Archbishop Michael Peers, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, spoke on December 3 at the Fourth Hobart Lecture, an annual lecture series for Diocesan clergy on the topic of pastoral ministry. Addressing a gathering of approximately 80, Archbishop Peers referenced the changes and turmoil of the past year, in the Anglican Communion and the world, as he emphasized the need for inclusiveness within the Church and for a shift in the burden of mission.

Beyond Personal Identity
Jesus mingled with people from different cultures and ethnicities, such as the Syrophoenecian woman in Mark 7 and Matthew 15, as Archbishop Peers reminded the audience. Instead of staying within the confines of his own group, Jesus was “drawn beyond that identity” to share his message with everyone, the archbishop explained. It is not always a comfortable thing to do and can foster a feeling “like an utter loss of identity,” the archbishop said, but it is what God demands of us. “With the Father, in the communion of the Spirit, there is no ‘out there’ to be feared.”

The Church, however, has had the tendency to cultivate exclusions that Jesus denounced by fraternizing with prostitutes, tax collectors and Syrophoenecians.

“We bear faulty witness to expansive communion by re-drawing the boundaries of holiness in terms that we can understand and defend,” Archbishop Peers said. “And we carve out this or that dimension of the human creation and call it ‘the people of God.’ ” This is to go against the example set by Jesus and the plan created by God. “God’s project is not to bring all Anglicans, or even all Christians, but all people into the communion of joy in God’s presence.” The only way to fulfill God’s call is to extend oneself to everyone, regardless of culture, religion, nationality or other defining generalization.

Pastoral Care for Today
Delving into the topic of the Hobart Lecture series, Archbishop Peers explained that the concept of pastoral care has changed drastically over the past century. The old model of pastoral care focused on the role of the ordained serving the community, the archbishop said, and this model still applies in a number of places, especially where there is little interaction between different groups and cultures, namely the American South and Atlantic Canada.

In many places, however, pastoral care went through a change after World War II, as the local church served to unite a highly mobile society longing for the settled days of the past.

At present, “the object and content of faith is absolutely at the heart of mission,” Archbishop Peers said, “and for Christian people, that object and content is the life of the Trinity.” A key component of carrying out this mission, he stressed, is eliminating exclusivity.

Mission cannot be carried out by the ordained alone. Archbishop Peers explained that the earlier models of pastoral care misinterpreted the role of the laity, having them merely provide support as the clergy carried out the mission.

Archbishop Peers recalled Moses’ lament to God that he was unable to take care of everyone he was responsible for. God responded by asking Moses to bring 70 elders, who would then share the responsibility with him. In such, God is inviting “all the baptized into the work of caring for the world,” the archbishop said.

At the same time, the role of clergy should not be undervalued as a new structure for pastoral mission evolves. “If we do not find a way forward, we will be tempted to equate ‘strong leadership’ with the patterns of an earlier age and frustrate ourselves as we try to force those patterns into a mission setting in which they cannot function effectively.” Ordained ministers are called to “refract the ministry of Jesus,” he explained.

Everyone must remember, Archbishop Peers stated, that “the pastoral care of the people of God is not completed when bishop, priest, deacon or communion minister places the Body of Christ in the hands of a Christian, but when that Christian carries that Body of Christ into the world in acts of servanthood, self-giving and hospitality.”

Hobart Lecture Series
The lecture series is named for Bishop John Henry Hobart, the third Bishop of New York (1816 to 1830). Bishop Hobart is remembered for his dedication, especially in pastoral ministry. During his episcopacy, Bishop Hobart increased the number of clergy in the diocese and established missions and churches into the far reaches of New York State. His commitment to education is evident as he was one of the founders of General Theological Seminary and was the reviver of Geneva College, now Hobart College.

Bishop Mark Sisk greets Archbishop Michael Peers, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, before Peers presented the Hobart Lecture to Diocesan clergy.

Photo by MARY BETH DISS