada and wider Communion. "Irwin-Gibson is only the ninth woman bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada, which has had male bishops since 1787. ... it only elected its first woman bishop -- Victoria Matthews, as a suffragan bishop, in the diocese of Toronto -- in 1993. Today, 22 years later, women constitute only 15 % (six out of 39) of the total number of active members in the House of Bishops. It is still a big deal. Elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, the numbers are more dismal. Of about 700 active bishops across 38 provinces, only 33 (or 5 %) are women. The Communion had only one female primate (national archbishop) out of 38 -- that is, until Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori, whose election in 2006 was hailed as a breakthrough for women leadership in the church, ended her term this summer. This hardly qualifies as shattering the glass ceiling". "It is unfortunate and, yes, one longs for the day when neither gender nor race (The Episcopal Church just elected its first African-American primate, Michael Curry, in June) becomes the defining narrative of someone's achievement. But until equality is achieved, it behooves us not to downplay gains".
"The Anglican Church of Canada is no exception. In an age ruled by electronic forms of communication, the bishops and archbishops who are some of the most visible leaders of the church are increasingly expected to maintain a regular online presence, to communicate with Anglicans and the wider public" (p. 10). "Bishop Susan Bell of the diocese of Niagara, who uses Facebook and Twitter, believes that the effect of social media on episcopal ministry has largely been positive" (p. 10). Bishop Bell comments: "'For Anglicans in particular, the Reformation taught us that communicating the gospel in the vernacular was a core value .. Well, social media is the vernacular now, and we are bound by our polity, tradition and the Great Commission to preach the gospel to the whole creation using whatever tools the Lord makes available to us" (p. 10). "'Social media has allowed me to put a human face on the office of bishop each and every day', [Bishop Michael] Oulton says, 'Social media has also allowed me to stay connected with the folk among whom I serve and the church, both nationally and internationally, in ways that were not available to my predecessors'" (p. 10). "Archbishop Kerr-Wilson describes himself as 'slightly sceptical' about the underlying impact pf social media in any significant way, other than as another means to connect people within the church .... It's quantity, but not particularly quality, [in] my experience. By the time you've done with all the emails that come through .. to go and then do Facebook stuff on top of it means that your life starts to be dominated by electronics, rather than by face-to-face communication'" (p. 10). "Lee-Anne Matthews, web and social media co-ordinator for the diocese of Montreal, meets once a week with the diocese's Bishop Mary Irwin-Gibson to ensure they are on the same page. While Matthews runs diocesan social media accounts, Irwin-Gibson posts photo from her work as bishop on her personal Facebook page" (p. 10-11). "Since Bishop Andrew Asbil, of the diocese of Toronto, took over as diocesan bishop at the beginning of 2019, [Martha] Holmen [digital communications co-ordinator] has worked with the bishop to determine how to best use his own social media platforms, which include an episcopal Facebook page. .... 'People in general are on social media -- that's where they gather to talk to have conversations about any kind of issue, including religious issues', Holmen says. 'So having a bishop on social media gives them access to people who are already there and lets them speak directly to them'" (p. 11).
"Mary Irwin-Gibson, since 2009 dean and rector of St. George's Anglican Cathedral in Kingston, Ont., has been elected the first female bishop of Montreal in its 165-year history. Irwin-Gibson, 59, who served parishes in the diocese of Montreal between 1981 and 2009, was elected bishop on June 6 [2015]". "Irwin-Gibson has an executive MBA from the French-language Universite du Quebec a Montreal. She has a bachelor of theology degree from McGill University and a diploma in ministry from Montreal Institute for Ministry".
"Recently released data suggesting the church's rate of decline has not slowed over the past decade and a half -- while not surprising -- should serve as a useful reality check for Canadian Anglicans, says Archbishop Linda Nicholls, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada" (p. 1). "The data were gathered in 2018 from the dioceses by the Rev. Neil Elliot, a priest in the diocese of Kootenay with a PhD in sociology seconded as part-time statistician by the national church. Elliot presented them in reports to the House of Bishops and Council of General Synod (CoGS) this fall [2019]" (p. 6). "We've got simple projections from our data that suggest that there will be no members, attenders or givers in the Anglican Church of Canada by approximately 2040" Elliot said (p. 6). "
But [Archbishop Linda] Nicholls said she believes Anglicans should be careful about jumping to conclusions about what will happen to the church in the future based purely on statistics of past decline" (p. 6). "Nicholls said she believed the true value of statistics-gathering lies not in prediction, but in holding a mirror up to the church ... One thing that needs to be recognized, she said, is the role of grief caused by the church's decline in membership over the decades and the necessity of church closures that has come with it" (p. 6). "Nicholls said she also hoped concerned Anglicans would focus on trying to discern the will of God for the church rather than the causes of the church's decline in membership" (p. 6). "What the church needs to be asking now, in every community in which it finds itself, she said is, 'Where do we see Jesus at work here, and how can we be part of that ? And how can we be, frankly, open and generous in our expression of the Good News ?' There will be no one-size-fits-all answer to this, she added, because it will always depend on the context" (p. 6).
"In a response to a question at CoGS [in November 2019] on how other Canadian churches were faring, Elliot said data collected by the United Church of Canada also showed 2040 as a 'zero-member date'. The Presbyterian Church in Canada, while declining, seems to be losing members somewhat more slowly, he said. For the U.S.-based Episcopal Church, he added, the projected zero-member date was around 2050" (p. 6-7).
"Geoff Peddle, bishop of the diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, examined membership trends in the Anglican church in Newfoundland, and the possible reasons for them, in a 2011 PhD dissertation. He says he has no doubt there still will be an Anglican church in Canada in two decades" (p. 7). National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop Mark MacDonald "said he also believed that part of the church's numerical decline was due to its focus in the past on a now-shrinking segment of Canadian society -- middle- and upper-middle class people of British background. .... It's time for the church to look outside this demographic, he said" (p. 7).
"David Parsons, bishop of the diocese of the Arctic, said he's seen some growth in membership in the church. In some communities in the diocese, he says, the problem is not that not enough people are going to church, but that existing churches can't hold everyone who shows up. There are likely a number of causes for the increase in membership, he says. One of these is the relatively fast rate of population growth in the north. Another, he says, is the uniquely spiritual culture of the north's Indigenous people" (p. 7).
"Introducing Elliot's presentation to CoGS [Archdeacon and General Secretary Michael] Thompson said he believed Canadian Anglicans should look at the numerical decline of their church's membership in the context of other changes for the better. .... 'I never once heard anybody tell me about residential schools. ... It's not that people didn't care about those things, but those things were not tip-of-the-tongue discourse in the life of the church in which I was formed, Things are quite different now'." (p. 7-8).
"Elliot also told the group about ongoing efforts to expand and diversify data collection using a new computer application ParishOS ... He said he hoped the church would be better able to monitor how specific aspects of its life, some of which may hold particular potential -- home churches, Fresh Expressions, Messy Church and 'Book of Common Prayer' services, for example, are doing. Meanwhile, a working group of bishops to be headed by Mary Irwin-Gibson, bishop of the diocese of Montreal, has been formed, Thompson said, 'to say what are the things we should be counting .. that will help us understand that, while the church we offer to God is smaller than it has been in the past, that's not the only thing that's true of it'" (p. 8).
"'Early on in March [2020], we decided to give the parishes a six-month break from diocesan assessments', Bishop Mary Irwin-Gibson tells the Journal. 'We also paid for one month of payroll for the clergy' before becoming eligible for the CEWS. The bottom line, she says, is that churches have all had respite. Assessments were further suspended through the end of the year, to resume in January [2021]. 'Some parishes have really been propelled into a much more efficient means of being in touch with their parishioners', Irwin-Gibson says. One parish, St. Barnabas in Pierrefonds, even got itself out of debt during the pandemic. Others many not be able to adapt -- and survive -- 'because they were just too tired or too few on the ground'. She says parishes that did not have pre-authorized or online giving struggled more than others. Parishes that close, though, will need to make that decision on their own", [Text of entire article.]
"Anglicans and other Christian leaders expressed their 'sympathy and solidarity' with Muslims following a deadly attack January 29 [2017] on a mosque in the Ste-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City. The attack which left six people dead and 19 others wounded, occurred just before 8 p.m., when a gunman opened fire while evening prayers were underway at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec. Police have charged Alexandre Bissonette, 27, with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder" (p. 1). "In a January 30 [2017] statement, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said his heart 'goes out to all Muslims across Canada as they struggle with this terrible attack', and that the church holds in its prayers the victims of the attack, their families and their imams" (p. 1). "Coadjutor Bishop of Quebec Bruce Myers and Bishop of Montreal Mary Irwin-Gibson also issued a statement expressing their 'grief and repugnance at this brutal act of violence against another community of faith' in the midst of prayer'. When one is attacked, we are all attacked, and our whole society is diminished', the said" (p. 15). "The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) expressed 'shock and sadness' at the attack, and in a statement signed by CCC president Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan, recommitted itself to 'opposing the hate and prejudice that disfigures our communities and leads to violence both at home and abroad' (p. 15).