The point of this discipline is the upholding of the apostolic faith. The Bishop's chief responsibility is to guard the faith of the church as transmitted from the apostles. That does not lock us into having a church that looks exactly like it did in the first century—that would be impossible! Rather, to use the image I used in my homily for Jan. 20, the charge is to ensure that the branch remains connected to the root. Again to state the obvious, different branches see their connections to the rootstock in different ways, and the church has never been without controversy, for twenty centuries.
I grew up in a church where the bishop's rule was far more absolute than it is today. A priest could be moved from one parish to another (or to some outer darkness at times) almost at the bishop's whim. This had an upside, allowing the speedy resolution of problems, but the cost to both clergy and congregations could be immense. My home parish went through just such an upheaval in the 50's.
Today, parishes have much more say in personnel matters, if not the final say, and (depending on the bishop) clergy generally have more flexibility in seeking new calls. Nonetheless, we are still under the same discipline.
Like any priest of the Anglican Church of Canada, I hold my current position at the pleasure of the Bishop, the one who signs my license. Bishop Jim is the fourth Bishop I have served, and I well know that no Bishop is perfect—they can't be, because they have an impossible job, especially in the contemporary climate in the Anglican Communion. (This was one of the many considerations that entered into my recent decision not to let my name stand for election in another diocese. It's hard enough being under discipline. Did I really want to be the person on the other side of the desk?) Even knowing that no Bishop is perfect, and knowing that no system of governance is perfect, including this one, I am nonetheless committed by belief and oath to helping make it work.
How will I know that it is working? When the church displays the five marks of mission, as found on the Anglican Communion Website:
To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
To respond to human need by loving service
To seek to transform unjust structures of society
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
To respond to human need by loving service
To seek to transform unjust structures of society
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
