This is just a placeholder for those at the conference who would like to add something in the comments. Also, as and when we get reports we’ll post them here.
In the meantime, here’s a link to a National Post story.
JI Packers speech – from Anglican Mainstream.
Dr JI Packer. Named by Time magazine as one of the ten most influential theologians of the 20th century.
May I begin by saying where I come from. If a certain dignitary kept his word and threat, I am here under false pretences. Two days ago I will have been deprived of the ministry to which I was ordained in 1952 and I ought not to be wearing a clerical collar. It is utterly tragic. This led me to resonate deeply with the way AB Venables presented in his talk. I have a joyful heart. One cannot be seeking to live under the leading and power of the Holy Spirit without joy in one’s heart. Joy has been added to my state of mind. Despite the fact that in Acts 27 the ship was wrecked, everyone was saved and got safe to land, and we have got safe to land in the same way through the generous offer of jurisdiction from AB Venables which we have settled for most gratefully. I want to celebrate the goodness and graciousness of AB Venables. This is not two Brits together but two Christians together. AB Venables has lightened my gloom considerably. As he illuminated what has gone wrong, I was saying Amen sir you are right, but oh dear.
I think that scripture stories are meant to prompt us to ask what God was doing. I ask the same question: what is God doing not to the Anglican Church of Canada but the disorder that only seems to grow in the old west (US, Canada, UK, Australasia) We pray for an end to it but we do not see an end to it. I continue to pray that out of all this God is going to purge the old west of its poisonous liberalism which is weakening and shrinking the churches. Gods way of purging is letting a thing grow to its full stature so that its real nature can be seen so that finally it is squeezed out. I pray that that will be the outcome of the inflow of liberalism. God is preparing and toughening us for specially demanding conflict. In our call to mission, I suspect that over the next generations it is going to be exceedingly tough as we face secularism and ethnic religions surge which do not tolerate Christianity. The pressure is on and increasing. God is toughening us for mission.
Meantime in our Anglican Communion the principle of geographical exclusiveness for the diocese and its bishop has been breached in a way that cannot be restored. We are realigning within the province of Canada. It seems to me that in a situation where arguably, elected bishops become heretical, what is the divine answer to that, there must be possibility for realignment for the faithful where heresy, doctrinal and moral is approved.
Meantime, the Archbishop has indicated what we are called to do as the Anglicans we are, now realigned with the Southern Cone. No sheep stealing, but let us reach out, plant churches, and do what the whole Anglican Communion has needed to do for the last 100 years, and re-establish catechesis to adults, that every Christian all through life needs to keep learning and every Christian needs to teach. Lay weakness in the Anglican world is our biggest weakness. We are free to re-establish catechesis as part of lifelong learning in our churches. The situation we are now in, calls us to dwell deep in the Lord, to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. ENDS
AM website notes that the 15 churches in the ANIC have more members than 16 dioceses together in the Anglican Church of Canada which has 31 Dioceses. In Australia, farmers do not build fences to keep the sheep in, they dig wells for them to come to.
Anglican Mainstream has J. I. Packer’s speech up now.
+Ingham & Elliott+ … birds of a feather & would not expect that Douglas Todd would be too hard on them.
What next ? The gospel of Ophrah Winfrey or has she past them on the left ?
Thanks, I’ll post it.
Any chance of seeing AB Venables talk?
Really is that right that the 15 churches have more members than 16 of the dioceses? Wow this is not a small minority here; it is a sizable departure.
Re: #5. “AM website notes that the 15 churches in the ANIC have more members than 16 dioceses together in the Anglican Church of Canada which has 31 Dioceses.”
Where is the reference to this in AM? What are the actual stats?
Here are the numbers. I got them directly from the librarian at the ACC in Toronto. Remember their most recent numbers come from 2001, so ANiC parishes are all included within the ACC numbers that year. I’m curious why we can’t get more recent numbers given that every parish reports their membership and average Sunday attendance (ASA) in their vestry minutes each year….but I have my suspicions why they don’t want the numbers out.
ACC 2001 membership on parish rolls 641,845
confirmed on parish rolls 414,420
ASA 162,138
The ANiC has an ASA of 2550. This gives us a larger ASA than:
Quebec 1881
Moosonee 1083
The Arctic 1512
Athabasca 39 (?)
Brandon 1895
Keewatin 2000
Qu’Appelle 2444
Saskatchewan 1423
Saskatoon 2004
Caledonia 646
Cariboo 948
Yukon 319
Kootenay 2587 (roughly the same as ANiC)
Remember though, the ACC numbers include us in their numbers, as we were all still counted in the ACC in 2001.
Talking with Bp Bill Murdoch yesterday he said our family is even bigger if we look at ourselves under the Commom Cause umbrella. Were Common Cause a province in the Anglican Communion (and I’m praying we will be sooner rather than later) we would, right now be the 15th largest province in the communion. So, don’t feel like an isolated, inconsequential, dissident group. Take heart!