Category Archives: Diocese of BC

The Diocese of B.C. has elected a new bishop

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From here:

The Very Rev. Dr. Logan McMenamie, Dean of Columbia, and rector of Christ Church Cathedral has been elected as the 13th Bishop of the Diocese of British Columbia.

It goes without saying that the Very Rev. Dr. Logan McMenamie is a liberal; even more liberal than his predecessor, James Cowan.

He is presently rector of Christ Church Cathedral and in March of 2013 began to perform same sex blessings in the cathedral:

The congregation at Victoria’s Christ Church Cathedral voted overwhelmingly last week to allow same-sex blessings in the church, more than a decade after Vancouver-area Anglican churches did the same.

“The Anglican church has been talking about this for more than 30 years,” Rev. Logan McMenamie says.

“In some ways it’s disabled us, but it’s an important decision. It’s really a justice issue.”

McMenamie reckons that his parish has lost members because it has been too slow in allowing same sex blessings – that, after all, is what Canadian Anglicans have been clamouring for:

McMenamie laments the parish members he has lost because of the slow changes, but said more progress will be made at upcoming diocese gatherings.

He worries that the diocese he is about to inherit is falling apart, due, he believes, to the insufficiently enthusiastic application of blessing that which the Bible says should not be blessed:

“I know the issues in this diocese and the challenges we face,” he said, citing finances, closing parishes and a lack of young people.

When not pre-occupied with blessing same sex marriages, he concerns himself with other pressing matters such as the environment, homelessness and “spiritual paths” – whatever they are:

He said he has faith in the gifts and skills of the church community to address important issues such as the environment, a focus on relationships with First Peoples, homelessness and spiritual paths.

His agenda appears quite uncontaminated by quaint, outdated and, frankly, embarrassing concepts for those on “spiritual paths”, such as: man is born a sinner, is separated from God by his sin, his only remedy being the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, without which he is destined for hell – the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Diocese of BC: selling churches

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From here:

Nearly four years ago, the Anglican Diocese of B.C. recommended closing 11 churches across Greater Victoria, and selling the property in a bid to reduce debt and reinvigorate itself in the face of shrinking congregations.

Out of the 11, three have sold and two are leased by other organizations. The remainder are open for business as Anglican churches, and no longer face imminent closure, largely by strokes of luck.

“They were put all on the market at once, the ones people wanted to buy immediately are the only reason (others remain),” said Rev. Chris Parsons, speaking for the diocese. “We only wanted to sell a certain amount and re-evaluate what was needed.”

Properties like St. Saviour in Vic West and St. Martin in the Fields in Saanich sold, the former to a dance company and the latter to an evangelical denomination.

St. Columba in Saanich’s Strawberry Vale and All Saints in View Royal have closed as Anglican churches and the space is leased out (St. Alban’s had sold in 2009, prior to the mass sale).

Others once on the block – St. David by the Sea in Cordova Bay, St. Peter’s in Lakehill, St. Philip and St. Mary in Oak Bay and St. Mary in Metchosin – survived by the grace of not being attractive to other organizations or property developers.

[….]

A steadily declining congregational base, the basis for church closures and sales, and internal debates on issues such as same sex marriage still remain a problems for the Anglican Church.

A report from the diocese estimated that in 2009 barely one per cent of B.C. residents identify as Anglican. St. David sees about 40 parishioners on Saturdays and Sundays, and St. Peter’s sees about 60 people between two Sunday services.

St. Mary in Metchosin which is “not … attractive to other organizations or property developers” once housed a flourishing congregation that left the diocese to join ANiC.

The fact that an evangelical denomination bought one of the buildings as, presumably, part of their growth contains a message that will probably be lost on the Diocese of BC.

Bishops Ingham and Cowan gather at the totem pole

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The two bishops were celebrating the transfer of a parish from the Diocese of New Westminster to the Diocese of B.C. Out of the frying pan into the fire.

11-09-2013 4-16-52 PM

Why stand at the foot of a totem pole rather that at the foot of a cross you might be wondering: the cross would be too Christian.

In reading about totem poles, we are repeatedly reminded that they have no religious significance – just like Anglican bishops – and that each animal on the pole may  represent an ancestor; Aboriginals also thought that the totem pole animals could transform themselves into men. All beliefs that, one presumes, bishops Ingham and Cowan think fit comfortably into Canadian Anglicanism.

From here (page 4):

Soon a gathering of people circled around the totem pole that sits in harmony beside St George church. The visitors were warmly welcomed with singing and drumming. Mike Willie spoke of the long history of his people, the totem and the church. Bishop Ingham welcomed everyone into the church for worship and a time of blessing the restored church.

The Diocese of BC conducts its first same-sex blessing

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Bishop James Cowan performed the first same-sex blessing in the Diocese of BC on June 1. As the article below notes, everyone processed into the church immediately following the civil wedding: the distinction between marrying and blessing that dioceses who perform same-sex blessings were so keen to make has, for all practical purposes, already vanished.

I notice that “Draw the circle wide, Draw it wider still” has made a comeback –”a step in drawing wider a circle of welcoming inclusiveness which needs to be drawn wider still.” Or to put it another way: you can’t hide; no matter how fast you run, we are coming for you and, when we find you, you will be included.

SS-blessingIt was a wonderful, exciting, joyous and emotional service which took place in the Church of St. John the Divine, Victoria, on Saturday June 1.

To the magnificent sounds of Sigfrid Karg-Elert’s Marche Triomphale from St. John’s Casavant organ, the large community of parishioners, family and friends processed into the church immediately following the civil wedding of Paul Gillan and Michael King in the church garden.

In a grace-filled landmark service of praise and thanksgiving, Bishop James Cowan conducted the first Blessing of a Same Sex Union to occur in the Diocese of British Columbia.

In his brief homily, the bishop noted the significance of this event in the Anglican church. Referring to the words “Draw the circle wide, Draw it wider still.” from the just-sung hymn “Draw the Circle Wide” (CP 418), Bishop James acknowledged that this service marked but a step in drawing wider a circle of welcoming inclusiveness which needs to be drawn wider still. He paid tribute to the long struggle for equality advanced at many Synods over the years by the parishioners of St. John’s and other churches in the diocese. In this service which included choral Eucharist, Bishop James spoke of God’s covenant with us.

As we gathered together to witness and bless the public commitment of Paul and Michael to each other, the bishop reminded us that all our covenants with family and friends are signs of God’s faithfulness and love, living expressions of God’s promises to us and sources of hope to others.

With joy in our hearts, we celebrated the covenant between Paul and Michael, praying that the life they share will reflect the love of God for the whole world. We also pray that this is just a beginning.

Victoria’s Christ Church Cathedral to begin same-sex blessings

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From here:

The congregation at Victoria’s Christ Church Cathedral voted overwhelmingly last week to allow same-sex blessings in the church, more than a decade after Vancouver-area Anglican churches did the same.

“The Anglican church has been talking about this for more than 30 years,” Rev. Logan McMenamie says.

[….]

McMenamie laments the parish members he has lost because of the slow changes, but said more progress will be made at upcoming diocese gatherings.

Don’t worry about the members you have lost, Rev. Logan McMenamie. Now you are offering same-sex blessings, rejoice in the prospect of the hitherto reluctant hordes that will soon queue outside your doors every Sunday, eager to worship before the altar of your equality deities.

Then again, it may work out more like those who have gone before you in pioneering compulsive inclusion – like the Dioceses of New Westminster and Niagara: you could find yourself scrambling to close dozens of empty churches every year.

Bishop James Cowan announces his retirement

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From here:

Vancouver Island’s top Anglican priest, Bishop James Cowan, has announced his retirement.

Cowan, 61, who has served as bishop of British Columbia for nine years, said he will retire Aug. 31. He made the announcement to the diocesan council, indicating he had already informed the church hierarchy.

Cowan, who is married with two grown sons, said he has no firm plans for his retirement. But he joked to church staff his immediate plans are to rest, perhaps even “sleep for four months.”

In an interview, he said that during his church career, he has always known when it was time to step aside and now seemed like the right time.

“I think it’s time to go,” he said. “There is a need for new leadership, different leadership.”

Due to a decline in attendance, Bishop Cowan has instigated a diocesan “restructuring”, including the closing of eight parishes. He has also approved a liturgy for blessing same sex couples.

Just as he sees no connection between the blessings and the decline, he maintains the stoutly blinkered perspective that, apart from occasional tut-tutting from the few remaining recalcitrant conservatives, the fuss is all but over:

“Now, it’s almost a non-issue in the life of the church,” he said. “Yes, there are people who don’t like it but, by and large, it’s a non-issue.”

Tell that to Justin Welby whose enthronement could be boycotted by bishops representing up to 80% of the communion:

Sources in Africa tell VOL that archbishops from provinces like Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya say that they will continue their policy of not appearing at future primatial meetings if Jefferts Schori is invited and that the Communion will devolve into two distinct Anglican bodies with leaders from the Global South drawing together orthodox Anglicans from across the globe.

St. Matthias Victoria has an interesting church sign

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When St. Matthias in Victoria B.C. voted to join ANiC, 250 people departed and 30 remained, leaving the diocesan residuum in a financially parlous state. Last year, some furniture came to the rescue: a pair of 17-century Chinese chairs that had been collecting dust in the church for decades sold for $630,000 at Sotheby’s.

The Rector, Rev. Robert Arril mused: “this [windfall] will allow us to do some creative things that we couldn’t do before.”

And, true to his word, Rev Arril did a very creative thing with his church sign. He put a rainbow flag on it. Of course, the Diocese of B.C. has approved the blessing of same-sex couples, so a rainbow flag on the sign is actually de rigueur, if not positively humdrum. But the flowing of Arril’s creative juices did not end with a rainbow flag. Not at all!

In an effort to become yet more inclusive – and with the sobering realisation that a rainbow flag did not cause hundreds of homosexuals in committed monogamous relationships to inundate his pews – Rev. Arril has taken inspiration from St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Toronto. He is inviting dogs to Holy Communion.

Fears that a generous pastoral response to the canine community will lead to unwelcome territorial marking – just as well those chairs have gone – uninhibited poochly greetings at the peace, and a general diminishing of respect for the dog collar may not be entirely without foundation. But at least Rev. Robert Arril will finally have an audience whose grasp of theological niceties is such that its members will truly appreciate his sermons. As long as he throws them an occasional bone.

 

St. Matthias

Diocese of B.C. selling churches to pay off debt

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From here:

A year ago, the Anglican Diocese of B.C. made the traumatic and dramatic decision to sell nine Vancouver Island church properties or see its $1.2-million debt escalate further.

The move has turned out to be a blessing, despite the turmoil it caused for members whose families had attended the historic congregations for generations.

Five of the nine church properties have sold, the accumulated debt of the diocese is gone, and its financial future and mission potential have been “helped tremendously” for the next several years, said Chris Pease, the diocese’s asset manager.

Listed at $175,000 to $1.4 million, sale prices came “very close” to asking prices, he said.

In combination with cuts to expenditures, the diocese has paid off its accumulated debt, and will use some of the proceeds “to finance the annual operating deficit until revenues and expenses are back in balance,” Pease said in an email.

What does this really mean?

snake

St. Matthias, Victoria saved by armchairs

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When the congregation of St. Matthias voted to leave the Anglican Church of Canada and join ANiC, they left behind more than the building: two armchairs worth between $180,000 and $250,000 were also abandoned.

The rector of the 30 or so people who remained in the Diocese of BC, Rev. Robert Arril, is rubbing his hands in glee, since the sale of the chairs will enable him “to carry on the work we do”: subverting the Gospel.

St. Hilda’s Church in Oakville also has hidden treasures generously donated by the ANiC congregation that vacated the premises in June. If the Diocese of Niagara searches diligently, it will uncover an antique sump pump secreted in a hole in the basement: it doesn’t pump that well – if at all – but it is a fine early example of F. E. Myers engineering and, as such, could fetch a few needed dollars  for the impoverished Niagara coffers.

From here:

They’d been there, in a quiet spot along the back wall of Victoria’s St. Matthias Anglican Church, for decades — possibly since the parish opened the doors of its new home in the B.C. capital nearly 50 years ago.

But two elegantly designed wooden armchairs, their origin unknown to clergy or even the eldest members of the congregation, may prove to be the salvation of the financially-challenged church — nothing less than a “godsend,” according to St. Matthias’s rector, Rev. Robert Arril.

An antique-furniture buff’s fortuitous visit to the church two years ago for a Bible study session has led to the identification of the chairs as rare and valuable Qing dynasty treasures, expertly crafted in 17th-century China before making their way somehow — thanks to a long-forgotten donor evidently unaware of their significance — to the Vancouver Island parish.

Now, a church, which has struggled to survive since a damaging schism over same-sex marriage in 2009, is poised for a potential windfall when the chairs are auctioned next month in New York, where Sotheby’s expects the matching set to fetch as much as a quarter of a million dollars at a Sept. 11 sale of Chinese ceramics and works of art.

“It’s a remarkable discovery — such a fantastic turn of events,” Arril told Postmedia News. “It’s very significant for us as a struggling congregation, very meaningful. It will allow us to carry on the work we do.”

[….]

The two-chair set has an estimated value of between $180,000 and $250,000 US, according to Sotheby’s. A similar pair of 17th-century chairs from China sold earlier this year at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong for $282,000.

Rev. Logan McMenamie: saving the salmon

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There was a time – I’m almost old enough to remember it – when the pulpit of the Anglican church was used to preach on the salvation of souls; progress marches ever on, so now the message is the salvation of salmon.

Rev. Logan McMenamie thinks the Northern Gateway pipeline is a bad idea because it doesn’t respect the “interconnectedness of living things”, the “sanctity of the earth” – and it would disturb spawning salmon.

I will make the bold assumption that the worthy Reverend has not taken to heart Henry David Thoreau’s advice found in Walden: he doesn’t travel everywhere on foot. In which case he must fill his automobile with petroleum distillate – from Saudi Arabia, presumably, since he has no use for Canadian oil. Saudi Arabia, home of “interconnectedness of living things” pipelines, not to mention oppression of women, homosexuals and anyone who doesn’t like Islam – but then, who cares about them, they are people not salmon.

All of which makes Rev. Logan McMenamie, Dean of Columbia and Rector of Christ Church Cathedral – yes, you’ve guessed it – a hypocrite.

From here:

Churches take pipeline views into the pulpit

Rev. Logan McMenamie is speaking out against the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, saying it doesn’t respect the interconnectedness of living things.

McMenamie, of Christ Church Cathedral on Burdett Avenue, is one of many religious leaders across Canada focusing on the pipeline – something McMenamie says concerns “the sanctity of the Earth.”

“What I preached on was my own perspective,” he said of his Sunday sermon, adding that he doesn’t speak on behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada. “I think [the sermon] resonated with many in the congregation.”

He’s not alone in bringing the debate to a religious forum. On Tuesday, the United Church of Canada decided to publicly oppose the project.

The pipeline proposed by Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. would do severe environmental damage, traversing waterways where salmon spawn, said Ray Jones, the chair of the church’s aboriginal ministries council. And the potential for an oil spill in the port of Kitimat is very real, he said.