Request for Information
The information provided on this form is used to provide a fuller profile on an individual than will be found in the standard reference books.
Individuals completing this form should be aware that within the Diocese of Kootenay it will be used as a Curriculum Vitae within the Episcopal election process. If you attach a CV rather than complete a form, please ensure the CV covers all the areas of data requested. Please type the form if possible and feel free to increase/reduce box size as appropriate.
SECTION 1
SURNAME ______McNaughton______
GIVEN NAME(S) ____Lynne Elizabeth______DATE OF BIRTH ______March 20, 1959
CURRENT POST Rector, St. Clements Anglican Church North Vancouver
START DATE September 1, 2008
Country of residence: Canada
Ordained deacon in the Diocese of New Westminster on (date) June 29, 1986
Ordained priest in the Diocese of New Westminster on (date) June 28, 1987
Ordained bishop in the Province of ______on (date) ______
Have you ever served in a church/denomination/worshiping community not in communion with the Anglican Church of Canada? If so, please provide the name, dates and location of groups served. No
Lay Ministry (if applicable)
First licensed/commissioned in Diocese of ______on (date) ______
1 SECTION 2 - EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Post-Secondary education - From To Qualifications obtained (with subjects college/university attended studied and classes awarded) University of Alberta, Sept 1977 May 1981 Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Edmonton, Alberta Sociology and English
Seminary or ordination From To Qualifications obtained (with subjects course attended studied and classes awarded) Columbia Theological September May 2007 Doctor of Ministry Seminary, Decatur, Georgia 2002
Vancouver School of Theology, Vancouver, BC September May 1986 Master of Divinity 1982 (included a year long supervised internship at Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, 1985)
Other From To Qualifications obtained (with subjects professional/vocational studied and classes awarded) qualifications - college/university attended
Please list membership of any professional organizations.
British Society for Reformation Research – Member 2000 to present (to help my preparation for pilgrimages)
2 SECTION 3 - PRE-ORDINATION CAREER
Please provide details on any pre-ordination roles that you held, including leadership roles in the church.
Position held and Brief description of responsibilities and any Dates from and to (including employer particular achievements reason for leaving) Social Worker Wainright, Alberta, worked with Family 1981-1982 and Social Services of Alberta in a rural office. Caseload was for disabled adults and I left to pursue ordination on-call for all types of cases.
Fundraising For St. Thomas Anglican in Wainwright, 1981-1982 Coordinator “Anglicans in Mission” Fundraising Campaign.
SECTION 4 - MINISTRY SINCE ORDINATION
Ministry
(Please start with your most recent position)
Position held Brief description of responsibilities and any particular Dates from and to achievements (including reason for leaving) Rector at St. Role: September 2008 – Clement’s Lynn - Parish priest responsible for liturgy, pastoral care, present Valley (North administration, teaching and spiritual formation, Vancouver, leading youth group, and equipping the parish for (Interim 2008-2011, Diocese of New ministry. Interim shared with Westminster) St. Clare 2011-2012, - The parish has a ministry team of one priest and 2 Rector 2012-present) deacons.
- Team coordinator of North Vancouver Anglican and Lutheran region. From 2008 to 2014 I was part time at St. Clements, with the Diocese contributing ¼ salary so I could be team co-ordinator as the North Vancouver Deanery moved into a new model of team ministry with the Anglican and Lutheran Parishes
3 sharing ministry resources. The team includes 5 priests, 2 Lutheran pastors, 3 deacons, shared youth ministry and programme. As team leader, I facilitated planning and communication, nurturing and building the team, and worked with the lay person who chairs our Regional Council for strategic planning for the region. As I moved into full time at St. Clements, the region evolved to have its own planning and communication with the support of all the clergy and parishes.
- (2011-2012) As interim, helped St. Clare in the Cove in a time of transition through the decision to disperse and close.
Achievements at St. Clements: ⁃ Moved St. Clements from an exhausted parish, which had experienced conflict and could only afford a part time priest, still with a budget deficit, to a vital and sustainable parish, which can afford a full time priest with a stable, balanced budget.
⁃ Started Godly Play program and built a flourishing youth group.
⁃ Nourished a clergy team: Worked with one deacon from 2008 to when she retired in 2017, aided in discernment for one member towards the priesthood (now in her 3rd year in seminary), another member towards the diaconate for St. Clements (ordained 2018), supervised two VST students, and supervised a curate (2018-2019).
⁃ Built up new lay leaders within the church, with a significant portion of the leadership now being in their 40’s and 50’s (and even younger).
⁃ Begun a building revitalization project which has completed first stage of sanctuary floor, and is now working with architect for the second stage, addressing accessibility issues.
4 Archdeacon of Oversight of 12 parishes and their clergy in a large 2011-2016 Capilano, Diocese geographical area including rural and urban parishes. of New Westminster Supporting parishes in transition, especially during clergy vacancies and hiring processes.
Facilitating consultation with parishes for visioning and formation of strategic plans and goals.
Served on Diocesan Council and on BARDDS (Bishop, Archdeacons, Regional Deans and Dean advisory meetings).
Assistant Professor Role: 2003-2008 of Spirituality, Vancouver School Taught courses in Christian Spirituality and Spiritual Reason for leaving: of Theology Formation, for example: Spirituality of the Psalms, felt call to return to Biblical Spirituality, Introduction to Prayer Practice & Parish Ministry other spiritual practices (Labyrinths, lectio divina, retreats, Celtic practices, mystics, rule of life, covenant discipleship groups, etc), Spiritual Formation for Congregational Leadership.
Proudest Achievements:
- Taught Celtic Spirituality and Spirituality of the Psalms for Aboriginal Elder Leadership Training Program for then Diocese of Keewatin and Emmanuel St. Chad.
- Taught Elders training for Anglican Ministry; Diocese of Calgary Blackfoot Elders, Diocese of Keewatin, Cree and Oji-Cree Elders.
- Native Ministries Summer School.
- Introduced Spirituality and Spiritual Formation into mandatory curriculum for Masters of Divinity Program.
Chaplain and Role: 1995-2008 Director of Anglican - Responsible for daily Anglican worship at VST. Reason for leaving: Formation, - Supporting Anglican students in preparation for felt call to return to Vancouver School Ordination, building community within Anglican Parish Ministry of Theology students, and reporting to Bishops on students’ readiness
5 for ministry.
- Taught courses in Anglican studies, including: Anglican Ethos, Ministry & Current Issues; Polity; Pastoral Liturgical leadership, and Canadian Church History.
- VST Representative on BC Provincial Synod.
Proudest achievement:
Seeing the many fantastic priests in the Diocese whom I supported as they moved towards ordination!
Regional Dean of Pastoral support of clergy within deanery; team 2000-2006 Granville Point building. Grey Deanery Organized annual retreats for deanery clergy.
Assistant Priest, St. Responsible for young family ministry and leading 1991-1995 Mary’s Kerrisdale worship as part of a team. Vancouver Left to teach at VST Proud achievement: shifted leadership to a new generation of younger families.
Maternity Leave & While on maternity leave, was a teaching assistant for 1990-1992 Part Time two courses at VST, Advanced Preaching and Final Teaching Assistant Year Ministry Course. at VST Curate, then Responsible for societal ministry, such as working with 1987-1990 Associate Priest, groups building social housing and sponsoring refugees, Christ Church as well as general pastoral care and worship leadership. Left for Maternity Cathedral, leave Vancouver
Deacon, Christ Responsibilities same as above. 1986-1987 Church Cathedral
6 Specialised Work
If over your ministry you have developed a specialist area of expertise (e.g. liturgy, mission, social responsibility, ecumenism, interfaith etc.) please could you indicate this/these and outline your work in the area(s) specified.
Adult Educator and Pilgrimage Leader - Starting in 1997, I have led 16 pilgrimages to Europe, accredited by VST. From 2005 onward, pilgrimages were organized through Peregrinatio Studies Inc., a company of which I am co-founder and president. - Trainer in the Diocese of New Westminster School for Parish Development 2013-2017. - Since returning to parish ministry, I have remained adjunct faculty and taught courses at VST on Spirituality of the Psalms and Women Christian Mystics. Have developed both of these into courses offered in congregations and deanery. - Have led numerous Parish and Diocesan retreats, on topics such as Psalms, Christian Mystics, Celtic spirituality, life transitions, women in scripture, etc. Recent examples include leading the Diocesan Clergy Retreat for the Diocese of BC in January 2016 and the Youth Retreat at Sorrento Centre in May 2016.
Responsibilities in the Wider Church
Please outline significant church bodies you have served on in the last ten years.
Committee/body Function of Group Dates from and to General Synod of the Governance of the Anglican Church of 2010, 2013, 2016 and Anglican Church of Canada. 2019 Canada Elected clergy member from Diocese of New Westminster. Council of General Governance of the Anglican Church of Canada 2010 – present Synod (COGS) of the between General Synods. Anglican Church of Canada Elected clergy member from Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia, Yukon, for two terms from 2010-2016.
Elected Deputy Prolocutor (vice-chair) of COGS at General Synod 2016.
7 Have served on the following committees: Faith, Worship and Ministry; Partners in Mission; Public Witness and Social Justice; Resources for Mission, General Synod 2019 Planning Committee. Anglican Church of Working towards eventual “Mutual 2011 – 2016 (Member) Canada and United Recognition of Ministry” and on issues of 2016 – 2019 (Anglican Church of Canada shared interest such as shared Anglican-United co-chair) Bilateral Dialogue Ministries. Ordained Ministry Advises Bishop on issues pertaining to 1995 – 2004 (Member) Division of Diocese of ordained clergy in the Diocese: employment 2004 – 2009 (Chair) New Westminster issues, procedures and practices, path to ordination, examining Chaplains, retired clergy, etc. Diocesan Council of the Governance of Diocese between Synods. 2004 – 2009, 2011 - Diocese of New 2015 Westminster Bishop’s Advisory Works with Bishop to review applications and 1997 – 2002, 2011 - Committee on short list for hiring. Elected by clergy 2014 Appointments members.
Renewing Anglican Made recommendations to the Bishop on 2009 – 2012 Worship Diocesan renewing Anglican worship. Working Group
Continuing Ministerial Education (Con Ed)
Please outline significant learning/educational events or opportunities that you have experienced/attended during your ministry.
International Reformed-Anglican Dialogue Conference on Koinonia/Communion – 2018
Groundwork: Membership Development for Small and Mid-size parishes: with parish team at St. Clements – 2018. Our first project is to develop a new worship service for people new to church.
Attended (as chaplain) “Queerest and Dearest “– Anglican Intergenerational Camp for LGBTQ+ Christians and their families, Artaban Diocesan camp – 2018
The Art and Craft of Preaching, 3 day workshop, VST & Episcopal Preaching Foundation – 2017
8 Reconciliation Dialogue Workshop for community leaders, Reconciliation Canada – 2017
Godly Play Training - 2016
New Members Ministry Practitioner, Diocese of New Westminster, a year-long course with parish projects – 2015
Anti-racism Training, Diocese of New Westminster – 2014
“Leadership”, Diocesan Clergy Conference with Sharon Daloz Parks – 2013
Certificate in Congregational and Organizational Development from the College for Congregational Development, Diocese of Olympia – 2011-2012
Appreciative Inquiry, Interim Ministry Training, Clergy Leadership Institute – 2008
Courses during DMin Columbia Theological Seminary included: 2006 Experiential Adult Education Theory and Spiritual Transformation, Dr. Bill Harkins 2005 400 hour Supervised Practicum on educational design and leadership 2004 Jeremiah after 9/11, Dr. Walter Brueggemann 2004 History of Western Christian Spirituality, Dr. Catherine Gonzalez. 2003 Mysticism and Resistance: Christian Mysticism. The Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor 2003 Celtic Christianity, Dr. Laura Sugg. 2002 Islam and Christianity, Dr. Carlos Cardoza-Orlandi. 2002 Spiritual Leadership, Introductory seminar, (6 credit), team led by Dr. Catherine Gonzalez.
Three “Women in Leadership” events: The Association of Theological Schools series on: Leadership, Power, Administration, Gender Dynamics, Spirituality and Administration, Organizational Frameworks – 1999 – 2000
Various courses at VST Summer School, including: Dorothea Soelle “Mysticism and Civil Disobedience” 1998, W. Williimon “Preaching: From Text to Sermon” 1994, Sallie McFague “Ecological Theology” 1991.
9 Publications (Books, journals, articles)
Title Date of Publisher Review references publication “Pilgrimage: Calvin and the 2011 Eugene Oregon: ISBN 13: 978-1- Rehabilitation of a Reformation Pickwick 61097-131-7 Renegade” in Calvin @500: Theology, History, and Practice. Ed. Richard R. Topping and John A. Vissers, pp. 98-112.
“’Because I walked it’: Pilgrimage as 2008 Touchstone Vol. spiritual practise”. pp. 35-44. 26:1, Jan. 2008
“Pilgrimage Leadership: Facilitating 2007 Columbia Liminality for Transformation: A Case Theological Study.” Seminary
Claiming our Spiritual Heritage: Britain 2005 Wood Lake ISBN 1-55145-522- 2004. A three-DVD and study book Books 6 package. Kelowna, BC
The following are study books for Pilgrimage courses, co-written with R.G. Hobbs, (professor of History, VST) published privately (each 100 to 120 pages long):
Rediscovering our Spiritual Heritage: 1997, 2000, Britain 2002, 2008
From Dingle to Cashel: A Pilgrimage 2005, 2006, through Ireland 2014
The Singing Heart 2007
Catacombs to Christendom: A 2009, 2017 Pilgrimage through Italy
From Standing Stones to Cosmic Christ: 2010 A Pilgrimage through Northwest France
Seeing the Invisible: A Pilgrimage 2011
10 through Southern France
Exploring the Reformed Heritage: 2012 France, Switzerland and Scotland
From Einsiedeln to Amsterdam: A 2015 Pilgrimage on the great river Rhine
SECTION 5 - MINISTRY AND MISSION TO THE WIDER COMMUNITY Responsibilities in the community (e.g., voluntary service).
Organisation Brief description of responsibilities and any particular Dates from and to achievements Girl Guides of Canada Girl Guide Leader 1997 – 2004
Metro Vancouver Organization of community interest and civic groups, 2014 to present Alliance labour unions, and religious organizations who work together on areas of common interest: housing, transit, and preventing social isolation. I took MVA training on social action, community networking, and building allies.
Hobbies and areas of interest
Please outline any areas of special interest outside the church (e.g. international matters, issues in contemporary life) - and any particular hobbies.
Environmentalism, traveling, cycling, nature, camping, hiking, gardening, singing (my daughter and I joined a community choir last fall)
I have seasons tickets to the symphony with one friend, and to a live local theatre company with another friend.
Apart from reading for work, I enjoy reading fiction. I especially enjoy mythical worlds (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek to name a few).
I am staff to two cats.
11 SECTION 6 - FAMILY DETAILS
Marital Status: Engaged to be married
Any family information you would like to share: I grew up in small town Northern Alberta, the eldest of four children. My mother passed away this fall, and I am grieving this recent loss. My elderly father is still alive. I had and continue to have life-giving relationships with my parents and with my siblings.
I was married for 25 years. The marriage ended in 2007, and I have worked on grief, healing and learnings from this loss, and have discovered grace and new life beyond. We raised two wonderful daughters. The elder lives in Winnipeg and works for the Mennonite Central Committee in fundraising. My younger lives in Vancouver and runs the Children, Youth and Families Ministry at Christ Church Cathedral.
I am engaged to my long-time friend and former colleague, Gerald Hobbs, retired professor, United Church clergy, and church musician.
SECTION 7- NOMINATION HISTORY
Have you ever been nominated for Episcopal Office before? If so, where and when?
Yes, for the Diocese of New Westminster in the Fall of 2013. The Most Reverend Melissa Skelton was elected Bishop in that election.
SECTION 8- EPISCOPAL OFFICE
Please provide a statement as to your belief that you possess the gifts for Episcopal ministry in the Diocese of Kootenay. (Please write your answer below.)
I believe I have the following gifts for Episcopal Ministry:
Pastor: I am an excellent listener. I encourage and support people in discerning and living out their ministry, both clergy and lay leaders. As an archdeacon, I discovered I am not afraid to ask the tough questions of a community in their discernment, and I can facilitate honesty and clarity in parish profiles and searches. As Director of Formation at VST and as mentor to many ordinands, I learned the art of being pastor and supporting people while at the same time calling out their best and expecting accountability.
12 Leader: I am a collaborative team builder. I consult widely but am not afraid to make timely decisions when required. I can take a firm stance but I am not authoritarian. I am a non-anxious presence to people and to the organization I serve. I am imaginative, self-motivated, clear about my own life-goals.
Preacher: People tell me I am an excellent preacher. I take scripture seriously (too seriously to ever take it literally!) and I relate the ancient texts to contemporary life, finding past treasures in our tradition that are resources for Christian community in the current realities. I use a variety of styles of preaching.
Teacher: I am a seasoned and gifted experiential teacher. I have practical skills and wide experience in adapting many seminary courses to other modes of learning, short intensives and workshops. I am a very good group facilitator, helping a group work through process. For example, a vestry setting priorities or building its mission statement. I love teaching and preaching!
Liturgist: While I am deeply rooted in the tradition of Anglican worship, I am creative in adapting liturgy to use our senses, e.g. physical movement, art, drama, silence, music. Although I am not a visual artist, I think it is the work of a community to involve its artists to create beauty for worship. As the prayer book says, the language of worship needs to be in the common tongue, so I think the language of worship needs to be fresh and evocative. Within the structure of worship, we need to be free to be imaginative and playful, to engage people. The congregation are participants, not an audience. God is the audience of our worship!
Unity: I celebrate diversity, and can help a church community discover and focus its unity in Christ while remaining with honest conflict or differences. I can help a community work through its conflict. As Deputy Prolocutor (Speaker) for the General Synod of Canada, I have chaired the Council of General Synod Working Group on the Marriage Canon, so have worked with others to maintain our unity through and beyond General Synod 2019, in spite of differences in understanding of marriage and sexuality. I think changing peoples minds with arguments is highly unlikely; it is not even our goal, but respectful speaking, listening and working together is both a goal and a possibility. I understand “communion” as a gift, and have been shaped by the question asked by the former Primus of Scotland: “Can Communion contain conflict so conflict loses its power to divide?” I take seriously the role of Bishop to ensure the Diocese maintains this connection with the wider communion.
I do not see the call of the bishop to “safeguard the tradition” as a role of “museum curator”, but as someone who engages the whole church in the on-going work of faithful change, of discerning what parts of our tradition need to be put in new wineskins. As Fred Pratt Green’s fine hymn states: “The Church of Christ in every age, beset by change but Spirit-led, must claim and test its heritage and keep on rising from the dead”. (Common Praise #584)
Inclusivity: I am working towards the Anglican Church being a fully inclusive church.
13 Ecumenism: A bishop is to be a symbol of the universality of the church. I bring years of working in ecumenical settings, cherishing and maintaining my Anglican identity while open to dialogue and the gifts of other traditions. I firmly uphold the Ecumenical LUND principle, to which Anglicans have committed, that we will not do separately what we can do together. Anglicans have worked with PLURA (Presbyterians, Lutherans, United Church, Roman Catholic, Anglican) and as well we have begun a national bilateral dialogue with the Canadian Mennonite Church. I will encourage local ecumenical and interfaith initiatives.
Other gifts for episcopacy: energy, enthusiasm, a passionate love for the Church, a good facilitator, ability to live with ambiguity, a “non-anxious presence”, ability to play, sense of humour, resilience.
Please describe your relationship with Christ and your current spiritual life and practice. (This question needs to be answered in your YouTube video. Please also supply a written answer here.)
I have a creative mix of a deep simple childlike relationship with Jesus the human being, and a relationship with the theologically complex “Cosmic Christ”. The first is an immense comfort and sustenance, while the second inspires and challenges me to offer my best self to serve the world! In the tiny parish I attended in my pre-school years, in a town of 200 people, there was no priest, but two women “deaconesses”, “vanners”, women who travelled to small Anglican Churches to provide ministry in the fifties and sixties, and were paid very little! But what they taught me was lasting priceless: Jesus loves me. This is my foundational and still lived experience of Jesus. In my childhood, a loving Jesus was intimately connected to my wonder at Creation and the closeness I found with God in nature. This is still true in adulthood. Underneath everything I still think I am singing “Jesus Loves Me, this I know” or “Tell me the stories of Jesus”:
“First let me hear how the children stood round his knee, And I shall fancy his blessing resting on me; Words full of kindness, deeds full of grace, All in the love-light of Jesus’ face.''
Of course my understanding has matured and broadened, without losing that childlike trust in Jesus. I assume my understanding will continue to grow as I age and encounter other experience and traditions. I understand the earthly Jesus as the incarnation of the “Wisdom of God”, as did the early Church – for example in the prologue to John’s gospel everything John says about Jesus as the Word of God is a direct quote from the Wisdom/Sophia figure in Hebrew Scripture. Although Jesus as a human being was male, I understand the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Cosmic Christ, to be beyond our gender categories. The Christ is God-with-us, involved in Creation at the beginning, and the one who will gather and fulfil Creation at the end. Jesus lived out the self-emptying and self-giving love of God. And calls me to the same. I think in this age of needing to lean into interfaith dialogue, it is important to claim a broader
14 understanding of the Cosmic Christ. The Risen Christ holds all things in unity (Colossians 1:15-20) Although I affirm that Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life for me as a Christian, the Way in which I myself am brought into relationship with God, I do not understand this as exclusively the only way for everyone – as if salvation were limited to my understanding rather than opened by the Generous Grace of God. God’s will is salvation for the whole world, creation and all people. God is a universalist! (If anyone wants a further conversation about this, I am happy to go out for tea) I understand the Trinity as a Dance, a Unity which is not static but dynamic. There is relationship at the heart of God. The unknowable, transcendent Mystery, and the intimate closeness of Jesus.
My current spiritual practice, my “Rule of Life”:
• Worship! I find one of the most helpful spiritual practises for me is circling ever deeper through the church year, following the lectionary and the liturgical seasons. • Daily psalm(s): as I find psalms expand my prayer language and my honesty before God. • Morning and evening prayer, communal is preferable if possible, sung if possible, downloaded on my phone so I can do it wherever I am in an erratic schedule. • Scripture: I don’t usually read the daily lectionary when I do personal daily prayer; instead I read the text I am preparing for preaching, as I prefer to meditate, or chew on it all week. • I keep a gratitude journal at the end of the day. • I use a practice of daily examen at the end of the day: “where did I discover Christ today? Where did I miss seeing Christ today?” • I take an annual retreat plus diocesan clergy retreat, occasional short retreats. • Contemplative silence, breathing prayer: not as regular in my daily schedule as I would like, but a couple of times a week. • I meet monthly (at least) with a spiritual director, as I think anyone who has care of other souls must herself be accountable and in care of a wise director. • Weekly Sabbath time: My sabbath includes walking in nature, bird-watching or gardening, something that cultivates my sense of awe at Creation. My spirit needs to be outside, and my rule of life includes regular physical exercise, usually walking or cycling, and hiking when I can.
Please describe your leadership style and give us an example of this in practice (Please write your answer below.)
Leadership: some of this I spoke about above in the section “gifts for episcopacy”.
My style is collaborative, facilitative – making sure everyone is heard, clarifying issues/goals/obstacles. I value diversity and dissident voices. That said, once I heard all the voices around the table, as a
15 leader I will move us to decision. I trust the process. I trust the Holy Spirit who works in Community. I trust the gifts of everyone around the circle. I have an intuitive sense of timing, when to push something to conclusion and when to let it sit. I believe it is the role of the leader to create space.
I value, call and equip lay leadership.
While I hold firm convictions, I respect difference enough not to always insist on my own way. I do not fear opposition, in fact rather enjoy leaning into it to figure out where people are coming from. I believe the Holy Spirit often works in the differences. If I sense someone is in disagreement with me, I’ll go visit them. For example, when I removed the large pulpit from our sanctuary (after much planning in worship committee), one man was very upset. When I invited him in to my office to talk about it (an offer which surprised him) I found he was worried that the people who had made the pulpit would be offended and that it would be treated disrespectfully, just thrown out. We figured out that the people who made it are long gone, and I assured him it would not be treated disrespectfully – the pieces have been made into trolleys that hold our votive candle stands, so they can be moved around the sanctuary. Once his concerns were heard, the conflict dissipated.
I am accepting of people as they are!
Leading pilgrimages for people to experience church history has helped me build resilience during change. Seeing how the church has adapted (or died and been reborn!) through the centuries allows me to hope and to trust in God’s faithful presence. My doctoral thesis was about pilgrimage leadership as a metaphor for leading through change.
Sharon Daloz Parks, in her book Leadership can be Taught says resilient leaders have a “lived metaphor” from which they operate. My “lived metaphor” for leadership is that I once led a group across an Irish mountain which I had scouted beforehand (on a sunny day), through sheep fields where the signposts ahead were now invisible in the drizzle and fog. We kept going, without being able to see the next signpost, taking our direction from the arrow on the current signpost until someone in the group called out through the fog that they could see the next signpost. We followed their voice, regrouped and went on, and completed the whole journey together, one sign-post at a time. This is how I see community moving into the future.
Tending my own relationship with God, who is “abounding in steadfast love”, allows me to face an unknown future with confidence and joy.
The future is unknown, unpredictable, so we need leaders who respond to change not with fear but with Signpost on Pilgrim path on Dingle creativity and resilience, free to experiment, fail, learn Peninsula, Ireland With Irish monk 16 from failure and keep going.
One of the most important preparations for the Church of the future is cultivating the ability to manage and plan for change in response. I think I have been able to help St. Clements to maneuver through several changes.
Please share with us one of your most difficult experiences in ministry, what you learned and how you grew as a disciple and priest through the process. (Please write your answer below.)
When I was working in a part-time position in one congregation, I was offered another part-time position with a very small parish, which a priest had formed from scratch; after 5 years she retired. The diocese funded a ¼ position for 1 year with hopes of merging the small group with the larger parish I was already serving. It became clear this wasn’t going to work quickly; every member in the parish was there because of a close relationship with her the former priest, because she had given them each good pastoral care; their sense of community as a parish or with each other was far too fragile. Parishioners were hugely creative and active in the small town, but were not rooted in the Anglican tradition, worship or structure. They did not want to join another parish. After a year, diocesan funding stopped, and by then the larger parish was able to pay for my position full time, even though I offered to continue leading worship for St. Clare, they chose to disband, some scattering to be with other parishes, some moving to another denomination, some simply stopping church. I felt great sadness that we could not find a way for a continued community. (I hasten to add this was not during the episcopacy of our current bishop).
What I learned:
1. A community that is centred on a priest is not healthy or sustainable.
2. To experiment and build a new model of ministry needed far more time.
3. We needed trust, creative space and freedom from typical diocesan parish structures, freedom to fail and learn from mistakes.
4. I value Anglican church structure and canonical procedures, but new circumstances may call for new structures. This will require flexibility.
I think I grew as a disciple and priest in this experience as I have reflected on leadership in community, the need for persistence over the long-haul, remaining in relationship, trusting my intuition even when the Church structure feels restrictive.
17 What do you believe to be the top 3 challenges and opportunities facing the Anglican church today? How would you engage these challenges and opportunities as a Bishop with your people? (This question needs to be answered in your YouTube video. Please also supply a written answer here.)
I like that you put challenges and opportunities together, and that we would engage them together! Of many, three that stand out for me are: 1. Fostering Healthy Parishes in the midst of deep change 2. The need for spiritual revitalization 3. The need to respond to Climate Change
1. Fostering Health Parishes in the midst of deep change
People are afraid of the aging of our church population and afraid of the accompanying diminishing size of congregations. Some responses I see:
a. Fostering healthy parishes There is no panacea or instant fix, but I do bring experience in parish development, specific and do- able strategies, which I have taught in the diocese and have worked in the modest-sized congregation I serve. There are good models to help us rethink church and to fit to your particular setting.
b. Nurture the needs of different groups of aging people We need to address the spiritual needs of aging; if we have a healthy program for the people who are already in our churches, it is easier to invite people in. And the population of aging people will not diminish over time; it is growing! I have experience in offering resources for people as they age, and would be encouraging parishes to put energy into discerning and serving these needs.
c. We also need to cherish the young people we have And ask them what they need; incorporate them into the parish life rather than have separate programming for them. What has worked for me as a parish priest is to be involved with them, go with them to BCYAYM or Diocesan Youth events, have pastoral visits with them as you would with any parishioner. Show up to their soccer games or school plays. As bishop I would be very involved with Children, Youth and Young Adult events.
d. We need to Love small churches! In a world where people are starving for real community, we as church have something valuable to offer. Even in a big parish everyone needs to belong to a small group within the parish. I believe in the power of healthy small groups – whether that is the food bank organizers, a prayer group, or the Altar guild. Small can be transformative. The Holy Spirit works well with small! In St. Clements and in other settings, I have seen the transformative power of Covenant or Discipleship Groups (an impressive adaptation of this is “The Order of All Saints” in Vernon.
18 e. Address the fear of change! The Church will not die, but it will change. We follow the one who said: “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”
f. Celebrate diversity as a gift of God There is no “one size fits all” model. Diversity in models of ministry and diversity in the people of God are strengths to celebrate and build up.
g. Be outward looking Focus on offering service to the needs of the world, rather than be inward looking. Fearful people get into survival mode and turn inward and become immobilized. One of the things that attracts me about the Diocese of Kootenay is the outward focus on serving in the community. Justice-making leads to spiritual transformation.
I am excited to teach, encourage and collaborate with you on all these responses.
2. The need for Spiritual Revitalization I think the church needs to call people into a lived experience of the Holy, into relationship with God. I believe we are all mystics, people who have direct experience with God, but the church has failed to equip people to have meaningful spiritual practice. We have a rich heritage of spirituality and mysticism in the Anglican church; I would as your Bishop be teaching and facilitating renewal in this.
3. The need to respond to Climate Change I think one of the crises facing the Church is the major crisis that is facing humanity and our planet, environmental degradation and Climate Change. What have we to offer as Christians into this monumental threat? As your Bishop I would of course be encouraging us to offer practical help in specific crises. You already are learning to respond in fires and evacuations. We also need to be supporting each other in change, weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels, not at the expense of people who work in these fields, but all of us sharing the load of making necessary changes to the way we use resources. How do we as Christians offer hope and resilience? I think we can offer a robust theology of Creation, of relation to Creation as gift of God, that shifts our relationship of “exploitation of resources” to one of “stewardship”. As bishop I would lead us into continued and deeper reflection on the Baptismal vow adopted at General Synod 2013: “Will you strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the Earth?”. As a community, we can offer people hope in the midst of the environmental crisis. Our identity is as “beloved children of God”, not as “consumers” which the market economy wants us to be labelled. We can offer support to simplify our lives.
19 What is your vision of Episcopal leadership in the Diocese of Kootenay? (This question needs to be answered in your YouTube video. Please also supply a written answer here.)
I am attracted by the joyful tone of your profile, your enthusiasm for your mission, your willingness to offer service as examples of God’s love.
My vision of Episcopal leadership is most definitely not authoritarian or hierarchical, but collegial style, servant leadership.
I bring to my leadership an enthusiasm for the effectiveness of all kinds of parishes to provide community, which God can use to transform people to live out their baptismal ministry. My theology of the Holy Spirit is that she works best in community, and provides all the gifts that are needed in a parish to live out its mission.
I will be a bishop who is present to all the regions of the diocese, visiting regularly, engaging in conversation about the particular needs of each region. The geographic distances of the Diocese of Kootenay require someone who is willing to travel; I enjoy highway driving and love to be with people.
As your bishop, I will walk with clergy and congregations as we figure out ways to provide sacramental ministry to all regions. I do not have instant solutions for this but am very committed to working with you; I am open to new—and brave—models of being church.
MISSION STATEMENT
As your new bishop, I look forward to learning from you about your Together in Mission vision and how that is lived out in each parish. It will be my work to support and inspire that mission which you have articulated. Episcopal leadership doesn’t define your vision, but draws out from you what your calling is as we respond together to the needs of the world.
Your Diocesan mission statement: “Living Faith, Proclaiming Christ, Growing Churches and Empowering Mission”, is comprehensive and compelling. My episcopal leadership will be shaped around these active and powerful phrases.
“Living Faith”: a bishop is to teach the faith—not a dry encrusted institutional church, not doctrine and dogma, but a vibrant gospel that speaks to the realities of today. I very much like the phrase “living faith”, and I will work to inspire each parish and each member to engage our faith in meaningful ways that speak to the local needs and to the wider crises of our time – violence, environmental degradation, poverty, refugees, meaninglessness and despair. I will remind you of how the good news of God’s love in Jesus calls us to respond to these, inspiring and encouraging you as you
20 listen to your call to ministry in these situations.
“Proclaiming Christ”: I have said earlier how I understand the Cosmic Christ, the self-giving love for the world which we are called to exemplify. The world needs to hear this message in a practical and non-judgmental way. I will call us as a Diocese to deepen our relationship with Christ, the Creator and the Holy Spirit who is the energy for mission.
“Growing Churches & Empowering Mission”: Growth may mean numerical growth, but certainly means growth in faith, in Christian maturity. Mission will also require ongoing focus on stewardship, finding resources, prioritizing use of what we have.
I live out of a theology that celebrates God’s Abundance, and I see this reflected in your profile. I applaud your outward looking mission focus, a source of strength, which I will want to maintain.
There are many things about the Diocese of Kootenay which I don’t know, and will be new for me. I like listening and learning in new settings of ministry. I look forward to learning from you.
CLERGY SUPPORT
I see my role as nurturing healthy clergy, empowering them to use your gifts to support vigorous parishes. We need healthy clergy in order to equip excellent lay leadership.
I will provide and support ongoing education of clergy that is practical and realistic, but still with enough depth to serve communities and the gospel well, still with excellence in Biblical, Historical, Ethical, Liturgical grounding so we do not fall into simplistic answers, gimmicks, or yesterdays solutions. Good continuing education builds resilience.
I also want to nurture the spiritual health of the clergy, so you have renewal of personal experience of the God who calls you. One of my strengths is community building, and I see that good community amongst the clergy is an important asset of the diocese of Kootenay, essential with the geographical distances.
CONTINUING THE STRENGTHS OF THE DIOCESE OF KOOTENAY
One of the most important parts of healthy episcopal leadership is to continue and expand the excellent traditions and practices you already have.
I am attracted to the Diocese of Kootenay’s long-standing excellence in Lay Leadership.
I will empower the Kootenay School of Ministry and Education for Ministry (EFM) to continue
21 providing good quality local training for ordained and lay leadership. I will bring my experience of leadership training from seminary (VST and others) as well as from the Parish Development School of the Diocese of Olympia and New Westminster. I do not see starting a new program, but strengthening and calling new leadership, enhancing what you already have, continuing to adapt it to meet the changing needs of parishes.
You also have a wonderful practice of Ecumenical cooperation in Kootenay, worth continuing and even expanding. As current co-chair of the National Anglican United Church Dialogue, I have been working to encourage our church towards mutual recognition of ministry in places where that would be an effective and faithful option for shared ministries. I certainly see this as a possibility in smaller centres, and I would work hard to make this happen in ways that would enhance the ministry available to the Anglican communities. We have good precedents for sharing ordained leadership in other parts of the Anglican Communion. I want us to be bold in supporting existing and creating new viable faithful shared ministries with other denominations where that is a possibility. I do not see this as a threat to our Anglican identity; I believe we can maintain what is valuable in our Anglican tradition while sharing in mission and leadership with other denominations.
I have a huge enthusiasm for the ministry you are doing in the Diocese of Kootenay and I am excited to embark on a new adventure with you.
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