If the Anglican Church of Canada is going to survive and thrive, it will need to make deep changes — and the denomination’s new primate is ready to guide that change.
On June 26, Shane Parker, the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, was elected to be the leader of the church at its 44th General Synod in London, Ont.
In accepting the position, Parker, 67, was given a mandate by the General Synod to implement change in the church, which has an estimated 500,000 members in 1,700 parishes. The General Synod is the chief governing and legislative body of the Anglican Church of Canada.
“There is a profound need for change,” said Parker in an interview with Canadian Affairs.
Parker, who grew up in Alberta and has served as bishop in Ottawa since 2020, says the church’s mentality is similar to how it was after World War Two, during the Baby Boom.
“Back then, the idea was if you build it, they will come,” he said of how parishes were full of children and families at that time.
“We live in a different time today,” he said.
From 2019 to 2022, the Anglican Church of Canada saw a 12 per cent decrease in total members, a 26 per cent decrease in average Sunday attendance, and a 17 per cent decrease in givers, statistics show.
It also saw major drops in the number of people attending services on major holy days — including a 45 per cent decline in Easter attendance and 47 per cent for Christmas — and the number of baptisms.
In response to these trends, the church’s General Synod adopted six “pathways” for change at its June meeting.
These include reducing the size of the church’s organizational structure and staffing levels; becoming more inclusive and diverse in decision making; examining church communications, including its flagship publication the Anglican Journal; and better defining the partnership with the Indigenous Anglican church; and reviewing how it does ministry in remote Northern communities.
For Parker, these pathways all mean finding ways to help the Anglican Church adapt to 21st-century trends.
“The glory days of Anglicanism in Canada are the past,” he said, adding that his goal is to operationalize the six pathways “faithfully, efficiently and rapidly.”
‘Humble confidence’
In addition to structural changes, Parker also wants to help the church “change sense of who we are.”
For Parker, that means learning how to speak into a pluralistic society — where there are many people who are part of other faiths and many who are non-religious.
“I want to see us gain a humble confidence that we have something to share with society,” he said.
It also means sharing the church’s core Gospel values of peace, justice, care for the vulnerable and creation. These, he said, “are values that resonate with many Canadians today.”
Parker is also interested in pursuing deeper ties with other faith groups. “There is common ground,” he said, adding “I want to build relationships so we can get to know each other at a human level.”
He also wants to promote a message of welcome for all in the church, including members of the LGBTQ+ community and Indigenous people. We will continue to listen and move forward on the path of reconciliation with Indigenous people, he says.
The Anglican Church’s international relief and development organization, Alongside Hope, is also important, he says. “It is vital to walk with those who are suffering around the world,” he said.
“It is the heart of the Gospel.”
As for the future of the Anglican Church, Parker said he will never use the word grow; those days are over.
“But I want to see it thrive, to be an enlivened Church,” he said. “I want it to be a church that lifts the spirits of everyone.”
Bit disappointing – has the interview been so edited down that you’ve cut out anything spiritual? Seems like a glaring omission. “I want to see us gain a humble confidence that we have something to share with society,” could he mean evangelism? Is it Jesus? Did you ask?
Suggesting that the church won’t grow in the future but can thrive is really curious and I’m a bit shocked that wasn’t explained. A leader that doesn’t claim an organization can grow should’ve raised an eyebrow and been cause for a follow up question. Such a frustrating read but maybe the author is an atheist and doesn’t get it.
Having recently attended both United and Anglican church services, it would seem that the heart of the gospel is missing which is the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, specifically his life, death, and resurrection centering on God’s plan to reconcile humanity to himself by offering forgiveness of sins and eternal life through the sacrifice of his Son, emphasizing that salvation is a free gift received by grace through faith, not earned by human merit.