The ACC General Synod 2007 closed this afternoon without any of the controversy or last-minute motions that we saw in St Catherines in 2004, which was most definitely an improvement in style if not in the underlying substance.
From my point of view, I was not entirely sure whether this blog was going to be a helpful addition to the Essentials effort at General Synod, but from what I am hearing it’s gone down pretty well, and I’m glad about that!
So, what now?
I think, firstly, that we should take some time to sit down, pray it through and seek Gods’ direction. I’ve never been in favour of responding hastily. However, it seems to me that respond we must – for if we do not the house that is divided against itself will collapse anyway. That response may take different forms for different people, and I think we’ll need to respect that and find ways that we can work together to build His Church.
It seems likely to me that the Canadian situation will be overtaken by more international Anglican events this year, and that choices will need to be made here in Canada as a result of those events.
For now – I’m going to do something entirely different this evening – nothing. Absolutely nothing. I’m looking forward to it already 
.
Tomorrow I fly back to Calgary, then I’ve got to get my head around going back to work on Wednesday – now that’ll be landing with a bump! Perhaps sometime next week, as and when I get time (family are owed a bit now I think), I will present a play by play of the highlights and lowlights of the Anglican drama known as General Synod……
Peter, God speed on your trip home. Definitely take time with your family, friends, etc. and just RELAX! I can’t imagine how you managed to keep up your momentum through this entire GS, except with the help of God. It has been such a blessing for all of us who couldn’t be there to have a sense of being there anyway. Your up to the minute feed on this blog for us has been totally awesome!!!!
I look forward to your “highs & lows” post. In the meantime, God bless!
Peter:
for the great majority of us you were an amazing link into events at Winterpeg!
My position upon all of this may differ from yours; however, the ability to treat each other with respect, and offer thanks for genuine effort on any individual’s part must NOT be overlooked.
Enjoy your family time and treasure it as the most important thing in your life! Thank you, and should you and your family pass through Halifax… well, you have my email.
Blessings,
Malachy
You need some “me time,” as I believe you are suffering from “compassion fatigue.” Draw your circle wide (with you in the centre, of course…).
Just comment. Just visit. Just give yourself something 2 do
http://anglicanupheaval.blogspot.com/
Peter
God bless you and your family abundantly. May your time of relaxation be a time of being refreshed and renewed in mind, body and spirit.
May our Lord Jesus Christ grant you and your family a fresh anointing of His Holy Spirit as He blesses you for your ministry to all of us through this blog at General Synod.
Our prayers and love to you and your family.
Brian+
PS Let us know if you are coming to Vancouver Island at any time.
Thanks again Peter for all you have poured into this. It has been a great benefit. Peace
Hi Peter
You have done a splendid job with the blog that has been very helpful for keeping folk up to speed. Thank you so much.
I am one of the delegates from Fredericton. We very much appreciated the Essentials site team — the hospitality, the worship & prayer, the opportunity to consider together the matters that would come to debate on the floor. Things would likely have turned out differently if Essentials had not taken up this ministry. I understand it cost a great deal of money for this ministry — so thanks to all who sent or are sending $$ to cover these costs.
My read is that the passage of A186 is not as bad as some would read it — and yet it is not good. (A hopeful interpretation would be that we have affirmed that SSB’s are not discussed in the Creed.) I do know that others will try to make that sentence say a great deal more. I speak from a Federation perspective — as J I Packer is reported to have said: “I ain’t getting in no lifeboat.” To extend the metaphor — Good ship Anglicana has a few cracks in the hull — ok — some rather large holes. What we need now is all hands on deck — jumping ship would be the worst thing to do right now.
The defeat of A187 by a nose was a relief — but we need to do our homework now. We really need to engage the church in the hard work of scripture and theological reflection – and listening to one another. If we do the work — and the Primate’s Theological Commission does its work as well — we have a chance to keep our ship afloat. This will require sustained good will by all who love the church — on both sides of this difficult debate.
Anyway — sorry about the lengthy rant. I am exausted and am going to bed.
May God bless you all. And thank-you Peter. Cheryl, Murray, Brett and the entire team.
Vicars
While I embody a position on SSB quite distant from that of Essentials and most posters to this blog, I am most appreciative of Peter’s coverage over the past few days. It became an “essential” part of a wider coverage including secular media and the Anglican Journal. I think Richard Leggett’s quote to the press is worth a short reflection. “We are from a church where a carpenter was raised from the dead. We shall see what the future holds.” Indeed. Ken Gray+
I’m with Vicars,
We have an opportunity to get people thinking about how we can engage the church in serious theological discussion. I still think that part of this discussion could result in our saying that there is no way we can go forward together. The divisions at an ethical and theological level are just too great. I am not at all suggesting that we do something precipitous but I will be giving some serious thought to a proposal that I will post on the blog before I go on holiday in mid July. It is something that Pete and I are going to be working on together.
We are both from the same congregation and so we see a lot of each other. I am honoured to have him as one of my wardens. I am so thankful to you Peter and know that Christopher, Abby, Nathanial, Joseph and your dear wife Ruthy need your time.
I also want to thank Ruthy for her support in backing Pete to come and be with us in Winnipeg.
A last thought for now as I too prepare to head back to Calgary with Pete.
At the service this evening when Archbishop Fred spoke to us before the exchange of the peace he again used the catch phrase, We are called to be an ever more inclusive church. I thought so much of the service was wonderful and I realized afresh why I am an Anglican Christian. And yet when this words were spoken I also sense in my spirit that the Anglicanism that the liberals want to embrace and the one that I believe to be at the heart of the Communion and Biblical Faith in not inclusive so much as it is transformative. Of course Jesus welcomes all of us to himself and so it inclusive in this sense. But this only the beginng. He calls us to himself so by his spirit he can tranform us to become ever more like him.
Inclusive was the buzz word this week that the liberals touted repeatedly. And yet not once did I hear a valid explanation that is rooted in Scripture, tradition and reason that would give me clarity as to why we are to be an ever more inclusive church.
I would appreciate hearing an position by someone who in reading
this blog would agree with the inclusive theology. Perhaps you were a delegate at synod who used this argument. In my reading of the New Testament I hear the call to being called out of the world into his marvelous light.
It is time to call it a night. Talk to you all again when back in Calgary.
Jonathan
Just got home from work and had to check in and see your wrap up to this GS, and (can I say this) see what my new friends in Christ had to say before ‘going home’. Thanks again Peter.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirt be with you and your family always.
I often think and say that I consider myself blessed to have found two wonderful church homes, (Edson Baptist and St Paul’s Anglican, Edmonton) and I do hope I offend neither one by acknowledging my love for the other.
I want to thank you for this blog and your tireless and devoted efforts over the last few days, because here I have, in a sense, discovered another family, or at least of course, another branch of it.
How encouraging it is to be, “in the company”, so to speak, of others of like mind and faith. How wonderful to pray and discuss our common faith one with another. I can imagine brothers and sisters in various and diverse locations across Canada and around the world who have become a “new community” during these interesting times, each of us in our own place, but none of us alone.
Keep the faith,
Take Care,
John K
Peter,
This has been an astounding and masterful bit of work…truly amazing. Thank you and get some rest. I know how tired you must be.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070626.SCHISM26/TPStory/National
Homophobia accepted in church, bishop says
MICHAEL VALPY
June 26, 2007
Canada’s only Anglican bishop
to authorize the blessing of homosexual unions said yesterday the refusal by his fellow bishops to approve the rite for the national church is the product of institutional inertia rooted in homophobia.
Bishop Michael Ingham of the Vancouver-area diocese of New Westminster said homophobia, hiding behind interpretations of scripture, remains an acceptable prejudice in Canadian Anglicanism.
“There are members of our church who staunchly defend that. In my view, [it] is a total misreading of scripture and a misuse of the Bible to oppress people. But they clearly want to continue to do that.”
…
“To say that the blessing of same-sex unions is not in conflict with doctrine is a hugely significant thing,” Bishop Ingham said. “But to say at the same time there’s no doctrinal conflict but we’re not going to [do] anything about it is inertia – it’s institutional inertia rooted in homophobia.”
Thanks so much Peter for your blogging it was really helpful in giving an on the spot view to people who weren’t on the spot! Thanks so much for your hard work!
Nick.
This Man Bp. Ingham is my bishop.
I reside in Sardis, a small community just next to Chilliwack, which lays within the diocese of New Westminster. I am troubled. I was baptised only 7 months ago at the age of 46, having previously convinced myself for years that I was an atheist. Now as I struggle to follow the path blazed by our saviour, I find Bp. Ingham and his side kick Rev. Dale Yardy popping up in my path with detours like that statement Ingham made in #13 post… I used to attend at St. John’s Sardis, but will have to start attending at St. Matthews in Abbottsford (ANIC. Rev. Dr. Trevor Walters etc.) if I wish to remain true to the teachings of Christ and scripture. This is a hardship and unfair. I am not wealthy by any stretch, and the commute is going to be difficult at best, but essential. I can’t believe that these men would stand so arrogantly in the path of Christ. I am just not able to sit and listen to the fantastic statements made by Yardy, and by extension Ingham. I can discern the difference between Christianity and the stuff they preach. I dare say that with all the Bible study I am doing, I may be more “up” on it than they are! Rev. Yardy recently had a program at the church called “Saving Jesus”, a misnomer if there ever was one. It contained the blasphemous rhetoric of Bp. Spong among others, who claim that Christ was a mere prophet and teacher: Denying His place in the Trinity. (Other even more outrageous things too) How can I “learn” The Way with this sort of thing going on? I should also mention that rev. Yardy baptised me after one 1 hour meeting with him. He stated that I “should” attend at least three “sessions” with him, but he said he was very busy, and it really doesn’t mean anything anyway. It’s just a ritual! He also told me it’s OK to take communion before baptism for the same reasons. How can I respect a position like that, from none other than the rector of an Anglican Church? I am deeply saddened and hurt by my treatment at the hands of these men. I just want to follow Christ! Is this what the liberals refer to as “throwing the circle wide”?
I am sorry for rambling and ranting like this… Please forgive me.
Thank you Essentials for showing me there is still a place for Christ in the Anglican Church.
Dave M,
Ralph Spence is my bishop. Niagara will be next to “move forward”, I am sure. Our bishop and bishop elect are both being pretty clear about thier position.
My husband and I were born again 4 years ago, just months before the last GS and had the same confusion as you are now experiencing. Why would He call us to this place right when it is in such upheaval? We were blessed to have found ourselves connected to conservative church and sincerely believe we were called for such a time as this. We know there are many being brought together through the Essentials movement to stand firm for the faith and build the body of Christ in Canada.
2 Thessalonians 1:11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
Dave M,
my husband and I left St. John’s church a couple of years ago, shortly after Rev. Dale appeared on the scene. We are presently a divided family – my husband and I attend St. Thomas because he believes in having a local church and hopes they will eventually choose to stand against Michael Ingham, I am taking communion at St. Mary’s after going through RCIA last year. One son and his wife still attend St. John’s, one son doesn’t attend any church at the moment. We have friends who go occasionally to St. Matthew’s, and we have gone with them: the music is great and the sermons are better than the music. My prayers and sympathy are with you, and all those searching for a
traditional church home in these days.
Thanks for this blog site Peter, I’ve been checking other sites as well (Stand Firm, Titusonenine and Virtueonline ) So many people from my Parish depend on me to keep them up to date, and your site helped me do that. Thank God for Essentials. except for “Essentials) Iwould be gone from this Anglican church , but where could I go? Essentials have been my source of hope and inspiration. God Bless you and all who have worked to provide us with the will to go on, wherever it is that God is leading us. The gates of hell will not prevail against His Church.
Fantastic job Peter! Thanks so much and rest well!!
Thanks all for your kind words – I arrived safely back in Calgary today. Like I said, I’ll add further to this blog, but probably not until next week now. I have one or two interesting thoughts and comments from people to share a little wider – however before all that I think it’s time to pray and reflect a while – let His heart be our heart.
Blessings,
Peter
PS #12 – thank you kindly, I guess of all folks you know what it’s like! (For any who don’t know, Matt Kennedy+ was the equally crazy blogger who liveblogged the TEC GS 2006.
)
PPS #8 – you are also most welcome, glad that you found it useful. I have it on good authority that we attracted many folk from the ‘other side’, which is just great. You know where Essentials and the majority of the posters are coming from here, however I always saw this as providing wider coverage than just for Essentials-friendly folk.
PPS Lots of others I would answer individually; perhaps I may be able to do so tomorrow, but for now it’ll have to do. Thanks again for all your kind comments!
Is it possible that in becoming inclusive ,Our Lord is left outside knocking?
May we all know the comfort of His fellowship as we individually open the door
How inclusive can we be as a Christians? We still, in my opinion, have to have something that sets us apart from the rest of society. We believe that Christ is our Saviour, the only Son of God, and that He died on the cross for our sins, and then rose again from the dead, among many other things. Anyone who believes these truths are included. Those that don’t aren’t Christians, at least in my opinion. The walk is not easy as it requires a decision from us to follow Jesus.
It upsets me that believing in the authority of scripture is seen as being judgemental, having no concern for justice and even homophobic. If Jesus was just another prophet, why be a Christian? A person should become a Christian because they believe, not because we’re so inclusive that there are no standards. Nor can we pick and choose the stuff we want and don’t want. One wouldn’t become a Toastmaster if they weren’t into public speaking. It seems to me that the different sides in the SSB issue just do not agree about what scripture says. We can spend many more years debating this, or move on and agree to disagree. I don’t ever see one side convinciong the other to change their mind as all sides claim they are listening to God.
This again in the globeandmail.com from yesterday…
…Yet, as these wise leaders know, no institution can remain impervious to social change if it also remains committed to being a key piece of the social fabric. Homosexual unions are an accepted, and legal, fact of life in Canada. Parish priests ought to be able to recognize that fact and confer God’s blessing on them with the support of their congregations.
So who is committed to being a part of the social fabric? I thought scripture and tradition determined our doctrine, not the culture. We should be affecting the culture, and not allowing the culture to affect us. Allowing our faith and behaviour to be shaped by the culture eliminates the need for a transformative relationship with our Creator, and once that’s gone we may as well commit ourselves mind and body to the local Kiwanis Club where we can just be nice people doing nice things. (No offence to Kiwanis – a great organization doing valuable work, but not able to offer the spiritual transformation or salvation available to us through Christ).
I have a feeling that this article just about sums up the problem with the North American Mainline Churches, period. It really doesn’t matter that the subject person is an Episcopalian Priest (Oh Boy), she could just as easily be of many other mainline disciplines (bad use of a word). Anyway, I thought you might find this of interest.
Blessings,
Gerry O’Brien
From Charles “Chuck” Colson’s Website June 26, 2007
On Friday nights, Ann Holmes Redding of Seattle puts on a black head scarf, heads to the Al-Islam Center, and prays with her fellow Muslims.
Nothing I just told you is remarkable. What’s remarkable is what I didn’t tell you: Redding is an Episcopal priest. Not an ex-Episcopal priest, mind you, but a priest, as far as she and her superiors are concerned, in good standing.
Her story is a vivid reminder of what’s really at stake in the various culture wars within Christian churches: orthodoxy.
Redding has been a priest for over 20 years. Until recently she was the director of “faith formation” at Seattle’s Episcopal cathedral, St. Mark’s. I am, as Dave Barry likes to say, not making this up.
Apparently, at the same time she was in charge of forming other people’s faith, her own was undergoing a transformation. Fifteen months ago, she became a Muslim, the result of an “introduction to Islamic prayers [that] left her profoundly moved.”
Actually, according to Redding, I should say that she also became a Muslim. As she told the Seattle Times, “I am both Muslim and Christian, just like I’m both an American of African descent and a woman. I’m 100 percent both.” So while on Friday nights she puts on a black head scarf, on Sunday mornings she wears a clerical collar.
Redding doesn’t deny that there are differences between the two faiths—she simply doesn’t think that they ultimately matter. As she put it, “at the most basic level, I understand the two religions to be compatible. That’s all I need.”
There’s so much wrong here that I scarcely know where to begin, so I’ll limit myself to the obvious: There’s no inherent contradiction between being an African-American and a woman, just as there’s none in being an American of Swedish descent and a man, as I am.
However, the same cannot be said of being a Christian and a Muslim. As Kurt Fredrickson of Fuller Seminary told the paper, “there are tenets of the faiths that are very, very different,” especially regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Mahmoud Ayoub, a professor of Islamic studies at Temple, agrees. He says that “the [respective] theological beliefs [about Jesus] are irreconcilable.”
Of course, for Redding (as for too many people today), it isn’t about logic or theology: It’s about feelings. She can call herself anything she wants, but she’s only truly a Muslim if she denies Christian doctrines such as original sin, the Trinity, or the divinity of Christ. And to deny those truths is to deny the Christian faith.
Which raises an interesting question: Why is she an Episcopal priest, never mind a director of “faith formation?”
Writing at the website Get Religion, Mollie Hemmingway says that Redding’s story illustrates that the split in the Episcopal Church isn’t about homosexuality, as the media says. The former Episcopal parishes aligning themselves with African bishops aren’t leaving a denomination with gay clergy; they are leaving a denomination with non-Christian clergy.
Redding is simply an extreme example in the Episcopal Church. But sadly she represents the widespread, politically correct belief that all religions lead to the same place—a message which is not only dead wrong as a matter of logic, but one which denies Christ. In short, it is the ultimate heresy
There’s a word you don’t see flung around as often as is applicable – “heresy”.
I feel I should let you all know that believe it or not, watching this synod unfold has awakened something in me… I have for the past 5 days felt such a joy and understanding as I have never had! I couldn’t put my finger on why I was so filled with the spirit until a good friend and brother in Christ loaned me a book by Rev. Ed Hird called “Battle for the soul of Canada”. Right off the top my questions were answered.
The title says it all. I know that my walk with Christ is eternal now, and I guess I should thank the secularists for my happiness. 
I will however give substantial credit to the words I found by poking about in this Blog and it’s related links. Thank you Peter. And thank you to all those who walk with Christ. St. Matthews is going to be a blast!
Chapter one; “The Joy of Eviction”.
I’ll be staying tuned!
Your joyous brother in Christ
David
Dear David,
Thank you for your kind words about my book “Battle for the Soul of Canada”. The foreword is by the Rev. Dr. JI Packer. I hope that the book can be an inspiration to many who are looking for a way forward. For more info, people can check out http://battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com/
blessings, Ed Hird+
Rector, St. Simon’s North Vancouver
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons