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.

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

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

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.

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….

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.

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)

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.”

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?