Calls help church plan future

For St. Paul, Bloor Street, the diocese’s 20 calls to action couldn’t have come at a better time. After emerging from the pandemic, the church was trying to discern where God was leading it.

“We had said to ourselves, and I said it a lot, we’re not trying to build back the old St. Paul’s, because it’s gone,” recalls Bishop Jenny Andison, rector of St. Paul’s. “Covid was a once-in-a-century event and God had disrupted the normal course of ministry, and we needed to take the opportunity to ask ourselves where God was leading us. We weren’t going to build back better; we were going to build new.”

The church started a strategic planning and visioning process, and then along came the diocese’s strategic plan, Cast the Net, and its 20 calls to action. The calls, which were endorsed by Synod in 2023, encourage Anglicans to renew their spiritual lives, to seek justice for all, to support faithful and fruitful ministry, and to live and work as the body of Christ, each connected to the whole and each valued for their unique gifts.

“It was perfect timing, to see where we could come alongside where our bishops were leading us,” says Bishop Andison. “Being a bishop myself, I believe in episcopal leadership of our diocese, and I thought, okay, let’s pay attention to where our bishops are wanting us to go.”

The staff team at St. Paul’s sat down with the calls and began to discern which ones spoke to them. “The good thing was, we could find ourselves in the calls,” says Bishop Andison. “We went through them and said, where do the calls fit with what we’re currently doing that we’re going to keep doing? Some calls didn’t speak as loudly to us at St. Paul’s but there were a number that did, and we were like, oh yes, we can get behind this one, and this one is really good, too.”

The calls also helped the team think about what they needed to stop doing. “Just because we did something before the pandemic didn’t mean we needed to keep doing it,” says Bishop Andison. “It gave us the opportunity to have that discussion and pray into that. Are there things, God, that we used to do that you’re not calling us to do anymore? Having the calls to action during our strategic planning process gave us a lens to do that with. If we’re doing stuff that doesn’t find itself anywhere under the Cast the Net vision, why are we doing it? It was a pruning exercise, and it was helpful.”

After prayerful discernment, the church chose calls 1, 2, 4, 10 and 15. Call 1 is to enter into a Season of Spiritual Renewal to deepen personal and collective discipleship; Call 2 is to reinvigorate and recommit to children’s, youth, family and intergenerational ministries; Call 4 is to recognize and act on opportunities to participate in God’s healing work in the world; Call 10 is to better reflect the diversity of our communities in both congregations and clergy; and Call 15 is to introduce and use new ways to measure and nurture congregational health and effectiveness.

“Those were the calls that really fit with who we currently are and, maybe more importantly, where we feel God is calling us to in the future,” says Bishop Andison.

Since then, the church has developed a vision, mission and values statement that helps to guide its life, aligned with the Cast the Net vision.

And the calls are coming to life at St. Paul’s. The church is putting a lot of resources into prayer gatherings, with surprising results. After doing a “prayer audit” of the congregation, it found that while there were resources for personal prayer such as its Daily Prayer Guide, and people prayed during the Sunday liturgies and in small groups, there weren’t opportunities for medium-size groups to come together and pray for the future of the Church.

“We thought that was a gaping hole in our congregation, so we hosted our first Kingdom Come prayer night last summer, and 75 people came,” says Bishop Andison. “That was amazing, for an hour and a half of prayer. Then we thought, why are we not praying with the local churches? So, we had an ecumenical gathering this past January and 600 people came. It was unbelievable.”

She keeps a printed copy of the church’s mission, vision and values on her desk and refers to it almost every day, especially when important decisions need to be made. In this way, the calls have become an important part of the church’s decision-making process. “They sharpened our intentionality on certain areas of ministry. In the hustle and bustle of running a church, it’s easy to forget those things.”

She encourages other churches to choose a couple of calls that feel right for them. “What two or three calls are you uniquely positioned to fulfil, that will give life? It may be things you’re already doing, and you want to say, you know what, this is a medium priority now but we’re going to make it a top priority. And also, what two or three things do we need to stop doing – that aren’t drawing people to Jesus? The calls kind of give you permission to start doing that.”

Which calls are right for your church?

With Synod coming up in November, parishes are being asked to embrace one or two of the following 20 calls. The calls were approved by Synod in 2023 as part of the diocese’s strategic plan, Cast the Net.

Renewing Spirituality

We are renewed daily in our spiritual lives and share our faith with others. In that spirit, all parts of the Diocese of Toronto are called to:

1. Enter into a Season of Spiritual Renewal to deepen personal and collective discipleship.
2. Reinvigorate and recommit to children’s, youth, family and intergenerational ministries.
3. Share and use resources to enliven worship, faith formation, spiritual practice and evangelism.

Inspiring Faith in Action

We seek justice for all, walk alongside those in need, and respond with loving service and prophetic advocacy. In that spirit, all parts of the diocese are called to:

4. Recognize and act on opportunities to participate in God’s healing work in the world.
5. Make explicit connections between following Jesus and working for justice and peace.
6. Strengthen Indigenous ministry; engage non-Indigenous Anglicans in reconciliation work.
7. Take, sustain and communicate actions that promote diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism.
8. Intensify advocacy and action in response to the climate crisis.

Reimagining Ministry

We support and encourage faithful and fruitful ministry by all who serve the life of the church. In that spirit, all parts of the diocese are called to:

9. Actively embrace collaboration among congregations and innovation in new forms of ministry.
10. Better reflect the diversity of our communities in both congregations and clergy.
11. Understand the changing needs of lay leaders in congregations and support them in their work.
12. Continue and enhance support for all ordained people.
13. Enable and celebrate the work of ministries focused on service in the world.
14. Rethink clergy discernment, formation, and deployment for the church of the future.
15. Introduce and use new ways to measure and nurture congregational health and effectiveness.

Transforming Diocesan Culture

We live and work as the Body of Christ, each member connected to the whole, and each valued for their unique gifts. In that spirit, all parts of the diocese are called to:

16. Cultivate an understanding of the diocese as a dynamic net of shared relationships.
17. Continue assessing recent diocesan leadership changes and adjust as necessary.
18. Adopt an integrated, theologically informed approach to property management.
19. Ensure follow-through on this report, including implementation methods and metrics.
20. Invest in the vision with existing and new resources, using sound Christian stewardship principles.

For more information on the 20 Calls, including a discussion guide, visit www.toronto.anglican.ca/castthenet.