The best part about a snowstorm is when it’s over and the sun comes out.
After the storm
4
A carbon fast for Lent
The trendy faction of the Anglican Communion is suggesting a “carbon fast” for Lent:
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has invited Anglicans around the globe to join him in a Carbon Fast for Lent.
This is excellent news, as I’ve just learned that earthworms are a significant contributor to global warming.
No matter how strong the temptation to the contrary, I will be eschewing all contact with carbon spewing earthworms this Lent.
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The irresistible Anglican momentum towards the blessing of same-sex couples
A recent Anglican gathering in Auckland New Zealand spent most of its time pondering the various possible combinations of sexual activity between humans, while stoutly maintaining that sex is unimportant in the life of the church.
As an aside, it seems that in New Zealand at least, Indaba is out and hui is in. Considering the topic that dominated the hui, the urban definition might be more fitting.
You can read a summary of the proceedings here; in such a wealth of nonsense, it is difficult to single out a particular part for special attention. But, in discussing her gay brethren, there is this from Bishop Victoria Matthews:
“It is possible, I believe, to argue that a blessed union of man and woman or really any two or more people is able to bear fruit in a number of different ways.
Clearly, Victoria Matthews – who is Canadian – wants to disabuse anyone of the illusion that the Anglican pansexuality juggernaut will stop at blessing same-sex couples. Next will come the blessing of polyamorous relationships – and who knows what after that. Yes, Victoria, there is a slippery slope.
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St. Matthias Victoria has an interesting church sign
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.
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Justin Welby: marriage is between a man and a woman
From here:
The new Archbishop of Canterbury will today issue a challenge to David Cameron by voicing opposition to gay marriage on the eve of the first parliamentary vote on the controversial new law.
In his first official day as leader of the Church of England, the Rt Rev Justin Welby is expected to say that marriage should remain “between a man and a woman”.
As MPs prepare for the vote on gay marriage tomorrow, Bishop Welby will give his first interviews after being officially confirmed in the post at a ceremony in St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
“If asked, he will say that marriage is between a man and a woman, and always has been,” a source close to Bishop Welby said last night, adding that the Archbishop was expecting to be asked for his views and had prepared his response.
Justin Welby can challenge David Cameron until the cows come home and it won’t make any difference. Challenging the government is easy for an Anglican bishop because no-one in the government cares, is listening or believes it will make a whit of difference. Archbishops of Canterbury have been whining at governments for centuries about one thing or another – to no effect other than to create the illusion that they are busy doing something. What is less easy – and more relevant for the church – is a challenge to the North American bishops who promote homosexual marriage.
Perhaps Welby is just practicing on David Cameron before getting down to the real business of sorting out the likes of Katharine Jefferts-Schori and Fred Hiltz; I’m not particularly optimistic that that is the case, though.
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Ahmadinejad in space
Iran, having, allegedly sent a monkey into space, is looking for its next candidate. In a sacrificial gesture, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has offered himself as the next subject – to benefit science, his country and mankind.
As Ahmadinejad takes his place floating 72 miles aloft, he will gain the stature that hitherto has eluded him, the rest of the simian community will heave a collective sigh of relief, Iran’s citizens will take to the streets rejoicing, and other Islamic leaders will have an inspiring example to emulate.
It is a win-win situation.
From here:
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he is willing to be the first Iranian astronaut to be sent into space.
“I’m ready to be the first Iranian to sacrifice myself for our country’s scientists,” he said in an address to space scientists in Tehran, according to the official IRNA news agency.
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Richard Dawkins on Anglicanism: the most unkindest cut of all
There can be little that is more insulting to a belief system than to be a champion for its antithesis while claiming to be a product of its cultural charm.
In his debate with Rowan Williams, Richard Dawkins has restated that he is “a cultural Anglican”, implying that Anglicanism bears no relation to Christianity – which Dawkins hates – whatsoever. In Dawkins’ eyes and in the eyes of many others, to be Anglican is nothing more than to maintain a veneer of benign, doddering, civilising gentility over a society that openly ridicules what it once stood for.
From here:
Early in his address, Prof Dawkins made a provocative comparison between Christian and Islamic traditions, describing himself as a ”cultural Anglican”.
”I’m grateful, by the way, to be a cultural Anglican when you think of the competition,” he added.
”If I were a cultural Muslim, I would have something to say about that faith’s appalling attitude to women and various other moral points.”
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Today is World Hijab Day
The idea is that if non-Muslim women wear a hijab for a day, for reasons that are not entirely explained, we will have: “Better awareness, greater understanding and a peaceful world.”
So ladies, don your hijabs and prepare to usher in a halcyon era of calm and tranquillity as male concuspience – the root of all conflict – is quenched by the absence of visible female hair. It is the obvious solution for peace in the Middle East. It should work: looking at this, already I feel waves of libido sapping ataraxia overwhelming me:
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Canadian Anglican Primate, Fred Hiltz, preaches at St. John’s Shaughnessy
Fred Hiltz visited the three ex-ANiC parishes in the Diocese of New Westminster this weekend in order to boost the morale of the diminished diocesan congregations.
At St. John’s Shaughnessy, he begins by giving his views on what has happened. To summarise:
He is aware of the pain that the congregation felt on seeing parishioners leave; he doesn’t mention that 800 left and 40 stayed, nor that most of the “pain” was experienced by the 800 whose building was seized by the diocese.
Schism wounds the body of Christ. Hiltz fails to mention that his bishop, Michael Ingham, was the primary instigator of the schism when he proceeded with same-sex blessings even after primates representing the bulk of the Anglican communion begged him not to.
The whole experience has been stressful. Quite right: 40 people maintaining a building built for 800 is stressful – and expensive.
The congregation at St. John’s – all 40 members – have remained “steadfast”, an attribute that has “not gone unnoticed” and is “exemplary”. Since the congregation is costing the diocese $20,000 per month to maintain, it could scarcely go unnoticed and if it is, indeed, “exemplary”, the ACoC will be bankrupt even sooner than my most optimistic prognostications.
Here is the audio of the introduction:
Further into the sermon, Hiltz talks about his view of the place of Scripture in the Anglican Church of Canada. The Scriptures have a “central place” in the church”, but are subject to the “contemporary cultural context in which they are heard”. Thus, Africa’s “cultural context” makes homosexual activity sinful, while Vancouver’s makes it wholesome – all of which makes Scripture nonsense:
Further on, Hiltz tells us that “in sexuality debates in the church, the one piece we keep missing is context, pastoral context. Who are the people God is calling us to serve?” The answer to this rhetorical question appears to be: those in a homosexual lifestyle – by affirming their lifestyle as holy.
Incurable insomniacs can listen to the entire sermon here:
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Bishop Michael Ingham desperately seeking a postmodern balance
Michael Ingham is going to give a talk called “The Postmodern Balance: Evangelical, Catholic, Liberal” at St. Matthew’s Abbotsford on January 29th.
St. Matthew’s Abbotsford is one of the parishes whose property was seized by the Diocese of New Westminster when the congregation joined ANiC. The ejected congregation was predominantly evangelical, an irony that probably won’t be explored in Ingham’s talk.
Ingham’s choice of St. Matthew’s from which to convince his listeners that he is interested in maintaining balance is undoubtedly based on the principle that if a lie is sufficiently outrageous, people will think it impossible to be emanating from the hallowed lips of a bishop – and so will be conned into believing it true.