My first requirement was that I did need to know the minister. That would create a more personal contact. Secondly, he or she had to be able to communicate directly to me, so that I could at least close my eyes and we could recite the Lord’s Prayer together. Fortunately, I found the right person in the Rev. Lynn Mitchell, the relatively new Anglican minister in Trenton. I also discovered that she was able to exude sincerity and personal warmth even via youtube, which is for me the most effective online visual info provider. So far, I have “attended” three of her recorded services, and as a result I haven’t missed church three Sundays in a row.
Recently, I developed the urge to share my experience with readers of Eesti Elu, some of whom are personal friends. Having recently contributed five articles in Estonian for the newspaper, I decided to opt for English and Estonian Life this time. I basically wanted readers to meet this wonderful Anglican pastor, who, in one of her services before Christmas, used a Lutheran Eucharist prayer which was clearly indicated in the printed worship folder. And I wanted to ask her about that.
So I invited the Rev. Lynn Mitchell to join me for the following interview which was done online.
I understand that you were ordained as an Anglican Church Minister in 1988, having received your Master’s of Divinity from Trinity College, University of Toronto. Where have you served prior to coming to Trenton in 2017, I believe?
I was ordained to the transitional Diaconate in 1988 at St. George’s Cathedral, Kingston and to the Priesthood in 1989 at St. Peter’s in Brockville. My former husband, ordained at the same time, and I were the first clergy couple in the Anglican Church of Canada east and west of the GTA. I served five years in the Diocese of Ontario and then 25 years in the Diocese of Huron, my last position being at St. James in Stratford.
You have a strong and beautiful singing voice plus being proficient as a pianist. As a graduate of the Faculty of Music at U. of T., who were your music and voice teachers?
I have a Mus. Bac. Degree in Music History and Literature with a minor in languages – French, Italian and German – and was a flute major. I studied piano up to RCM grade 10 before University. My teacher was Anne Gray, who was blind. I’ve never studied voice but have had the good fortune of singing in several excellent choirs.
You mentioned prior to your recent Palm Sunday sermon on youtube that your favourite church hymn was “All Glory, Laud and Honour” which you sang for your listeners in full voice. You said that you first sang it when you were 8 years of age. Is there a connection between church hymns and your later decision to become a minister in the Anglican Church?
I have always loved church music. My formative years were spent at St. Peter’s Church in Brockville. When I was growing up we had a world-class organist and an amazing men’s and boys’ choir. It was a musical feast every Sunday. At the time, it didn’t bother me that I couldn’t be part of it ….officially. I just sang along with everything.
Many parts of the service were sung and with so much of the core of Anglican theology being present in the liturgy, the music certainly had an impact on me and was a foundation stone of my experience of call to the Anglican Priesthood.
What was the main inspiration which led you to becoming a member of the Christian clergy?
I grew up in a family that was very active in the Church. My mother, a teacher by profession, did Christian education for children and adults at the Parish, Diocesan and National Church levels; in those days she was often the only woman and the only lay person in a room full of clergy.
My father was Church Warden for several terms over the years and was involved in and Chair of many Diocesan committees and boards. We were at church every Sunday from about 8 am until 1 pm. It’s just the way it was. I continued this participation in Church as a young adult in Toronto when I was at university and then in Florence, Italy (American Episcopal Church), where I lived for two years before returning to study theology.
My “decision” was something which seemed to evolve slowly and naturally out of my lived experience; there was no one “moment”. At the time I was ordained, women had been ordained to the Priesthood in the Diocese of Ontario for only two years, although women had been ordained elsewhere in the Anglican Church of Canada for over a decade.
I see you as an excellent communicator. Are there any contributing factors in the development of that skill?
I’m an extrovert and a talker, so some of it comes naturally. Most of it comes from 32 years of experience in a wide variety of settings.
I marvel at the direct way that you are communicating with your congregation online. Who provides you with the technical support that makes your presentation so natural but effective?
No tech suppport …. just a music stand and a new iPhone. What helps me is a strongly developed sense of liturgical movement and what works and how to move from one element of liturgy to another. And I play around with things. But right now, I am choosing to do this on my own, following the “stay home” directive.
So you’re your own technician and totally in control of your iPhone. And you’re also able to choose the location of your service on YouTube. But besides being the pastor and priest for the congregation at St. George’s Anglican Church in Trenton, what are your connections to Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Frankford, which is nearby and Christ Church Anglican in Glen Miller, which is even closer. You recorded your first two YouTube services from those locations.
I am pastor and priest for all three congregations; my relationship with each congregation is the same.
Being a Lutheran and aware of the full communion partnership between our churches, I was nevertheless taken by surprise by something in your printed worship folder at a service before Christmas. And it really warmed my heart. I noticed a reference to Evangelical Lutheran Worship in connection to the Eucharistic Prayer in your folder. How common is that reference? Was it your decision to insert it in the folder? Was this part of your being a progressive Christian?
I lived in Kitchener Waterloo (Lutheran central!) for 11 years and was very involved in Anglican-Lutheran dialogue. At that time I also did graduate work in homiletics (the art of preaching or writing sermons/AR) at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (now Luther College). I am on the executive for a liturgical organization called Liturgy Canada which includes Anglicans and Evangelical Lutherans.
I own all the ELCIC (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada/AR) worship books and make frequent use of their resources, as do many of my colleagues. I am always looking for new/different liturgical resources – Evangelical Lutheran, Celtic (Iona), Anglican traditions from around the International communion, etc.
I think that this is part of being a progressive and current Christian and helps us to connect with and experience people and liturgy in new and exciting ways.
I’m truly impressed with your descriptions regarding the connection between our churches, Anglican and Lutheran. This has been a learning experience for me. And I’ll certainly keep looking forward to your services on YouTube. I’m finally becoming a regular churchgoer. May God give you strength to carry on. I thank you, Lynn, for the interview.
Andres Raudsepp, Toronto
