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The “No Anglican Covenant” coalition has a new leader

May 16th, 2012 by

From here:

An international coalition of Anglicans hopes a model resolution to reject the Anglican Communion Covenant will be accepted by The U.S. Episcopal Church at its General Convention in Indianapolis in July.

The covenant was intended to be an agreement to bind the global Anglican Communion together despite differences about the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of bishops in same-sex relationships.

The coalition’s resolution [http://blog.noanglicancovenant.org/2012/04/model-covenant-resolution-for-2012.html] declines to approve the covenant and claims there are better ways to unify the Anglican Communion. It calls on the church to “at every level to seek opportunities to reach out to strengthen and restore relationships between this church and sister churches of the Communion.”

The Rev. Malcolm French, the coalition’s new Canadian moderator, told the Anglican Journal that 13 volunteers from the House of Deputies [clergy and laity] of the U.S. Episcopal Church now have submitted a resolution based on the coalition’s text. The coalition will also provide  information about its views to delegates during the convention.

In March, the coalition applauded the defeat of the covenant in England when a majority of dioceses voted against adopting it. “The situation in England really raises some questions about the viability of the entire project…,” says French, the incumbent priest at St. James the Apostle in Regina. “It was clearly, in England, not the unifying document that its advocates claim,” says French.

The “better way” to unify the Anglican Communion appears to be to stress relationship over belief. More conversations, more indabas, more relativism, more I’m OK, you’re OK, more hey man, whatever.

That should work.

 

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Posted in Anglican Crisis | No Comments »

Rev Barclay Mayo moves to ANiC

May 15th, 2012 by

From here:

14 May 2012

I am pleased today to announce the transfer of the Reverend Barclay Mayo and his “Pastor to the Street” mission in Squamish, BC into our Diocese of the Anglican Network in Canada.

Barclay and his wife Mary are well known to many of us in ANiC; he was an observer at our Synod in Victoria last fall. Barclay has been a Priest in Good Standing in what is now known as the Anglican Mission in the Americas, Canada since its inception in January 2004; from 2007 until 2009, he served as leader of the Anglican Coalition in Canada (ACiC) Network (as it was then known). He brings a wealth of experience in pastoral ministry and church planting.

The Right Reverend Silas Ng, his former Bishop, has provided the necessary documentation and very graciously has commended Barclay and his ministry to our oversight.

His transfer will become official on Thursday, May 17, 2012, the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven. Please pray for him, Mary, and the Mountain Valley Mission as they join us in ministry and become part of our Diocesan family.

The Right Reverend Donald Harvey
The Anglican Network in Canada

Posted in Anglican Coalition in Canada, Anglican Network in Canada | 2 Comments »

Ottawa teacher to ‘marry’ his school in an Anglican church

May 15th, 2012 by

As a friend of mine said, “Why am I not surprised that the Diocese of Ottawa is allowing this”?

What a weird world we live in.

From CTV news:

An Ottawa high school teacher who’s known to students for his commitment to his work says he’s ready to take that loyalty one step further.

Paul Griffin, a drama instructor at Canterbury High School, is preparing to tie the knot with his place of employment in a farcical wedding ceremony.

“I basically live at the school,” he explained to CTV Ottawa on Saturday. “But it’s a tongue-in-cheek kind of thing and I’m not married. Why don’t I marry the school?”

For its part, the school apparently agreed to take Griffin up on the offer.

A local church has been booked and a formal ceremony is planned out. Participants intend to roll a scale model of Canterbury High down the aisle at the wedding.

“There is somebody to officiate, there will be vows…and apparently, we have to pick a song and there’ll be a dance,” said Griffin.

Another unusual aspect of this already bizarre match is that Griffin has no reservations about admitting that the motive behind the wedding is financial.

The ceremony is a fundraiser for a group of Griffith’s students that have been invited to perform at the renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.

His students plan to perform “Criminals, Lunatics, Women and Idiots,” a play named after groups the government once forbid from voting, at the three-week festival.

Money raised at the wedding ceremony will offset the costs of the Scotland trip.

“We have a registry, so you can actually pick an object and say ‘I want to give this.’ Which is of course, a money donation,” said Griffin.

Internet surfers can peruse the mock registry, which has lists of gifts ranging from $10 to $100. If someone wants to give the couple a $100 “ping pong table,” for instance, a monetary donation would be made with a description of the fictional gift.

Griffin plans to “marry” his school on May 19 at 4 p.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Ottawa.

With a report from CTV Ottawa

 

Posted in Anglican Church of Canada | 3 Comments »

Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster passes motion to lift moratorium on same sex blessings.

May 12th, 2012 by

From here:

Of interest to many was the passing of Motion #1 on the afternoon of May 12th by a substantial majority of Synod.

In this motion, Synod requested that the Bishop lift the partial moratorium that has been in place since 2005 and authorize priests of the Diocese of New Westminster to bless the civil marriages of gay and lesbian couples in those parishes that support this pastoral act.

There was debate on the motion and two proposed amendments, one that was defeated and one that was deemed “friendly” by the mover and seconder of the motion.

Bishop Michael responded by saying that he will think about this decision and that he plans to confer with many members of the diocese.

Prior to the 2005 Synod, when the diocese passed the motion placing a partial moratorium on same sex blessings there were 8 parishes that had voted in favour at their Annual Vestry Meetings of being parishes offering same sex blessings.
Over the last 7 years much has changed, and in Canada civil marriage of same sex couples is now the law of the land.

More details of this motion and others will be available through diocesan communications over the next few days.

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Posted in Anglican Church of Canada | 2 Comments »

Anglican Journal gets letter from Lucifer

May 12th, 2012 by

No, but really. From here and also PDF version here (page 5):

Thank you so much for the exciting article about the Mennonite mentor who fixed up the Anglican church in Thorold, Ont. At last, someone has the gumption to fully realize and act on the obvious: the Lord isn’t interested in so-called “piety” and phony holiness but excitement and singable music. We must compete with television and Facebook and outshine the shiners, or die in the wilderness with no bread!

By (Mother) Lucy Ferr, Hollywood, Calif.

Made me laugh this morning when I saw it in print. :-)

Either the Journal has a sense of humour, or they really didn’t think about this a whole lot. I’m tending towards the latter….

Posted in Anglican Church of Canada | 3 Comments »

Two Canadian bishops discuss Obama’s views on same-sex marriage

May 11th, 2012 by

From here:

In politics and religion, same-sex marriage serves as a Rorschach test of the contemporary psyche. Some people see it as an equalizing move reflecting the best of democratic egalitarianism and Christian inclusivity. Others see it as the undoing of the bedrock of the family and the ancient sacred bond between man and woman.

So when, on May 9, U.S. President Barack Obama announced his personal support for full-fledged same-sex marriage, opinion was divided, and speculation was rampant about how his declaration would play out at the polls in a country evenly split on this polarizing issue.

Obama once said that his faith defined marriage as a man-woman union and believed that civil unions would suffice for same-sex couples. But as Obama told ABC News, “At a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

The impetus for this shift in thinking, he added, was witnessing same-sex couples raising children in committed relationships and realizing that many gay U.S. military personnel who were putting their lives on the line overseas “were not able to commit themselves in a marriage.”

The Anglican Journal spoke about Obama’s change of heart to the diocese of Montreal’s Bishop Barry Clarke, who also supports same-sex marriage and civil unions between lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. Same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2005. “From my perspective, this is a good-news story, especially as a statement from someone with such political clout and international presence,” says Clarke. “It’s a good way to move forward for the community.”

Clarke wonders, however, about Obama’s motives at this election year and also whether he may have created a problem for himself at the voting booths come November. He concedes the declaration may be driven by political expediency or it may be a case of “someone bold enough to stand up regardless and say, ‘We have to move forward around this issue of human rights, justice, dignity and equal treatment.’ ” Equality—in health care and the military, for example—has been one of Obama’s strongest platforms, he notes.

On the opposite side of the country, Bishop William Anderson of the diocese of Caledonia expresses an opposing view. “I’m rather cynical when it comes to politicians in the middle of a campaign, and I wonder if the president should be making these personal declarations or should he be representing the thinking of the majority of the people.”

One of his primary concerns as a clergyman is whether marriage can be redefined to suit this cause. “I would argue that theologically it cannot,” he says. “We can pass political resolutions until the cows come home, but that does not change the inherent reality of what marriage is.”

He feels that to accept same-sex marriage for political advantage without informed debate is the wrong way to go. “It’s dangerous to close down the debate in response to accusations of being homophobic or reactionary. That precludes discussion on whether same-sex marriage is possible or healthy.” Anderson feels that children need the balance of both a male and a female parental model.

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Posted in Anglican Church of Canada | No Comments »

Anglican Church considers Maritime amalgamation

May 2nd, 2012 by

From the CBC:

Anglican Church officials are considering combining some eastern dioceses in an effort to save on administrative costs.

The proposal includes the amalgamation of two dioceses in the Maritimes.

Bishop Sue Moxley told CBC News it makes sense financially to amalgamate struggling dioceses, but she doesn’t think merging her diocese of Nova Scotia and P.E.I. with New Brunswick would work.

“That would make over 200 parishes, and most of our parishes have several congregations,” Moxley said, “and it would be more than 200 clergy which would be way too much for one bishop. We presently have three.”

Moxley said other eastern dioceses, driven by lower church attendance, are already seriously discussing the amalgamation proposal.

“Some things are already happening. The diocese of Montreal and the diocese of Quebec, they’ve been talking to each other already about what could they share?” Moxley said, “How could they share resources because there’s already a very large decrease in the number of Anglicans within the province of Quebec.”

Moxley said dioceses in Newfoundland and Labrador could consider amalgamating due to the number of Newfoundlanders heading west for work.

“The three dioceses in Newfoundland, they only became separate dioceses, I think, in the 1970s and I mean there’s large numbers of Anglicans in Newfoundland,” Moxley said, “but with a lot of them going out west to work that’s changed the dynamics there. So, part of the question is, could they go back to being one again?”

Moxley said, overall, the Maritimes dioceses are doing well financially.

“Nova Scotia and P.E.I., we’re doing okay, Quebec is having quite a difficult time, financially. I think Newfoundland is doing okay,” Moxley said.

“None of us have got money, you know, falling out of our pockets but the people support the church financially through their congregation.”

Moxley said attendance is dropping in some rural congregations on P.E.I., but overall, the diocese is in good financial condition.

But she said attendance in larger centres such as Halifax is on the rise.

“Around metro Halifax, the attendance is increasing because lots of those young people have moved into this area…. we’ve built three new churches around metro here.”

Church officials will meet in September to vote on the proposal. Any potential changes would then have to be discussed locally.

A final decision won’t be made until 2015.

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Posted in Anglican Church of Canada | No Comments »

Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Leaders Conference Statement and Commitment

Apr 28th, 2012 by

From the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans

H/T David Virtue

In 2008 the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) was held in Jerusalem, drawing together more than 1100 Anglicans from around the world, including bishops, clergy and laity.

GAFCON recognized that the conflict in the Anglican Communion since 1998 was a crisis of Gospel truth, not only regarding matters of human sexuality, but the authority of Holy Scripture as God’s inspired Word and the unique Person and Work of Jesus Christ for salvation. In view of this crisis, the Conference unanimously affirmed that

our core identity as Anglicans is expressed in these words: The doctrine of the Church is grounded in the Holy Scriptures and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal. We intend to remain faithful to this standard, and we call on others in the Communion to reaffirm and return to it.

Claiming that GAFCON was “not just a moment in time but a movement in the Spirit”, the 2008 Conference gave birth to a contemporary statement of faith, the Jerusalem Declaration (JD) and to a society, the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) led by a Council of Primates. The movement has become a family and fellowship with increasing trust and affection. The goals of the FCA are twofold: to proclaim and defend the gospel throughout the world, and to strengthen the church worldwide by supporting and authenticating faithful Anglicans who have been disenfranchised from their spiritual homes.

Since 2008 the Primates of those Anglican Provinces who endorsed the Jerusalem Declaration have met regularly and recognized the Anglican Church in North America as a legitimate Province in the Anglican Communion. Many dioceses, parishes and individuals have also endorsed the Jerusalem Declaration. National and regional branches of FCA have been formed in South Africa, UK and Ireland. The Primates have also endorsed Being Faithful: The Shape of Historic Anglicanism Today as a helpful commentary on the Jerusalem Declaration.

From 23-27 April 2012, the FCA held its first conference for Anglican leaders, addressing the theme of Jesus the Christ, Unique and Supreme. Over 200 leaders from 30 countries and 25 provinces, including bishops, clergy and laity, shared in our fellowship in the Gospel and recommitted ourselves to the goals of the FCA. We gathered in a remarkable spirit of joy and unity as we affirmed the lordship of Christ, his uniqueness and sufficiency.

We received from Anglican leaders accounts of terrorism leading to death and destruction in Nigeria, and of persecution and ostracism of believers in Islamic and Hindu societies; we heard from a Christian prolife and pro-marriage advocate who has been maligned by the secular media in England, with precious little support from the Church establishment. We heard numerous accounts from Anglican leaders around the world who have been harassed by their own bishops and fellow clergy for their Gospel witness, yet have been grateful for the stance of the FCA. We note that The Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada are proceeding post-haste to approve same-sex blessing rites with total disregard for the conscience of their own members, for the moratoria mandated by the official Instruments of the Anglican Communion, and for the broken state of communion where more than half the world’s Anglicans are represented by the FCA.

The chairman of the FCA, the Most Rev. Eliud Wabukala, Primate of Kenya, opened the Conference with a keynote address on the identity of confessing Anglicans in the light of the current crisis, highlighting the fact that “The heart of the crisis we face is not only institutional, but spiritual.” We were also reminded that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12).

Bible studies from Paul’s letter to the Colossians were delivered each morning. The Conference theme of the supremacy of Christ over all creation, including his church and our very lives, was powerfully presented to the gathered leaders. In light of the twofold goals of the FCA, special attention was given in workshops to the nature of the gospel and the nature of the church. Other workshops addressed major concerns of the GAFCON movement as articulated in the Jerusalem Declaration: leadership (clause 7), the family (clause 8), evangelism (clause 9) and economic empowerment (clause 10).

The Conference recognized the gospel as the life-transforming message of salvation from sin and all its consequences, through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is both a declaration and a summons: announcing what has been done for us in Christ and calling us to repentance, faith and submission to his lordship. Any compromise of the gospel is a compromise of the authority of Christ as King. The second major goal of the Conference had to do with the nature of the church as an expression and vehicle of the gospel. The Rev. Dr Ashley Null reviewed the history of Anglican polity over five centuries and concluded:

Effectiveness in mission is the highest historic priority in Anglicanism, for the church derives its existence, purpose and power from the faithful proclamation of the gospel in word and sacrament. Because of this divine call, the church has God’s assurance of his abiding presence among his people. Nevertheless, since the church as a human institution can err, adapting the proclamation of the gospel to a specific culture can all too often lead to the culture adapting and changing the gospel to its own human idolatries. Therefore, a global fellowship is necessary to help individual national churches to discern whether a specific gospel proclamation is adapting to the culture or capitulating to it.

In a plenary address on “Jesus, the Lord of the Church and his Mission,” Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali noted that St Paul presents the church as an exalted communion known to God, the Jerusalem above (Gal 4:26), and also as an earthly community of believers gathered together for the preaching of God’s Word, the sacraments duly administered, and effective church discipline (Article XIX; Second Book of Homilies). Applying this pattern to the current Anglican situation, Bishop Nazir-Ali concluded that the Anglican “Instruments of Unity” have failed dramatically and that the FCA is called to model a biblical way for the churches of the Anglican Communion to gather and relate to one another so as to carry out the Great Commission in the coming decades. This way needs to address different forms of missional leadership, gathering the church with traditional episcopal leaders as well as leaders exercising oversight in parochial and non-parochial ministries. The Primates’ Council will have responsibility for planning, directing and driving this agenda.

Conference participants formed networks that will pursue ongoing work in areas vital to the movement, including:
• episcopal leaders – a forum for bishops to encourage one another, improve communication and welcome new members, including those not yet a part of the FCA
• pastors – a forum for FCA pastors to provide mutual encouragement and develop Christian discipleship
• evangelists – a forum to equip lay evangelists and church planters to proclaim the gospel, edify the church and serve society
• women in ministry – a forum for women in ministry to share challenges, resources and prayer
• theological educators – a forum to encourage and train theological educators in developing biblical patterns of theological education, to resist revisionist intrusions and to share theological resources
• cross-cultural workers – a forum for cross-cultural workers to share their needs and to connect people to available resources and networks
• aid and development workers – a forum to promote a biblical theology of development, which includes economic empowerment and self-sustainability
• lawyers – a forum for lawyers to assist the FCA in the pursuit of its mission and to offer members counsel in matters of civil and canon law.

It is vitally important for the FCA to activate these networks, as they represent the outworking of the gospel in the daily lives of millions of believers and their neighbours. They also represent areas of need where revisionist organizations, both secular and Anglican, lure orthodox people with offers of aid, invitations to conferences, scholarships and the like.

Archbishop Wabukala concluded his opening address with these words, echoing Micah 6:8

So what does the Lord require? He has called us to a great prophetic purpose at this critical point in the life of our Communion. After some 450 years it is becoming clear that what some have called the ‘Anglican experiment’ is not ending in failure, but is on the verge of a new and truly global future in which the original vision of the Reformers can be realized as never before. We do not need to repudiate or belittle our history, but learn from it and set ourselves now to walk humbly with our God into the future and the hope that he has planned for us.

In response, Archbishop Jensen, the FCA General Secretary, challenged participants to agree on a “statement in the form of a commitment.” In affirming this statement, we commit ourselves to the following:

• to reaffirm the Jerusalem Declaration and Statement
• to commend the Jerusalem Declaration to others as the basis for resolving the spiritual crisis currently besetting the Anglican Communion
• to invite Anglicans around the world to join FCA in order to serve Christ and his mission
• to promote and fund the networks in their various aims to strengthen the Church
• to create a network for ministry among young people
• to pray for the work and ministry of FCA and for each other.

At the conclusion of the Leaders Conference, it was announced that a second Anglican Future Conference will be held in May 2013. This Conference will further the work of the FCA to renew and reform the Anglican Communion. This leads to a further specific commitment from leaders and their churches:

• to gather for GAFCON 2 in May 2013
• to obtain funding and resourcing for GAFCON 2.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:20-21)

Posted in Anglican Communion, Anglican Crisis | 1 Comment »

Bishop’s visit marks success of shared episcopal ministry

Apr 25th, 2012 by

I’m not as certain as the author of this article that heralding one confirmation as a “success of shared episcopal ministry” or that intoning the “wounds resulting from doctrinal differences” are being healed is warranted.

Nevertheless, here, in all its contrived Pollyannaism, it is:

A casual visitor to either of two church services in the Montreal area Sunday (April 22) might have had no inkling that they were part of a historic effort to heal wounds resulting from doctrinal differences, especially ones related to homosexuality.

Bishop Leonard Whitten, retired bishop of Western Newfoundland, administered the rite of confirmation to five young people in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Pointe Claire, a Montreal suburb in the West Island area. At a lively prayer service that evening at St. Paul’s Church in Knowlton in the Eastern Townships, Bishop Barry Clarke of Montreal presented him with a licence to officiate as an assisting bishop in the Montreal diocese.

Whitten also scheduled a retreat with six clergy of the diocese in Sutton in the Eastern Townships Tuesday and Wednesday.

It was the first pastoral visit by Whitten to the Montreal diocese under an agreement worked out last fall by the two bishops, six clergy of the diocese and several of the parishes they serve. The clergy and parishes object to recent actions of Clarke and the diocese to accept same-sex marriages. These included the approval of a protocol for the blessing of civil unions, including same-sex ones, and the ordination or induction into parishes of several clergy with same-sex partners.

Former members left several parishes in the diocese of Montreal in 2009 to form two parishes of the traditionalist Anglican Network in Canada.

The shared episcopal ministry between Whitten and Clarke is the first effort in Canada, aside from one or two brief experiments on the West Coast some years ago, to put into practice a suggestion endorsed by the Canadian House of Bishops in 2004. It had been proposed the same year in the Windsor Report, a document from the Lambeth Commission on Communion.

Whitten, who is in his mid-70s and lives with his wife in Pasadena NL, voted against same-sex blessings at the international Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops in 2008 and has been quoted as saying he still believes marriage, scripturally, is between a man and woman.

However, there was no discussion of same-sex unions or other specific doctrinal controversies—at least during the public portions of his visit to Montreal. The mood was upbeat at both the confirmation service, attended by close to 70 people, and the evening service, attended by more than 40.

Whitten devoted his morning sermon, directed largely to the young confirmands, to joy and delight in serving Christ and to the importance of prayer. He said it was perhaps the second confirmation at which he had presided since retiring as a diocesan bishop nine years ago. “I am pleased that Bishop Barry has asked me to do this and I will be pleased to help out in any capacity in which he wants to have me.”

Whitten’s evening sermon was about ministry. By accident or design, he made a point that has been a favourite of Bishop Barry’s on other occasions: the importance for Anglicans and parishes of not being content with maintenance but moving into mission.

In a brief conversations after the gathering, both bishops said they were pleased with the day’s events. Whitten said he hopes to be back, but has no specific information about when.

Rev. Tim Wiebe of St. Paul’s, one of the six clergy involved in the shared episcopal ministry, as well as pastor of the host church (and drummer in the upbeat quartet that accompanied the hymns) was also pleased. “It’s pretty early days (in the life of the ministry) but we wanted to celebrate this part,” said Weibe. “Bishop Barry has been very gracious.”

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Posted in Anglican Church of Canada | 2 Comments »

Diocese of Ottawa gets $525,000 Grant to Renovate St. Alban’s, City Council not Consulted

Apr 20th, 2012 by

From the Ottawa Sun, read the whole thing here.

The money is to renovate St. Alban’s basement in order to move a homeless drop in there. A completely unnecessary move – Centre 454 is currently located in a neighbourhood that houses many other services to the homeless population in Ottawa. (And before our worthy opponents start with the ‘you don’t care about the homeless’ nonsense – I’ve done front line homeless ministry for the last three years, I do know a little bit about it).

From the article:

Construction at St. Alban’s began on Feb. 15, and likely won’t be completed until late summer, sources tell the Sun.

The basement, which used to be a chapel, will house offices and open spaces.

Construction estimates for Centre 454’s new digs total $556,300, including a $40,000 gazebo and granite countertops.

“It’s going to be spent on beautifying a garden for the church, it’s going to be spent on interior decoration and plumbing for a centre,” said Nuthall.

That money is better spent on treatment, argues Nuthall.

“It could have bought thousands of meals, hundreds of counselling sessions, and years of medical care for the homeless, administered at Centre 454’s current location, where it works perfectly well at present,” said Nuthall.

Officials from the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa could not be reached for comment Thursday.

But then, how could the Diocese of Ottawa have claimed that they needed our building?

Posted in Anglican Church of Canada | 1 Comment »

Former Diocese of Niagara parish, Church of the Good Shepherd has found a new home

Apr 19th, 2012 by

From here (emphasis mine):

After an awkward four-year court battle and painful divorce from the Anglican Diocese of Niagara, the parishioners at the Church of the Good Shepherd have found a new home.

Pat Decker, warden of the St. Catharines congregation, said the group is looking forward to putting the painful split behind them at the end of April. The parish has reached an agreement to move from its home on Grantham Ave. to Grace Mennonite Church on Niagara St., where they will share the church with the current parish.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” she said. “We’re very excited about our move and that we’ve come through all these challenging times.”

The congregation has been locked in litigation with the Anglican diocese since 2008, when it voted to split from the church over what members perceived as an evolving liberal interpretation of the scriptures, including the adoption of same-sex marriage blessings.

It joined the breakaway Anglican Network in Canada, and the diocese sued for possession of the church property.

But shortly after the diocese launched the lawsuit, an interim court order forced the two groups to share the facility. It wasn’t always a comfortable arrangement, but the church’s 90 members have made it work, Decker said.

“It has strengthened us,” she said. “Those kinds of challenges either tend to do one of two things: They tend to bring you together, or tear you down.

“In our case, it’s brought us much closer together.”

The parish will have one final service at the Grantham site before moving to the new church on Niagara an hour later for a welcoming service April 29, Decker said.

“We have really been thankful to God for the time that we’ve been able to spend in that building,” she said. “We have loved the building and cared for the building. At the same time, we recognize that our God does not live in buildings. He lives in the human heart.”

Anglican Diocese of Niagara Archdeacon Michael Patterson said the situation has been difficult for all sides and he is looking forward to its conclusion. An agreement in principle has been reached between the two parties, and all that’s required are signatures.

The diocese has not determined what it will do with the church building on Granthoam, Former members of the Good Shepherd parish who disagreed with the split have moved to other congregations in the city, he said.

“They have been patient and waiting upon outcomes to determine what would happen, generations of people who were members of that community, (who) hope upon hope that we’ll be able to re-ignite the community.”

But Patterson said that given the climate of church closures, amalgamations and declining attendance, the diocese cannot commit to re-opening the church.

“It’s been a painful four years for them,” he said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

Decker said the Good Shepherd congregation has been looking for a new home since 2008, but the financial strain of paying a mortgage would have significantly hindered outreach activities.

“We were really concerned that those ministries would suffer if we had to take on a mortgage,” she said. “This is going to give us an opportunity to rent facilities without having a major mortgage.”

The sharing arrangement will see the Grace Mennonite congregation worship earlier in the morning Sunday to accommodate the Good Shepherd parish.

“We have a building that we’re not utilizing fully any more because we’re more of a church of seniors,” Grace Mennonite pastor Waldo Pauls said. “We just want to be of benefit to the community and have the building used.”

Pauls said the partnership was unanimously approved by his congregation. Their theological points of view are not so far separated from the Anglican church that the partnership wouldn’t work, he said.

“It sends a message to the community that we as Christians are in unity and can work together and share,” he said. “There are a lot of parallels. Certainly much more than would be different. There are a few elements of theology that we aren’t exactly the same on, but nothing that creates great disunity between us.”

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Posted in Anglican Network in Canada | 1 Comment »

Synod looks at reducing number of dioceses in Ecclesiastical Province of Canada

Apr 18th, 2012 by

The implosion of the Anglican Church of Canada continues.

From here:

THE ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE OF CANADA
in the Anglican Church of Canada

Tuesday 17 April 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Motions envision a leaner, more efficient ecclesiastical province better equipped to carry out God’s mission in eastern Canada

Delegates to this fall’s Synod of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada will be asked to explore the possibility of reducing the number of dioceses in eastern Canada.

It’s one of several motions being proposed by the Provincial Governance Task Force, aimed at reforming governance and administration so they can help the Anglican Church in this part of the country become more focussed on mission.

The proposal to reduce the number of dioceses “recognizes the changing demographic of the Anglican Church within the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada in terms of both decreasing numbers and the increased cost of providing ecclesiastical services within our seven existing dioceses,” according to a background note accompanying the notice of motion.

The background note goes on to envision what such a new map of the ecclesiastical province might look like. It suggests merging the dioceses of Montreal and Quebec. The Diocese of Fredericton and the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island could also be united. Newfoundland and Labrador, which was divided into three dioceses in 1976, would be reintegrated back into one single diocese.

“We are also trying to determine whether a revised diocesan arrangement may create a stronger Anglican community in terms of mutual support and encouragement in eastern Canada,” added Charles Ferris, the ecclesiastical province’s chancellor, and head of the Provincial Governance Task Force.

If the motion passes this fall, the province will undertake to “explore possible realignment of dioceses,” and then report back to the next Provincial Synod in 2015.

Another motion from the task force will ask the synod to consider centralizing in the provincial structure several administrative functions currently handled at the diocesan level, such as human resources, payroll, and information technology. The task force suggests such an approach might be less expensive and more efficient.

There is also a proposal to reduce the size of Provincial Synod itself by almost half. At the moment, each of the seven dioceses in the province is entitled to send as many as 11 members to synod, which meets every three years. A motion from the Provincial Governance Task Force would see that reduced to six delegates per diocese. Doing so, reads the motion, “would make it a more cost-effective body.”
A related motion would see the Provincial Council, which is the ecclesiastical province’s decision-making body between synods, reduced from 31 to 22 members.

Posted in Anglican Church of Canada | 1 Comment »

Diocese of New Westminster to spend $4.5 million in an attempt to revitalise seized parishes

Apr 14th, 2012 by

Having won the court battle for the buildings of St. John’s Shaughnessy, St. Matthias and St. Luke, and St. Matthew’s Abbotsford, the Diocese of New Westminster must decide what to do with them. Since it has no substantial congregations in the buildings, the diocese has concluded that it must “plant three new churches” to “establish Diocese of New Westminster, Anglican Church of Canada worship” in the parishes. The diocese makes no mention of worshipping Jesus.

The money is to come from “the assets of the parishes returned to the diocese by the courts of Canada” along with funding from the diocese.

In any other circumstance the diocese would quietly close non-viable parishes but, in this case, there would be too much loss of face and Bishop Michael Ingham is prepared to spend $4.5 Million to make sure that doesn’t happen. I expect that it will anyway.

The whole document is here.

Note the last sentence: the parishes have a limited time in which to spend $4.5 million to “become vital and sustainable” before they are put on the chopping block.

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Posted in Anglican Church of Canada | 7 Comments »

Ottawa Theological College launches website

Apr 9th, 2012 by

Classes will begin this fall. The website is here.

From the Who We Are page:

Ottawa Theological College is affiliated with a local congregation, Church of the Messiah (Anglican Network in Canada), located in downtown Ottawa, near Parliament Hill. Our goal is to bring students and scholars together to teach and equip Christian leaders in and around the capital region.

We seek to lift up the Good News of Jesus Christ by providing Bible-centred courses and programs for full and part-time students as we follow the Lord’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
Our Distinctives
Evangelical and Cross-Denominational

In the broadest Christian sense, Ottawa Theological College is cross-denominational, seeking to build partnerships with those from a variety of evangelical and orthodox denominations in the region as we seek to uplift the Good News of Jesus Christ, by equipping Christian workers for confident gospel ministry.

Ottawa Theological College is also Anglican. This word simply refers to the English Church, and we stand as inheritors of the “English Way” handed down to us by our spiritual forebears. As Anglicans, we affirm the historical foundations of our faith–the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer 1662, and the Ordinal–as our doctrinal standard, under the authority of Scripture.

We at Ottawa Theological College are also evangelical Christians. Our belief in key doctrines such as the Trinity, the substitutionary death and bodily resurrection of our Lord, the uniqueness of Christ as the only way to God the Father, humankind’s fallen nature and the necessity of grace for salvation, justification by faith, and unreservedly holding the Bible as our rule of faith, will be recognized and embraced by evangelicals around the world.

It is within this context that Ottawa Theological College affirms working together with Christians within and across denominational lines in authentic, ecumenical ways, celebrating the unity we share with fellow believers in essential matters of faith, while respecting freedom of conscience in secondary areas.
Local and Global Focus

As a community of world Christians in a local setting, we acknowledge the urgent need for greater unity among believers (John 17:20-21), and the need for a deeper commitment to the task of making disciples among all nations (Acts 1:8). We do this acknowledging the cross-cultural challenges brought about through massive migration, religious pluralism, and fragmentation among Christians.

We are dedicated to training students for Christian service by providing them a solid curriculum involving scripture, doctrine, and practical theology, particularly emphasizing expository preaching for those called to proclamation of the word. We understand the benefit of providing ongoing Christian education for those already involved in full-time ministry, and plan to provide this resource as well.

OTC has adopted a missional approach to theological education. the emphasis is reflected through two foundational courses that are required in all programs: Bible, Church and Mission, which establishes a Gospel and Culture framework for the college’s programs, and Introduction to World Christianity. This approach will reinforce the missionary dimension of Christian ministry for students.

Posted in Anglican Church in North America, Anglican Network in Canada | 5 Comments »

A blessed Easter to all!

Apr 8th, 2012 by

From the AEC bloggers.

This may not be exactly what the heavenly choir is singing, but it has to be close:

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Posted in Church Year | 1 Comment »

Peter Ould on Rowan Williams’ Legacy

Apr 2nd, 2012 by

Read the whole thing here.

 

When Rowan Williams ascended the throne of Augustine, the Anglican Communion was entering a phase of discernment as to the future. Which direction would it take? How would the tensions be handled? Was there even a future for the Communion? And the most important question – how would we know what is true, what is orthodoxy? When Rowan Williams’ successor ascends the throne of Augustine, a huge number of those questions will have been answered. Thanks to Rowan’s Hegelian project to keep us talking for as long as possible, we have had years to see the downright duplicity and apostasy of huge portions of the Anglican Communion in the Americas. If Rowan hadn’t kept inviting the heretics to the party, we wouldn’t have had months and years of blatant deceit, untruth and the refusal of accountability to evidence in comparison to the path orthodoxy has taken.

Truly, there has been a major triumph of Rowan’s Hegelian Project.

Posted in Anglican Communion | No Comments »

Bishop Don Harvey visits Lutheran Church-Canada

Mar 29th, 2012 by

Read it all here:

WINNIPEG - On March 12, 2012 President Robert Bugbee of Lutheran Church-Canada (LCC) welcomed Bishop Donald Harvey to LCC’s office for a morning of informal discussions on the relationship between biblical Anglicans and Lutherans in Canada. Bishop Harvey is Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) and a bishop of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), a group which broke away from the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and the Episcopal Church – USA over questions of biblical authority, including most visibly the subject of homosexuality.

“One of the remarkable results of the formation of ACNA was the number of dialogues and discussions we were invited to join because others recognized our biblical faithfulness,” said Bishop Harvey. “The inspiring morning I spent with President Bugbee and his staff in Winnipeg is, I feel, the start of a long and lasting relationship as we share ways whereby together we can ‘know Christ and make Him known’ throughout our country.”

[….]

“I am grateful to God that there are Anglican clergy and people in Canada like Bishop Harvey and ANiC who take a high view of the authority of Holy Scripture, including a commitment to the Church’s historic teaching on marriage,” President Bugbee said. LCC has recently engaged in theological discussion with ACNA, in conjunction with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. To date, three dialogues have taken place with a fourth scheduled for this spring at Nashota House, an Anglican seminary in Wisconsin.

Friendly relationships between LCC and ANiC have begun to develop at a grass roots level as well. Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Vancouver, for example, welcomed disaffected Anglican congregation St. Matthias and St. Luke’s Church to share its facility after the congregation lost its property to the ACC.

Bishop Harvey thanked Bethlehem Lutheran for their generosity and hospitality, suggesting that the mutual congeniality between LCC and ANiC “comes from the discovery that our faith is built upon the same basic principles.”

 

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Posted in Anglican Network in Canada, Uncategorised | 1 Comment »

The Church of England rejects the Anglican Covenant

Mar 26th, 2012 by

The Church of England’s rejection of the covenant will have some interesting side-effects.

I don’t believe the covenant ever stood much chance of reigning in wayward provinces like the ACoC and TEC even if it had been accepted by a majority of provinces. As it is, with the Church of England’s rejection, “Archbishop Rowan’s via media approach of holding the Communion together by enabling conversation within the framework of upholding the Windsor Report, Lambeth I.10 and the covenant” is effectively DOA.

The Church of England cannot reconsider the covenant until 2015.

From the BBC:

The Church of England cannot sign up to a plan aimed at preventing the global Anglican Church from splitting up after half its 44 dioceses voted against it.

The Archbishop of Canterbury backed the Anglican Covenant in a bid to ensure divisive issues – such as gay bishops – did not cause the Communion to split.

A vote by the diocesan synod of Lincoln meant 22 dioceses had opposed the plan.

The covenant had already been rejected by conservative global Church leaders, whom it was intended to placate.

Outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams had said the covenant was about Churches being “accountable to each other in the Communion”.

He said the agreement would not give anybody the power to do anything but recommend courses of action.

But critics say the covenant could undermine the traditional independence of the Churches, which together have more than 80 million members.

The idea of a covenant grew out of fears that disagreements over the gay issue between different provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion would lead to irreconcilable splits in the Church.

The arguments centred on the appointment of bishops in non-celibate gay relationships, and the blessing of same-sex unions, in Anglican churches in the US and Canada.

Some provinces in Africa, Latin America and Asia vehemently condemned these developments.

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Posted in Anglican Communion | No Comments »

Michael Green calls on the Church of England to recognise ACNA

Mar 26th, 2012 by

From Anglican Mainstream:

Letter to CEN from Canon Michael Green

Sir, Having just returned from leading a Diocesan Clergy Conference for the Anglican Church in North America, I offer my impressions, since we in UK are not always well informed about our orthodox brethren in America.

We need to be aware that the assault by lawyers of the Episcopal Church on their orthodox churches and their remaining two or three orthodox dioceses continues. These lawsuits are almost always successful and so increasingly the best and most biblical clergy and congregations are being evicted from their church buildings. The Episcopal Church can hardly ever fill them with ‘shadow congregations’ so they are empty and are being sold off as Muslim mosques and for other purposes, but never to ACNA.

I was struck by the fact that the Anglican Church in North America, now numbering well over 100,000, are no longer looking back over their shoulder to the loss of their buildings, but are vigorous and forward-looking. Some 200 new congregations have been formed in the past two-and-a-half years, while the aging membership of the Episcopal Church continues to shrink and some 72 per cent of their churches are in financial trouble. By contrast 400 church leaders from ACNA met a couple of weeks ago to plan for the founding of 1,000 new Anglican churches across North America in the next five years.

A fascinating combination of churchmanships mark the new Anglicans. They are avowedly Catholic, Evangelical and Charismatic, and it seems a very holistic mixture. They have caught the attention of the media. CBN recently did a six-minute piece entitled ‘Anglican Fever Youth flock to New Denomination’. Of course they do not see themselves as a new denomination at all, but as the continuing witness to Prayer Book Christianity. They have an upcoming Provincial Assembly in June.

The sad feature is a break within the Anglican Mission in the Americas. This was the first group to separate from the Episcopal Church under the aegis of the Archbishops of South East Asia and Rwanda. Although they joined in when the orthodox diaspora came together as ACNA, they remained in many ways distinct. South East Asia is no longer involved, but now there has been a rupture with the Archbishop of Rwanda, with whom only two of their bishops now remain aligned, while the other six are in an ecclesiastical No Man’s Land. This is tragic, and great efforts are being made to repair the split.

That apart, the ACNA is on the move. Many of its congregations are small, meeting in gymnasia, large homes, or borrowed buildings from other churches. Their attitude is positive, their aim is outreach, and their sacrifices are impressive. No wonder 75
per cent of the Anglican Communion recognise them (while half the Provinces of the Communion are in broken or impaired communion with the Episcopal Church).

Surely it is high time for the Church of England to give them the recognition they merit.

The Rev Canon Dr Michael Green.

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Posted in Anglican Network in Canada | No Comments »

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