From the Globe and Mail
The Anglican bishops of Ottawa and Montreal have taken decisive steps toward allowing the blessing of same-sex unions in their dioceses, a move certain to further undermine the fragile cohesion of the world’s third-largest Christian denomination.
The two bishops have made known their intention to proceed, despite a moratorium on the blessings agreed to at last summer’s Lambeth Conference in England, the decennial gathering of bishops of the nearly 80-million-member Anglican Communion.
The Canadian church already is further along the road to authorizing same-sex blessings than any other branch of the communion, a decentralized body of 38 national and regional autonomous churches, or provinces.
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Although the Canadian House of Bishops – meeting this week in a Niagara Falls monastery – has shown a past reluctance to allowing the Anglican Church of Canada to get out of step with the world communion, its members are now discussing what validity the three moratoriums have.
Richard Leggett, associate dean and professor of liturgical studies at the Vancouver School of Theology, said the Canadian bishops are having “exactly the kind of conversation they need to have, about what will happen if we move forward.” The world church, he said, “faces two irreconcilable visions of the way forward, and reconciliation has failed.”
The Canadian bishops’ closed-door conversation was described as long, careful and with lots of silences.
The meeting is in Niagara Falls, in one of the Diocese that is choosing sin instead of God. That alone should say a lot.
It appears that only the Canadian Bishops who are still associated with the ACoC are in attendance. They are trying to figure out “what will happen if we move forward”. Why are they not listening to GAFCON? Why are they not hearing what the 200 Bishops that did not attend Lambeth have to say? Could it be because they have refused to hear those things that they disagree with. Just like they have been ignoring the Word of God.
They “are now discussing what validity the three moratoriums have”. News flash. The two moratoriums that require ACoC to repent, are entirely valid. Only after these two are fulfilled does the other moratorium mean anything. “Why” you may ask. Because unless and until ACoC repents, we who are Faithful to God (instead of loyal to Hiltz) very much NEED the lifeline that we have reached out for. Interesting difference of opinion can be seen here. It is not Bishop Venables who has committed an “incursion”, but it is Faithful Canadian Anglicans that screamed out for help.
That there are “two irreconcilable visions” is no surprise. But when will they understand that it is only the Biblically Faithful vision that is correct, and that revisionism is wrong?
It’s never too late to repent. But the longer ACoC takes to come to its senses, the more damage is done. Hopefully ACoC will be like the prodigal son, and if that happens than all of Heaven can rejoice. Until then, may God have mercy on all of us.
Okay, let me see if I am tracking with bishop of Montreal. So the whole Anglican world, all the bishops, by word or boycott said, “No same sex blessings.” This was of course the result at General Synod 2008 in Canada. And, this is also what the overwhelming majority of Christians in the world and throughout time would agree with, not to mention the position of the Bible. But now, suddenly, God has chosen the diocese of Montreal and her bishop to speak as a PROPHET for God! And this to call Anglicans presumably to the truth that Gay unions are blessed by God! Excuses me! The arrogance. The pride. The self deception. The evil. Give me a break.
Okay, I admit that was a bit of a rant. But is this really happenning folks? I mean come on. The words I would like to use right now.
If there was ever a time to resurrect the whip of three cords, I think for the ACofC that time has come. This is supposed to be a Church, not a pansexual political soap box.
You have to ask yourself- Who has given the Bishops of ACoC authority over the authority of Scripture? There is only one answer. Every Canadian Anglican now has a voice and a choice. Time to take a stand.
Amen sister! The light is not getting any greener. It’s time do something.
When I was a kid back in the late seventies people boycotted coffee. Maxwell House listened. I suspect the ACofC will too if they get hit where it hurts most…Fair Share.
Boycott! People have been boycotting the Anglican Church of Canada since it came into being. (It was the Church of England in Canada before that) There was the divorce issue, the women clergy issue, the 1962 BCP (that’s right!) and the BAS were all issues that had people boycott the system. They left in droves.
The ACoC is imploding but still the leaders want more changes and still more people are leaving and they, the glorious leaders, don’t get it.
I really wonder from all the evidence I see before me, if God has boycotted the ACoC. Could I be right?
Last night our family made a very difficult, painful and, need I say, teary decision. We have left our church home because we feel that it is important to let the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa and its Bishop know that we do not agree with his decision to “explore experimentally” the blessing of same-sex unions. Our family has been a visible and active part of various ministries at our church and I, personally, had to leave a children’s ministry that I loved very much and the children that I found to be a great joy and blessing each Sunday morning. It is not about the clergy at our church, but rather what this decision will mean eventually to those clergy that want to remain faithful to Scripture and God’s calling on them. What better “protest” is there than to leave a visible ministry and hope that this spurs people to question, reflect and take action on the decimation of our diocese and the ACoC. We are Christians first and foremost and Anglicans by choice of worship.
Mrs. H — There are three ANiC churches in the Ottawa area – St. Alban’s and St. George’s are both downtown, and Faith is in the rural east end. If you decide to come to St. Alban’s, please introduce yourself to me! Fr. George will point me out if you ask him. I feel for you – I was very grateful that my parish left as a family, it would have been very heartwrenching to have to leave. God bless you for your courage.
Mrs. H., I pray that your family’s witness will be effective and that the members of your parish will feel a sense of involvement in the ‘Big Problem’ which many local churches deny implicates them. I hope that you can attend an ANiC church should you wish to. May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless and protect you!
Thank you to both Kate and Charles. This has been a very difficult but important decision for my wife and me and we can only hope it opens the hearts and minds of others to, as Cindy wrote, “take a stand”; how un-Canadian!. We are faimilar with both St. George’s and St. Alban’s, having visited them in the past. In the meantime, please join in as we continue to pray…
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Mr. and Mrs. H”
Many of us in Newfoundland left our home parishes to form on ANiC Church “St. Stephen the Martyr” and then a large portion of one Parish left their church “en masse” in support of their Priest who had been the subject of a heavy handed fist denoouncing him for standing for the truth of the Holy Scriptures. This group have formed the other ANiC Church in St. John’s, “The Church of the Good Samaritan”
ALL of us in these two churches felt the pain that you have felt. We stand with you in taking your stand…..May God Bless you and your family in directing you to where He wants you as “His” people.
Blessings,
Gerry (Church of St. Stephen the Martyr-ANiC), Nfld.