The Saskatchewan Anglican, December 2018

December 2018 The Saskatchewan Anglican 9

Conference deepens biblical faith in the Anglican Church

By Jason G. Antonio

CALGARY — Anglicans from across Western Canada gathered recently to help deepen the biblical faith within the Anglican Church of Canada while also learning how to pass on the Christian faith to younger generations.

St. James Anglican Church in Calgary hosted the one-day conference on Oct. 13, which the Anglican Communion Alliance (ACA) held in partnership with the Young Anglicans Project.

The two side-by-side conferences — ACA and Engage — shared worship times, meals and a closing session. Sixty-three Anglicans from dioceses across the ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land attended.

The Rev. Dr. Ron Kydd, Julie Moser, and Sharon Dewey Hetke were the speakers in the main ACA conference, while presenters for the Engage youth gathering included Julie Moser; Ken Moser (professor of Youth Ministry, Briercrest College); and Steven Tighe (Young Anglicans Project). Meeting on an upper floor of St. James, the Engage participants included priests, grandmothers, parents, and a youth minister and his team.

Challenges facing the church

Dr. Kydd (professor of Church History at Tyndale College in Toronto) gave a rundown on the challenges facing society and the Church today, how the world is affecting the Church, the effect of societal changes upon Christians, and how Christians can function in such a “volatile environment.” Two solutions Kydd offered to the challenges are to pray and read the Bible regularly while taking both Church and society seriously.

“Humankind is entering a fundamentally new world. Our world is changing profoundly and rapidly,” Kydd said. Some of the positive changes include improved medical care, education, equality between the sexes, and world peace.

Conversely, we see a culture that is becoming increasingly consumerist and individualistic, where the culture is built around

Youth leaders at St. James Anglican Church in Calgary lead conference attendees in worship during the closing moments of the event on Oct. 13.

Photo by Jason G. Antonio

Archbishop Greg Kerr-Wilson

the person who wants to be in control of his or her life.

“We have moved away from the ideas of selfsacrifice and discipline to a narcissistic gospel of intense therapeutic selfrealization,” said Kydd.

Before the First World War, churches noticed that fewer people were coming to church. Churches also perceived that they were influencing the culture less, so to keep their “market share” of people, there was a “liberal softening of doctrine” so churches didn’t offend society.

“In early 20 th century theology, they reconciled God and man by deifying the latter and humanizing the former,” Kydd said. “Churches … saw that the cross was offensive, so they wondered how to play it down.

“Churches today — especially the Anglican Church of Canada — face immense cultural pressure to conform while

Dr. Ron Kydd

being as inoffensive as possible,” he continued.

However, the Anglican Church has done “amazing things” in the name of God for humanity over the centuries, he added. History books about Christianity show Anglicans have been highly involved in providing for society.

“How do we respond to these challenges? We have to give up more deeply for God … ,” Kydd continued, noting this is a battle for people’s souls.

God welcomes people when they believe in Jesus Christ, allowing us to live in a “shockingly intimate relationship with the Almighty God.”

Discipling young people

Julie Moser (Youth and Children’s missioner, Diocese of Qu’Appelle) spoke to the main ACA conference about how to make disciples of youths and how to mentor young

people even if Anglicans feel unqualified and untrained. She noted Jesus’s last words were to go and make disciples of all the nations.

Pointing to Judges 2:10, Moser said many of the Israelites saw the things God, Moses and Joshua did during the journey to the Promised Land. However, the next generation knew nothing of these accomplishments.

“We are so afraid to pass along our faith because we are afraid of offending people,” she said. As well, “Busyness destroys relationships. We need to say that we are not too busy (to mentor youths).”

Few Anglicans might have grown up being discipled, but that shouldn’t stop us from mentoring youths today and taking an interest in them, Moser continued.

We also shouldn’t overlook kids coming from strong Christian homes since every youth requires encouragement. Moser pointed to Paul mentoring Timothy.

When adults meet to disciple young people they should “talk, study and pray.” Talk about the day and how life is going; study the Bible or the day’s lectionary; then pray afterward.

Interacting with the church

In the final ACA session, Dewey Hetke, national director of the Anglican Communion Alliance, spoke about the work of that organization.

While it is necessarily engaged in issues leading up to General Synod, such as advocating for the biblical understanding of marriage, and for formal provisions for clergy

should the resolution to amend the marriage canon be passed, it is also about far more than any political battle.

ACA wants “to deepen biblical faith in the Anglican Church of Canada, and in every one of our lives,” she said. The session ended with the Rev. Gene Packwood leading a time of focused prayer for the Church.

In a closing session, which included worship from the Rwandan Anglican liturgy, Archbishop Greg Kerr-Wilson (Calgary) addressed both ACA and Engage, as they gathered together in the nave of St. James.

He spoke movingly about true encouragement and the strength to stand for Christ. Drawing forward the 12 Engage participants, he commissioned them to disciple young people.

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