Author Archives: David

Church of England unable to define “woman”

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While bishops have been busying themselves discussing climate change, racism and mosquito nets at the Church of England synod currently in session, someone had the effrontery to ask the bishops to define a woman. No clear answer was forthcoming. The church, we are told, has only just begun ‘to explore the complexities associated with gender identity’.

There are repercussions to this. For example: when, in 2014, the CofE made much of Libby Lane becoming the first woman bishop, it was almost certainly mistaken. The church has probably been riddled with women bishops for centuries, since learned Anglican clerics have no idea what they even look like. For all they know, Justin Welby could be a woman.

Unsurprisingly, no one cares what the bishops have to say about climate change, but the fact that bishops have no idea what women are has sparked enough interest to make its way into the secular press.

Read the whole thing here. The comments under the article illustrate nicely how the church has managed to make itself a laughingstock. Again.

The church was put on the spot in one of almost 200 questions submitted to its ‘parliament’, the General Synod, in York this weekend.

Adam Kendry, a lay member from the Armed Forces, asked simply: ‘What is the Church of England’s definition of a woman?’

Rt Rev Robert Innes, the Bishop in Europe, replied: ‘There is no official definition, which reflects the fact that until fairly recently definitions of this kind were thought to be self-evident, as reflected in the marriage liturgy.’

He added that the church ‘has begun to explore the complexities associated with gender identity’ .

Canadian Primate, Linda Nicholls, instructs Pope on how to do synods

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I was unaware that the Roman Catholic church has a death wish, but it has. The Pope is seeking advice from the leader of the denomination that, by its own admission, will cease to exist by 2040.

In fairness to the Pope, he only wants advice on how to run synods – and that’s really easy if you do it the Anglican way: he could have asked me. Take the last Anglican Church of Canada General synod, for example. The same-sex marriage motion failed to pass. Within a few days, most of the dioceses represented at the synod announced their defiance and declare they would perform them anyway.

So what could be easier? Assemble a list of motions, discuss them, vote on them and – ignore the result. The beauty of this is that it doesn’t matter what the motions are because no one has to pay any attention to the outcome: they are all meaningless. In fact, the whole thing is meaningless. Best not to hold a synod at all. Think of the money it will save.

Read more about it here:

Anglicans have an indispensable role to play as Roman Catholics start a two-year conversation on how to become a more “synodal” church, Pope Francis said at his first meeting with Archbishop Linda Nicholls, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Nicholls met the pope at the latest meeting of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), which took place in May at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace in Rome. Due to the absence of Philip Freier, archbishop of Melbourne and Anglican co-chair of ARCIC who was attending the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia, the primate spoke on behalf of the Anglican side of the dialogue. Nicholls presented a formal statement on ARCIC from the Anglican perspective. ARCIC’s other co-chair, Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, England, spoke on behalf of Roman Catholics.

Anglican reaction to Roe v. Wade decision

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None of it is surprising.

ACNA’s Foley Beach supports the supreme court ruling:

While this decision doesn’t end abortion in the U.S., it will lead to fewer children being killed through abortion. We thank God for this limited victory, and the Anglican Church in North America recommits itself to serving mothers so they can embrace motherhood and welcome their children. We also continue to point the way to God’s healing and forgiveness for all who suffer physically and emotionally from their abortion experiences.

TEC’s Michael Currey does not:

While I, like many, anticipated this decision, I am deeply grieved by it. I have been ordained more than 40 years, and I have served as a pastor in poor communities; I have witnessed firsthand the negative impact this decision will have.

Most Canadian bishops have yet to react publicly, but I suspect we all know what they are thinking.

Here are a few that have. Coming in first we have the Bishop of BC, Anna Greenwood-Lee, tweeting her support for Michael Curry’s LibSpeak:

Coming in a close second, we have the ex-bishop of Edmonton, Jane Alexander who thinks that treating an unborn baby as less than human is necessary for women to be treated as fully human:

On the optimistic side of things, church leaders of this calibre are doing their very best to hasten the demise of their own organisation: on the one hand they favour sterile homoerotic ménages and, on the other, the killing of the unborn offspring of the few heterosexual couples still coming to sleep in their pews. They will be gone in a generation.

Primate Linda Nicholls’ statement for Pride Month

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You can read it all here:

In the hymn “All Are Welcome” by Marty Haugen, we hear the poignant longing for a church where the gospel promises will be lived so that all God’s children will be loved and safe and free. This has been the cry of the LGBTQ2S+ community in society and in the church for decades. Although there have been affirmations of LGBTQ2S+ people in our church through General Synod and its resolutions (for example, General Synod 1995, Act 57; General Synod 2004, Act 37), we have work to do in their realization in the hearts and minds of parishioners in every place.

She goes on to say:

Pride month is an opportunity to lift up recognition of that work—to affirm the God-given dignity of every human being—and to value the contributions and gifts that LGBTQ2S+ communities bring to our church and our world. Our life as a church is enriched by the diversity of God’s people!

And, of course, there is no time like Pride Month for illustrating the dignity of every human being. Here are some not untypical Pride Month examples of people exhibiting their God-given dignity. It doesn’t get any more dignified than this:

I suppose it could get more dignified: the gentleman in the cap could be wearing a bishop’s mitre. Maybe next year.

Anglican Church of Canada: sexual misconduct and a breach of trust

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As I mentioned here, in 2019 the Anglican Journal abandoned all pretence at editorial independence.

I am not convinced it would have made much of a difference to the muddle the ACoC hierarchy has made of dealing with charges of sexual misconduct made against ACoC clergy, but there remains no doubt at this point that the Journal, its policies and its articles are in the firm grip of the Anglican Church of Canada.

The names of the complainants were extracted under protest by the ACoC from Journal staff who were made aware of them on the understanding that they would remain confidential. The promise of confidentiality was broken by Alan Perry, general secretary of General Synod.

To his credit, the Journal editor resigned over this breach of trust. Alan Perry did not, even though some are urging him to do so.

As in so many of these grubby affairs, hand-wringing and wordy (how these priests like to prattle) apologies abound but the only real consequences are those suffered by the innocent parties: the victims, the Journal editor (Matthew Townsend) and a staff writer (Joelle Kidd).

If this were a secular organisation – sorry, I misspoke, it is, of course – heads would roll. Heads close to or at the top.

There is more in this article from the Journal and a great deal of detailed information on the ACCToo website:

In a footnote to their open letter posted this February, #ACCtoo organizers Michael Buttrey and Carolyn Mackie blame the Anglican Journal governance policy General Synod adopted in 2019 for enabling the alleged breach of confidentiality and privacy for which the letter calls the church to account.

“We believe this abuse of power was enabled by a motion adopted at the 2019 General Synod meeting in Vancouver that changed the mandate, oversight, and reporting structure of the AJ,” the footnote reads.

The subject of their open letter is the sharing in spring 2021, by senior church management, of a draft article intended for Anglican Journal sister publication Epiphanies containing allegations by anonymous sources of sexual misconduct in the church, with four institutions related to these allegations. By the time this article was being written, #ACCtoo’s open letter, which calls for the Anglican Church of Canada to apologize, make amends with the survivors and require the resignation of Archdeacon Alan Perry, general secretary of General Synod, had attracted the attention of several news outlets. But very little of the media coverage had dealt with the governance issues the letter raised—the policies that govern the Anglican Journal.

June, the Anglican Church of Canada’s favourite month

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That’s because June is Pride Month, a time when ACoC clergy can abandon themselves to urges that must lurk suppressed the rest of the year beneath their black frocks and fossil-fuel derived plastic white collars: four glorious weeks of homoerotic public cavorting, a non-binary bacchanalia of barrenness.

To that end, the Diocese of Niagara is having a 2SLGBTQIA+ “worship experience” on June 12th in its cathedral:

Not to be outdone, the youth of St. Aidan’s in the Huron diocese have, under the tutelage of the rector, been painting rainbow doors:

Youth at a London, Ont., church are showing their support for the LGBTQ2+ community with a bright and colourful art installation.
St. Aidan’s Anglican Church unveiled its “God’s Doors are Open to All” project on Saturday.
“It’s an installation of multi-coloured doors in the colours of the rainbow as a reminder to all who are LGBTQ2+ that our church is a safe (and) welcoming space,” said Kevin George, the rector of St. Aidan’s.

Ironically, in the 2SLGBTQIA+ etc, etc, “community”, all is not rainbows and fairy dust. There is racism and discrimination:

People of colour say racism, exclusion, fetishization, rampant in LGBTQ+ communities
When Lia Mighty came out as lesbian, she thought she would find solace in the community of “rainbows, unicorns and love”; rather, she experienced “racial comments and discrimination.”

“I’ve been called n—-r at least eight times within the LGBTQ+ community,” said Mighty, a musician and model from Montreal.

The ACoC is constantly lamenting that it is riddled with systemic racism; no wonder it feels so at home revelling in this milieu.

The Age of the Apology

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Fred Hiltz has apologised, Linda Nicholls has apologised, Justin Welby has apologised, and the Pope has apologised. Now some people are saying Queen Elizabeth should apologise for abuse that took place in the Canadian Residential schools. I expect God is next on the apology list.

I don’t doubt that there was abuse in these schools, nor do I doubt that there was some good in the system. I also don’t doubt that the hell in which most clergy have ceased to believe is considerably less pleasant than the “hell” Justin Welby says existed in the schools.

What I do doubt is the sincerity of all the apologisers: it is too easy to be sorry for the sins of one’s ancestors. I’d take the handwringing of Linda Nicholls, for example, more seriously if, as CEO of the ACoC industry, she accepted responsibility for the numerous current sex scandals in her organisation and resigned. Although, come to think of it, I suppose the ACoC is one massive sex-scandal and is celebrated as such, so how could she resign.

One final thought: I have an uneasy feeling that what is underneath the abject wailing of Welby et al is a deep-seated disbelief in the worth of his own cultural inheritance; of Christendom. And, perhaps, even of Christianity.

From here:

Residential school survivors, Indigenous leaders say Queen should apologize next
Métis leader says she’ll bring up an apology when she meets with Prince Charles and Camilla this week.

Now that residential school survivors have an initial apology from Pope Francis for the conduct of some Catholics at the facilities, president of the Métis National Council Cassidy Caron says the Queen should be the next to apologize.

Following a suggestion from a Métis residential school survivor, Caron is calling on Queen Elizabeth II, as Canada’s head of state and leader of the Anglican Church, to apologize for the operation of residential schools and pay reparations to survivors.

“There’s so much healing that is needed,” Caron said.

Caron said she plans to deliver that message when she meets Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, at Rideau Hall this week during their Canadian tour.

Mary Simon, Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General, called the visit a chance to “showcase the evolution of our country, our diverse and inclusive society, as well as the resilience of Indigenous communities.”

Many First Nations signed treaties with the Crown that made promises — such as pledges to share resources — that the Crown later violated.

Anglican Church of Canada has 2 year budget surplus of $8M

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This, we are told, is not so much a reversal of a general financial downward trend but a saving on travel expenses during the pandemic and shrewd investments in the capitalist system the church is otherwise bent on destroying.

Read all about it here:

The Anglican Church of Canada’s national office recorded two consecutive multi-million-dollar yearly surpluses in 2020 and 2021, for a combined total of just over $8 million, the church’s treasurer and chief financial officer has confirmed.

As reported to the Council of General Synod (CoGS) in March, General Synod netted an excess of revenue over expense of $3.6 million. But the corresponding figure for the previous year was also in the millions—just over $4.5 million, treasurer Amal Attia says.

The two figures added together approach the national office’s total spending in 2021, which was $8.5 million.

A 2020 financial statement was presented to CoGS in May 2021, but was not reported on by the Anglican Journal at the time. The CoGS session took place on the weekend immediately after then-acting editor Tali Folkins departed for a sabbatical leave, and immediately before then-editor Matthew Townsend returned from a two-month parental leave—and shortly before the sudden departure of both Townsend and staff writer Joelle Kidd over the sharing by church management of a draft article on sexual misconduct. (See “Off on the wrong track?” on p. 8 of this issue.)

The church should plan to carefully steward the combined $8 million in revenue surplus and savings it accrued across 2020 and 2021, say two of its financial leaders. General Secretary Archdeacon Alan Perry and Attia caution that the pandemic years have offered a windfall that will not likely be repeated.

There’s no recent precedent for this, says Perry, noting that over the past couple of decades, the revenue for the church has been trending downward as congregations shrink. “Having a surplus of any kind is quite extraordinary. And especially of this size,” he says.

The surplus should not be taken as a reversal of that downward trend, Perry says. Rather, it represents a couple of key factors that set the pandemic years apart. The first is a substantial savings on money the church normally sets aside for travel expenses as clergy and lay leaders travel for ministry and church governance. When the pandemic postponed some of those meetings and moved others online, the church saved money.

The other major component is that the past few years have been unusually successful for the church’s investments, which increased in value by about $6 million over the course of their eight-year maturation period, says Attia. Some of that comes to the church in the form of capital gains, she says, but the majority of it doesn’t come back in cash until and unless the church decides to sell those investments. As a result, much of that $6 million is in the value of the stocks the church holds, not money it has at its disposal.

 

Queering Pentecost

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I’m unsure as to why Pentecost has to be “queered” or even exactly what it means, but it is something that, so we are told, is occurring in the Diocese of Huron.

Read all about it here:

As we move through the Easter season and look towards Pentecost, I want to offer a reflection, a “queering” of the story of Pentecost and what it means for our ideas of community and communion.

Pentecost tells us that we are called to be Christian in community. The earliest converts at Pentecost were initiated into community and participated in community. Community is essential for Christians. It is one of the primary ways in which we are formed, how we discern, and how we enter into relationship with God.

Community can be difficult for LGBTQ Christians. Christian communities can fall on a spectrum between affirming to welcoming, tolerant, condemning, or actively hostile.