Monthly Archives: March 2014

Anglicans for Life, Canada

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Anglicans for Life now has a branch in Canada:

No matter where you are in the world – the sacredness of life is a consistent Biblical imperative. Anglicans for Life, headquartered outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania exists to help the global Anglican Communion uphold the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to natural death.

We are honoured to host this special CANADA WEBPAGE dedicated to serving our Canadian brothers and sisters who partner in the Gospel of Life, seeking to protect, honour and celebrate every life at every stage.

ANiC Bishop Charlie Masters invites clergy to become a part of Anglicans for Life Canada:

Over the past two years I have shared in many different situations what the Lord has been bringing to my attention, particularly from Luke 1:17, about the centrality and the importance of children in the purposes of God. While meditating on this fact, I have come to think about the unborn and the need to care for and protect them. My lack of concern or involvement for the unborn in the past grieves me, especially as we consider that 4 million unborn souls have died since abortion was legalized in Canada. Did you know abortion can occur anytime during a pregnancy in Canada and, incredibly, each year approximately 120,000 babies never have a birthdate?

There has, as yet, been no comment from any Anglican Church of Canada bishop.

There will be a contingent from Anglicans for Life at March for Life in Ottawa, May 8, 2014.

New Zealand Government meddles with Anglican cathedral, church is upset

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The Anglican Church in the West spends an inordinate amount of time pontificating on how the government isn’t doing enough to redistribute wealth, combat global warming or is tilting at an insufficient number of other trendy windmills.

Strangely enough, when governments attempt to interfere in church matters, the church is suddenly overcome with spasms of territorial outrage.

From here:

The Anglican Church is dismayed that the rebuilding of earthquake-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral may feature in talks to form a government this year.

The church is deconstructing the cathedral in the face of rage from heritage groups, and now NZ First leader Winston Peters has put the issue of its restoration high on his agenda and called for government intervention.

[….]

Diocese of Christchurch spokesman Rev Jayson Rhodes says it’s puzzling that privately owned land and buildings could become part of government confidence and supply agreements.

R.I.P. Terry Fullam

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From here:

One of the most important figures of the Charismatic Movement of the late Twentieth Century died today. The Rev. Terry Fullam, was the former rector of St. Paul’s Church, Darien, Connecticut where he served for 17 years ministering renewal to clergy and laity. He was 84.

If the Charismatic movement in The Episcopal Church began with the Rev. Dennis Bennett’s experience of the Holy Spirit while he was rector of St. Mark’s Church in Van Nuys, California, in 1960 the second most important figure in the late Twentieth Century was unquestionably Terry Fullam.

[…]

Asked at the time if he thought the Episcopal Church was finished as a major Christian denomination in America, he replied, “I think ECUSA is finished.”

I and others from my church spent a weekend at St. Paul’s Darien in the early 80’s. The Sunday worship had outgrown the church building, so it took place in a local school. There was so much traffic around the school every Sunday that police were present to direct it. We discovered that allowing the Holy Spirit to move in an Anglican liturgical setting was not only possible, but a powerful expression of worship. It was an experience that had a formative influence on St. Hilda’s, one that was pooh-poohed by the Diocese of Niagara at the time; now, of course, the “spirit” is invoked by the diocese to ratify any harebrained notion that erupts from the fevered imaginings of its clergy.

Terry Fullam was a musician, so music played a very large role in the worship at St. Paul’s. He led the singing from a grand piano; there was no overhead projector with lyrics – we were expected to remember them. In those pre-ADHD days, it worked. The family I stayed with told me that he was unhappy with the organist he inherited when he arrived at St. Paul’s, so he slid onto the organ bench one day, displaced the organist and took over the playing.

One of the principles adopted by St. Hilda’s was decision by unanimity: the same family also mentioned that the principle worked particularly well at St. Paul’s by virtue of the fact that the strength of Terry Fullam’s persona was such that he was difficult to disagree with. Another principle was the ministry of all believers: God calls every member of a parish to a ministry –  with the possible exception of organ playing.

We will miss you, Terry: I do hope you are pounding out some of the tunes you taught us on a celestial grand piano – even if you have to bump an angel from his spot.

Church of England bats sacrifice to Sterculius

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From here:

CANTERBURY, England — Bats are making life unbearable for congregations by defecating on worshippers from roofs as well as bell towers, according to a report to the Church Buildings Council of the Church of England.

It’s a shame the CofE doesn’t accept this as an expression of diversity; it’s just as well Canada has the solution.

The highlight of another Anglican year: Justice Camp

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This year Justice Camp is in Edmonton and it is exploring such rivetingly interesting topics as “faith and the tar sands”.  If only I could be absolutely certain that none of the jet fuel of the plane I would have to fly on would come from the demon tar sands, the temptation to attend would be irresistible.

From here:

Participants will choose from seven immersion experiences on topics ranging from the relationship between faith and the tar sands, urban responses to systemic poverty, and interreligious perspectives on land and human life. These are complemented by time for biblical reflection, worship, and relationship building. All of which will foster leadership for social justice skills in participants.

Primate Fred Hiltz on Dung Duty

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There is a rich satirical vein begging to be explored here, but current litigious exigencies prevent my going further than letting it speak for itself.

Fred-DungThe Anglican Church of Canada has published a new calendar:

The calendar also features “Aldo’s friends,” including Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. The month of May has Hiltz performing  “dung duty” with the Rev. Cynthia Patterson, co-ordinator of the national church’s suicide prevention program and the wife of Dennis Drainville, bishop of Quebec.

Drainville himself is the calendar subject for November, along with Aldo and his goat companion, Alli.

The only thing preventing the donkey and goat being ordained is fear of the stiff competition their theological insights would present to existing clergy.

Creeping Congregationalism in the Diocese of BC

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In an interview, the new bishop of the Diocese of BC, Logan McMenamie, mentions that the diocese is suffering from negativity and creeping congregationalism. Although the latter sounds a little like a skin disease, it is actually an understandable response to the diocese taking parish buildings from congregations that paid for and maintained them and selling them for its own gain.

Logan McMenamieFrom here (page 5):

We will continue to have some challenges to face but I feel they can be addressed. Some of the things the clergy talked about were lone ranger parishes, creeping congregationalism and negativity. I believe we can turn this around in a positive way and see these as opportunities for growth.

Anglican Church of Canada repudiates the Doctrine of Discovery – some more

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In its ceaseless quest for relevance, the Anglican Church of Canada has repudiated something developed in the 15th Century to justify colonising the New World.

The ACoC will undoubtedly beat its collective breast over the sins of its ancestors; after all, it’s so  much easier to confess the sins of one’s forebears than to repent of one’s own sin.

What will probably be overlooked in all this is the ACoC’s current version of naked imperialism: taking parish buildings to which they are morally not entitled from congregations who voted to align themselves with another Anglican Province.

From here:

This spring the 17 members of the Primate’s Commission will start considering how to translate General Synod’s 2010 repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery into tangible action. The commission also has mandates to address the practicalities of reconciliation and the persistent injustices in Canada’s indigenous communities.

Its first meeting will likely be in Toronto, possibly in time to report to Council of General Synod in May. “The commission will make recommendations to General Synod in 2016 perhaps in the form of resolutions,” said Ginny Doctor, co-ordinator of indigenous ministries and staff support for the commission. Doctor said the commissioners seem eager and optimistic. “We didn’t have anyone say no. That means there’s a spirit.”

Founding member of Greenpeace says global warming is not manmade.

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Sorry, I meant to say “climate change”. I didn’t intend to be politically incorrect; really, I didn’t.

This is very bad news: now I will have to abandoned my Lenten carbon fast and find something serious to give up instead.

From here:

There is no scientific proof of man-made global warming and a hotter earth would be ‘beneficial for humans and the majority of other species’, according to a founding member of environmental campaign group Greenpeace.

The assertion was made by Canadian ecologist Patrick Moore, a member of Greenpeace from 1971 to 1986, to U.S senators on Tuesday.

He told The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: ‘There is no scientific proof that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are the dominant cause of the minor warming of the Earth’s atmosphere over the past 100 years. If there were such a proof it would be written down for all to see. No actual proof, as it is understood in science, exists.’

Moore pointed out that there was an Ice Age 450million years ago when CO2 was 10 times higher.