2022 Annual Report

View reports from other years: 2024 | 2023 | 2022

A renewed sense of hope

Through 2022, we continued to face the effects of the pandemic but as lockdowns gradually abated,  we experienced a renewed sense of hope in returning to familiar patterns of life and work.   

General Synod continued to work primarily remotely and online and we learned new skills of connecting through technology.  Despite our hopes to hold General Synod in 2022 the grip of anxiety about COVID 19 led us to make the decision to postpone General Synod and Assembly with the ELCIC to June 2023.   This meant that members of the Council of General Synod and all committees extended their terms for a further year and continued to work to bring forward the results of their mandates. Staff within the Coordinating Committees, Strategic Planning Working Group, Dismantling Racism Task Force, Jubilee Commission remained committed to the work needed.   

Indigenous ministries completed work on the Covenant and Our Way of Life foundational documents for the emerging Sacred Circle, self-governing church within the Anglican Church of Canada in anticipation of Sacred Circle 2023. The Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples elected a new National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop, Archbishop Chris Harper. In our ongoing work of reconciliation, the Archbishop of Canterbury visited in April 2022 to offer an apology for the role of the Church of England in the early history of Canada that contributed to treaties not honoured and to the colonialism that infected the residential school system.   

It was a year of hard work demonstrating adaptability and resilience in a challenging year! And throughout this difficult year, we discovered a renewed sense of faith and joy in our work and in God. 

Grateful for the generous support of Anglicans

2022 was a year of transition toward re-opening after the lockdowns of the pandemic. Although we postponed the planned Assembly/General Synod as a precautionary measure, in-person gatherings resumed in the second half of the year.

You will read about many of our activities in the other sections of this report, but I’d like to take the opportunity to offer special thanks to the dedicated volunteers who make up our various committees and councils for their willingness to serve an extra year as the triennium became a quadrennium.

A highlight of 2022 was the gathering of the bishops of the Anglican Communion in the Lambeth Conference and its calls to mission  across the Communion.

We engaged in the work of planning the postponed Assembly and General Synod, which entailed a change in venue and other logistical adjustments. 

None of these things would have been possible without the generous support of Anglicans across Canada. We continue to be grateful for the many individuals who generously support General Synod through prayers, committee work, and/or financial contributions.

Looking into the future

“Reconnect and renew” was the theme for Global Relations in 2022. A major highlight was the continuing work of the Companions of Jerusalem, involving preparations for the 2023 young adult pilgrimage to the Holy Land, for 2022 Jerusalem and Holy Land Sunday, and Primate Nicholls and National Bishop Johnson’s Full Communion visit in December.  This visit strengthened Nicholls’ and Johnson’s commitment to amplify the voice of the Church in advocating with the Canadian government for peace and justice between Palestine and Israel.

Other Global Relations highlights included the preparation of a new Companion Diocese Relationship resource for Canadian bishops’ connecting with Communion counterparts at the summer Lambeth Conference.

As the world emerges from the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Global Relations looks forward to renewing relationships for mission with all partners, including the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa, the Province of Brazil, and Anglican Oceania Fono.

Seeking to be the hands and feet of God in this world

We’ve been witnessing climate change for a while, and in 2022, we experienced devastating examples of its impact.  Our Social and Ecological Justice arm was hard at work living out the gospel call to justice, seeking to be the hands and feet of God in this world. Here in Canada, the team pursued climate justice as part of the Anglican Communion Forest Project, which hopes that by acting together as a worldwide Anglican Communion, we can have a big impact in the global response to care for our planet. 

We supported the Council of General Synod’s Dismantling Racism Task Force, and reinforced our commitment to advocate for and comply with human rights and other legislation aimed at eliminating racism among people and in organizations, within Canada and globally.

Our work on human trafficking continued, advocating for new legislation aimed at bringing an end to this egregious harm, and mitigating the extent and nature of human trafficking and modern slavery in our neighbourhoods, cities and towns. 

Key to all these initiatives are ecumenical partnerships. Canadian Anglicans banded together with our ELCIC Full Communion partners, and worked alongside Kairos and the Canadian Council of Churches, lifting up a shared voice for a more just world.

Forging Anglican-Jewish relations while advocating for Middle East peace

A major focus for our interfaith relations
 in 2022 was to maintain a sincere and open dialogue with the Jewish Community in Canada. Canadian Anglican leaders have expressed clear support for justice for Palestinians, and raised concerns about illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. However, those concerns are raised from a posture of fellowship with Canadian Jews, ensuring advance notice and open channels, and accompanied by a clear rejection of anti-semitism.

Shared ministries accelerated and exhilarated

The virtual-only experience of church during the pandemic accelerated the move to congregational shared ministries between denominations in 2022, and the ecumenical office was happy to help. Anglicans and United Church members in Fernie, BC provide a standout example: a shared minister served separate congregations online, alternating services each Sunday. The experience of common prayer led parishioners to a richer appreciation of each other’s traditions, leading them to merge into a thriving shared ministry.

Financial snapshot

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

—Romans 8:28