Rev. Jonathan Shifting

 To                   The people of St. Augustine’s
                        6110 Fulton Rd, Edmonton, AB, T6A 2K8

From             Ven. Jonathan Crane

November 2, 2025

Dear Friends in Christ,

By now you will have read the letter from Bishop Stephen signifying my transition to another parish later this month (My last Sunday will be the 23^rd).  I would like to open this story a little more for you.

Back in 2013, it was quite a different congregation that went through a selection process and chose me as pastor.  I think of that circle of folks who first welcomed me, and, painfully, I am aware of how many faces are missing now among us.  Some moved away or transitioned to new contexts, but many completed their life journey and are now among us as ancestors and Saints to spur us forward in our own time.

For most of my ministry at St. Augustine’s, I have had an eerily clear sense of what I needed to do.  There was an engine pumping away in the background, driving my leadership.

About a year or two back, it was like the engine went silent within me.

“that’s interesting” I thought.  In my contemplative training, I moved to curiosity and wonderment about what that might mean.  Was it me? Was it one thing? Was it a sign to move on?  Was it just regular old depression?  After a 5-day retreat this past March, my spirit settled that it was at least time to consider other calls, and to be open to whatever would come my way.  I just knew that I didn’t want to be a priest without direction for you.

I did entertain another local call over the summer, but it came to nothing and I was settling back into the ministry year.  Then the rector of Holy Trinity resigned suddenly, and my name came up quickly in the Synod office as a potential candidate.  I had spent four years at Holy Trinity as an assistant before St. Augustine’s, so I know the parish landscape, and Bishop Steve thought I could bring a steady presence there in that time of sudden change.  The idea is that I will take the one-year interim and then discern a longer ministry. I did not have to say yes, and Bishop Steve encouraged me to take time to discern.

I wanted to share the reasons why I came to say yes.

First off, I am aware that I have been at St Augustine’s a good long time.  We all know of clergy and leaders who have stayed too short, and some who have stayed too long!  How to know which it is is tricky, but 13 years is a pretty decent midrange.  There are stats that suggest this is a good time to shift both for clergy and people.  For a leader to stay longer, it requires a full renewal of skills and perspective, and I wasn’t sure I could do that and become who was needed here.

Second, I came to ask in my discernment, “have I done what God was calling me to do here?”
I think the answer is, “yes”.  I think I was the transition guy – someone to hold that strange space between the founder’s generation and the new generation becoming.  I arrived at St A’s thinking, “oh my gosh, this is beautiful. How do I not break this! And how do I share it?”  My founder friends, I hope you can see the legacy that is being built from your story, from your generosity, kindness, creativity, and love.  God brought to you in 2013 a community-connector pastor to share and amplify what you created.  I think that is a good thing to meditate on and relish in a season that has been marked by loss and change for you.

And third, my stepping back opens the next step in a vision journey for you, and I think you are ready for that.  I have brought my gifts and encouragements for this transition decade, but, what leadership gifts are needed for the next phase?  What kind of personality, what enneagram number will serve well here?  I am excited about this process for you.  This new congregation, who are you now?  What is important to you? What needs to stay the same, what needs to change?

‘Come to the edge’,
He said. They said,
‘we are afraid’.
‘Come to the edge’,
He said. They came.
He pushed them, and
they flew.

(Guillame Apollinaire)

And alongside these local reasons, I do think I might be a good fit for Holy Trinity right now.  It is close enough I we don’t need to move.  I might be ready for a (little) commute!  I also feel I can continue the arts ministry there in a way that many other clergy can’t.

These are the major factors that let me say yes to a change.
I want to honour that there is grief and anxiety in this process for all of us, but remember with me that when those feelings come up in the next few months, that grief and anxiety can become a journey of growth.  The interim time is not empty time: it is discernment and gelling time.  As I step back, you are invited to lean a little closer into each other and to put words to what we have been doing together.  You are high-level folk.  You are.  Trust yourselves.  And when your hook is out and you get a slate of potential leaders, I say this, “Don’t settle.”  Don’t go with the person who is just like me or opposite to me as a reaction.  Discern it.  Pray it.  Think it out and trust your gut. This is God’s church, and God loves you.  You will know.  Our Anglican choosing process is quite lovely and you have the support of diocesan leadership through this. Details to come. But remember, “Don’t settle or rush.” 

I say this as well, you have all changed me.  There is no way around it – I am a very different person than I was in 2013.  I quite like myself better actually, and you all have been a part of that.  It is how I carry your with me until we see each other in new ways in new times.  And remember, a diocese is like a mega-church, and so we remain connected in this one Edmonton Anglican family.

And a little practical word, that I have said every summer vacation – “don’t be a stranger.”  If you see me on the street or at Safeway, don’t hesitate to say hello for one second – just no church business, please after November 23^rd.  After that date every church thing that you used to ask me about should then be directed to Rev. Stephanie London, your Church Stewards, or your administrative support.

Over the next several weeks before I go, I look forward to working through any dynamics and questions that arise in this transition about groups, projects, and procedures.

                                                                        With all my love,

                                                                       Jonathan