Provincial Synod 2024: At the Crossroads of Sacred Pilgrimage
GROWING BEYOND THE DOORS
By Rev. Canon Grayhame Bowcott
THERE ARE many reasons why I would use the word ‘sacred’ to describe our most recent gathering of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario (the triennial meeting of the dioceses of Huron, Moosonee, Toronto, Algoma, Ontario, Niagara, and Ottawa). The first is that we gathered in the place called Bawating (‘the place of the rapids’), also known as Sault Ste. Marie.
The natural beauty of our host city situated us on the shores of the St. Marys River, between the Great Lakes of Huron and Superior, and, as some indigenous leaders say, ‘at the heart of Turtle Island.’ Its central location in our Province meant that most delegates had to travel a fair distance to attend – adding to the sense of pilgrimage.
The second reason for describing our synod as ‘sacred’ is our experience of the hospitality that we received there. Archbishop Anne Germond, and her team of hosts from the Diocese of Algoma, welcomed us into their community, into beautiful worship at St. Luke Cathedral (with our long-time Huron friend, The Very Rev. Dr Jay Koyle), and even into her home, as the closing reception was hosted at the historic Bishophurst, the traditional residence of the Bishop of Algoma.
Yet another unique aspect of the synod this year was the time that we were able to spend with special guests, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, his wife, Rebecca, and his chaplain, Mark. While the Archbishop represents the Church of England (and by extension, the Anglican Communion) through a laundry list of formal titles and responsibilities, in person, he is deeply relatable and charismatic. He shared with us a vision for the future Anglican Church to strive to become more simple in its forms and structure, more humble in its situation within society, and more bold in its proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Archbishop Stephen’s humour, storytelling, and deep passion for the Church inspired us and reminded us of how we are interconnected with Christians around the world within the beautiful Christian family that we call the Anglican Communion.
A final reason to call this synod ‘sacred’ was the deliberate plan to lead all delegates through a pilgrimage of historic truth-telling, as we were invited to tour the Shingwauk Residential School. This school, founded in the 1830s by a shared vision between Chief Shingwauk and the Garden River First Nation under the leadership of the Anglican Church and by the government, was initially intended to be a place where two cultures could journey together (with the beautiful analogy of two canoes paddling side by side): a mutual dialogue between Indigenous and European values. However, like other residential schools throughout the country, the Shingwauk School quickly evolved into a place of cultural assimilation with the deliberate stripping away of Indigenous culture, language, and identity.
Present with us on the tour was our National Indigenous Archbishop, Chris Harper, who led us with prayer and times of reflection. We were also graced with the presence of a descendent of Chief Shingwauk, and a number of children of Residential School survivors, and with the staff of the newly formed Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig University, an Indigenous Teaching Lodge and research center of Anishinaabe education. Each of our synod delegates wore an orange shirt, to mark the national day for truth and reconciliation. We came to listen and to learn. Yet, despite our best intentions, it was commented that some of the staff of the SKG University found our presence to be triggering for them. We were, after all, the representatives of the same institution that had inflicted immeasurable harm on Indigenous families for generations, with the impacts still being lived today.
It was painfully poignant to tour the Shingwauk cemetery grounds and to note that the only grave markers remaining were those that belonged to the clergy and teachers of the school. While over seventy children are also buried in that cemetery, their simple wooden markers have long vanished. I paused a moment to note the tombstone of a past Archdeacon of Algoma, and later reflected, while looking at a picture of him in the archives, that he looked so much like me in his Anglican clericals.
Our delegates also sat in the pews of the Bishop Fauquier Memorial Chapel, the only remaining building from the early years of the Residential School. The chapel was built through the labours of the children who attended, its stunning Gothic and Tudor architecture sobered by the remembrance that many past students no longer feel comfortable entering it.
At the end of the tour, Archbishop Harper spoke on the role of the contemporary Church in knowing the truths of our history in order for us to shape a more just future, walking in partnership with our Indigenous brothers and sisters. This is all the more important at a time when many continue to choose to deny the traumatic history of Residential Schools in Canada, and how they systematically erased both the culture and identity of generations of Indigenous peoples.
Provincial Synod 2024 also embodied the theme of pilgrimage with our central focus on recognizing that we are a Church in the middle of seismic change. Our biblical inspiration for the synod was taken from Jeremiah 6.16: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Through this lens we considered a number of actions within the church, including the approval of a new Vice-Chancellor, to foster a greater sense of mentorship and sharing of responsibility within the administration of the Province.
We looked at the state of theological education, noting that the Church is experiencing a decrease in vocations that are resulting from traditional models of seminary education. With renewed focus and creativity we are seeing the rise of new ways of training future leaders of the Church and there are signs of renewal being experienced.
Synod was also attentive to the concerns of our youth delegates, who felt underrepresented in the life of the Church. This resulted in a further financial investment for youth gatherings, with the agency for these gatherings being taken up by the youth delegates themselves.
While it is true that our Province, and each of our seven dioceses, are experiencing numerous challenges, what I found to be exciting in this synod was the willingness of our church leadership to adapt, to rethink old structures of governance, and explore new ways of becoming, as the Archbishop of York affirmed in us, a more simple, humble and bold Church for the future. Together, each of these experiences at Synod 2024 left me, and other delegates, feeling that God was working something sacred in our midst.
We are deeply thankful for the opportunity to have come together in this way, to have been hosted by both the Diocese of Algoma and the Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig University (with the University of Algoma), and to have been given time to reimagine our pathway forward as the Church and body of Christ in Ontario.
The Rev’d Canon Dr. Grayhame Bowcott is passionate about fostering congregational relationships and sharing our Anglican vocation with others. He serves as Rector of St. George’s, The Parish of The Blue Mountains, and as Program Director for the Licentiate in Theology program at Huron University.