Canada: House of Bishops - Message to the Church
Apr. 20, 2007

To Canadian Anglicans, from the House of Bishops

Brothers and sisters in Christ

The House of Bishops met at Mount Carmel retreat center in Niagara Falls from Tuesday April 17 to Friday April 20. We write this letter to the Canadian Church so that Anglicans will know what we did and how the meeting was for us. As has been our custom for the last while, we devoted the first part of our days together to prayer and Bible study.

This, our last meeting of the triennium was an appropriate time for us to be blessed by a visit from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams. His Grace was with us for less than 24 hours, but his presence was a significant and valued gift. He lead us in prayer and conducted a retreat on the theme of apostolic ministry during which he delivered a number of reflections that gave us profound insights into our ministries and how we do them. We found the Archbishop of Canterbury’s humility, wisdom and humour filling both intellectually and spiritually. During breaks in the day, Dr. Williams met with the bishops of all four ecclesiastical provinces. His time with us was spirit-filled and especially important to us on the eve of a General Synod where many important decisions will be made and where a new Primate will be elected and installed. His reflections set the tone for our meeting. the rest