From Here

This brings me to our present financial position, and the request I am making around the passing of the 2009 Budget. The diocese faces significant financial challenges that must be addressed soon to ensure that we can continue to meet our obligations around payroll and our standing with the bank.  The current pressure on cash flow in 2008 is the result of costs associated with the breakaway parishes including legal, administrative and operating expenses, significant historical, outstanding parish receivables, return on investments below our budgeted figures, increasing operating deficits associated with Cathedral Place, and the size of the deficits incurred by the diocese over the past two years.

It is with no small sense of satisfaction that, after over 30 years of seeing St. Hilda’s diocesan assessment being at best flushed down the toilet and at worst being used to oppose the gospel, having broken free of the Diocese, we are now contributing to its financial downfall.

My dear friends, here is the bottom line: the status quo is no longer an option both in terms of how we function as parishes and how we function as a diocese. Let us be united in this firm commitment that we are moving well beyond a position of mere survival and passionate

Let me see, we’ve had the moribund Anglicans in Mission, Decade of Evangelism and Survive and Thrive. Now we have: the Status Quo is No Longer an Option. That should do it; I can’t think why no-one came up with that before.

Over the past several months, I have endeavoured to prayerfully and faithfully wrestle with these two critical duties of a bishop in the Church and at times dealing with the issue of the blessing of same sex unions has felt like a monumental task and a heavy burden to bear.  How do I keep in balance the responsibility I feel toward those who have elected me as their bishop, while at the same time remaining faithful and loyal to the members of our National Church and the Anglican Communion?    So many times I have prayed for the wisdom of Solomon around this issue and I continue to wait upon God for a more complete answer.

The interesting point here is that Bird obviously thinks that those who elected him as bishop did so with the expectation that he would proceed with same-sex blessings; he sounds like  someone whose strings are being pulled. As you can see (2nd from the left), he is somewhat shorter than the average cleric; this, of course is a distinct advantage for Puppet Bishops.

I am fully aware that some on both sides of the issue will see this as a lack of wise leadership on my part and I accept that.  Having consulted as widely as possible, across our own diocese, across our country, at the House of Bishops (including many discussions with our Primate), and of course at Lambeth, I believe that I have come to a better understanding of what is at stake and what the implications are of the decisions we make at this critical period in the history of our Church.

I don’t remember Solomon accepting the epithet of Unwise Leader from others, so one assumes that Bird’s prayer was not answered. But it is a relief to know that at least he realises what is at stake: no more invitations to Lambeth; shunned by most of the world’s Anglicans; massive defections; bankruptcy. I wonder where he is getting his advice?

For the Anglican Church of Canada words no longer mean – I was going to say “what they used to mean” – anything at all. To attempt to assign meaning to the drivel that Bird and Hiltz spew forth is an invitation to join them in the land where language and ideas no longer have any connection.
From the Anglican Journal

“As is the case with our brother and sister Anglicans in the dioceses of Montreal and Ottawa, I believe we are among those who have been called by God to speak with a prophetic voice on this subject,” Bishop Bird said in a letter issued on the eve of the diocesan synod scheduled Nov. 7 to 8 in Hamilton, Ont.

“I, therefore, intend to ask for a rite to be developed for the blessing of same-sex couples who have been civilly married, along with a process to enable these blessings to take place that will at the same time honour the diversity of tradition and theology that exists across Niagara,” he said.
Bishop Bird said it is his hope that the process will “move ahead as expeditiously as possible and that I will be in a position to report back to the diocese within the next few months.” He assured, however, that all clergy and all parishes would be “fully free to follow their own conscience on this matter, as and when we are able to move forward.”

Bishop Bird’s announcement came in the heels of a recent statement issued by the house of bishops that a “large majority” of its members could affirm “a continued commitment to the greatest extent possible” to a two-year moratorium on the blessing of same-sex unions, while recognizing that this would pose difficulty for some dioceses “that in conscience have made decisions on these matters.” They also said they would accept the request made at the recent Lambeth Conference of bishops for moratoriums on the ordination of gay bishops in same-sex relationships and on cross-border interventions.

And here is an excerpt from That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis, where God confounds the language of the Enemy:

Banquet at Belbury
To different members of the audience the change came differently. To Frost it began at the moment when he heard Jules end a sentence with the words ” as gross an anachronism as to trust to calvary for salvation in modern war”. Cavalry, thought Frost. Why couldn’t the fool mind what he was saying. Perhaps-but hallo! what was this? Jules seemed to be saying that the future density of mankind depended on the implosion of the horses of Nature. ” He’s drunk,” thought Frost. Then, crystal clear in articulation, beyond all possibility of mistake, came ” The madrigore of verjuice must be talthibianised.”
Wither was slower to notice what was happening. He had never expected the speech to have any meaning as a whole, and for a long time the familiar catchwords rolled on in a manner which did not disturb the expectation of his ear. Then he thought: “Come! That’s going too far. Even they must see that you can’t talk about accepting the challenge of the past by throwing down the gauntlet of the future.” He looked cautiously down the room. All was well. But it wouldn’t be if Jules didn’t sit down pretty soon. In that last sentence there were surely words he didn’t know. What the deuce did he mean by aholibate? He looked down the room again. They were attending too much, always a bad sign. Then came the sentence, ” The surrogates esemplanted in a continual of porous variations.”

Anyone see much difference? No? I thought not.

Dear diocese, I know you are $777,000 in the hole, but perhaps you should cut back on Bishop Michael Bird’s salary a bit so you can pay your bills at St. Hilda’s.

These bills:

Brian Ruttan, the priest in charge at St. Hilda’s, in order to boost his Sunday morning congregation over the zero mark, took out a large ad in the Oakville Beaver. This was remarkably successful: the next Sunday Brian had a congregation of one. The only problem is, he didn’t pay the Beaver, so now the real ANiC St. Hilda’s – which has had a long standing relationship with the paper – is receiving repeated requests for payment. Come on, Bri, pay up.

St. Hilda’s proper (ANiC) has to rent space for its Sunday morning worship. The judge in the last court appearance ordered that the Diocese of Niagara and St. Hilda’s must share the building costs; to this day, the diocese has paid nothing to contribute to the running of the building. Which means St. Hilda’s proper has not only to fork out for rental space Sunday mornings, but also pay to keep a nice clean building for the diocese to occupy – with its congregation of zero.

Related posts Here and Here