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Continued: Was it really forty-six years ago? by Charles Stirling

The fifth edition of Congress Daily reflected on the day before, Sunday, where many primates preached in area churches. Automation was seen as a possible help to the Church in the future, while it was seen that indifference was the mark of the modern city. A selection of bus tours occupied Sunday afternoon and the Archbishop of Canterbury opened the Canadian National Exhibition.

The sixth issue celebrated the 'rebirth' of the Anglican Communion. There was another packed missionary service at the Gardens on Sunday evening which was seen as a launching pad for the Gospel. It was noted that American influence was strong in Japan. It turned out that there was a fake (non-ordained) bishop at the opening service. He was discovered to be under canonical age and was kindly advised to sign up for the next Congress.

In issue number seven we discover there is always someone who seems to have missed the point. This somehow reflects on the separated parishes of today. Protest signs were up that stated; The Anglican Congress - Non Protestant - Non Biblical - Non Christian - The Anglican Conference Is Unfair To Canadian Youth, and The Anglican Congress - Now In Session - With Christ On The Outside. It was ever thus! Ukrainians sent greetings. What has happened to Worker Priests (who were discussed), then engaged in Paris. Clergy were urged to reach out to laity with training in lay ministry. While we learned that Bishops are not monarchs in the U.S., there are probably still many left elsewhere. We must remember the American Church, in Chicago, gave us what became the Lambeth Quadrilateral .

Number eight gives insight into what Mutual Responsibility is all about and what could happen. This was and is a grand vision. There was reflection on the Caribbean and Latin American Churches of the Communion. They reflected on Institution of The Anglican Church in Korea.

Keeping International Anglicanism as a name or institution was seen to be very important for the future, said issue nine. Canada and the U.S. should share ecumenical activities.

They felt that time was too short to be going so slow. The future of Anglicanism in terms of high church and low-church was seen as important, because the Church did not need uniformity as much as it needed mutual conversation that corrects and enriches the whole. Does this sound familiar today?

The last issue of Congress Daily told us that Anglicans departed on a note of realized fellowship. American, Bishop Pike noted that union negotiations were ongoing with Presbyterians, Methodists and the United Church of Christ. Curiously none of this came off, but in its place, many years later, came a global union with the Evangelical Lutherans. The Congress Message was - It recognizes the Church that lives by itself will die by itself and recognizes four points; God has called us to be a serving Church - God has called us to be a Listening Church - God has called us to be one Church and lastly, God has called us all... Clergy and laity together.

This has been a rather very light overview of the 1963 Anglican Congress. It was a wonderful time of vision and growth. A few things from the Congress tended to peter out and others have grown beyond any imagination of that time. Things do change, and the Church can and must change. Not to do so is to die. To go on as many have, living life in the Church as if they were still youths is a hopeless waste of time. The King James Bible and the Prayer Book have been largely abandoned by the English speaking portion of the Communion and the Church moves on. We are the third largest Christian Communion and our lives are not meant to be focused solely on our parish, but rather on a Universal Church and the good we can bring to the world.

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