Keynote Presentation
Joel Murphy - LOOKING TO THE HORIZON: APPROACHING POSSIBLE FUTURES OF THE CANADIAN CHURCH
Selected Presentations
Carol Penner - Be of One Mind: Addressing Sexual Abuse in the Church
In Canadian society, the status of the church in the eyes of the public has decreased dramatically. One reason for this is undoubtedly the numerous accounts of pastors and priests sexually abusing congregants, from the scandal of the Mt. Cashel Orphanage in the 1980s to the recent criminal charges of Bruxy Cavey, a long-time leader at the Meeting House.
Can churches be of one mind, that we all long to create safe spaces? Canadian professional organizations for teachers, doctors and lawyers make it easy to lay complaints about sexual abuse. Churches need to take sexual abuse as seriously in the future, or risk being left behind as anachronistic and dangerous organizations.
In a 1500 word essay, one cannot look at all the churches in Canada, so I propose to use a small Mennonite denomination, Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, as a case study. Mennonites have been at the forefront of addressing sexual abuse in the church in Canada.
I will explore how a denomination can convert a culture of coverup to a culture that cares about victims and holds those who abuse accountable. This includes addressing historical cases of abuse, even when the perpetrator has died, having effective victim-centered misconduct policies that are easily accessed, and pursuing a rigorous process of public education about misconduct. I will close the essay with observations about how different denominations in Canada can learn from each other, and be of one mind in addressing sexual abuse.
Jay Mowchenko and Xenia Chan - Enacting Liberatory Tactics in Everyday Life: A Present-Rooted Response to Our Collective Past
The Canadian evangelical church persists on her path of decline. Needing a foundational re-evaluation of what it means to be the Church, the legacy of broken systems and the harm they have caused are at the forefront of our interest–particularly, the colonial legacies that still haunt the present today; from residential schools to the uncritical adoption of Western imperialist consumer models. In that vein, this paper suggests that for us to envision a plausible–even, dare we say, desirable–future, we must reckon with the past and re-engage differently with our present.
Beth Carlson-Malena - A Deficit of Trust: Rebuilding Confidence in Canadian Church Communities
Trust in Canadian churches and denominations is at an all-time low. I will open by briefly positing reasons for this deficit, including religious scandals and spiritual trauma, as well as more general trends of declining confidence in institutional and hierarchical authorities, declines that are especially stark among younger and more marginalized Canadians. Even among church leaders, there is a decline in trust in denominational structures.
The bulk of the paper will discuss potential pathways toward rebuilding trust, with reference to experiments we’ve been trying at my church, Open Way. On the level of church leadership, the age of the cisgender straight white male solo/lead pastor is ending, opening the door for more creative approaches. I will advocate for the trust-building capacity of equitable and diverse teams of co-pastors who model healthy community leadership. Such teams allow more congregants to see their identities represented in leadership, giving them more confidence that their needs will be addressed. Multivocational ministry models make this approach viable even in small churches. I will discuss how a deficit of trust requires us to become trauma-informed ministers who are proactive around addressing conflict, vulnerable about imperfection, and quick to take accountability for mistakes. We must allow for permeable boundaries and variable rates and levels of engagement as people “test the waters” to see if it’s safe for them to belong. If word count allows, I will briefly suggest ideas for building trust through financial transparency, pay equity, and consensus-based decision-making. Finally, zooming out to a broader level, I will discuss the decline of denominations, which is lamentable on some levels, but will also create space for more values-based, grassroots, ecumenical networks that tend to foster more trust.
Seán McGuire - Metamodernity, Hyperculture, and the Problematization of Christian Formation and Mission
As many theologians have noted over the past decade, the church’s use of online technology has caused a re-evaluation of the church’s beliefs and practices—especially related to ecclesiology and discipleship. However, many of these conversations have not yet given due consideration to cultural developments that digital mediums are accelerating, especially in the West. These developments are necessarily informing the church by changing notions central to Christian thought, such as authority, revelation, and tradition. These cultural changes are, in turn, shaping the church’s practice of discipleship in positive and negative ways, though perhaps most significantly they are making the Christian faith increasingly incomprehensible—both internally (in the church) and externally (in the world). In this presentation, I will reflect—in brief—on the emergence of the cultural mood of metamodernism and the corresponding development of hyperculture, both of which have emerged as cultural movements quickened and shaped by the digital age. I will discuss how metamodernism and hyperculture are forming Christians into “cultural tourists,” whose default posture towards Christianity is more naturally negative, and who are oscillating between modern and postmodern sensibilities. As I reflect on how these cultural developments are problematizing Christian belief and formation, I will raise topics of concern related to mission and gospel contextualization and invite the Canadian church to adopt a reflexive posture concerning the tensions inherent in the above emerging cultural movements, which will enable the church to more faithfully participate in the missio dei as the 21st century moves into its second quarter.
Andrea Perrett - Re-imagining sustainability with the Canadian Church
It is not an understatement to say that congregations across Canada are in a sustainability crisis. From coast to coast to coast, and across the denominational spectrum, budgets are tight, buildings are burdensome liabilities, and an increasing number of congregations are deemed unsustainable and forced to close. Established about 200 years ago, the predominant sustainability model in North America is self-sustaining, self-funded, clergy-led congregations. Today, even with the shifting context established congregations, and new church plants alike, continue to be held to this standard. Much of the literature suggests this sustainability model can still be achieved if leaders work harder by increasing their efforts and maximize efficiency. Yet there are other voices which remind us that it is God’s Spirit which sustains the church, not human efforts. Where might God be leading the future of God’s church with regards to sustainability models? Do we continue with the 200-year experiment of self-sustaining, self-funded, clergy-led congregations? Or is there something new emerging? This paper will briefly review how the current sustainability standards were established and how the theologies related to sustainability (ecclesiology, theology of ministry, and theology of stewardship) are shifting in today’s context. The paper will conclude by highlighting congregations and church plants in Vancouver, British Columbia which are re-imagining sustainability models and providing a glimpse of the future of the church in Canada.
