Monthly Archives: September 2013

Bishops Ingham and Cowan gather at the totem pole

Posted on by
3

The two bishops were celebrating the transfer of a parish from the Diocese of New Westminster to the Diocese of B.C. Out of the frying pan into the fire.

11-09-2013 4-16-52 PM

Why stand at the foot of a totem pole rather that at the foot of a cross you might be wondering: the cross would be too Christian.

In reading about totem poles, we are repeatedly reminded that they have no religious significance – just like Anglican bishops – and that each animal on the pole may  represent an ancestor; Aboriginals also thought that the totem pole animals could transform themselves into men. All beliefs that, one presumes, bishops Ingham and Cowan think fit comfortably into Canadian Anglicanism.

From here (page 4):

Soon a gathering of people circled around the totem pole that sits in harmony beside St George church. The visitors were warmly welcomed with singing and drumming. Mike Willie spoke of the long history of his people, the totem and the church. Bishop Ingham welcomed everyone into the church for worship and a time of blessing the restored church.

The philosophy of global warming

Posted on by
3

While philosophy can be fun for those with nothing better to do, I’m moderately certain that philosophers have never been able to convince anyone of anything. Most people instinctively know this to be true, so it is a measure of their abject desperation that global warming scientists are bringing in a philosopher to convince us to “care” about global warming.

Just like the poor, true believers will always be with us but, as far as I am concerned, just thinking about a moral philosopher urging me to curtail my carbon dioxide effusions makes my caring index wither.

From here:

Scientists have had only limited success persuading us to care about climate change so perhaps it is time to call in the philosophers.

That appears to be the approach of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has engaged a philosopher to help to produce its forthcoming report on how to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

 

Richard Dawkins: “mild paedophilia” not so bad

Posted on by
4

It seems that the young Richard Dawkins was groped by a teacher; he doesn’t think it did him any “lasting harm”. Obviously the teacher was not a Catholic priest or Dawkins would be denouncing him as a leering old villain in a frock.

He also doesn’t seem to object to having been caned. If I were of a psychological bent (I’m not), I might be tempted to consider the applicability to Richard Dawkins of Theodore Dalrymple’s question :

Is flagellation for the purposes of sexual pleasure as English as cricket and buttered crumpets?

Or, if I were given to unkindness (other than to bishops, I’m not), I might suggest that Dawkins’ calling a religious upbringing child abuse and his encounter with phalangeal meandering “harmless”, is a twisting of values that brings disrepute to respectable atheists everywhere.

Interestingly, in the last paragraph below, Dawkins tells us that ethical standards should be determined by the values of the day: very fitting for someone who calls himself a cultural Anglican.

From here:

In an interview in The Times magazine on Saturday (Sept. 7), Dawkins, 72, he said he was unable to condemn what he called “the mild pedophilia” he experienced at an English school when he was a child in the 1950s.

Referring to his early days at a boarding school in Salisbury, he recalled how one of the (unnamed) masters “pulled me on his knee and put his hand inside my shorts.”

He said other children in his school peer group had been molested by the same teacher but concluded: “I don’t think he did any of us lasting harm.”

“I am very conscious that you can’t condemn people of an earlier era by the standards of ours. Just as we don’t look back at the 18th and 19th centuries and condemn people for racism in the same way as we would condemn a modern person for racism, I look back a few decades to my childhood and see things like caning, like mild pedophilia, and can’t find it in me to condemn it by the same standards as I or anyone would today,” he said.

 

Liberal vs. Conservative Churches

Posted on by
6

There are many differences, of course, but this one might be less than obvious:

A friend of mine who is a liberal Christian made what I thought was an interesting observation about liberal vs. conservative Anglican churches. He was attending St. Hilda’s at the time; one of the things that drew him to the parish in spite of the fact that he is theologically liberal and St. Hilda’s theologically conservative, was that liberal churches constantly talk about social justice but don’t actually do much about it.

St. Hilda’s, he said, didn’t talk about social justice, they just did it.

One example is Food for Life. Poverty is not the first thing that springs to mind when thinking about Oakville; nevertheless, there are poor people in the city – more than one might expect. For many years now, St. Hilda’s has been delivering food to Oakville’s poor. Here is an unsolicited testimonial from one recipient:

 “I just wanted to tell you how much this program means to me.  Things have been very lean and food is often a luxury. A friend told me about the (Food for Life) program at St. Hilda’s Anglican Church. I can count on them every week and they always have a smile for me. They are so supportive and kind I just had to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Every little bit helps so much. Just so you know that there are a lot of people truly grateful for what you bring to me every Thursday, because it is not just food items – it’s dignity as well.”

Diocese of New Westminster: where have all the orthodox clergy gone?

Posted on by
15

An article in the Diocese of New Westminster’s paper laments the lack of orthodox clergy in the diocese.

It seems that most of the orthodox clergy and laity have defected to ANiC or other denominations and now the writer wants them back. Being “open” is not enough: orthodox clergy should be encouraged into the diocese by the leadership. Currently, there is even a perception that the diocese is hostile to orthodox clergy. Who knew?

The article doesn’t delve into how this could be achieved. How can a diocese that the orthodox have abandoned because they are convinced the diocese first abandoned the Gospel possibly entice them back? The only way is for the diocesan leadership to repent; if such a miracle is imminent, it is a well kept secret.

From here (page 12):

One of the geniuses of Anglicanism over the centuries has been our ability, and until recently in our part of the world, our insistence on ensuring a balance exists between Anglicans of all stripes, be they liberals, conservatives, high church, low church, etc… This focus is embodied in the tradition of alternating between liberals and conservatives in appointing archbishops of Canterbury.

Sadly, this balance no longer exists in this diocese. With the unfortunate departure of entire parishes and continual leakage of individual parishioners to the Network and other denominations, the presence of orthodox clergy and laity in this diocese is miniscule. Regardless of what side of the fence any of us may be on, or if we are in the shrinking middle, nobody should be pleased with this state of affairs.

It may not be well known, but the few conservative parishes that remain are having a difficult time attracting clergy and laity as there is a general perception out there that this diocese is hostile to those of that persuasion. I hope the leadership of this diocese will make a concerted effort to encourage orthodox clergy and laity to come to this diocese in order to bring a more balanced tone of Anglicanism to the lower mainland. Simply being “open” to this wing of the church is not sufficient.

Dean Peter Elliott fills in for Michael Ingham

Posted on by
10

Bishop Michael Ingham has retired. The Very Rev. Peter Elliott has taken over Ingham’s administrative duties in the Diocese of New Westminster. I am unsure whether this is a harbinger of Elliott’s eventual installation as the next bishop and he is getting in some practice, whether it means he won’t be bishop and he really is just filling in, or whether it is of no significance at all in the matter of bishopric succession.

I really can’t understand why anyone would want to be the bishop of such a fractious, financially unstable diocese; I suppose the lust for power is blind to such trifles.

From here:Peter Elliott

The Very Rev. Peter Elliott, Dean of the Diocese of New Westminster and rector of Christ Church Cathedral became Administrator of the Diocese and took over the day-to-day administrative functions of the Office of the Bishop assisted by Synod Staff. During the month of September and in collaboration with Synod Staff, the Nominations/Search Committee will produce materials both electronic and print to communicate information about the Diocese of New Westminster (Diocesan Profile) to encourage nominations.

The Diocese of Niagara invites me to dinner with the bishop

Posted on by
13

The invitation arrived by email this morning. The question is, to use the popular vernacular, are they just messing with my head?

If I grit my teeth, pay the $225 and show up at the door, will I simply be slapped with another lawsuit claiming attempted bribery for sending $225 to the diocese under the pretence that I had been invited to dinner – as if that were at all likely.

Or would my appearance be an occasion for the matrons of the diocese to have synchronised attacks of the vapours?

Only one way to find out.

Here is the email:

Bishop’s Company Dinner‏

To: mr.toad @ pobox.com
Picture of Niagara Anglican
News in the Diocese of Niagara

Bishop's Company Time us running outTime is running out!

The Annual Bishop’s Company Dinner is on Monday, September 30, 2013 at The Burlington Convention Centre.

WAIT!!!!!!

Don’t ignore this email please

There are lots of good reasons to go to the Dinner – here are just a few:

  • To support the pastoral ministry of Bishop Michael Bird to those in need of care and assistance.
  • To be nourished through the wisdom of a very prophetic speaker – Bishop Michael Ingham
  • To enjoy a wonderful evening of entertainment, good food, inspirational speaking while connecting with Anglicans from across our diocese.

Sign up now

If you have been to the Dinner before – please sign up again!

If you are new – please don’t be shy….it’s a wonderful evening and we promise you’ll love it!

Here’s the catch:

The deadline to register is just two weeks away: Weds September 18th at 5 pm

It’s easy:

Sign up online – click here

…or….Call Nancy Clause at Cathedral Place – 905.527.1316 x 380

How the Church of England should compete with Wonga

Posted on by
2

Wonga makes short term loans to people at exorbitant rates. The idea is that the loan is repaid on payday: it is a payday loan company.

Justin Welby wants to “compete Wonga out of business” by creating church assisted credit unions. The problem is, it will take ten years to accomplish; meanwhile Wonga is approving 10,400 loans a day and makes £1.2million a week in profit now.

After lending more than a £1billion in a year for the first time, it now plans to expand by encouraging customers to buy luxuries they would otherwise struggle to afford.

Its ‘Pay Later’ deal allows borrowers to buy ‘higher value goods’, such as furniture or a dishwasher, for up to £1,000, with an up-front charge of 7 per cent of the price.

The idea of buying luxuries we “would otherwise struggle to afford” was not a problem that afflicted my family as I was growing up. Post-war rationing made ½ a pound of butter a luxury, afford it or not; my parent’s lives were not so devoid of meaning that they felt the need to fill the emptiness with “luxuries they would otherwise struggle to afford.” Not so for many people today, I fear.

In trying to set up competing credit unions, the Church of England is foolishly engaged in trying to beat the world at its own game: for some reason, it will keep doing this – possibly because it has forgotten what its own game is – and it always fails.

If Justin Welby really wants to compete with Wonga, preach the Gospel – the real Gospel – and give people meaning and purpose in their lives so that they don’t have to yield to the impulse of attempting to fill their vacuous existence with luxuries that they don’t need, can’t afford and won’t satisfy.

We were out for a quiet stroll in the country and…..

Posted on by
1

_29U3926-3

All of a sudden, we were confronted with this:_29U3933A large mobile rocket isn’t something I usually encounter when ambling through a conservation area. We had accidentally wandered into a film-set for Nikita:_29U3934_29U3929

_29U3931

_29U3935I believe this is the young lady that plays the lead; I’m no expert but I think it may be pre-makeup:_29U3937

I asked what exactly the large rocket was for and was informed that it was there to repel zombies; I suspect this wasn’t entirely true – perhaps the crew didn’t want to reveal future episode secrets. I also asked it it worked and received a non-committal response. Still, the film crew all liked my dog, so they were OK with me.

We meandered through the set from one end to find a policeman, hired specially for the occasion to prevent intruders like us gaining access, at the other. On the way back he was reluctant to let us back through until we pointed out that we were parked at the opposite end of the conservation area so we had to go back to return to our car. Evidently there should have been two policemen.

He admonished us with: “you can’t go through there, they will be shooting – it will be too dangerous.” I replied: “surely they won’t be using real bullets.” He didn’t even smile. Clearly a man with no sense of humour; still, I am getting used to that.