Author

Folkins, Tali

Material Type

Journal Article

Journal

Anglican Journal

Date

2019 September

Volume

145

Issue

7

Page

1, 8-9

Notes

"The Anglican Church of Canada's new primate says her top priority will be a review of the church's mission and ministry -- a re-examination of its role that could result in 'painful' change for some as the church adjusts to challenging times. Linda Nicholls, bishop of the diocese of Huron, was elected the church's 14th primate in Vancouver on July 13 [2019], partway throuh General Synod. She is the first woman in the history of the Anglican Church of Canada to hold the position. Nicholls was elected on the fourth ballot, with 64.2% of lay votes and 71.1% of votes among the clergy. Jane Alexander, bishop of the diocese of Edmonton, was the only other nominee remaining" (p. 1). "'General Synod has to be responsive to what dioceses are experiencing', [Archbishop Nicholls] said. 'If dioceses don't have the resources to share with General Synod, then General Synod has to retool itself in some'" (p. 8). "The serious financial concerns facing the church, Nicholls said, should not, however, push it to priortize money over vision. 'In my experience, if you focus on money, all you do is make everybody anxious -- and are seen as being only abour fundraising. And that's not who we are', she said" (p. 8). "Many Canadians have emerged from the same- Sex marriage debate, she said, with the question -- also raised by the 2010 General Synod -- of whether the church should stop solemnizing marriage altogether, And the church may find itself more receptive to the idea then it was then, she adds. 'So few people are doing weddings in churches now. I've known young clergy who very rarely get to do a wedding, ever', she said. 'When I was first ordained, you could, on some Saturdays, have two weddings. These days you're lucky if you'd have one a year'. One of the biggest tasks now facing the church, Nicholls said, is its ongoing work with Indigenous people -- completing the development of a self-determining Indigenous church within the Anglican Church of Canad, for example. This, of course, will be the work primarily of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP), she said, and of Mark MacDonald, national Indigenous Anglican archbishop" (p. 9). Asked how long she expected to be primate, Archbishop Nicholls replied that her 70th birthday "would fall shortly before the 2025 General Synod; but the canon, she added, does not seem entirely clear on whether the primate must resign by his or her 70th birthday at the latest, or at any point in his or her 70th year. The most she would serve, she said, would be two triennia" (p. 9).

Subjects

Nicholls, Linda (Linda Carol), 1954-

Anglican Church of Canada. Primate - Election

Anglican Church of Canada - Finance

Anglican Church of Canada - Structure

Change - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada

Marriage - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada

Same sex unions - Religious aspects - Anglican Church of Canada

Indigenous Anglican Church

Indigenous peoples - Canada - Anglican Church of Canada - 21st century

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