Together on the Journey: A Weekly Blog from Fr. Andrew Sheldon
We are a catholic church.
Too often, the term ‘catholic’ is used to refer to The Roman Catholic church as if they are the only ‘catholic’ church. But, with no disrespect to our Roman cousins, it must be named that the Anglican Church is, as well, ‘catholic’. In general terms, catholic means “of broad scope, comprehensive, or concerning all humankind”. In ecclesiastical (having to do with The Church) terms, it means churches that are worldwide and in continuity with the ancient undivided church. In all these respects, the Anglican Church is decidedly catholic.
We are also an Episcopal church. In its purest form, that means we are governed by Bishops – as all ancient undivided churches are. As such, the local church is the Diocese and the Pastor is the Bishop. In broader terms, it means we are part of something bigger. And so catholic and episcopal come together to describe who we are as Anglicans.
I write this as St George’s is going through a discernment process as to who will be your next Incumbent and what will be your priorities going forward. As such, I encourage you to embrace your catholic identity and engage in the church and the work of the church beyond St George’s. On the one hand, this has to do with our outreach efforts. In this respect, we are doing a fine job in addressing food insecurity in our local community. We do this through food drives, cash donations, and our vegetable garden. This is all to be commended. But, as we look forward, I would encourage you to look beyond the community and imagine ways we can support outreach initiatives in our city, our country, and globally. Indeed, there is a group of parishioners who will be looking at this very thing and coming up with a proposal for us to consider.
But this catholic identity is more than outreach. It also has to do with engaging in the larger church in any number of ways. For instance, I wonder what other churches and agencies we can partner with in extending God’s mission in the world? Our long partnership with the Dorothy Ley Hospice is one example of this. Could there be more? I wonder what gifts and skills we have in our congregation that could be of use to our Diocese or our national church? The Diocese of Toronto has a robust programme for volunteers who serve the wider church in a variety of ways; if you are interested let me know.
But finally, I have been asked to forward the names of four households/individuals who will work with a consulting firm in support of a Diocesan initiative called Casting the Net. They are asking for your input on how the Diocese can best support parishes in their ministry and mission. Again. Let me know if you are interested.
For, after all, we are a catholic church.
Andrew +