Author Archives: David

Anglican Church of Canada is looking for radical solutions

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The problem is the church is running out of money. The solution is a new committee.

During the years I’ve been attending an Anglican church, committees have come and gone leaving little behind them but a disagreeable whiff of empty posturing, very similar to IBM committee meetings that I attended during what passes for my career. The ecclesiastical version will, no doubt, be far more effective in inducing crippling ennui, since it will be populated by a gaggle of theologians, bishops and clergy whose tenuous grip on reality is summed up by this sentence in the article below: “The Communion has not split.”

Archbishop Linda Nicholls is suggesting “finding potentially radical solutions”. Before anyone rashly jumps to the conclusion that the Anglican Church of Canada is about to try Christianity to halt its dramatic decline, I refer you to another article, published at the same time, where Nicholls affirm[s] the dignity of LGBTQ+ people and their place in the church – which, in translation, means she affirms same-sex activity. And there is nothing less radical than that.

From here:

The church may soon have a new commission tasked with finding potentially “radical solutions” to the demographic and financial challenges that now face it, according to a proposal introduced by Archbishop Linda Nicholls, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, in her opening statement to the Council of General Synod (CoGS) March 2.

Nicholls said a new strategy would be needed for the church to go forward into the post-pandemic world. It will need to respond to challenges including financial pressure “as parishes struggle to sustain full-time or part-time stipendiary ministry and dioceses struggle to meet multiple responsibilities at local, regional and national levels.” The national church, on the other hand, is facing the challenge of supporting ministry in regions where donations do not cover expenses, she said. Meanwhile, statistics show the church’s membership is aging and declining. Cultural shifts in Canadian society and a newly redefined relationship with the Indigenous church, she said, also demand new ideas.

[…….]

But in fact, Nicholls said, “the Communion remains committed to walking together—some at a great distance, others working more closely together.

“The Communion has not split.”

Queer Evensong at Holy Trinity Anglican Church Winnipeg

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The Queer Evensong is being organised by Pastor Theo Robinson, who is transgender and Rev Andrew Rampton, a homosexual.

During the COVID panic we were introduced to a new expression – which I rapidly came to loath – The New Normal. The New Normal for ACoC parishes is a Queer Evensong run by a transgender and a homosexual.

From here:

Creating a safe place to worship for LGBTTQ+ people is the goal of a service Sunday in downtown Winnipeg.

The service — possibly the first of its kind in the province — is being organized by Theo Robinson, a transgender male and regional pastor for the Interlake Shared Ministry, and Andrew Rampton, rector at Holy Trinity Anglican Church.

Queer Evensong starts at 5 p.m. at Holy Trinity (256 Smith St.).

Robinson serves churches in Selkirk, Teulon, Arborg, Lundar and Riverton through the ministry, which is operated jointly by the Anglican Diocese of Rupert’s Land and the Manitoba and Northwest Ontario Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. He came up with the idea because queer people often “don’t feel safe” in a church context.

For those of you whose wokeness remains unsated by a Queer Evensong, Holy Trinity is also offering “From the Religion of Whiteness to Religion Otherwise”, a balm to sooth the nerves of all who wallow in guilty whiteness. In case you didn’t know, whiteness is a religion:

This Newcombe Lecture (presented by the department of Religion and Culture at the University of Winnipeg) engages cultural theorist W.E.B. Du Bois’ idea that Whiteness (another word for which is “settlerism”) is a religion–indeed, that it is apocalyptic cosmology. Du Bois’ creative writing will be considered for the understanding it advances of Blackness as postapocalyptic poetic living–an alternate, even fugitive way of being with the earth that hosts new relationalities, new socialities after Whiteness, or religion otherwise.

Why, I wonder, is the Anglican Church of Canada headed for extinction by 2040? It’s a mystery.

Our Nory in heaven

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The Church of England is thinking – yes, I know, an oxymoron, but bear with me – of using gender neutral words when referring to God. Thus “Nory” is a “name which is derived from the “no” and “ry” in “non-binary”. It may work for ze, but does it work for God?

Justin Welby thinks (there I go again, another oxymoron) it might:

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the religious head of the church, previously said that “God is not male or female” or “definable.”

“All human language about God is inadequate and to some degree metaphorical,” he said in 2018.

More waffle from Archbishop Linda Nicholls on euthanasia

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In 2016 Canada gave the terminally ill the choice to be euthanised.

In 2021 the offer was extended to those who were not terminally ill but have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” including “psychological suffering that is intolerable”. And, of course, you have to “be eligible for health care services in Canada”, because suicide, like abortion, has become health care.

Mental illness is not considered to be intolerable psychological suffering – yet. It is liable to fall into that category later this year, along with an opportunity for mature minors to take up the invitation if they find themselves overburdened by the stresses and strains of the human condition.

Since life and death is a large part of the business of the church, one might be forgiven for expecting it to have a clear and definitive position on all this. Alas not.

Anglican Primate Linda Nicholl’s manages to muster up some concern about Canada’s eagerness to peddle health-care-death, but that’s about as far as she goes. Perhaps less energy expended in lamenting the climate emergency – or whatever it’s called this week – and more in denouncing our abortion and euthanasia death cults would be more… oh, I don’t know – prophetic.

Read it all here:

I am concerned about these potential extensions of MAID eligibility and the questions they raise. How do we ensure that every individual and family has what is needed to make an informed and accessible choice? In the face of illnesses or challenging disabilities it may be easy to see MAID as a preferable option, especially as it is less costly than providing the community supports that improve quality of life in its last stages, making access to mental health supports readily available, increasing palliative care accessibility and ensuring a circle of support for those whose lives are challenging physically, emotionally or mentally.

My prayer is that we will be willing to work for all that makes life a gift and blessing so that choices are not limited by fear or lack of support. Honest discussion in parishes about MAID are needed to explore the implications of the current change in legislation and any future ones for individuals, families and communities. Pastoral support is essential in whatever path is chosen. And in all aspects, as we walk in the midst of the realities of suffering, we are called in humility to mercy and compassion in the light of God’s love.

In the Diocese of BC orthodox Christianity is Christo-Fascism

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In the Diocese of B.C., it seems that if you are a Christian who thinks that men having sex with other men is not a good idea or you think encouraging children to believe that they were assigned the wrong body is child abuse, you are a Christo-Fascist, a white supremacist and a member of a hate group.

You also refuse to wear a mask (unlike Antifa enthusiasts), are an anti-vaxxer, antisemitic and Islamophobic. There are probably a few more phobias you are guilty of, all of which are explained in more detail that sanity can bear in a diocesan missive here:

In front of the BC legislature on many Saturdays over the past year, you would see people holding up signs about freedom, many of them white Christian men and women. If you looked or listened closely, you would also hear messages about hate. 

Christo fascism is on the rise in Canada. By Christo fascism, I mean predominantly white Christian groups in Canada seeking to impose their religious views, including discrimination of marginalized groups of people, upon the wider public. This includes actively opposing polices of queer inclusion at public institutions such as schools, universities, health clinics and legislative bodies, especially through undemocratic means. Tactics include intimidation, harassment, threat of violence, and seeking to revoke or repeal charter freedoms of other Canadians. These groups that often wave the flag of individual and religious freedom are also among the first to want to revoke freedoms of groups of people they find undesirable, falling outside of the norms of an extremist Christian faith. 

White supremacists and hate groups have established a foothold in Canadian churches, including hate groups disguised as public interest groups. For example, so-called groups of concerned citizens who allege trans kids are victims of child abuse, simply for falling outside the gender norms these extremist Christian groups prescribe. A group will say they are concerned and then show up en masse protesting actual children who are exercising their freedoms simply to exist. Such protests have happened recently in Vancouver. 

Anglican Church of Canada projects deficits

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The deficits are expected to be: $495,000 in 2024, $1.45 million in 2025, $460,000 in 2026 and $524,000 in 2027.

Income from diocesan contributions is projected to fall from $7.25 million in 2021 to $6.93 million in 2024.

The Anglican Church of Canada likes to think of itself as identifying with the poor. This should help.

Read all about it here:

The Anglican Church of Canada’s national office is forecast to have a balanced budget this year—but substantial deficits and program cuts are likely in the years to follow, documents prepared for the November meeting of Council of Synod (CoGS) state.

The budget for 2023 is expected to have a modest surplus of $43,000, according to a budget document prepared for CoGS and dated Oct. 27. This includes the projected cost of $791,900 for the meeting of General Synod planned for the summer, as well as a gathering of Sacred Circle planned in the spring. To balance its budget, the church will use just over $1 million in funds that were set aside in previous years to cover these expenses, General Synod treasurer Amal Attia told CoGS. The national church was expected to have a similarly modest surplus in 2022, she said.

Prospects for coming years, however, as revenues are expected to fall, are not as rosy. The Oct. 27 document forecasts a deficit of $495,000 in 2024, $1.45 million in 2025, $460,000 in 2026 and $524,000 in 2027, and a budget narrative predicts cuts at Church House.

“Years 2023 to 2027 in the trend indicate that in the absence of increased revenue, program cuts will likely be necessary,” it states.

The budget projection shows expected revenues from diocesan contributions—by far the largest element of the national office’s revenues—falling from 2021’s $7.25 million to $6.93 million in 2024, and then staying at $6.93 million until 2027, the last year covered by the projection.

Anglican Church of Canada membership falling at 10% per year

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In 2019, the church’s statistics and research officer, Canon Neil Elliot, predicted that the Anglican Church of Canada would cease to exist to exist in 2040. The prediction was based on a yearly attrition of 2.5%. Members are now leaving at the rate of 10% per year, making the church’s demise in 2040 look optimistic.

The reasons we are given for the accelerated decline are COVID – of course – and an overall de-Christianising of Canada. These are both legitimate points.

Notably absent from the diagnosis of the malaise is any hint of self-refection on the possibility that the Anglican church may have taken a wrong turn at some point. That its attempts at being more worldly than the world, gayer than Peter Tatchell, more trans than Caitlyn Jenner and altogether queerer than TNT Men cavorting at the Toronto Pride Parade, just isn’t working.

The whole thing is worth a read at The Journal:

The Anglican Church of Canada is shrinking faster than it was in the years before a much-discussed 2019 report, recently collected data suggest.

According to the church’s statistics and research officer, Canon Neil Elliot, metrics of church size including electoral rolls and distinct identifiable donation sources show membership dropping by about 10 per cent nationwide during 2020, and prelimary data suggest a similar decrease in 2021.

The findings follow Elliot’s 2019 extrapolation, presented to the Council of General Synod (CoGS) that year, which projected that if the church’s rate of membership loss continued there would be no one left by the year 2040. But the rate of decline during the pandemic years is considerably higher than the membership loss of around 2.5 per cent per year the church experienced in the years leading up to COVID-19, Elliot says. The precise reasons for this accelerated decline are unclear, he adds.

Some church leaders, however, say there’s more to the church than the number of its members—and numeric decline is no reason for despair.

“The church absolutely will be smaller, we absolutely know that … I think it’s too simplistic to simply say we’re dying. I think we’re going through an age of transformation,” says Peter Misiaszek, director of stewardship for the diocese of Toronto. “And that age of transformation will mean fewer parishes, but hopefully healthier parishes.”

Elliot adds that it’s important not to blame the shrinking of the church on anything its clergy or parishioners are doing—or failing to do. Rather, he describes the phenomenon as part of a “spiritual climate change,” which is affecting not just the Anglican church, but religious communities across North America and Europe, too.

A climate change Advent

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The two most important events in human history are God’s arrival on earth in human form as a baby at Christmas and his bodily resurrection at Easter.

During Advent, we await an event whose transcendent significance changes every life it truly touches, not just for a lifetime, but for eternity.

How can one possibly reduce this to the mundane, the humdrum, the here-and now? Impossible for most, I should think. But not for an Anglican bishop. Here we have the bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, Sam Rose (he/him) tagging Advent with Climate Change.

He is quoting bishop Nicholas Holtam (sadly lacking pronouns) who, we can only assume, also spends his time diligently reducing Christianity to temporal trifles. He warns anyone willing to listen (almost no one): “We can run headlong into disaster”. And who better to know than Anglican bishops who have had so much experience running their own churches headlong into disaster?