I learned something important about Church at the recent Synod of the Diocese of Moosonee on June 2-5, 2011. ‘Synod’ for a Canadian diocese is like our annual Diocesan Convention. However, since the Diocese of Moosonee includes so much territory and because travel is so expensive in the North, Moosonee generally holds Synod only every three years.
This year we faced disturbing financial realities. First, communities in Northeastern Ontario that had been entirely English-speaking are now 95% French-speaking. Many of those who spoke English were Anglicans. Those who speak French are not. Also, Moosonee has always been a missionary diocese. That is, it has lived on grants made from people and organizations from outside the Diocese. Likewise, most parishes in Moosonee receive some kind of subsidy from the Diocese or their local First Nations Band Council or both. One of the major contributors of grants to Moosonee has been the Anglican Church of Canada. This money, now, however, is diminishing rapidly and may disappear entirely. Missionary Dioceses like Moosonee simply cannot continue to operate as they have in the past.
What can be done?
Prior to Synod there were three concepts discussed extensively around the Diocese. The first included an aggressive fundraising program that would replace that missing revenue. However, everyone I talked with realized that this would never work on a sustained basis. Maybe we’d get the money for a year or so, but the fund raising would become ever more difficult. More importantly, it would change the character — indeed, the soul — of the Diocese. There were questions: ‘What is God trying to tell us?’ ‘What is God calling us to?’
The second concept was to close down the Diocese of Moosonee entirely. Each parish would become affiliated with one of the nearby dioceses. For instance, western parishes might join the Diocese of Keewaydin. Southern parishes: the Diocese of Algoma. Parishes east of James Bay: the Diocese of Quebec.
The third approach was a variation on the second. The parishes in the James Bay Deanery are all First Nations parishes. These parishes include communities on the coast of James Bay: from Kashechewan on the West Coast around to Chisasibi on the East Coast. Included, also, are some inland communities and congregations. (St. John’s at Mistissini Lake is one of those inland congregations.) The idea was that these parishes would prefer to stay together in the same network. The option, then, was that these parishes would become the ‘new’ Diocese of Moosonee. All of the judicatory resources would be accommodated by the parishes themselves. The Bishop, for instance, would also be a Rector in a local parish. In fact, this ‘new’ Diocese generally would cover the same area, include the same parishes, and follow the same design as the original Diocese of Moosonee, when it was formally constituted at the beginning of the twentieth century. The new (or original) Diocese of Moosonee would be predominantly Cree-speaking and could accommodate the language and cultural sensitivities of its Cree members.
Before Synod I had thought that this third option — or, some variation of it — would carry the day. The James Bay Deanery is an extraordinary network of extraordinary parishes, and I didn’t see that network breaking apart any time soon. But, at Synod, it became clear that none of these concepts would work. People kept saying: ‘We’re a family! You don’t just disband a family, when the money gets tight. You figure out what you have to do and then you do it. And you do it as a family.” Synod’s decision, then, was to request the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario to include us all under their aegis as a mission district. We would remain together, for the time being, anyway, as a network of parishes but without any of the structures usually associated with a diocese. Episcopal oversight might come from afar, but the resources outside each parish will be simply other parishes or other community resources. Some parishes might feel called to assist other parishes. Some parishes would need assistance to survive — at least in their present form.
I think Synod got it right. When the motion first surfaced, I was skeptical, because I thought it avoided the hard realities of fiscal insolvency. But, on second thought, I believe Synod faced into what we are about as a Church. It’s all about relationships, this Church of God. Synod understood that. Organizations may come and go. The Body of Christ is always, and we’re part of it.
When Synod ended I knew we had made a bit of history. The Church is alive and well. We live in hope for the journey ahead.