By Bishop Joey Royal, Director of ATTS

Nearly 400 years ago, the English priest and poet George Herbert wrote a little book on pastoral ministry called The Country Parson. The wide-ranging book covers a lot of ground: in it we find guidance on how to study the scriptures, how to preach effectively, and how to catechize the young. We find exhortations on repairing buildings, training churchwardens, and visiting parishioners. We find reminders to not neglect one’s family and domestic responsibilities, and how to persevere through sadness and discouragement. We also find wise suggestions on how the priest can contextualize teaching so it can be better understood by those being taught. Although he writes in an older English style (and with older spellings!) the book is written clearly, with very concrete examples and illustrations.

Herbert joyfully embraces the parish model, which is the idea that the priest is pastorally responsibility for everyone within a geographical boundary, and not just those who attend church regularly (although Herbert would have plenty to
say about regular worship attendance!).

Although this parish model has been influential in Anglican circles – and many still call their local Anglican church a “parish” – it has eroded considerably across Canada, with few understanding the parish as a particular mission field claimed for the Gospel. There are complex reasons for this erosion – the growth of large cities, the fragmentation that comes from denominationalism, the rise of secularism and multi-culturalism, shifting paradigms for ministry, and so forth. The world has changed, and Herbert’s vision, for many, belongs deep in the past, in a vastly different world.

But for many of us in the Canadian Arctic, the broad contours of Herbert’s parish-centered vision feel relevant and contemporary. This is because our context differs greatly from the majority of Canada. For instance, most of our communities are closer in size to Herbert’s English village than to southern Canadian cities. In most places, the Anglican Church is the primary church in town, and sometimes the only one. Most people identify as Anglican, even if they don’t attend church often.

Most importantly, in our communities a minister is never anonymous; he or she is always recognized, and often called upon to do all kinds of things – blessing homes, praying for the sick and grieving, mentoring the young, visiting elders, and so forth. Herbert somewhere says that a minister “leaveth not his Ministry behind him; but is himself where ever he is.” Anyone who has ever ministered in a small community knows the truth of that.

Parish ministry in the north is full of opportunity, but it can also be a heavy burden. Herbert writes about the sadness that often comes with ordained ministry. Ministers are regularly exposed to sin and misery. They grieve at the human wreckage around them, and weep as people suffer various afflictions. Additionally, parish ministry is heavy because it deals with the weightiest matters – life and death, justice and mercy, God and the devil. Although Herbert urges ministers to refresh themselves and to work closely with churchwardens, he nevertheless assumes ministry is largely carried out by one person. And this one person, the priest, is left to carry many of these burdens alone.

One of the flaws in Herbert’s vision is that he assumes ministry is a solo endeavor rather the work of a team. Herbert only ministered for three years, before his untimely death at the age of 40. Had he lived longer, he may have come to see the biblical wisdom of a team approach to parish ministry, where God’s work is carried out by an organized group of lay and ordained ministers. This kind of shared leadership is deep in the DNA of Arctic Christianity, going back to early gospel partnerships between English missionaries and Indigenous catechists.

It’s this team approach to ministry that we’re aiming toward in the Diocese. As I write this, we have growing ministry teams in larger centers. Our deacon training program is growing quickly, with the long-term goal of having ministry teams in every parish. But we still have a long way to go! But with the support of people near and far, and the grace of God, we will get there. And George Herbert’s vision of parish ministry, expanded and contextualized, is still alive and well here.