Author Archives: David

Diocese of Calgary urged to begin same-sex blessings

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Numerous dioceses, Toronto and Niagara for example, are already marrying same-sex couples. The diocese of Calgary hasn’t even started to bless same-sex couples, let alone marry them.

Calgary, to its shame, has fallen well behind other more progressive dioceses in their march along the highway to extinction. To correct this deficit, a collection of individuals with the catchy title of “Moving Forward-Embracing Diversity” is urging the diocese to join in the march of the ecclesiastical lemmings post-haste.

From here:

Elizabeth McLennan, spokesperson for Moving Forward-Embracing Diversity, spokesperson for Moving Forward-Embracing Diversity

An informal group in the diocese of Calgary is calling on the bishop to make a decision on whether to allow same-sex blessings in the diocese.

Moving Forward-Embracing Diversity, a lay group formed last January to push for same-sex blessings in the diocese, released a statement last week calling on Archbishop Gregory Kerr-Wilson, bishop of Calgary and metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Rupert’s Land, to announce his response to a motion  passed at the diocesan synod October 14 requesting him to allow clergy to bless the unions of same-sex couples. At the time, Kerr-Wilson said he expected to announce his decision by mid-November. But no decision has yet been announced.

“Votes that pass in synod are expected to be acted upon and implemented,” Elizabeth McLennan, spokesperson for the group and mover of the motion, told the Anglican Journal Friday, December 8. “I think the diocese has really clearly shown the archbishop the direction it wants to take, and honestly, now it’s totally up to Greg to decide whether or not he’s going to listen to his synod.”

Fred Hiltz, Jerusalem and Trump

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It goes without saying that Hiltz, along with other church dignitaries, is spluttering his indignation about the U.S. recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Most importantly, it’s because he hates Trump and all he stands for with a loathing as intense as his fawning love for Justin Trudeau, Canada’s pretty boy, a bleached version of Barack Obama. There is no hatred quite so caustic as that of a liberal Anglican clergyman encountering opposition laced with disagreement that’s less than good .

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, is calling for prayers for Jerusalem after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision December 6 to recognize the city as the capital of Israel and move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Hiltz, as Anglican Primate floats, as usual, blissfully above the demands that facts and reality impose on mere mortals. Thus, he declares that Trump has acted unilaterally, in spite of the fact that the U.S. congress voted to recognise Jerusalem as capital 22 years ago. Trump has done what every other president for the last 22 years has been putting off. This is very unAnglican: Anglicans have endless conversations when something comes up that they dislike.

Hiltz is also condemning Trump’s “unilateral action,” saying it has set off violence in the Holy Land.

Significantly, none of the clergy gnashing their collective teeth over this are interested in whether it is the right thing to do or not. Rather, they are motivated by pious pragmatism: will the recognition incite the usual lunatic elements to violence? After all, the Middle East has hitherto been so peaceful.

In a statement released Friday, December 8, Hiltz said he was joining a number of voices expressing “serious concerns” about Trump’s declaration. He cited a letter jointly issued by 13 heads of Christian churches in Jerusalem, including Archbishop Suheil Dawani, primate of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, voicing disapproval and worry.

“We are certain that such steps will yield increased hatred, conflict, violence and suffering in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, moving us farther from the goal of unity and deeper toward destructive division,” the church leaders said in the letter, released shortly before Trump’s official announcement. “We ask from you Mr. President to help us all walk towards more love and a definitive peace, which cannot be reached without Jerusalem being for all.

“The Holy City can be shared and fully enjoyed once a political process helps liberate the hearts of all people, that live within it, from the conditions of conflict and destructiveness that they are experiencing.”

We have something to be thankful for in all this: politicians tend to ignore the opinions of effete clerics – just like everyone else:

But Trump, Hiltz said, chose “to ignore this wise and Godly counsel,” and went ahead with his declaration. “His unilateral action has unsettled the entire Middle East and plunged Jerusalem into chaos,” Hiltz continued.

Hiltz, it seems, has found a new word: “unilateral”. This is the third time he has used it. Incorrectly.

In an interview with the Anglican Journal Thursday, December 7, Hiltz said he felt Trump had acted in a characteristically “unilateral” and dangerous way in making his announcement.

What we really need are more conversations. How about a Middle East Indaba?

“There’s no sense of, you know, consultation, no sense of this having been a broader conversation. It’s Donald Trump being Donald Trump,” he said.

It gets worse: North Korea’s obsession with nuclear tipped ballistic missiles is Trump’s fault, too. Did I mention that Hiltz hates Trump?

“As with issues of concern on the Korean peninsula, his statements and his actions agitate, and they tend to stir things up in ways that, quite frankly, are not helpful,” Hiltz said. “It’s very worrisome in terms of how this could turn.”

The Anglican Church of Canada—like the government of Canada—Hiltz said, supports “a lasting peace process in which there is a state of Israel, but within which Palestinians also have a rightful place.”

Finally, we find out what is really bothering Hiltz – other than the fact that he is forced to live on the same planet as Trump. His free trip to Jerusalem might have to be cancelled.

Hiltz also said Trump’s announcement cast some doubt on whether he would still make a planned trip to Jerusalem this January to visit the Anglican primate of Jerusalem and the Middle East.

Diocese of Brandon’s Noah Njegovan pleads guilty to fraud

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A Diocese of Brandon rector, Noah Njegovan, the son of Bishop Jim Njegovan is alleged to have relieved the diocese of $192,000, much of which he spent in Sin City eating expensive meals and visiting massage parlours. He had been denying the whole affair, but now is pleading guilty to the charges.

Had he used his own money for the massages, he probably could have just added an “M” to the LGBT-etc litany, claimed membership in the Massage Community and been applauded for coming out. As it is, he committed an act so heinous even the Anglican Church of Canada regards it as sinful: he took their money.

The ejecting of Rev Jake Worley

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First, he was ejected from his duly elected position of bishop by the Diocese of Caledonia for preaching the gospel outside of the confines of the Anglican establishment – you know, the one that trumpets its inclusivity.

Second, he was ejected from his position as rector in the Diocese of Caledonia by bishop John Privett. No one who knows is admitting why but it seems likely the second reason is the same as the first.

Third he has been ejected from Canada, the country which proudly boasts its welcome of countless jobless migrants, because he is a jobless alien.

It just goes to show that, when it comes to liberalism, the church and their bishops and state and their politicians are one in character, belief and practice: intolerant, callous, hypocritical and corrupt.

From here:

Jacob Worley, who worked at St. James Anglican Church in Smithers and in Houston, was relieved of his position as priest effective Nov. 30.

Diocesan administrator Rev. Gwen Andrews, who could not be reached for comment, said in a statement Worley was terminated without cause by Archbishop John Privett of the ecclesiastical province of British Columbia and Yukon.

“I was told in the termination letter that my termination did not reflect on the work I have done as a priest in the Bulkley Valley,” said Worley. “While the national church — the Anglican Church of Canada — likes to say that they tolerate a wide range of theological perspectives, my termination can only be understood as a response to my outspoken orthodox, biblical, and traditional position as an Anglican priest.”

In an interview with the Anglican Journal, Privett said he made his decision in consultation with the diocesan leadership and declined to elaborate on why Worley was relieved.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to speak about personnel matters. Those are confidential,” said Privett to the Anglican Journal. “What I can say, though, is that it was not precipitous. I thought about it carefully, I discussed it with others, and I do believe the decision was in the best interests of both the diocese and the Worley family.”

The Worleys left the country last week and are currently in America. Worley, who is American, had residency in Canada that was contingent on his employment. He and his family were given 10 days to leave the country after his last day of employment.

“We don’t know what we are going to do. It takes time to find another position,” said Worley. “We need to pray and seek the Lord’s direction.”

This seems to be the final chapter in a saga that lasted just over half a year.

In April, Worley was elected bishop of Caledonia but was not consecrated as a bishop after a ruling by the House of Bishops of the ecclesiastical province of British Columbia and Yukon. Caledonia covers most of northern B.C.

The House of Bishops said a driving factor in their decision to overrule the election was because of Worley’s involvement with the Anglican Mission in America, a group of theologically conservative churches that was originally a mission of the Anglican Province of Rwanda.

They claim the former priest’s involvement with a church plant in the jurisdiction of the Episcopal Church was made without the permission of the Episcopal Church. This violated Resolution 72 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference.

The bishops also said Worley held views that run contrary to the Doctrine of Discipline of the Anglican Church of Canada.

“It’s been a long seven months,” said Worley. “We were hurt, very concerned for the diocese, and fearful of what the future looks like at the hands of those have all the power but none of the transforming love that Christ gives.”

A new election was held in late October, and Rev. David Lehmann was elected bishop.

Members of his former parish Pierce and Anita Clegg started a GoFundMe page to assist the Worleys in their move.

“We were and remain very humbled by Pierce and Anita’s support,” said Worley. “We are amazed at the support from across North America but also of how so many from the Christian community in Smithers and Houston, across denominational lines, have shown us love and care. I’m so thankful that we are a part such a community.”

Predictable Anglican reaction to Trump’s Jerusalem announcement

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This is an early tweet from Canada’s establishment Anglican rag, The Journal, expressing “concerns” over Trump’s announcement today that the U.S. recognises Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and plans to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The article referenced in the tweet warns that the recognition will cause “Irreparable Damage”. Only time will tell, of course, but a few things we can predict with complete certainty.

The liberal Anglican establishment – just about all Western Anglican clergy in other words – will roundly condemn the move because: Trump did it and they all hate him; it goes against received leftist dogma, the last remaining heresy in Western Anglicanism and, most important of all, it acknowledges the existence of an objective fact – the land of Israel has been home to the Jews for 3000 years – something entirely alien to liberal Anglicans who prefer endless reality-evading conversations.

How to end violence, Anglican style

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Hold up a sign to declare your opposition to it.

Here is Anglican Primate, Fred Hiltz, doing his bit to stamp out sexual and gender-based violence.

The BDSM community must feel so excluded.

The alternative to this vacuous ecclesiastical virtue signalling might be to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ – you know, the real one where Jesus wants to transform us, not the watery ACoC version dedicated to affirming us and all our desires no matter how murky.

Praying away the straight

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I expect that anyone at all interested in the implosion of Western Anglicanism is aware that Rev. Kelvin Holdsworth, a homosexual Scottish vicar, has caused ripples of discontent in non-liberal Anglican circles – although, at this point there can only be one non-liberal Anglican circle left in the UK; perhaps only a semi-circle – by suggesting we pray that Prince George become gay. Or perhaps that he is already gay, since we are told, incessantly, that the condition is genetic. Come to think of it, the latest fad is that gender is fluid so Holdsworth must be exhorting us to pray for a homoerotic congealing.

Now Holdsworth has come up with a clarification. He tells us:

The debate about the church and sexuality will go on. I’m not interested in continuing it through a conversation about Prince George. I would urge others, those who agree with me strongly and those who disagree with me strongly to turn our attentions to the actual matter at hand.

Utter twaddle.

First of all, if he isn’t interested in continuing talking about Prince George, why drag him into the arena of his erotic yearnings in the first place? Holdsworth, suddenly overcome with pious concern for the prince, has, in reality, been forced by over-exposure to curtail furthering his grubby schemes through the sexualising of a four-year-old.

Secondly, the post was not about “LGBT inclusion” at all because most gender confused individuals are completely antipathetic to the Anglican church and its desperate attempts to project an aura of relevance to the indifferent. It is, was and always will be about legitimising the lifestyles of the increasingly high percentage of homosexual Anglican clergy, in particular Kelvin Holdsworth who, it would appear, craves ecclesiastical approval of his own domestic living arrangements.

Thirdly, “the actual matter at hand” is not going to end with same-sex marriage: it will get much worse. Same-sex marriage, after all, represents just the first two letters of the LGBTetc litany; we have polyamory, bisexuality, pansexuality, demisexualty and transsexuality still to go; and we haven’t even scratched the surface of bondage and sadomasochism. Our only consolation is that the Anglican Church is liable to run out of steam well before it runs out of alphabet.

Rev Jake Worley experiences Anglican compassion

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In his statement announcing the firing of Rev. Jacob Worley, bishop John Privett, said:

I can say, we don’t want to create hardship for the Worley family, so we’re trying to act as compassionately as possible.

The Anglican Planet has this update on what is happening to the Worley family:

For those of you who have been following Jake Worley’s situation, we want you to know that one of his (former) parishioners has started a fund to help the Worley family. Jake and family were packed up and ready to leave Caledonia, but have run into more trouble. We are posting this as they really need our prayer and support. He and his family have packed up their house and rented a Uhaul to move themselves south. Regrettably, due to the conditions in Northern B.C. the RCMP have grounded all of the Uhaul trucks until spring for not having snow tires (apparently this is their company policy). Apparently there are no other truck rental companies in the region, and so they are at a bit of a loss. Their plan is to drive south and leave their possessions in their rental house and hope that some better plan will come up before their rental term is over December 31st. The only other option is to hire movers, and the lowest estimate they had was $17k, which they simply cannot afford. Please continue to pray for the Worleys and if you can afford to be generous, please support their moving fund.

I shudder to think what a bishop not acting compassionately looks like because images of being burned alive at the stake spring to mind.

The Gofundme page for the Worleys is here.

Bishop Bill Anderson explains why he moved to ANiC

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It seems that the firing of Rev. Jacob Worley was the last straw for Bishop Anderson.

From here:

“Last week, I transferred,” Anderson said Wednesday, November 22, adding that he had had “ongoing concerns for a long time about the direction things have been going in the Anglican Church of Canada,” but that the overturning of the Rev. Jacob Worley’s election as bishop last May, followed by his firing this November, together served as “the final straw.”

The bishop went on to assert what everyone suspects but Archbishop Privett, employing Goebbels’ principle – if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it – denies:

… the real reason for Worley’s being blocked as bishop and then being fired lay with his views.
“I think the issue was much more, quite frankly, the fact that he represented a conservative stream of theological thought that was offensive to the extremely liberal drift of the bishops of the provincial house,” Anderson said. “The whole thing smacked of a kangaroo court.”

I have a suspicion that this could be the catalyst that begins the unravelling of the diocese of Caledonia.

Archbishop John Privett tells us why he fired Rev. Jacob Worley

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First of all, he informs us that, although he is reluctant to spill the beans, his hand has been forced because of all the attention his despicable action (not exactly his words) has generated on social media.

He goes on building the reader’s anticipation – you are probably salivating already – by declaring that he really is going to reveal “the specifics of the termination”. Wait for it……

” Mr. Worley’s termination was not based on any particular theological point of view.”

Note the “Mr.”

And, other than more blather about the meaning of “Without Cause” and some self congratulatory remarks about a meagre severance package, that’s it. No explanation at all.

The letter is posted on the diocesan website for the edification of its readers, who Privett obviously believes are gullible idiots.

I know Anglican bishops regard obfuscation as a vocational calling, but surely even the most inept specimen in the area of rational thought would not try to pass off a claim that something was not done for a particular reason as an explanation for why it was done.

Yet, that is exactly what Privett does.

The letter also discusses the move of Bishop Bill Anderson to ANiC, an announcement that, I trust, stung Privett et al. no more than they deserve; I can almost feel the gnashing of teeth from here. In that section, Privett declares: “we seek to have positive ecumenical relationships with them [ANiC] as brothers and sisters in Christ”, a piety whose sincerity is not exactly confirmed by the string of lawsuits launched against said brothers and sisters in Christ.

November 23, 2017

To the Beloved People of God in the Diocese of Caledonia:

You will no doubt know that I have made the difficult decision to terminate the position of the Rev. Jacob Worley. Generally, it is inappropriate to talk about individual personnel matters and the specifics of the termination, but because Mr. Worley’s termination has been made a subject of wide comment on social media, to my regret I think it necessary to make an exception in this case.  Firstly, let me assure you that Mr. Worley’s termination was not based on any particular theological point of view. Our church and this Diocese will always welcome clergy and parishioners from a wide range of faith perspectives and theological views that fall within the breadth of our Anglican tradition. Our unity always rests in our love for Christ and Christ’s love for us.

Mr. Worley’s position was terminated “Without Cause” on November 20. This is a legal phrase which means that rather than a termination without pay, the Diocese is providing Mr. Worley with a severance payment which includes paid leave, accommodation and an additional money payment which will provide a severance package equivalent to remuneration through February 28, 2018. His total severance package will be the equivalent of stipend, benefits, pension contribution, car allowance and housing allowance. The severance package is subject to withholding for all applicable taxes.  I want you to know that the severance package that the Diocese is voluntarily providing is beyond the minimum required by law. This severance package leaves Jacob free to apply for other positions in the future. It is now my understanding that there is no immediate need for the Worleys to leave Canada. I anticipate this severance package will assist with the Worley’s transition.

It is with great sadness that I also write to inform you that I have received a letter from your retired Bishop Bill Anderson relinquishing the exercise of his ministry in the Anglican Church of Canada. This means that he will no longer function as a bishop in our church. After many years of faithful service, Bill has left The Anglican Church of Canada. With many of you, I feel a great loss, but respect his decision.  Bishop Bill has indicated that he will hold a service for ANiC (The Anglican Network in Canada) in the coming weeks. ANiC was established in recent years after significant theological disagreements between members of the Anglican Church of Canada. Some felt they could no longer walk together and left our church. Although ANiC uses the name Anglican, it is not a church with which we are in communion nor is it part of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. Nevertheless, we seek to have positive ecumenical relationships with them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

In accordance with Canon 1 of the Diocese of Caledonia, I have Episcopal jurisdiction and oversight until such time as a Bishop for the See is chosen and consecrated, and possess all the powers of the Diocesan Bishop. In that capacity I have worked alongside your Executive and the official Diocesan leadership to guide the life of the diocese during this past year. We have faced some difficult decisions and gathered for two Electoral Synods. I am grateful for the financial assistance of the Ecclesiastical Province and the General Synod in helping support the Diocese.  In all things I have been aware of your care and respect for one another and the desire to bring honour and glory to God.

It has been my unique privilege to get to know many of you and to experience something of your life in this Diocese.  I give thanks for your faith and your faithfulness and pray that you will continue your witness to the love of Christ in all that you do. You have a promising future with a strong history, gifted lay and clergy leadership, a rich variety of cultures and a shared commitment to the Gospel.  I look forward to welcoming your new Bishop-elect David Lehmann in a service of consecration which will be held on the Feast of the Confession of St. Peter, January 18, 2018 at 1:30 pm in the Cathedral Church of St. Andrew in Prince Rupert. All are invited to attend.

Faithfully,

Archbishop John Privett