Charles Inglis Day: what could contemporary Canadian Anglicanism learn from Inglis?

A recent article on the Covenant site made for incredibly grim reading for those of us who value the heritage of Canadian Anglicanism. Reflecting on newly-published statistics from the Anglican Church of Canada, the opening sentence of the article declared, "Canada is the first major province of the Anglican Communion to have collapsed". While we might have questions about the conclusions drawn by the article, there is little doubt that the statistics to which it refers are devastating.

This being so, one might wonder what value or relevance there may be in celebrating the witness and legacy of Charles Inglis. Not only is secular, 21st century Canada far removed from the political, social, and cultural views of the Loyalist Inglis; the predominant progressive concerns of contemporary Canadian Anglicanism are, to say the least, radically different to the Old High thought and sensibilities embodied by Inglis.

We might suggest, however, that it is precisely such an approach which has contributed to the current woes of Canadian Anglicanism. There was, after all, a quite explicit decision by the Anglican Church of Canada in the 1960s to reject the vision for Canadian Anglicanism set forth by Inglis and his successors. It would seem prudent, in light of the current context faced by the Anglican Church of Canada, to ask if this decision was unwise; if there are lessons for an Anglicanism on the margins of Canadian culture and society to learn from Inglis and his legacy.

What might such lessons be?

To begin with, Inglis would not have been as surprised as we might think by the challenges now facing Canadian Anglicanism.  In the preface to the charge he gave to his clergy in the primary visitation of the Diocese of Nova Scotia, Inglis declared:

You are placed, as it were, on the farthest verge of the Messiah's kingdom ... to dispel the gloom of spiritual darkness; and so spread the light of saving truth among those who, without your aid, must sit in the region and shadow of death.

Recognising that the vast majority of his clergy were missionaries whose ministry had been sustained by SPG - "You are (with very few exceptions) Missionaries in the service of a most venerable Society" - Inglis urged that this missionary ethos would continue to animate the ministry of the clergy of the newly-established Diocese of Nova Scotia:

a zeal, similar to that which animated the first Preachers of the Gospel, a warm, disinterested regard for the salvation of others, an exemplary life and conversation, an active disposition that spurns the blandishments of ease and indolence, much good temper, patience and prudence, are indispensably requisite in a Missionary who would faithfully and successfully discharge his duty in America.

In the text of his charge, he further expounded on this missionary calling: 

The Gospel ministry was instituted to promote the salvation of souls and this object should ever be kept in view by all who are admitted into that Ministry. The salvation of his flock should therefore be the first and chief care of every Clergyman. To this end should all his labours and studies, all his sermons and exhortations, his earnest prayers and intercessions at the throne of grace, be directed ... Carry this truth then ever in mind that the salvation of your people is the great and principal object of your attention. If always present with Your thoughts, it will serve as a guard on your conduct and animate you in your duty.

The contemporary Anglican Church of Canada could do a lot worse than setting these words of Inglis before all its clergy and candidates for ordination. To be a missionary church is no new context for Canadian Anglicanism, but a return to its roots and the legacy of Inglis.

The legacy of Inglis is also seen in the plain little churches he established and consecrated. I have in mind Old St. Edward's, Clementsport, Nova Scotia, built in 1795 and consecrated by Inglis in 1797. Brian McConnell's book on Old St. Edward's explores the origins of this church, built to serve a community of Loyalist refugees. One particularly moving aspect of McConnell's book is the commentary accompanying the photographs of the headstones of the Loyalists buried in the Old St. Edward's churchyard: "from Middlesex County, New Jersey ... Born in New York ... born in King's County, New York ... who came from New Jersey ... also born in New York". Such words are a reminder of the fragility, uncertainty, and defeat which accompanied the Loyalist settlements, a context which, again, reminds us that the current challenges facing Canadian Anglicanism can perhaps learn from, in the words of a former Rector quoted by McConnell, "the faith and steadfastness of the Loyalist builders".

Perhaps what is most striking, to the contemporary Anglican eye, about Old St. Edward's is the plainness and simplicity of its interior, an interior designed by Inglis himself. There is nothing grandiose or gaudy. Here is a simple, plain house of prayer, preaching, administration of the sacraments and other rites of the church. Its quiet simplicity speaks of these being the focus, the centre of the church's life; the purpose of each local church, each congregation. It is almost as if Old St. Edward's is saying to contemporary Canadian Anglicanism, "here is what you are to be about; strip back all else to this; here is what is life-giving".

Recent days also brought me a joyful reminder of how the legacy of Inglis can still be found in Canadian Anglicanism. A clergy friend from the Maritimes posted on 'X' a photograph of the second baptism he had performed in as many weeks. The photograph showed the church in 'Charles Inglis country' , a delightful family, the newly-baptised infant, and the parson in Old English surplice and stole. And Holy Baptism was administered according to the very fine rite in BCP 1962. That the Baptism occurred in those days when Canadian and Irish Anglicans commemorate Inglis (12th in Canada, 16th in Ireland), only added to the sense that this was the living legacy of Inglis: the proclamation of evangelical catholic faith and faithful administration of the sacraments, according to the Book of Common Prayer, and in the gracious pastoral ethos of the Anglican tradition.

The challenges facing the Anglican Church of Canada are, to state the very obvious, immense. Perhaps, however, a willingness and desire to learn afresh from Inglis might aid and sustain a renewed Canadian Anglican life and witness, in a context which, despite the many differences brought by the passage of time, might not greatly surprise Inglis. Inglis and his missionary clergy; the plain simplicity of Old St. Edward's; and a joyful example of Canadian Anglicanism in Charles Inglis Country: may it be the case that this legacy of Inglis is heeded by the Anglican Church of Canada.