Author Archives: David

All Saints Sandy Hill Ottawa now a mosque on Fridays

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When St. Alban’s voted to join ANiC in 2008, one of the consequences, as Justin Welby might call it, was that the Diocese of Ottawa acquired the church building and the congregation had to find a new home.

To fill the empty pews and created the illusion that the diocese had a use for the building, the congregation of All Saints Sandy Hill was imported into St. Alban’s.

This, of course, had the unfortunate consequence of setting All Saints adrift as an Anglican Marie Celeste. I expect the diocese hoped no-one would notice.

Now All Saints is being rented out as “the kind of space that reflects Canada’s fabric today”. That means that on Fridays, it is a mosque.

From here:

On the December day they took possession of a 115-year-old church in Sandy Hill, Leanne Moussa and some others climbed up a spiral staircase and rang the church bells.

Those tolling bells, which at least one person mistook for a call to worship, represented both the joy they felt for saving All Saints church and their excitement about its new life as a multi-use community centre. The former Anglican church is now home to several different religious congregations, a small café, artists’ studios, event space for classes and conferences, and there are plans for future redevelopment that could add offices for NGOs and new housing units.

[….]

The deconsecrated nave will soon serve many functions — mosque on Fridays, synagogue on Saturdays and the spiritual home of two different Christian groups on Sundays. The 300-seat space can also be used for weddings, concerts, book launches and lectures, Moussa said.

How to get around the marriage canon vote

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The motion to change the marriage canon to accommodate same-sex couples is unlikely to pass at the Anglican General Synod in July, so liberal Anglicans are looking for ways to circumvent the vote.

Michael Coren, who may or may not have inside information on the machinations of the post-Christian contingent of the Anglican Church of Canada, has elucidated in this article a hitherto unexplored way of twisting Scripture to justify the unjustifiable:

In Canada, the most plausible hope is probably some sort of creative compromise where the canon is amended to allow for a marriage liturgy that would include same-sex couples, based around a theology inspired by Acts 10. This is the passage where the Roman centurion Cornelius is accepted by St. Peter, who says, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” The Kosher laws are no longer required; God’s plan extends to all. Applied to sexuality, God’s love is for all: Jew and gentile, straight and gay.

It’s far from ideal, but the reality is that equal marriage simply won’t be achieved in the short-term. If an amendment satisfies enough people and is purely optional it might, just might, be acceptable to all sides. As such it could enable the Canadian church to avoid the treatment handed to the Americans.

Diocese of Montreal enters a new mission field: Debt Collection

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Parishes in the Diocese of Montreal owed the diocese $519.758.72 at the end of 2015. Matthew 6:24 notwithstanding, Mammon is near and dear to the heart of the Anglican Church of Canada, so parishes that have not paid their protection dues will receive a visit from members of the Diocesan Overdue Account Management team who will encourage them to develop a viable strategic plan. That way, no legs will be broken.

From here (page 6):

Outstanding accounts receivables owed by congregations to the Diocese for diocesan-paid parish stipends, assessments, insurance, and benefits stood at $519.758.72 at year end of 2015 with an outstanding balance remaining for 2015 of $338,898.76 as of March 31, 2016.

This is in addition to the year-end diocesan deficit and other categories of outstanding diocesan receivables. Often, the same four or five parishes account for the majority of these repeated unpaid invoices over several years, indicating that strategic planning assistance is required in these cases.

Therefore, as a further measurement of when diocesan intervention is required, the Diocesan Council also adopted a new policy for Diocesan Overdue Account Management.

This policy essentially requires a congregation, in consultation with Diocesan leadership, to develop a plan for repayment of its outstanding accounts, including a strategy for future mission and sustainability.

Anglican church converts to Buddhism

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The Anglican Church of Canada hasn’t converted to Buddhism in its entirety – not yet, at least, and not that it would make much difference – just St. Aidan’s in Kelowna, BC.

From here:

Anglican church to be reincarnated as Buddhist cultural centre

KELOWNA – St. Aidans church, a small heritage building in Rutland, should soon see new life under an adaptive reuse agreement with the Okanagan Buddhist Cultural Society.

Staff are recommending three parcels near Mugford and Rutland Road North be rezoned and consolidated, then sold to the society along with a memorandum of understanding about the church’s preservation.

Plans are to relocate the historic Anglican church, opened in 1933, to the centre of the consolidated site where it will be restored under a heritage revitalization agreement with the city. The society will build a new entranceway, church hall and develop the old church as a cultural centre.

Built by volunteer labour on donated land, the original church was designed by Enoch Mugford, superintendent of the Black Mountain Irrigation District and local developer Hector Maranda.

Archbishop Peter Jensen in Burlington, Ontario

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The General Secretary of GAFCON, the Most Rev Dr Peter Jensen, spoke in Burlington today.

Audio from his talk can be found below; the quality is not the best but, of the January Primates’ meeting, the Archbishop can be heard to say, quite clearly: “The January meeting has already been shown to be a complete failure”.


An itinerant minstrel opens in worship:_DSC9991Bishop Charlie’s introduction:
_DSC9995Archbishop Peter Jensen:

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Death by government

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As I was listening to the news while driving home this afternoon, there were a couple of items whose startling juxtaposition clearly escaped the sensibilities of the announcer. The first was the tragedy of a “suicide crisis” in Attawapiskat, followed closely by a lament that not all the recommendations of a committee investigating government assisted suicide would find their way into law.

Evidently, we have reached some kind of bizarre consensus where do-it-yourself suicide is a Bad Thing, but suicide through government sponsored execution is a Good Thing.

From here:

Attawapiskat suicide crisis subject of emergency debate in House

NDP MP Charlie Angus opened the emergency debate on the Attawapiskat suicide crisis by calling for a groundswell of political will that will put an end to Band-Aid solutions for the problems facing Canada’s First Nations.

[….]

“When I think that there are communities in our country where … young people in groups are deciding that there is no hope for their future, we must do better, we have to find a way to go forward,” said Philpott.

And here:

The Trudeau government won’t be taking a permissive approach to medically assisted dying in new legislation to be unveiled as early as next week, The Canadian Press has learned.

Sources, who aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the imminent bill, say it won’t adopt some of the most controversial recommendations from a special parliamentary committee.

[….]

It will not allow people diagnosed with competence-impairing conditions like dementia to make advance requests for medical help to die, which the committee advocated.

Nor will it include mature minors, to whom the committee recommended extending the right to choose assisted death within three years.

Some priests likely to marry same-sex couples even if marriage canon change fails to pass

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Fred Hiltz has suggested that even if the vote to change the Marriage Canon fails to pass at General Synod, some priests will ignore the fact and go ahead with same-sex marriages anyway. Although Hiltz frames it as “civil disobedience”, I am left with the impression from the article below that, by mentioning it at all, he is dropping a broad hint to liberal dioceses as to how they should proceed.

The same strategy was adopted by the national church in 2010 when at the General Synod, while approval was not given for dioceses to start blessing same-sex unions, it was understood that many dioceses would still do so. And they did. An easy solution for Hiltz, since he was absolved of responsibility and liberal dioceses got what they wanted.

In 2010 we had the local option for same-sex blessings, along with the assurance that there would be no same-sex marriages.

In 2016 we will have the local option for same-sex marriages along with the assurance that no priests will be compelled to perform them.

In 2022 we will have…. well, you get the drift.

Some bishops have expressed concern about the possibility that some priests may go ahead and marry gay couples in the event that a resolution changing the marriage canon to allow same-gender marriages is rejected at General Synod this summer, said Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.

“If it’s not approved, then, as we sometimes, say…there could be some ‘civil disobedience’ on the part of clergy and parishes, and the bishops are going to have to handle that, because all of us that are ordained make a solemn promise to conform to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Anglican Church of Canada,” Hiltz told the Anglican Journal April 12. Hiltz made the comments during an interview on the House of Bishops meeting last week, April 4–8.

Asked to clarify if by “civil disobedience” he meant same-gender marriages in defiance of a “no” vote, Hiltz replied, “That’s a possibility. Bishops are aware of that. We’re mindful of our need to reach out to those who are going to be hurt or offended by a decision of General Synod.”

Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland steadily closing churches

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Or, to use voguish Ecclesi-Speak, it is repurposing them. If the bishop does manage to find a purpose for his churches it will be a first for the ACoC, an organisation that has been meandering aimlessly in a theological wilderness of solipsistic ecclesiolatry for decades now.

From here:

The Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland will discuss ways to develop greater community partnerships under the possibility of repurposing or divesting themselves of their current inventory of property and buildings.

Bishop Geoff Peddle says this month’s Synod will examine the ongoing process of decided what they keep with them “on the journey forward.”

Four parishes in Trinity South recently closed their churches, choosing instead to amalgamate into the repurposed Epiphany Elementary school in Heart’s Delight-Islington.

Bishop Peddle says they have seven parish churches in the St. John’s area, and they’re working with parishes on how to reshape themselves into the future.

Synod takes place April 21 to the 24 in Mount Pearl and St. John’s.

More here.

Gratias agimus tibi

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From Bach’s Bm mass. Posted only because it is the pinnacle of the musically sublime.

I think Karl Richter’s interpretation of Bach’s choral and orchestral works is the best of the best; I know some think that contemporary, supposedly more authentic, versions are better – but I really don’t care. I don’t suppose Karl Richter does either, since he is dead.