King’s Chaplaincy update

Dr. Gary Thorne in the University of King’s College chapel following a traditional Wednesday choral evensong. He should be chaplain for a long time, thanks to his diocese’s fundraising efforts.

The lights are still on at the University of King's College chapel. Songs are still sung, prayers are still said. More importantly, the chaplain is still a central figure on campus.

It appears he will continue to be so for a long time.

Last year the Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island changed the way it funds the chaplaincy at King's. Instead of paying his entire salary through an operating budget, it would only pay half. The other half was to come from a fund-raising campaign.

The diocese raised the money, so no funding was cut. But the restructuring set off alarm bells in the King's community. The chapel wardens - liaisons between the students and chaplain and organizers of chapel events - created a Save the King's College Chaplaincy! Facebook group. The chaplain, Dr. Gary Thorne, wrote an open letter outlining how students could constructively respond to the decision.

The restructuring had to do with issues completely unrelated to the chaplaincy itself, says Suffragan Bishop Ron Cutler of the diocese.

Two years ago the diocesan council lowered the amount of money local parishes paid to the council, from 21.5 per cent of their yearly revenue to 15 per cent over six years - a 30-per-cent decrease. This was in response to parishes wanting to keep more money for local ministry.

Those funds make up 80 per cent of the diocesan council's budget. That meant cuts had to be made, and when budgets were prioritized the chaplaincy ranked third from the bottom. The amount the council paid the chaplain was halved.

But at the same time the diocese started the bishop's action appeal, a yearly effort to raise $292,500 from members of the diocese. So far the appeal has been successful - parishioners support donating to specific causes, Cutler says. Given the success of the previous capital fundraising campaign, Cutler thinks that funding for the chaplaincy is secure.

In the unlikely event the diocese completely cut off funding for the chaplaincy it could continue, says King's President William Barker, despite King's own financial troubles .

"We're sort of quite a hardy little place here," he says.

He predicts there would be a "groundswell of concern" in the King's community, even among those who don't participate in the chapel.

Barker suggests that the chaplaincy could be supported by alumni donations, though he stresses that King's hasn't done any detailed planning.

Cutler says the chaplaincy is a "central part of our life as a diocese." He says it's integral to youth ministry - a mission to a constituency that doesn't go to church - and it encourages spiritual development along with intellectual development. He thinks Thorne's position is secure "for the foreseeable future."

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