Ottawa Day 3

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The Senate Chamber:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe Welsh Dragon in the ceiling. very proper:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe library where photos are Not Allowed. I was told off:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAFalun Dafa on the front lawn:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASt. Patrick’s Basilica:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe Anglican Church of Canada Cathedral which looks a little dilapidated on the outside:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd the Office of the Bishop appears to have been moved to a rented container:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABut to be serious for a moment – really – a giant apartment block is sandwiched between the cathedral and the diocesan offices:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThings are a little more serene inside the cathedral:

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Ottawa Day 2

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERANotre Dame Cathedral Basilica:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThis may just look like a giant metal spider but, actually, it’s art; it must be – it cost taxpayers $3M:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASoaking in the sun:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAUS ambassador’s house:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAA smattering of protesters and their signs:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe Museum of Canadian History with its inverted canoe shaped roof

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Anglican Church of Canada’s Marriage Canon Commission accused of bias – and they’ve barely begun

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From here:

In a progress report to the Council of General Synod (CoGS) on the early work of the Commission on the Marriage Canon, chair Canon Robert Falby, noted that there had been “some controversy” over the membership of the committee after it was announced in early 2014.

Critics have said that the commission does not have a balance of members who are both for and against the resolution passed at General Synod 2013, which asked CoGS to prepare and present a motion to change the church’s Canon 21 on marriage “to allow the marriage of same-sex couples in the same way as opposite-sex couples” prior to the next General Synod in 2016.

In fact, Bishop Larry Robertson of the diocese of Yukon voiced those concerns, to CoGS meeting in Mississauga on May 3.

The only surprising thing about this, is that there is an extant ACoC clergyman naïve enough to believe that the Marriage Canon Commission is anything other than a decoy to lull a few remaining orthodox clerics into a mental torpor in preparation for the predestined outcome of the marriage canon vote in 2016 and 2019.

Bishop Gene Robinson announces his divorce

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From here:

RNS CIVIL UNIONBishop Gene Robinson, whose 2003 election as the first openly gay Episcopal bishop rocked Anglican Communion, has announced his divorce from his longtime partner and husband.

[….]

“As you can imagine, this is a difficult time for us — not a decision entered into lightly or without much counseling,” Robinson wrote in a letter. “We ask for your prayers, that the love and care for each other that has characterized our relationship for a quarter century will continue in the difficult days ahead.”

Why, I wonder, is the other partner in an all male marriage often referred to as the “husband”, yielding a relationship with two husbands? Why isn’t one of them a wife? The word “husband” comes from the Old Norse word hūsbōndi, meaning “master of a house”. The muddle is undoubtedly a corollary of the more profound confusion of two men pretending to be married: a marriage can’t have two men and a house can’t have two masters.

Only in the Anglican Church of Canada: the porous-edge Cathedral and the transgender indie singer

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Christ Church Cathedral in the Diocese of Montreal has developed porous edges. I had to curb my rejoicing at the news that the Cathedral is taking on water and will soon be a fitting metaphor for the church to which it belongs – a decrepit heap of rubble – because that’s not what having porous edges means in Anglican-speak.

The astute Rev. Rhonda Waters has concluded that up until now, people didn’t come to church because they couldn’t find the door; hence the attraction of a church with porous edges – we can all ooze through the walls.

To make this even more enticing, the Cathedral recently screened a musical documentary about “a transgender indie singer who grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home on the Canadian prairie.” It’s called My Prairie Home; other, less pastorally sensitive authors than I might have yielded to the temptation to replace the trailing “e” with a different vowel.

From here (page 3):

People are no longer familiar with churches and what goes on in them, quite the opposite in fact. As a result,we need to create edges that allow people to peek inside, to slip in and out at their own pace, to test our spaces and our communities without an invitation and without a commitment.

[….]

My Prairie Home, a porous-edge event designed not only to create an opportunity for people to check us out but maybe to surprise them as well. My Prairie Home is a musical documentary about Rae Spoon, a transgender indie singer who grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home on the Canadian prairie.

Anglican Church of Canada wants to know what you think about a proposed change to the marriage canon

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The Anglican Church of Canada’s recently formed Commission on the Marriage Canon wants to know what you think about changing canon law to permit same-sex couples to marry in the church. To make submissions, you have to be member of the ACoC (I feel so excluded) so, if you are, let them know what you think. Apparently, they are obligated to publish all submissions as long as they don’t contain anything “objectionable”; I’m sure no one reading this would say anything objectionable.

I am reasonably certain of two things: 1) it’s going to happen no matter what anyone says; 2) thousands of words will be penned in an effort to obscure the truth of 1).

If I were of a cynical disposition, I might make the point that by submitting opinions that run contrary to the inevitable, you will merely be granting the commission the smug satisfaction of employing the well rehearsed strategy of declaring that they listened to diverse opinions – before ignoring those they didn’t like.

Submissions are made by filling out the form here.

From here:

Input from members of the Anglican Church of Canada is vital as the church enters this time of discernment. Commission chair, Canon Robert Falby, encourages broad participation in this process. “Commission members are aware of the strong feelings that many Anglicans have on the issues which it is looking at and we hope that we will receive input which reflects that spectrum.”

Submissions are welcome in both written and video form and must include the author’s name, parish or institution, diocese, and contact details. All of the commissioners will read or view each submission as they prepare their report.

The terms of reference for the Commission on the Marriage Canon require that all submissions to the Commission be posted on the national church’s website (www.anglican.ca). They will be reviewed prior to posting on the national church’s website. Submissions failing to conform to the Anglican Church of Canada’s existing code of conduct for online contributions will not be posted. Those making such submissions will be contacted and invited to revise their content accordingly.

Bishop of Montreal, having noted an objection to the ordination of an actively homosexual candidate, proceeds anyway

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The Bishop of Montreal, Barry Clarke, recently ordained Alain Brosseau, a candidate  who is in a same-sex relationship with Peter Wessel. A number of clergy and laity objected to the ordination, an objection that, predictably, was ignored by the bishop. In Anglican jargon, what the bishop did is known as listening.

The objectors must have known that their statement would have no effect because they have tried it before with the same result; perhaps the time has come for more radical action.

From here (page 7):

As has happened at several recent previous ordinations of candidates with same-sex partners, Bishop Barry Clarke noted briefly at the March30 ordination that he had received an objection to the ordination of one of the candidates but was proceeding in the light of his own reflections and decisions of the diocesan synod.

The announcement was greeted by applause from a number of those at the well attended ordination service.

The objection was to the ordination of Rev. Alain Brosseau (whose partner, Peter Wessel, read the lesson,Peter 5:1-4, at the ordination service).

The objection, not read out at the service, was also similar to ones filed on earlier occasions. It was signed by Rev. Nick Brotherwood on behalf of three other clergy and seven lay people.(Previous objections were signed by six clergy.)

It says in part: “We, the undersigned laity and clergy, understand that one of the candidates for ordination to the presbyterate on March30th is in a sexually-active, same-gender relationship. We believe such relationships to be incompatible with scripture, and, when they are also Civil Marriages, with our Marriage Canon, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. We believe such relationships are also inconsistent with the received tradition of the Church Catholic, as well as resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference. Proceeding with such ordinations would not respect the previous Archbishop of Canterbury’s request for gracious restraint in these matters for the sake of the unity of the whole Church.

“For these reasons we believe the manner of life of the candidate so described to be unsuitable for the exercise of this ministry, and respectfully ask you not to proceed with his ordination.”

The letter was signed by Nick Brotherwood on behalf of Linda Faith Chalk, John and Diane Degrace,Bruce Glencross, Marilyn Miles, Stan and Joan Pepler, Roger Spack, Susan Wallet and Tim Wiebe.

African bishops concerned about clergy flouting a ban on same-sex weddings

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From here:

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was last night facing mounting pressure to crack down on clergy who marry their gay partners – as the threat of a split in the Anglican Church grew.

A powerful group of conservative African Archbishops said they were ‘deeply troubled’ by liberal Western attitudes towards homosexuality and that Church of England clerics were flouting a ban on same-sex weddings.

The Archbishops said it was ‘very concerning’ that the ban was being ‘openly disregarded’ and added: ‘We look to the Church of England to give clear leadership as moral confusion about the status of marriage [in England] deepens.’

I’m sure the GAFCON bishops know this already, but looking to the Church of England to provide moral leadership on the nature of marriage is going to be as fruitful as asking a madam to elaborate on the virtues of chastity.

Diocese of Brandon sues Bishop’s son

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Noah Njegovan, the son of the Bishop of Brandon, was arraigned on fraud charges in April 2013. In March 2014, the charges were withdrawn but now the Diocese of Brandon is suing Njegovan for $350,000.

The bishop, Jim Njegovan, attempted to endear himself to his congregations by forbidding them from distributing the Anglican Planet, by removing a portrait of his predecessor Bishop Malcolm Harding from the cathedral and informing him that, because he had joined ANiC, “he could no longer exercise any ordained ministerial function within the Church and not use ministerial titles or wear clerical vesture.” So much for inclusion and diversity. As it turns out, it seems that the bishop would have been better off diverting some of his energies into explaining to his son why embezzling from one’s employer is a career limiting endeavour.

From here:

The Anglican Diocese of Brandon is suing a priest in a bid to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly embezzled using a credit card.

According to a statement of claim recently filed in Brandon Court of Queen’s Bench, the diocese is suing Noah Njegovan for $350,000, plus other damages and costs.