Marigold report on church's future redrafted.

The Marigold report, a proposal designed to revitalize the Anglican Church of Canada, has been redrafted in response to criticisms that the first version was an attempt to set up conflicting models of ministry.

A new draft will be completed this month, said Geoff Jackson, executive officer of the diocese of Ontario and a leading Marigold author along with Canon Philip Poole of Aurora, Ont., and Archdeacon John Robertson, director of planned giving for the national church.

Version two, dated June 18, becomes version three after consultations with key national committees and will then be reviewed by the officers of General Synod, the house of bishops and the Council of General Synod in the fall.

Marigold is an amalgam of suggestions for a new vision for the church, and a fundraising proposal to help the church move forward both with its residential schools negotiations and beyond.

Mr. Jackson said in an interview that the proposal was redrafted after talks with the officers, a representative from the church's intentional listening project, the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples, partnerships, and ministry, planning and agenda, and the general secretary, Archdeacon Jim Boyles.

"The major changes were around the question of models of ministry.... We want to move toward disciple-making ministry and get into the wider world," Mr. Jackson said.

In version one, disciple-making ministry is described as one where the mission of the church is not only to care for its members "but to take and proclaim the truth, love and grace of God into their whole world." In version two the same list of characteristics is there but the term "disciple-making" has been dropped.

In a disciple-making model of ministry, the report says, "church members are like teachers and learners in a school, or like athletes on a team. They do things together." There's a New Testament-style emphasis on evangelistic witness and a focus on adult education.

The Marigold proposal, developed by a sub-committee of financial management, was approved in principle by the Council of General Synod (CoGS) in the spring, but with a request for more consultations with different interest groups in the church.

An aging congregational base, Mr. Jackson said in an interview, coupled with declining financial resources, are the church's major problems today. The second version of the report, he added, "simply says that the church needs to have a vision of where we are going, and by that we mean a vision of the national church, each diocese and each parish."

Congregational development, not just increased numbers of people, is the goal. "Good stewardship has to reach out and find new disciples." Mr. Jackson said. Version two makes this distinction explicit. "Our new objectives are to have a clear definition of what it is we are trying to say and to tighten it up as much as we can. We hope to in no more than two pages say what we want to do and then have the rest of it as supporting documents," Mr. Jackson said.