The Most Reverend Linda Nichols initiated a Primates Commission to explore what were the roadblocks for the Anglican church moving forward. The commission spent two years listening to clergy, bishops, and laypeople across the country — over 350 people — and distilled what they heard into six Pathways to be engaged:
- The church's organizational structure is too big for its current size and needs to be simplified significantly at every level — national, provincial, and diocesan. How we reduce bureaucracy without losing the capacity to be led well is the goal.
- The Office of General Synod needs an independent management review; staff are stretched thin and many Anglicans don't know what the office does or why they're funding it.
- Decision-making needs to include more diverse voices — the current processes tend to favour those who are older, affluent, and white, and the formal debate-style procedures exclude many people.
- Communications need an overhaul — the Anglican Journal is valued but not serving the church as it could, and not everyone has equal access to information.
- The relationship between the settler church (General Synod) and the Indigenous church (Sacred Circle) needs to become genuinely structural, not just aspirational — built on trust and honest governance.
- Ministry in remote northern communities is at risk as funding declines; Council of the North communities need support to develop their own capacity and sustainability.
The guiding image throughout the report is the road to Emmaus — what feels like an ending can be a new beginning. These Pathways have been assigned a focused team to work on each of them. Actions from these Pathways are varied, some have and will continue to be implemented by the leaders of their respective areas of influence, while others will be brought to the floor of General Synod 2028 for further consideration or action.
