Welcome to Surprised by the Spirit, a cross-Canada conversation for Anglicans to reflect on our days in the pandemic and listen to the Spirit about the path ahead.

Surprised by the spirit: a spark reflection

In this short video, the Primate introduces a selection sparks—sparks of music, poetry, image, and reflection—collected from across the country as a response to these challenging times of Pandemic.

We encourage you to share this video with your congregation, either during service or at another time. You can watch this video on YouTube, Vimeo, or download for local use.

Watch or listen to the Pew & Beyond episode with the Primate to learn more about the genesis of this initiative.

Play Video

Pray, discover and discuss

“What surprises do we need to grieve? What surprises do we need to celebrate?”

Praying about and discussing questions like these will help us to: acknowledge the surprises of the past year; and, listen for what the Spirit is telling us about the path ahead. Download a guide below for a walkthrough of what the Primate is calling us to do.

Kids' guide
(colour)

Kids' guide
(black and white)

When you’ve gone through the conversation guide, share your reflections and insights—the Spark—in any format you wish (written, visual, spoken—however the Spirit inspires you). Email us for information on how to submit your Spark.

Featured Sparks

Diocese of Huron Clergy Conference

Diocese of Montreal Diocesan Council

Diocese of Islands and Inlets

Anglican Health Care Chaplains’ online Pandemictime Gatherings

Questions or want more information? Email us at [email protected]

We are not alone. We will be made new by the power of the Spirit. What a surprise!

We recently passed the one-year anniversary of the declaration of a global pandemic. This has been a time of extraordinary upheaval in our lives and the life of our churches. It has also been a time of discovery. We discovered the pain of many losses—personal and communal. We discovered that we are more resilient and more creative than we may have previously thought. We discovered God in our midst—and we have been Surprised by the Spirit.

I invite you to gather again, as you did in early 2019, in ‘Conversation Circles’ to explore your discoveries and surprises, and to listen for the voice of the Spirit in your midst. We are beginning to see hope for an end to the pandemic as vaccinations roll out across the country. We will be able to gather in person for worship and community life. What have we learned? What is God calling us to now? What have we let go and do not need to reclaim? What surprises do we need to grieve? What surprises do we need to celebrate? What will we continue to do? What new sparks are flying in your imagination for the life of our congregations?

Over the next few months, I invite you to have conversations in your parish, clericus, deanery, area or committee meetings or Diocese. A resource to guide the conversations is available on this website; it will help to lead your conversations through prayer, scripture reflection and your stories. Once you’ve shared in your conversation circle, I invite you to capture your circle’s “Spark” of surprise, which will include a learning, a question and a hope. You might choose to depict your Spark through: writing; in a video; in a poem; or, through another visual, audible or written format—let the Spirit guide you.

Once you’ve discerned your Spark, I ask you to share it on this website, so it can be shared with fellow Anglicans across Canada. Our entire Church needs to hear from one another, as our journey continues. Sparks will be shared through the national website and gathered into a celebration for the Reign of Christ 2021! This is an opportunity to listen to the Spirit—to listen to each other—and to celebrate what God is showing us now for our future together.

God of wind and flame, send your life-giving Spirit upon your people: give fire to our words, strength to our witness and boldness to our proclamation of your wondrous work in Christ; who, with you and the Spirit, lives and reigns now and forever. Amen.