King’s chaplain survives funding-cut – for now

When the province's Anglican Diocese discussed its budget priorities, the chaplaincy always ranked at the bottom

Father Dr. Gary Thorne, chaplain of the University of King’s College, says university is a place where young people “are sorting out their faith.” (Photo: Lindsay Bird)

Students drift into the chapel at one corner of the University of King's College quad. Each receives a thin lit candle and chooses a seat in the pews.

As the tiny lights cut through the late-evening gloom, a student leads the gathering in chanting Compline, a monastic prayer service. Father Dr. Gary Thorne brought this tradition back to King's when he arrived as chaplain in 2006.

But his role at King's was recently in jeopardy. When the Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, his employer, restructured its budget this summer, it cut half of his salary - $35,000.

The head of the diocese, the Right Rev. Bishop Sue Moxley, says the other half will be found through other sources, mainly fundraising.

When the Diocese council discussed its budget priorities, the chaplaincy always ranked at the bottom. Moxley explains the council didn't see "the value of the chaplaincy at the university."

While King's was founded as an Anglican institution in 1789 and six Anglican representatives - including Moxley - sit on its board of governors, she says the chapel is isolated from the larger Diocese.

The council didn't consult King's before its decision, and Thorne says no one from the Diocese has come to observe the chapel's activities. He is baffled as to why a church would give the chapel such a low priority, when "university is a time in which young people are sorting out their faith."

Moxley suggests the chapel show the larger Diocese why it matters, but Thorne is cautious. He doesn't think students "should be engaged in trying to sell themselves."

"I do not think that what goes on in this chapel should be anything other than students of all denominations and various faiths coming to know more deeply their own faith."

Students support Thorne and sent letters to the Diocese protesting the funding cut.

"I don't think that the positive and warm idea of what the place is would exist (without him)," says Tim Blackwood, a fourth-year student and chapel volunteer.

King's president William Barker also values Thorne. If his salary had been totally cut, Barker was prepared to ask the college to carry Thorne "through to the end of the academic year, and then look about for other resources."

Meanwhile, the chapel continues its work. Besides daily services, the chapel is often open for personal meditation. Thorne also encourages Jewish students to light candles on the Jewish Sabbath.

"It would be terrible if the chapel were for a particular denomination. It isn't. It's for all students."

With students volunteering with daily prayer, the chapel hosting events and lectures, and the choir singing across the province, it's a busy place. Thorne jokes the students are so active he tries leading "one prayer a day and even that's tough."

At the next Compline, Thorne's candle burns among the others. Sitting at the back while the students chant, he quietly harmonizes with the refrains.

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