Together for the Love of God

Among the questions we receive in the lead-up to Synod or around vestry meetings, a fair number relate to our Diocesan Mission and Ministry Assessment (DM&M). What is it? Why do we send funds to the diocesan office? How does it support the work of the Church?

The simplest explanation is that it’s a way we share the resources entrusted to our care to support God’s mission throughout the world.

You see, deep within our Christian identity is a call to work collaboratively as the Body of Christ to live out God’s mission of compassion, justice, healing and hospitality. As Anglicans in the Diocese of Niagara, for more than a hundred and fifty years, we have been, and indeed continue to be, steadfast in our commitment to God’s mission of love.

This commitment is embedded in our mission statement: Ignited by the irresistible love of Jesus and renewed by the Holy Spirit, we partner with God to deepen faith, join God’s mission, and care for God’s world.

All of us—each in our own way —seek to come alongside God to help transform lives as we serve people: people who are hungry, people who are seeking meaning, people who are mourning, people who are in need of refuge, to say a few of the many needs of our neighbours.

We equip ourselves for these essential ministries to which Jesus calls and sends us by generously sharing our time, talents, and resources. It’s so inspiring to see the countless ways this happens through our diocese. My heart is full of gratitude with the knowledge that we are such wonderful stewards of the gifts bestowed upon us by the Spirit.

And, moved by our faith, we take part in God’s mission in ways that go beyond what any one of us can accomplish alone. In many ways, being part of a worldwide communion of churches that has many members is a significant strength that sets us apart from congregational churches. We experienced this strength so potently during the pandemic and it’s a beautiful characteristic of our Anglican polity that continues to be so life-giving for the exercise of our common ministry.

As Anglicans, our practice is primarily to support ministry at all levels of the Church through one offering plate. Funds received by local churches are shared with the diocesan, national and international parts of our Church through our Diocesan Mission and Ministry contributions.

We arrive at the amount of these contributions through a formula that was approved by Synod in 2017. Each parish reports their total income in any given year, then eligible ministry expenses, including the costs of clergy stipends, utilities, insurance, and outreach expenses, are deducted for the purposes of calculating the DM&M. This usually results in an assessment of between 15 to 20% of a parish’s total income, depending on the deductions applied in any given year.

By tracking with a parish’s income, the assessment is also compassionate and responsive, meaning that when revenues are lower, the amount contributed will also decrease, and vice versa. To this end, we have been seeing encouraging signs of our recovery in that contributions are rebounding from their pandemic low points. Pooled together, these contributions enable each part of the Church to respond to God’s mission in a unique yet concerted way; furthering God’s loving purposes in a manner that simply wouldn’t be possible for any one of our congregations alone. Perhaps more than ever, the Church needs to be responsive to the changing needs of those we serve, and this feature of our Anglican identity helps ensure ministry continues to flourish in new and innovative ways.

In our diocese, the gifts shared by parishes enable us to be a diocesan community, support Bishop Susan Bell’s episcopal ministry, and ignite our renewed diocesan Mission Action Plan, by calling us to life and compelling us to love in all sorts of amazing ways. The pages of the Niagara Anglican share a snapshot of these stories each month, but pull aside our diocesan missioners, Dr. Emily Hill and Canon Ian Mobsby and you’ll truly hear how God is working through our diocese in ways that go beyond what anything we can ask or imagine.

Nearly 90% of our diocesan revenue is derived directly from the DM&M contributions of parishes.

These gifts help and strengthen our local congregations through the expertise, services and programs provided by our dedicated diocesan staff. Through them, we also administer clergy benefits and a centralized payroll, provide support for legal, governance, human resources and volunteer management matters, and share in diocesan-wide initiatives related to communications, children, youth and family ministry, outreach and social justice, and stewardship. Our team at Cathedral Place amplifies our ministry capacity, for when our resources are shared, we truly can do more together.

Beyond our diocese, our contributions support churches in the Canadian North, Indigenous ministries and our work towards reconciliation; the development of new worship resources, national initiatives, and so much more. We’re also able to engage God’s mission as a global Church through the World Council of Churches, the United Nations, and a whole host of relief, development and human rights organizations. Some 20% of our diocesan income is used to support our national and international witness to the Gospel, having been passed along from the diocesan budget to the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Some parishes worry they’re not doing enough in the way of mission. The truth is, just through our DM&M, we’re engaging in God’s mission locally, nationally, and globally in extraordinary ways.

Each dollar given, each hour volunteered, and each skill shared builds up the Body of Christ. And it is the sharing of these resources in faithful ways that allows this Anglican Church of ours to risk more and thus gain more for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our world. Our Diocesan Mission and Ministry contributions are the primary vehicle for this noble, faithful, and magnificent aspiration, binding us together as Anglicans in Niagara, for the love of God.