If you see a mistake (wrong name, title, etc) please leave a comment and I will fix it.

Bible teaching – Archdeacon Ron Corcoran

Update from the comments – complete text of his addresses (this one and the one that will be delivered this afternoon) can be found at this link:

http://churchofourlord.org/worship-2/online-sermons/

Matthew 6:19-24

He began by telling the story of the ming dynasty chairs that were in his parish for 15 years, and were sold for $630,000 after his ANiC parish left their building.

He explains to people that he did not spend his time at St. Matthias authenticating antiques but teaching God’s word.

Matthew 6:19-24

In the first part of the chapter Jesus is focused on our private lives. In the second part He is concerned about our public lives. What are our true ambitions in this life? There are two alternatives the treasures of earth and of heaven, two masters, God or money. As disciples we are called to make choices. Jesus said that the treasures of the earth are corruptible and we would be foolish to put our hope in them. Our houses and possessions are not coming with us in the life to come. Scripture doesn’t forbid us from enjoying nice things – God says he wants us to enjoy the good things he gives us. Jesus is saying that the followers of God should not be selfish in the assumulation of goods, or to put trust in what we have. If everything a person values is on earth then our values are going to be earthly, but when one’s goals are set on the eternal will of God our values will be the same. As Christians we need to value what God values and develop a Christ like character because that is what we are going to take with us when we leave this world.

This is a prayer that was found in John Stott’s bible after he died, he was a man of Christ like c haracter.

Lord Jesus, we pray that this day we may take up our cross and follow you with a heart set on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, set upon anything which is of excellence or worthy of praise (Phil 8)

Jesus says that you cannot serve him on Sundays and money the rest of the week. The encounter with the rich young man revealed his heart. There was real longing in the young man’s heart. Jesus knew that material possessions had such a grip on this young man that in order to be whole he had to give it up. In many ways this rich young man didn’t possess his possessions they possessed him.

What are your real treasures in your life? The first treasure in my life is Jesus Christ, my saviour who is willing to take my sins upon himself. The constant prayer in my life is the prayer of the thief on the cross – Jesus, remember me. My second treasure is my wife Deirdre. My third treasure is a group of ladies who pray for me and the ministry I lead every week for two years. Fourth treasure is (another person in his congregation who radiates Jesus) Fifth treasure is my ANiC family, I love what God is doing in our midst. My six treasure is our bishops. We are so blessed to have bishops who are sold out to Jesus Christ. We are so blessed to ahve sold out to Jesus Christ our Primate, Bob Duncan. He did something two years ago in Ottawa, as he was leaving he said, would you please pray for me, and then he walked down the middle of the asile and he knelt down and I thought to myself I’ll follow you anywhere, I’ll go where he is going. Bishop Don is my seventh treasure. Why? Be patient and I’ll let you know this afternoon. It is easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. I am not asking his permission, I am asking for his trust, and maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe this afternoon I’ll need to beg forgiveness.

Bishop’s Charge – Bishop Don Harvey

I will post a copy of Bishop Don’s charge later on in the day.

Financial presentations

Motion – Be it resolved that the financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012 from the Chartered Accountants be received as presented. Moved and Seconded. Call the question. Pased unanimously.

Motion regarding the appointing of an accounting firm.

Budget Presentation

-There is a need to build up a fund for cash flow
-We have reversed the reduction of salaries that we introduced last year and given each staff member a 2.5% increase.

All in all a very positive budget presentation.

Moved and seconded to accept the budget as presented.

Question – is this budget dependant upon the success of A Time to Build? Answer is no, it is operations only.

Motion carried unanimously.

Bishop Trevor Walters
A trip for ANiC leaders (funded by Hungry for Life) to Cuba will be happening with the purpose of exploring partnerships with Cuban churches. $100 a month will provide wages for a Cuban pastor *and* fund the operations of his church.

George Sinclair — Canons and Constitution

Presentation on section three of the canons, which has to do with church discipline.

Thanks given to many people, but he is speaking faster than I can keep up and I don’t want to risk leaving anyone out.

It is extremely important to have a process to protect victims, and to protect leaders from false accusation. This is just medicine, what you do after the problems come up, but it is a reminder that we need to pray for those in leadership that they don’t err, but if they do to give them tender hearts of repentance.

Some of the changes are grammar changes. The more significant changes are because section 3 is based on the ACNA canons, which is fine, except that Canadian and American legal terms are different. Amendments have been made to make sure that the proper Canadian law and processses are being followed.

Motion to accept amendements passed unanimously.

Presentation on Artizo – Identifying, encouraging and training men and women with gifts for ministry so they will become leaders in Canada in the future. Artizo interns are mentored by pastors, and are in turn mentors to other people.

One of the best things about being a part of Artizo is that it is an intentional program for those of us who are considering ministry to come together to learn what it means to be a minister of God’s word and of God’s people. We come together weekly to talk about what we have been struggling with and what we are learning and to pray for one another. We do Sunday school, pastoral care, preaching, etc.

Preaching and teaching are the main focus of the Artizo program. 45 people have done Artizo – 25 of whom are in ministry and 14 of whom are in the program right now. The selection process for people coming in is rigourous, so we get the cream of the theological student crop. The training is also rigourous, they get tons of real ministry experience. Artizo trainees are involved in whole ministries that they run themselves.

Presentation on chaplincy in the armed forces in Canada.

The military chaplincy is the best of times and the worst of times for many people. We meet with families as we notify them of deaths. One of the great things for a chaplin is that we visit the troups where we are. Because it is my job to go see them it is part of their job to be available to listen. The soldiers don’t put you off, they give you the time. That is an opportunity we don’t have in the civilian world. Our target audience is people from 17 to their 40s, a predominantly young healthy group, a group that often feels they have no need for church, and it gives us the opportunity to talk to them, and help in a tangible way.

Lunch break

Rev. Archie Hunter clarifing the process to nominate people for ANiC Council.

Afternoon presentations will be:

Church Planting — Rev. Ray David Glenn
The church planting group’s first stage was marked by building a framework for church planting.
The second stage was a series of ‘plant and grow’ meetings.
The third stage is where we find ourselves now. We have plants that started with great enthusiasm and are beginning to say ‘what do we do now? What’s next?’ The way forward is to partner even more deeply with the Anglican 1000 movement, which has resources to help us answer what next. We are prayerfully considering funding applications – church planting support is for projects that don’t yet exist and where there is no immediate church for support. It is three years of decreasing finanical support. The second is for congregational development support. Not for general operating fund, but for clearly defined projects that have a beginning and end and a clearly defined outcome. This is available to every congregation.

Anglican 1000 — Rev. Alan Hawkins

Vicar responsible for Anglican 1000. We cling hard and fast to the hope and truth of the gospel. The best way to make new disciples is the creation and growth of new Christian communities. At Christchurch Plano in 2009 His Grace (Bob Duncan) stood up and said that God has granted me this vision for the planting of 1000 churches. Then he said something else, ‘and I believe that God has called us to accomplish this in five years’. I put my head down and thought ‘please tell me he didn’t say that’. what the Lord began to do is show me a burden – I am in a city where there are 27.000 college students, and if stats are true, 4% of them are connected to a local congregations – that’s across the province, (I missed the number) of people disconnected from the love of Jesus Christ. We in North America are the third largest mission field in the world. To plant 1000 churches was a gift to us because it means that there is no business as usual. We are going to plant and develop new congregations by seeing ourselves as missionaries and disciple makers where we live. We are living out the gospel in our context and being faithful and fruitful we get the honour and priveledge of doing that. Anglican 1000 in this next season desires to come alongside and serve. If we do our job well we won’t have a job in a few years. What we desire to do is to help equip, assess, sustain and encourage us in the mission (especially a couple of years in when things can get rough), we desire to serve with encouragement. I am thankful to the Lord for the hospitality in this place which is so amazing, thank you for your leve. In the next season we have moved our summit, our national gathering to Chicago, as a way to say to you please come, dont’ let distance keep you away. The witness of our brothers and sisters in Canada is vital We will have three regional conferences in Ottawa, ? and ?. We don’t have all the answers, Jesus does, but we want to make ourselves available to you. How you work and serve the nursery affects the next season – they are the labourers and the leaders that the Lord will use in the next season.

Sojourners — Mark Larratt-Smith

Who are the Christians who have lost belonging? You start with faithful Anglicans living where there is no local faithful church to go to. There are so many Christians from other denominations who are in the same position. Our society disconnects people and leaves them suspicious of churches. How do you address this – what I am arguing is that this is an important ministry field. How can we ask the next generation in if we don’t reach out to people who are faithful Christians and draw them back into fellowship.

Some of the foundations of the Anglican Soujourners Fellowship:

- an integral part of ANiC
-caring for orphan Christians
-complimentary to church planting
-commited to self sufficiency.
-buliding community is our purpose
-membership should not be exclusive
-compatible with membership in another parish or church.
-this will be virtual. a website. we are experimenting with video conferencing.
-We have built a framwork and are looking for help to tie some of these technologies together.
-built on constant prayer
-how do we reach people?
-build a bridge to lead people back to Christian fellowship.
-challenge and feed people who can’t get to church on a regular basis.
-we really need your help. We have a structure, bue we need more people to latch on to this vision and make it an integral part of ANiC and its growth.

Bishop Charlie and Bishop Trevor – introduction of new congregations.

-Rev. Robert Roe and his family stepped out of a large congregation in Sarnia as a matter of consience not knowing what would happen. Within a week there was a gathering to form a congregation and the very next Sunday they held a service which became Cornerstone Anglican Church in Sarnia. First Sunday there were over 80 people there. Three months later there were over 150 people present.

Bishop Trevor has nine (!) new congregations to introduce from the west. I’m sorry, but I can’t keep up with that. If you are from one of those new parishes please post a comment introducing yourselves. I will try to find a link to the presentations.

Time to Build – Archdeacon Ron Corcoran

Text of his presentation can be found here:

http://churchofourlord.org/worship-2/online-sermons/

Bronwyn Short ACNA Catechesis task force
-a systematic instruction in Christian fundamentals
-grounding people in the gospel by teaching Christian doctrine and belonging

My battery is about to die – I will post reflections on the rest of the day tomorrow,.

I arrived at the opening eucharist a little late, after the clergy and bishops had processed in. The following are the notes I took from Bishop Bob Duncan’s sermon. Please remember these are just my notes – it’s not word for word what he said, and there are probably errors in them. Bishop Bob told a couple of funny stories at the beginning about us not taking the fact that he gave Bishop Charlie a hug, or had breakfast with Bishop Ron (and I can’t remember the example he used for Bishop Trevor) to indicate anything at all about his opinion about the election – and told us that sometimes under stress people will connect the dots in funny ways, and please don’t connect the dots in any way other than scripture.

With that, here are my notes on Bishop Bob’s sermon.

You have gathered in Synod because you actually like one another and enjoy being together, that’s one reason. Another reason is that you have business to do.

The third reason is to elect a successor for Bishop Don. The lessons are the lessons for the election of the bishop, from Matthew 10 and Acts 1.

Matthew 10:16-22:

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Sheep in the midst of wolves. Now there’s a piece of good news! Beware of men who will deliver you up and flog you ….etc Matthew 10 is an address to the 12 he has just chosen. In addition there will be lots of family problems. Father will be set against child etc. (verses 20 and following) I am not going to focus on this because I don’t want the nominees to disappear before this afternoon! However – opposition in the world is the way it is supposed to be in the church. John Stott once said to me ‘if we compromise less we would suffer more’. For the aposotolic office, the office of bishop and by extention the elders and leaders of the church and all who desire to follow the Lord Jesus it is the Sprit who is supposed to speak, not us. This is at the heart of the gospel message read for this day and appointed for this occaison.

Acts 1:15-26

15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,

“‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’;

and

“‘Let another take his office.’

21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

There are a series of lessons we can learn here.. v15, 21, 22. Peter who has been chosen to be the moderator of the apostolic group, asks “What are we going to do about Judas?” An apostle must be able in his circumstances to give leadership to those whom he serves and those whom he leads. Peter in giving his leadership is in the word. (in v16-20 Peter speaks about why Judas’ betrayal happened according to scripture and why they have to do something and let his place be taken by another. Peter speaks about David giving us teaching in the scriptures psalms 69 and 109. Peter so lives under the word that he is able to draw out from the word what he believes the Spirit is saying to the church. It is not only a matter of giving leadership but giving leadership in light of the word of God. In v.20 and 21 we find Peter’s guidance in the situarion which has been regarded as advice to the church throughout all the ages. They must choose someone who has been present to the whole story from the baptism of John to the day he was taken from us. Someone who knows the whole story, someone who has been there. Someone who knows Jesus personally. That is what Peter says is necessary for this apostolic leadership. He also says, and this is very important, that the person chosen is someone who was with us through these days, not somebody unknown to us or who wasn’t part of the unfolding of the good news but somebody who was with us in the time that Jesus was going in and out among us. What is interesting in terms of the light of the church this passage tells us that there were many there who Jesus didn’t choose at first, but someone new is chosen who wasn’t recoghnized as a leader before but is brought into leadership. This is someone who has seen the risen Jesus, not only that he knows the stories and has been among us but has been a witness to the resurreciton of the Lord. He has seen Jesus break in and change everything, bring the rule of sin and oprression of death to an end. A witness to the resurrection someone who will witness, be in the tradition and be in the council of the church. In v 23 to 26 we are told that they had some sort of nominating process and 2 names were put forward by the group – they, not Peter alone. We know far more about Joseph Justus than about Matthias. But anyway they put forward these two and their system of choosing – well, we don’t do what the copts do, do we, three names in the chalice and one name picked. But as you prepare to cast each of you your own lot the purpose of the story is to tell us that their trust was completely in the Lord and as you cast your lot the expectation is that you do it under the Lord, not what do I want but what is the Spirit saying. That is the puprpose of this drawing of lots, complete trust in the Lord that the Lord will choose. As we use this privelege of putting our own lot we need to do it in a submitted way trusting in the Lord. It is right that the office be filled in council, that’s how they do it in Acts, and the final thing to observe is what God does with whoever is chosen is up to God. They needed to fill Judas’ office and the process chose Matthias. We hear absolutely nothing more than Matthias in the rest of sacred writ. His purpose is to be chosen and God uses him how God chooses. It is clear that there are many who went among them whose names we do not know. It is unimportant to the rest of the story. Matthias is unimportant to the rest of the story. We can assume that he was faithful, otherwise we might have heard more about him! We don’t know how he was faithful and we don’t know how the one elceted from among you today will be faithful we only trust that he will be. Synod will make a choice and this choice may have a name that is known or not, but we trust that what is important here is that the Holy Spirit will chose through you one who is faithful, under the word, who knows Jesus, is with the other apostles, who is a witness to the resurrection, one who will be God’s choice just as Matthias was. Remember, Matthias was God’s choice and so will the choice you make this day be. Trust that, and trust that he will be one who will fight the good figtht with all his might.

Brothers and Sisters, as you have supported Don support your new coadjutor, stand with him, trust that he is God’s choice. “So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” Amen.

After the opening eucharist we had lunch, and then I went upstairs to a prayer room where a group of us prayed for the bishop nominees wives, and chatted, and waited. About midway through the voting process Bishop Bob walked through the room, and we all jumpped to the (wrong) conclusion that he had an announcement to make, *sigh*. After another (seemingly very long)while we went downstairs to find that our new co-adjutor bisho is Charlie Masters! I missed the beginning of the speech he gave, but I did hear him say that his dad was not always the most complimentary about bishops, and used to call the office he had just been elected to ‘co-agitator’ bishop. He then turned to Bishop Don and said “It will be an honour to co-agitate with you”.

Here is a link to the photos I took today. The quality isn’t great, but it will give you an idea of what it was like to be there. The door is the locked door behind which the people who actually got to vote were gathered, and the harried looking fellow with the yellow nametag is David Pennyleigon, who deserves a huge thanks, because he did the lions share of the work of co-ordinating synod.

Here is a link to a recording I made of all 300 or so of us singing during the eucharist.

Tomorrow will be a long busy day, so I don’t expect to get a post up until Friday morning, although if I find time and space to do so I will try to upload posts during the day.