Author Archives: David

Decolonizing liturgy

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The National Worship Conference of the Anglican Church of Canada is meeting in Regina this summer. It “will examine how church liturgy and worship practices can better reflect the diversity of modern congregations”.

The aim of the conference is to extirpate “expressions of empire” from liturgy in order to “decolonize“ it. As things stand, we are “excluding voices from the margins”.

We have to “begin by listening to the land, hearing the ancient voices of creation that hold our narratives.”

I’m not sure what the “voices from the margins” or the “voices of creation” are, although I’ve heard rumours that many clergy are hearing voices when they forget to take their pills.

Here is a radical idea: instead of straining to hear the voices of creation, try reading the Bible to see what God has to say.

You can register for the conference at the website.

All are welcome except orthodox Christians.

More here:

Berringer said she expected the subject matter of this year’s conference to be sensitive and controversial. The event’s website describes its purpose as exploring what it means to decolonize expressions of worship in the Anglican and Lutheran churches. Berringer says it’s about identifying the ways in which Anglicans and Lutherans from outside European-derived culture don’t see themselves reflected in the churches’ worship, and about finding ways to make it their own.

The word “decolonize” has so many disparate meanings to people according to their backgrounds and preconceived ideas, she says, that the conference may not get beyond negotiating a shared understanding of what the churches need to do to make themselves more inclusive. But even if that means having some difficult and uncomfortable conversations, she says it’s worth doing.

“I fully expect people to attend this conference and have pushback on everything from the title, to the description, to who we’ve included as far as workshop leaders,” she says. “We do expect people to be uncomfortable, probably. We’re providing prayer support, we’ve got chaplains ready … It’s human nature to feel defensive when the perception is ‘what you’re doing isn’t working, we’ve got to change it and make it better.’”

Frociaggine and peas

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In South Wales where I grew up, faggots and peas were a staple for dinner. Faggots consist of pig offal wrapped in caul, a fatty membrane encasing the pig’s internal organs. They are very tasty.

In 2004, there was a radio commercial in which a man says, “I’ve got nothing against faggots, I just don’t fancy them”, after being offered them for dinner. This could be construed in at least two ways, one of which breached the Advertising and Sponsorship Code. The advertisement was banned.

When I was enjoying my faggots and peas in my youth, perhaps watching a BBC drama, I knew that there were certain words that you could not say on TV, even after 9:00 p.m. We all know what they are because now the same words have to be said repeatedly on every Netflix production you are the unwitting victim of.

No doubt we were a little prudish in our vocabulary in the 50’s, but we have managed to breed a whole new generation of prudes whose fragile sensibilities are unable to survive an assault by the breaching of contemporary taboos: faggots – without the peas.

Such is the horror of the use of the word faggot to denote a homosexual, that when the Pope recently let slip he thought that “there is already enough faggotry” in Catholic seminaries, the CBC issued a warning on its article about the incident.

Avert you gaze now.

From here:

WARNING: This story contains vulgar language.

Pope Francis, widely quoted as having used a highly derogatory word to describe the 2SLGBTQ+ community, did not intend to use homophobic language and apologizes to anyone offended by it, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

It is extremely rare for a pope to issue a public apology.

“The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologizes to those who felt offended by the use of a term reported by others,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said in an emailed statement.

Italian media had reported on Monday that Francis used the Italian term frociaggine, roughly translating as “faggotness” or “faggotry,” as he told Italian bishops he remained opposed to admitting gay people into the priesthood.

The greening of Justin Welby

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The Church of England is pressuring parishes to install solar panels and heat pumps because it has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030. Meaningless nonsense, I know, but it would be good to see the figurehead of the Church of England leading the meaningless nonsense by example.

To the contrary, not content with polluting the spiritual atmosphere with his theological flatulence, he is busy pumping carbon dioxide – one of the few remaining sins left in the CofE – into the physical atmosphere.

In the last 10 months he has flown 48,000 miles. Most parishioners would probably be indifferent to these clerical peregrinations if it were not such a stark illustration of the some animals are more equal than others principle.

He used to be an oil industry executive; it’s difficult to kick old habits.

From here:

Justin Welby has been dubbed the ‘Archbishop of Airmiles’ and accused of hypocrisy for flying around the world while pressuring congregations to achieve net zero.

The Archbishop of Canterbury will be travelling to Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama and Costa Rica later this month having only just returned from Zanzibar.

Church of England officials and parishioners said their leader had almost become a ‘member of the Foreign Office’, jetting to global hot spots and summits while seemingly ignoring problems at home.

Analysis by the Daily Mail found that by next month Dr Welby will have travelled at least 48,000 miles on ten trips since last September on a worldwide tour.

The flights alone would have added at least 15 tons of carbon dioxide emissions to his carbon footprint.

Church leaders at Gaza Ceasefire news conference

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The grand finale of the  Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage organized by Kairos with participation from many mainline denominations was a press conference to explain what the real problem is and how to solve it.

Bishop Andrew Asbil was there representing the Anglican Church of Canada. You can watch the video below. The five ladies in the centre did all the talking while the bookend men kept silent; they did fidget a bit. I should have said there appeared to be two men and five women but these days, one never knows for sure.

I can summarise the video by saying it is 31 minutes and 24 seconds of pernicious lies, nonsense, and Jew-hatred garnished with a light sprinkling of inane ecclesiastical pieties.

Everything is Israel’s fault. The rape, murder, torture and kidnapping of Jews by Hamas on October the 7th was Israel’s fault: when contextualized these were the acts of resistance by a “militarily occupied people”. A variation of the just war theory: just gender-based violence.

One brave soul in the audience did point out that while everything is being asked of Israel, nothing is being asked of Hamas even though they had been firing missiles at Israel for decades. There was no coherent answer only a lament that Gaza has inadequate leaders – and that is Israel’s fault.

Bishop of Toronto calls for Gaza ceasefire

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The Rt. Rev. Andrew Asbil has written a letter to his diocese asking “our leaders” (politicians, presumably) to urge for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

What does this really mean, one wonders. It can’t mean that he wants pressure put on Hamas to release the Jewish hostages and surrender. That would produce an immediate ceasefire; if he meant that, he would say so.

The only other possibility is that he wants Israel to stop the war before it is won, leaving Hamas intact, guaranteeing further atrocities against the Jewish people. That, after all, is what Hamas has promised, although Asbil seems to think it would result in everyone joining hands and warbling I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing In Perfect Harmony. Maybe that’s what the Jews at the music festival were singing shortly before they were murdered, raped, beheaded, tortured  and carted off as hostages.

So he doesn’t want a ceasefire at all; he wants Israel to lose its war against Hamas.

If bishops must insist on meddling in politics, I do wish that they would occasionally choose the right side.

Read it all here:

Dear Friends,

For the last 216 days, the first item on our news has been about war in the Land of the Holy One. The scenes of destruction, human suffering and sorrow leave an indelible mark on all of us. In the face of it all, it is tempting to turn away and say, “We can do so little; what can we do?”

The Anglican Church of Canada keeps this Sunday as Jerusalem Sunday. It reminds us that we all have a special relationship with the Land of the Holy One, and we are called to pray for its peace. Canadians have a particular bond of friendship with the Diocese of Jerusalem: the Diocese of Ottawa is its companion diocese, and Archbishop Hosam Naoum is a dear friend of our Church. Many of us have had the privilege of visiting St. George’s College in Jerusalem for a pilgrimage course and have met, learned about and witnessed the experience of Palestinian Christians in the Middle East.

The incessant violence and warfare in Israel and Gaza is overwhelming in its statistics: 1,100 Israelis and 34,000 Palestinians dead since Oct. 7, 2023, and 1.7 million people displaced in a humanitarian crisis, with emergency aid agencies unable to cope with the need and unable to cross the access points.

Enough is enough.

Calls for a ceasefire are increasing internationally, and I join with those who are crying out: the time for a cessation of violence is past due.

Bishop Riscylla, Bishop Kevin and I will be participating in parts of the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage in Toronto this weekend, organized by KAIROS. This global movement of walking (or rolling) in prayerful solidarity with the people of Gaza will help raise awareness, raise money for humanitarian aid, and hopefully exert pressure on our leaders to urge a ceasefire now.

Anglican Church of Canada decline accelerates

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Numerically, of course, not theologically; theologically, it has nowhere left to go – surely.

In 2017, the ACoC published these numbers, which led statistics officer Rev Dr. Neil Elliot to predict extinction by 2040:

As of 2022, the number looked like this:

There has been a 40% decrease in average Sunday attendance since 2001, with a  accelerated decline of 26% between 2019 and 2022. The good news is funerals have not declined.

Read more about it here:

Sharp drop during pandemic: stats officer

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a significant decline in church attendance, marking a “radical discontinuity” even with previous downward trends, the Anglican Church of Canada’s statistics officer says.

Canon Neil Elliot presented data from 2022 diocesan returns in a January report sent to bishops and diocesan executive officers based on parish statistics. The statistics officer said he did not collect numbers in 2020 and 2021 since COVID-19 shut down churches for much of that time.

The figures show a decline on almost all fronts from 2019 to 2022, including a 12 per cent decrease in the total number on parish rolls, 26 per cent decrease in average Sunday attendance, and 17 per cent decrease in regular identifiable givers. The biggest drops came in the number of people attending services on major holy days: a 45 per cent decline in Easter attendance, 37 per cent for Pentecost and 47 per cent for Christmas.

Declines were also seen in the number of pastoral services, with 25 per cent fewer baptisms, 13 per cent fewer confirmations and 10 per cent fewer marriages—the only exception being funerals, which saw a very small increase.

“Attendance has been hit,” Elliot said. “I think that’s a really clear thing.”

If you want to understand Easter watch The Life of Brian

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Christmas and Easter bring out the worst in Anglican Church of Canada clergy.

The rest of the year they content themselves by waxing eloquent on the evils of climate change, women’s reproductive rights, using correct pronouns, diversity, inclusion and non-binary gender categories.

The major Christian festivals call for major absurdities.

Thus, we have Rev. Michael Coren, currently employed by the Diocese of Niagara a bastion of deranged theology, advising Christians to see the 1979 film The Life of Brian for their Easter edification.

From here:

There’s one film that I highly recommend to anybody who wants to learn something about Easter. I refer to Monty Python’s “Life of Brian.” Confusion, extremism, religious pedantry, failure to grasp the message and laughter. Humour is big in the Gospels, if only people would understand it. Don’t, whatever you do, opt for Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” It’s more medieval caricature than ancient reality.

In case you haven’t seen it, The Life of Brian is a satire on Christianity, Christians, the church and Jesus. The Monty Python crew denied that it satirized Jesus, but it did.

I have nothing against satire directed at Christians – we do some odd things on occasion – but why would a clergyman point to a parody of his alleged beliefs to convince others of their truth?

When, I wonder, will we see a Monty Python film satirizing the life of Mohamed?

Anglican Church of Canada stands against antisemitism – sort of

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The Most Rev. Linda Nicholls has just released a statement claiming that the Anglican Church of Canada opposes antisemitism:

We must stand against antisemitism whenever we hear or see it. We stand in solidarity with Jewish people around the world who desire to live in safety and security without fear, as do all people.

But is this just doing what the church does best: virtue signaling?

In February, the ACoC urged Justin Trudeau to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza – by the IDF, of course, since ACoC has little concern whether Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel. This must be what Nicholls meant by “We stand in solidarity with Jewish people around the world”. Hang on, now I get it: stand in solidarity with Jewish people around the world, except those in Israel.

And, more recently in March, Nicholls signed a letter to the Canadian government rejoicing that Canada has reinstated UNWRA funding – a thoroughly antisemitic organization

Perhaps ACoC leaders are in a moral muddle and, lacking any functioning ethical or spiritual compass, are simply trying to keep everyone happy. Or perhaps they are antisemitic themselves and are trying to conceal it.

Anglican Church of Canada turns to Rome after running out of its own sophistry

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The Anglican Church of Canada, having run out of its own seemingly inexhaustible supply of sophistry, is looking to the Roman Catholic Church for inspiration in finding new ingenious ways to justify blessing same-sex marriages.

The Roman Catholic Church has demonstrated its enviable talent for casuistry in recent statements on same-sex marriage.

A same-sex blessing is blessing the person not the relationship. The fact that the two people in the same-sex marriage are being blessed together is purely coincidental; it has nothing to do with the relationship. Nothing at all.

Why didn’t we Anglicans think of that?

From here:

A document released by the Roman Catholic Church reconsidering its policy on blessings—including those to people in same-sex relationships—offers Anglicans a new way to think about divisions within their own communion, says the Rev. Iain Luke, principal of the Saskatoon-based College of Emmanuel and St. Chad and a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue.

The declaration Fiducia Supplicans, endorsed by Pope Francis on Dec. 18, lays out a shift in the Roman Catholic Church’s approach to blessings. It encourages clergy to offer blessings from the church to any who ask without first scrutinizing whether they are in compliance with the church’s doctrines or meet some moral standard.

When someone asks for a blessing, the document says, regardless of their marital or moral status, they are showing their openness to God’s love and assistance. “This request should, in every way, be valued, accompanied, and received with gratitude,” it states. “People who come spontaneously to ask for a blessing show by this request their sincere openness to transcendence, the confidence of their hearts that they do not trust in their own strength alone, their need for God, and their desire to break out of the narrow confines of this world, enclosed in its limitations.”

Though the new policy does not allow Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex relationships, it does allow them to bless the people in them, whose relationship status would previously have been grounds for a priest to deny a blessing, says Luke. He compares this approach to that of the early days of Christianity in the first century AD.

Why is euthanasia so easy and the death sentence so difficult?

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This morning I listened, as I often do, to a round-up of news on the BBC world service. 15-20 minutes of the broadcast were devoted to the impending execution of convicted murderer Kenneth Smith by asphyxiating him with nitrogen gas. Cataloguing the practical difficulties and problems occupied much of the time.

Smith’s lawyers have denounced this as “cruel and unusual punishment”, a human rights group has declared that it could amount to torture or may result in Smith being reduced to a vegetative state. His “spiritual advisor”, “pastor, theologian, activist and writer” Rev. Dr Jeff Hood is worried that he himself could be exposed to a possible gas leak and be forced to meet his Maker before he is ready to do so.

Not only that, this is the state of Alabama’s second attempt to execute Smith. In the first go-around, the executioner couldn’t find a vein for the lethal injection; after a number of incisions the attempt was abandoned because the death warrant had expired.

Canada, in 2022, managed to kill 13,241 people as part of its Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID, if you prefer to use the innocuous sounding acronym). All the candidates were euthanised without mishap: no veins were misplaced, and no nitrogen gas escaped to accidentally dispatch innocent bystanders.

In Canada, we administer death sentences on an industrial scale, smoothly and efficiently, without fuss or accident.

I have one simple question: why is the State of Alabama unable to do for one person, what we in Canada manage for 13,241 people every year?

I am tempted to write to my MP to suggest a new export opportunity for Canada, one similar to the CANDU nuclear reactors we exported to Argentina, Romania, China and South Korea in the 1970s. We could sell it to the Americans and call it CanDeath.