Author Archives: David

Greening Niagara becomes Climate Justice Niagara

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This is a sensible move: the church I attended before the diocese bulldozed it was becoming increasingly green, mainly because there was mold growing in the carpet. The epithet “Climate Justice” is sufficiently stern to discourage unwanted verdant foliage in the dampest of church carpets.

As the document below tells us, sin and separation from God are not the most important issues facing us today, climate change is. The good news is that the mere renaming of “Greening Niagara” to “Climate Justice Niagara” is going to change all that. In fact, as I type this, I feel the cool winds of Justice blowing from the diocesan cathedral in Hamilton. Or maybe winter is coming.

I admit, I did learn one useful thing from the article below: God, on the advice of the Anglican Church of Canada, has abandoned transcendence, left heaven, and now lives on earth with us – “Sadly and tragically our common home with God is in poor health and in steep decline”. A bit like Laben’s household gods Rachel stole and hid in  her camel’s saddle.

From here:

Our common home is also God’s own house, permeated by the Spirit of God from the dawn of creation, where the Son of God pitched his tent in the supreme event of the incarnation. (Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam)

Introducing Climate Justice Niagara (CJN), formerly known as Greening Niagara, with a new and broader focus and mandate about the most important issue facing us  today — climate change! Sadly and tragically our common home with God is in poor health and in steep decline. But God made us stewards and protectors of the earth. The Gospel calls us to challenge and change the unjust structures in society that oppress and marginalize people, including the injustices that contribute to the climate crisis. In that call we find a building block of Niagara’s Mission Action Plan: “Prioritize social justice action with an emphasis on environmental justice.”

Toronto clergy to be sent for re-education

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I almost feel sorry for them, poor dears. They’ve done their best to keep up with the latest fashions in wokeness, but developing theologies of the impossible – men can become women, two men can marry, a man who has become a woman can marry a woman who has become a man – was not enough. Not even incessant self-flagellation for the Anglican replacement for Original Sin – Original Racism – has been enough.

Bishop Jenny Andison is sending them to re-education camp because, well, she is infected with the sin of racism, so you must be too.

When you come out, you will be a better person for it. If you come out.

From here:

As a white woman of privilege, while I am aware that the sin of racism infects my own heart, I also acknowledge that I cannot fully under-stand the impact and effects of racism on my racialized brothers and sisters. This summer, as part of my own education, I am reading The Cross and the Lynching Tree by the late James H. Cone. If you haven’t read this seminal work, do.

[….]

Lament is not simply the shedding of tears but is crying out to our Heavenly Fa-ther in pain. It is prayer, at the invitation of God, to renew our confidence that in Jesus Christ all things are being made new and the Spirit of God is being poured out on all flesh. As the current Diversity Officer for the Diocese of Toronto, I am working closely with the Intercultural Committee to bring anti-racism and anti-bias training to our diocese this fall. This training will be man-datory for all clergy and leaders of diocesan committees.

Hallelujah my Father

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A song from the Anglican renewal movement of the 70s and 80s. I found the music languishing in a dusty pile in the basement and thought I’d resuscitate it.

St. Hilda’s will be singing it and some other songs, along with Biblical teaching and liturgical worship here on Sunday morning at 10:30 EDT. Please join us, if you care to.

If, on the other hand, this leaves you cringing in horror, whatever you do, don’t click on the above link.

Diocese of Huron to hold Queer and Trans* Virtual Workshops

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I only have one question: Why is there an asterisk attached to “Trans”? Is it a wildcard that permits any other combination of letters? Like Transistor?

I know, I’ll attend this, it will explain everything:

Now I get it. Creating labels and terminology modifies reality: pronoun selection bends the universe to ney/nem’s will. I was right, a Trans* person really could be a Transistor.

Why has no one thought of this before? It’s so convenient.

R.I.P. Julian Bream

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Julian Bream was one of the most brilliant guitarists of the 20th Century.

I saw him live in Cardiff in the 70’s. Seeing him in person was even more engaging and enjoyable than this beautiful performance:

From the BBC:

Classical guitarist and lute player Julian Bream has died at his home in Wiltshire at the age of 87.

The virtuoso musician performed globally during his heyday, and was renowned for his recordings of new compositions and masterclasses.

He won four Grammy Awards and received 20 nominations between 1960 and 85.

A self-taught musician, Bream learned playing to radio dance bands with the lute his father bought from a sailor on London’s Charing Cross Road in 1947.

As a child prodigy, his early recitals led to him being “acknowledged as one of the most remarkable artists of the post-war era”, according to the Royal Academy of Music.

The Anglican Church of Canada Gong Show

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On the Anglican Church of Canada’s website you will find a link to a “Gong Meditation, Tibetan Singing Bowls” workshop, the ideal pastime for Anglicans who have had enough of Jesus and want to try the occult instead.

It’s booking up fast, so ACoC bishops: get your tickets now before it’s too late!

From here:

Wed Aug 19, 2020

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Gong Meditation, Tibetan Singing Bowls

Sound frequencies emitted from Tibetan Singing Bowls and Gong influence our body’s energy centres (chakras) as well as our brainwave patterns; the special vibration of these instruments can help your brain shift gears, which ultimately facilitates harmony, intuitive insight and a general sense of well-being.

Enjoy an evening meditation class led by Ben, where he will discuss the history of Tibetan Singing Bowls and Gongs, and guide you through a wonderful 70-minute meditation, leaving you in a state of inner peace.

All you need to enjoy this experience is to bring your own yoga mat.

To find out more about Ben visit https://www.facebook.com/innerattainment/

Ben’s classes are sell-outs, so preregistration is highly advised.

Price: $25 plus service fee and taxes

Transgender Baptist pastor fired

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In my teens I had a friend who was convinced that you could cure warts by rubbing them with a hazel branch and burying the branch in the garden. On a full moon. He swore by the remedy, pointing to his wart free hands as evidence.

Superstitions used to be, if not entirely plausible, at least romantically entertaining. Even if medieval alchemists never managed to find the philosophers’ stone and turn mercury into gold, at least it was believable enough to start JK Rowling on the path to becoming a billionairess. In a way, it worked.

21st Century superstitions are much sillier and less believable. Some people think you can turn a man into a woman. Even scientists – some of them – promote this, making science much sillier and less believable. For example:

Last month, the Rev. Junia Joplin told her Baptist congregation in a sermon about the importance of telling the truth without fear of the consequences. And then she revealed a secret truth of her own: She is a transgender woman.

It cost her the job.

On Monday, 111 members of the Lorne Park Baptist Church in Mississauga, Ontario, voted 58 to 53 to fire Ms. Joplin, who has been their pastor for six years, she said on Twitter.

“I came out as transgender in June, and I got fired in July,” Ms. Joplin said in an interview on Thursday. “But there are a lot of good people in that congregation who made their allyship known, and in some cases stuck their neck out, and it is frustrating this is the way it came out.”

World Council of Churches prays to the Great First Responder

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I’m not sure what the theology is behind this. Is the First Responder God the Father, making the Second and Third Responders God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, a pious, spiritual rendering of police, fire and ambulance?

It’s just as well it’s not October or we would be seeing prayers to the Great Pumpkin.