Tag Archives: Diocese of Niagara

Michael Ingham to speak in the Diocese of Niagara

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Now that he has retired, Bishop Michael Ingham has started on the lecture circuit.

Where better to begin than the diocese which has been attempting to out-liberal the Diocese of New Westminster for about a decade: the Diocese of Niagara. He will be speaking at the Bishop’s Company Dinner – a diocesan club for well-heeled laypeople inclined to senior cleric sycophancy – on September 30, 2013.

IngThose who wish to be regaled with tales of Ingham’s former triumphs – or how to break up a worldwide denomination by being inclusive – may do so for a mere $225. I wonder how much Ingham is being paid.

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Diocese of Niagara: anything to keep the membership numbers up

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In spite of all the excitement I am having with its bishop, the Diocese of Niagara is still mailing me a paper copy of the Niagara Anglican.

This is either a desperate bid to create the illusion of there being two more people on the diocesan membership roll that there actually are, or it’s an attempt to goad me into saying something else that could prove very expensive; I can’t decide which.

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The Diocese of Niagara’s addition to Canon 4.6

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Canon 4.6 is full of turgid prose offering advice on things like where to stick your solar panels and what sort of permit is needed before erecting a tent within three metres of a building.

There is this interesting sentence, though, added in July 2013, displayed prominently in both the full document and much briefer summary:

All church buildings and land are either the property of the diocese or are held in trust on behalf of the diocese.

Parishioners basking in the blissful delusion that what they pay for they own, beware: you don’t, the diocese owns everything, even the tents.

The Diocese of Niagara will keep asking me for money

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Obviously the previous fundraising effort cunningly disguised as a $400,000 lawsuit was not enough. I just received this email from the Diocese of Niagara:

THANKS! and….. please help if you can!‏

A couple of days ago when we asked to “send a kid to camp” we had a wonderful reponse.  Not only did people register children, but we were offered money to help children who needed financial assistance. There are many generous people in the Anglican community and we are very thankful.  There is still room in the camp if you have a child or know of a child who wants to go to this terrific camp…….

We need $1175.00.  We’re hoping that one or more persons can help us with this.  If you can help fund these children in any way, please either contact Canterbury Hills or if you prefer, the Diocesan Treasurer – Jody Beck.  In advance thank you so much for your generosity!

How should I respond to such a heartfelt plea?

Dear  Diocese,

I would love to “send a kid to camp”. Unfortunately, due to circumstances created by someone you know quite well, all my spare cash – and much that isn’t spare – is finding its way into the hands of lawyers.

Jody Beck, if you happen to see this, could you spare a few hundred thousand? In advance thank you so much for your generosity!

Diocese of Niagara allows entropy to have its way with St. Hilda’s

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When St. Hilda’s congregation left the Diocese of Niagara in 2008, bishops Spence and Bird sent the congregation a letter saying, among other things: “be assured that we are prepared to keep the doors of this beautiful church open and will offer every support and pastoral care to those who choose to stay.”

Five years later, not only are the doors not open, but the church has been barricaded with concrete blocks large enough to serve as tank traps.

Yesterday morning after a friend passed the building, she phoned me to let me know that there were three police cars in the driveway along with another car containing someone bearing a strong resemblance to Dean Peter Wall. I suspect that either someone had broken in and was squatting – in which case the diocese would have nothing to complain of since it is so keen on Occupy – or there had been an act of vandalism.

The back door does have some new decoration:

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I can’t decide whether the symbol represents something satanic or is a new diocesan emblem.

In other parts of the property weeds have taken over what used to be attractive gardens:

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It’s just as well the church sign is still announcing who is responsible for the empty, disintegrating, graffiti besmirched shell:

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Here are the inviting concrete blocks in all their inclusive splendour:

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Diocese of Niagara: the significance of the Cross according to the Koran

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One can always count on the Niagara Anglican’s Michael Burslem for a spot of bracing balderdash.

This month he informs us that God is not “appeased” by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, that the atonement for the sins of mankind was really quite unnecessary.

Because God just wants a mush of mercy, love and, you guessed it, equality. Because the Koran says so. So does John Lennon.

From here (page 6):

However, God didn’t need appeasement. God allowed the religious sacrificial system, but really wanted them to be merciful, love justice and to walk humbly with God.

[….]

The cross is not an appeasement, but an example of how we all should live. It’s tremendously costly, but God is, as the Koran says, the Lord, the Beneficent, the Merciful. God loves all humanity equally. We need to respond to that love by treating each other as God would treat us, with mercy, justice and humility.

That God loves us, not that we’ll go to heaven when we die, is the Good News we all desperately desire and long for. We need to listen to it, and to proclaim it

I nearly forgot: heaven is irrelevant because God still loves us when we are six feet under being eaten by worms.

I have to admire the Diocese of Niagara’s chutzpah

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A short while after I was served with a statement of claim demanding $400,000 for damaging the bishop’s reputation, I received a letter from him inviting me to contribute to his diocesan fundraiser. It begins with a nice photo of the bishop:

Begging Letter

On the assumption that I will no longer be able to afford my own stamp, it even comes with a pre-paid envelope.

Justin Welby wants us to be reconciled reconcilers

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Putting this into tangible and local terms: my parish, St. Hilda’s, left the Diocese of Niagara in 2008 because we could no longer go along with the theological drift of the diocese. As a result, the diocese sued St. Hilda’s and ended up owning our building; the building is now up for sale.

Justin Welby believes that “reconciliation” would entail the individuals from both sides “finding a way to love the person with whom you are dealing, quite probably not agreeing with each other but disagreeing in love.”

Is this achievable? Yes, I think so. Will it make any difference? None whatsoever.

From a practical perspective, St. Hilda’s will not return to the Diocese of Niagara because the theological differences have, if anything, increased not decreased. The Diocese of Niagara and, more broadly, the Anglican Church of Canada, could recognise ANiC as a legitimate expression of Canadian Anglicanism. But then their consciences would nag them to give the buildings back, something which would be an act of God akin to his creating a rock too heavy for him to lift.

So while we may end up “disagreeing in love”, we will do so at a respectable distance, making Welby’s brand of “reconciliation” little more than a damp squib.

It’s time for the annual Earth Hour charade

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Earth Hour arrives every year towards the end of March. Celebrities like Yoko Ono, Stephen Fry and Cate Blanchett endorse it and trendy Anglican dioceses, having mislaid the Creeds, exhort their faithful to submit themselves unquestioningly to the replacement eco-dogma.

This is enough to put off any normal person but, for those still tempted to turn off their lights tomorrow and ignite a few high toxicity candles, there is this:

Hypothetically, switching off the lights for an hour would cut CO2 emissions from power plants around the world. But, even if everyone in the entire world cut all residential lighting, and this translated entirely into CO2 reduction, it would be the equivalent of China pausing its CO2 emissions for less than four minutes.

In fact, Earth Hour will cause emissions to increase: As the United Kingdom’s National Grid operators have found, a small decline in electricity consumption does not translate into less energy being pumped into the grid, and therefore will not reduce emissions. Moreover, during Earth Hour, any significant drop in electricity demand will entail a reduction in CO2 emissions during the hour, but it will be offset by the surge from firing up coal or gas stations to restore electricity supplies afterward.

And the cozy candles that many participants will light, which seem so natural and environmentally friendly, are still fossil fuels — and almost 100 times less efficient than incandescent light bulbs. Using one candle for each switched-off bulb cancels out even the theoretical CO2 reduction; using two candles means that you emit more CO2.