Anglicans fleeing the vortex of negativity

Posted on by
6

A recent report on the catastrophic decline in the Anglican Church of Canada should not draw Canadian Anglicans into a “vortex of negativity”, says the new Primate, Linda Nicholls:

Nicholls said she hoped that instead of trying to figure out why the church was in numerical decline, or get drawn into a “vortex of negativity” about it, Canadian Anglicans would instead focus on the church’s calling.

“We’re called to do and be God’s people in a particular place, for the purpose of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, and the only question is, ‘How do we need to share it, so that it might be heard by those around us?’” she said.

You might be surprised to learn that I agree with Nicholls: the answer is the Good News of Jesus Christ. The only problem is, there is little evidence to suggest that Nicholls knows what the Good News is or if she does, is prepared to state it unambiguously.

Her predecessor, Fred Hiltz, was unable – or unwilling – to do so.

Listen to this:

The real vortex of negativity from which we must flee is the Anglican Church of Canada itself.

Council of General synod blows smoke

Posted on by
Reply

From here:

Smudging
The first meeting of the Council of General Synod (CoGS) for the 2019-2022 triennium began with a smudging ceremony. A cultural practice rooted in Indigenous tradition, smudging involves the burning of sacred medicine to create a smoke bath meant to purify a space, cleanse the spirit, bring clarity to the mind and connect people to the Creator.

You may think of this as a harmless nod to Indigenous traditions or as an example of occult New Age chicanery. Or as something in between.

However you see it, it raises the question of why the presence of Christ – surely the clergy believed he was present – was insufficient “to purify a space, cleanse the spirit, bring clarity to the mind and connect people to the Creator”?

Ironically, having just produced some unnecessary carbon dioxide and other more noxious pollutants, CoGs went on to discuss Resolution C004, our climate emergency (used to be called “global warming”, then “climate change”, then “climate emergency”).

Be it resolved that the Council of General Synod:

Encourage Anglicans, individually and corporately, to advocate for action on the climate emergency by all members of the municipal, provincial, and federal governments as a priority.

Encourage dioceses and parishes to initiate, support, and participate in climate justice rallies and other actions as necessary to encourage individual, collective, and governmental action to end the human contribution to climate change.

Note: “climate justice rallies” are now called “extinction rebellion”. No matter how hard it tries, the church just can’t keep up.

New Anglican Primate tries to breathe life into dying church

Posted on by
7

And fails.

According to its own prophetic statistical insight, the Anglican Church of Canada will be exanimate by 2040. The new primate understands this, so is consoling faithful clergy whose hearing aids are turned on with these words:

In the face of falling membership and financial challenges, Canadian Anglicans should feel encouraged that there remains a role for their church in the world—and that their God will always be faithful to them, Archbishop Linda Nicholls, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said Thursday, Nov. 7, in her first address as primate to the Council of General Synod (CoGS).

Solidifying the role of the church in the world by becoming more like the world is what has brought the ACoC to the brink of extinction in the first place, so recommending becoming even more entrenched in temporal fads is not going to help. Yet here we go:

Many of the church’s values, such as its “deep commitment to community” and its gifts of confession and forgiveness also give it a unique voice on societal issues, such as political polarization and justice, she said.

Bishops seem to be embarrassed by transcendent questions like:

Why am I here? What happens when I die, will I still exist? How do I get to heaven? How can my sins be forgiven? Are there such things as miracles?

If all I want is a “deep commitment to community” I can join the local lawn bowling club and, after my octogenarian substitute for exercise, go to the bar to confess to the bartender. After a suitable degree of inebriation, I can expound with a “unique voice on societal issues, such as political polarization and justice”. How can the church compete with that?

Oh yes, by doing this:

Nicholls said one of the tasks she wanted the church to focus on in coming years was fighting racism.

How about doing something unpopular like fighting abortion?

Climate striking Anglicans

Posted on by
7

Assorted bishops and other clergy participated in the recent climate strike demonstration in Toronto. What were they striking from? Will they stop doing whatever it is Anglican Church of Canada bishops do to earn their stipends? If so, this would be good news for the ACoC: it could mark the beginning of a resurgence in attendance, even a revival.

That is too optimistic. I fear it was just another vacuous genuflection to the latest societal fad.

There is good news in this, though. If, as the sign below suggests, fossil fuels are kept in the ground, the bishops’ dentures will all fall out because denture adhesive is made from petroleum byproducts. And they will all wear dentures because there will be no toothpaste since it, too, is made from petroleum. Eyeglasses have polycarbonate lenses, so they will be no more resulting in the clergy being unable to read their sermons. This is looking better all the time.

I was going to say something about petroleum jelly but, after seeing Bishop Kevin Robertson smiling in the foreground, decided against it.

How to write LGBTQ hymns

Posted on by
1

If you’ve always wanted to do that, Dr. Lydia Pedersen will teach you how in her workshop on hymn writing. If, like me, you think having a root canal without freezing is more appealing, read no further:

Dr. Lydia Pedersen, a United Church member and a church musician for more than 50 years, is offering a workshop on  hymn writing. Anyone can attend and no experience is necessary.

“Most people think that writing a hymn is a terribly esoteric thing to do and only clergy ever think of doing it, but I want to debunk that myth by showing that regular people can do it, too,” she says.

Ms. Pedersen, who teaches hymn writing to seminary students at Emmanuel College in Toronto, says people want to write hymns for all sorts of different reasons. Some simply want to express their love of God, while others want to mark special occasions or use language and imagery that are more relevant to their context.

“Things are changing in society,” she explains. “We need hymns for the LGBTQ community. We need hymns about the ecological crisis. Things that we didn’t worry about thirty years ago have become crucial issues, and people need to sing about them in church.”

Diocese of Central Newfoundland to ignore marriage canon vote

Posted on by
22

The Synod of the Diocese of Central Newfoundland has voted to proceed with same-sex marriage.

The presence of “a queer Anglican” from the Diocese of Huron may give the appearance of bias to the whole proceedings but I expect there was representation from the Zacchaeus Fellowship for balance. Or maybe not.

Here is an updated list of dioceses that will marry same-sex couples:
Diocese of Central Newfoundland
Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador
Diocese of Western Newfoundland
Diocese of New Westminster
Diocese of Toronto
Diocese of Niagara
Diocese of Montreal
Diocese of Ottawa
Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
Diocese of Rupert’s Land
Diocese of Kootenay
Diocese of Edmonton
Diocese of B.C.
Diocese of Huron

Diocese of Huron votes Todd Townshend as its new bishop

Posted on by
4

Since 2001, the average Sunday attendance in the Diocese of Huron has been declining at a rate of 3.13% per year, so the new bishop has an interesting time ahead of him.

It will come as no surprise that his sympathies align with his predecessor, Linda Nicholls. On his Facebook page we find this:

You can read all about his views and vision for the future here. Those with the stamina to wade through the clichés and boilerplate will discover that Townshend thinks he has too many white English-speaking people among his parishioners. Imagine the outrage if he had said “black” instead of “white”.  He is himself white and speaks English – well, Canadian, at least so unless his first act is to resign, it seems to be a case of the pot calling the kettle white.

I would go so far as to say that the “flock that is Huron” suffers from a painful lack of diversity when compared to the Anglican Communion world-wide. In terms of language and ethnicity, most churches in our diocese are more “white” and “english” than the Church of England! We can cherish parts of that heritage but we’ll be much better off if we can insist on transforming our communities, wherever possible, so that the proportion of “white” and “english” is better balanced by a more prominent place for the presence of our indigenous sisters and brothers and, generally, if we make a strong move towards a rainbow of colours and the sound of many languages (and music!) in our churches. This would better reflect the genius of God’s human population and the creative potential of “difference” in the Christian body.

Diocese of Niagara ordains Michael Coren

Posted on by
7

October 20th was the date of one of the strangest ordinations ever to have taken place in the Diocese of Niagara.

When St. Hilda’s left the diocese to join ANiC, Michael Coren was very supportive. Here are a few snippets from his emails at the time:

“You’re doing great work and I know that you’ll be okay in the end.”

“Glory!!!!!!!!!” (after we won our first court case)

“Unbelievable! They are such self-caricatures. I’ll use it on TV and perhaps radio.” (referring to some of the antics of the Diocese of Niagara)

“All four of us on TV tonight supported you – including Sid Ryan and another former NDP candidate. LeDrew too – former Liberal president. We’re getting somewhere. Again, let me know what I can ever do.” (after St. Hilda’s was sued by the Diocese of Niagara)

“I was in Aylseford two weeks ago and met with some liberal Anglicans. My golly they’re a stupid, nasty lot.”

All that was from 2008. Now, in 2019 he is standing grinning in the midst of a bunch of liberal Anglicans, having just been ordained by the bishop of a diocese full of clerics who are “self-caricatures”.

What is the explanation? Has Coren embarked on a fifth column mission designed to bring down the diocese from the inside? Has he completely lost his marbles? Has the  the real Coren been taken over by an alien pod?

Perhaps he just has a thing for plump female bishops.

St. John’s Shaughnessy hosts a Halloween Spooktacular

Posted on by
4

St. John’s evicted a thriving congregation in 2011, resulting in a church that resembled a mausoleum and a massive loss of revenue. It’s an expensive church to maintain so, in 2018, the diocese rented the church to a film crew making a TV program called, aptly enough, Imposters.

Now in a further attempt to fill the pews, St. John’s has decided to appeal to the occult by hosting a “Halloween Spooktacular”.

St. John’s belief in the reality of the occult is on much the same level as its belief in Christianity: close to non-existent.

Halloween Organ Spooktacular

When: Oct. 25, 7:30-9 p.m.

Where: St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church

Tickets and info: by donation, vancouver.anglican.ca

As part of its 50th anniversary revitalization campaign, the grand pipe organ of St John’s Shaughnessy has been undergoing a major technological overhaul. To give the instrument a proper workout, the Royal Canadian College of Organists is holding its annual Halloween Spooktacular concert at SJS rather than St Andrew’s-Wesley (which is closed for renovations anyway).  Dressed in Halloween attire, nine organists will perform spooky selections from the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor (used in the 1962 movie Phantom of the Opera, for one), Chopin’s Funeral March, Berloiz’ March to the Scaffold, and Grieg’s Death of Ase. Audience members are encouraged to dress up, and there will be treats for the kids.

Bishop of Toronto pontificates on same sex marriage

Posted on by
12

Since General Synod failed to pass a motion approving same-sex marriage, Bishop Andrew Asbil is advocating taking a pastoral rather than legislative approach to marrying same-sex couples. In other words, full steam ahead with same-sex marriage, legislation be damned. Had the reverse been the case, I doubt that he would be advising a pastoral approach to prohibiting same-sex marriages.

Naturally, he takes great pains to reassure recalcitrants who stubbornly cling to a Biblical version of marriage that they will still be welcome in the Anglican organisation. But does anyone with a functioning prefrontal cortex believe him? Do you really think that when Harry and Jim show up on a conservative priest’s doorstep, demand that he marry them, and sue him because he refuses that the Diocese of Toronto will pay his punitive legal fees? No, me neither.

Is that an earring in Asbil’s lower left auricle?