The opportunity is before us: Lessons from Ellie Johnson

A sermon shared with the parish of St. George, Cadboro Bay, Victoria BC on Sunday, April 28, 2024 by the Very Rev. Ken Gray

I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing . . . My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. (From JOHN 15)

My name is Ken: I am an extrovert. (At this point you respond: HI KEN.) I am the sort of person who can drive you nuts at parties and social gatherings. You don’t want to sit by me on an airplane. I want to know who you are, what you do, and why you do it. I am somewhat rare amongst Anglican clergy—I should have been a Pentecostal. Next time? Maybe not.

I like to think I could have been a disciple of Jesus. I enjoy group travel, but with others would have been very concerned when Jesus turned his face towards Jerusalem and all the trouble which lay ahead. I am not by nature courageous, but I have learned how to take risks through a varied life and ministry, some which was initiated in this very room where we gather this morning. I like to think that the Gospeller John, and Jesus himself, could trust me to eventually bear fruit as long as I remined faithful to God’s eternal vine. Hang on to that word, trust; it’s important.

I know enough, to know that I don’t know enough; I know that I need help from others. I need people to trust me, and trust in me; and I need to return the favour at every opportunity. I know that I need God in my life—sounds like an altar call; cue Just as I am–but my need is shaped less by individual needs and discoveries, but by the miracle of the community of creation, the Creator’s gift, and presence, with which I interact every second of every day, in every way. 

My personal skill set, experience, and interest may explain my enthusiasm for what I call “my  little book project,” a collection of essays titled Partnership as Mission: Essays in Memory of Ellie Johnson. Partnership not only tells the story of how one female, lay, Canadian Anglican was instrumental in transforming the concept of mission in the Anglican Church of Canada and indeed the Anglican Communion. I have two examples of how this occurred:

1.  The relationship between sender-church and receiver-church was increasingly equalized through the model and practice of partnership. I asked the late Bishop Terry Brown to explain how his going to the Church in Solomon Islands to serve as bishop of Malaita actually reversed the colonial trend of sending wealthy, white, male clergy from the global north to what was then called “the mission field.” He describes the outcome of his ministry well in section two, chapter one, where an educated, indigenous, and locally raised episcopal leadership became the norm throughout the Church of Melanesia and elsewhere in the South Pacific. Ellie was present at his consecration with literally 4,000 other Anglicans, hence the picture that adorns the front cover of our little book.

•  Another noteworthy event occurred in meetings of the Canadian General Synod Ecojustice Committee in 2006. As a result of decisions made at that meeting (I was present for these discussions), and through Ellie’s work with the Inter-Anglican Standing Committee on Mission and Evangelism (IASCOME) a significant change to our understanding of mission was accomplished.

For decades, the role of our church in God’s world has been summarized in the Five Marks of Mission. (I remember promoting these in this diocese back in the day.) The original 4^th Mark that included the words: “To seek to transform unjust structures of society.” As a result of our deliberations the mark was expanded to include the words: “To challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation.” These were added in acknowledgement of our significant commitment in the Canadian church to healing and reconciliation following our participation in the residential schools process.

Ellie’s work in supporting residential school survivors is detailed in section three of our book, as our church improved its respose to support survivors and their descendants. And the work continues. The evolving Indigenous Church is but one example of a new relationship, a New Agape, between Indigenous and settler Anglicans as we move forward, together.

Now, you rightly ask how does this affect you, the person in an Anglican pew in this diocese of islands and inlets? Ellie described mission as what God is doing in the world, God’s transformative action. So what does transformative action look like today?

In section four: Mission and Ecojustice: Reflections and Analysis, six essays make connections with those things which were important to Ellie—mission, partnership, moving beyond colonialism, confronting racism, striving for justice, and healing—which remain instructive for us and our church today.

In his essay The Promise of Place: Shaping a Local Anglican Response to Global Realities, Dr. Jesse Zink, Principal of Montreal Diocesan Theological College (which granted Ellie an honorary doctorate in 2006) considers a local Anglican response to global realities, making connections between the changing environment and population mobility. His analysis is detailed and prescient. Issues around land (think Gaza) continue to concern us all.

This past Wednesday, Christine asked panelists a poignant question: “What is God doing in the world?” Additionally, “where do you see hope? I must say that I didn’t necessarily respond truthfully–I came up with something a bit frothy. My co-editor, Maylanne was more truthful. It is hard, at least for us, to be hopeful right now. It does not feel like we are winning the hearts and minds of political, industry, church, and economic leaders. Talk is cheap; leadership, especially regarding the climate crisis is in short supply.

We face a considerable challenge presently. Given their accessibility, adaptability, and widespread use, the mining, extraction, processing, transmission, and combustion of fossil fuels have created the largest single source of wealth ever known. We have all benefited greatly from this financial bonanza. We now realize, however, the damage which continues to be done–to the planet, to indigenous communities, to the poor, and to each other. As privileged beneficiaries to such wealth we carry a responsibility to take stock (pun noted and intended) and change our ways.

Speaking of change, Ellie equated justice with change. In her own words (contained in section five of the book) her favourite and repeated advice was, “learn to embrace change!” Living systems are constantly changing. When they stop changing, they die . . . Like it or not, God created an ever-changing world. Change is part of the plan.

Transformation is another word for change.  So, if we want to participate in God’s mission of transforming the world, we have to expect change, strangeness, and strangers.  In fact, we will need to become agents of change and motivate others to embrace change, and to become involved in the world beyond their own homes and their own church families.”

Popular slogans are not always helpful (think: “Freedom convoy”), but the words “Be the Change” can motivate and inspire. Don’t just wait for change to come. Work to create conditions where change can and will come. To refuse the challenge of change, to deny the need for change, is to repeat the errors and tragedies of history. We are at a crisis moment in our collective and planetary evolution. In its original sense, crisis means catastrophe, and opportunity. The crisis is real; the opportunity is before us.