CANADA: Church is full of challenges and possibilities, primate tells students

By Marites N. Sison, January 18, 2008 [Episcopal News Service] Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has urged divinity students from Trinity and Wycliffe Colleges in Toronto not to be discouraged by wrangling in the Anglican Communion over the issue of sexuality, saying he remains optimistic about the fate of Anglicanism.

"Be strong and of good courage," Hiltz told about 60 students, most of them candidates for ordination to the Anglican priesthood. "You're stepping into a church that's facing lots of challenges but also grand possibilities.

"Our church is often described as being weary and worn...as beleaguered," he added. "I choose to describe and think about our church as our beloved church."

Canadian Anglicans, said the primate, "need to recover some of the very things so dear to our heritage...that which makes us sparkle in the ecumenical world, which is our amazing capacity to express diversity, our commitment as a church to meet and tackle different issues."

The full story is available on the Anglican Journal website here.

-- Marites N. Sison is staff writer for teh Anglican Journal.

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