Nominees for position of Toronto Coadjutor Bishop all in favour of same-sex marriage

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Well, apart from Jennifer Andison who is not partial to binary declarations and has opted instead for a stream of consciousness analogue waffle. In Anglican parlance this is known as “spiritual discernment” after “deep listening”.

All the rest are in favour. In Anglican parlance this is known as “diversity”.

From here:

If General Synod were held today, how would you vote on the Marriage Canon amendments?

The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Andison

I have been asked these questions during the course of our Diocesan discernment process and have consistently shared the following.

I understand that the laity and clergy of the Diocese of Toronto will feel supported or disappointed by how their Bishop votes at General Synod 2019 and that how the Bishop votes matters. However, there are a number of reasons why I don’t think it is pastorally helpful to answer this first question, today, with a simple Yes or No.

First, in our Anglican polity, Bishops vote “in Synod.” Synod is where Bishops, along with laity and other clergy, make such decisions. I want to be part of what the Holy Spirit is doing in General Synod 2019, and I am not prepared to pre-judge how I will vote then, and am not “in Synod” now. As a Bishop, I take spiritual discernment seriously. At General Synod in 2019, I intend to cast my vote after completing a process of prayer, scriptural discernment, and deep listening to laity, deacons, priests and other bishops, as well as those outside of the Church. I intend to seek the mind of Christ for the Church on this issue, whether I am voting in my current capacity as Area Bishop for York-Credit Valley or as Bishop of Toronto. The Bishop of Toronto also needs to be mindful that she or he serves on a national stage, both participating in the wider discernment of the Anglican Church of Canada and also acting as a witness of Christ’s love to our culture.

Second, the current wording of the proposed amendment is increasingly unlikely to represent what will be voted on in 2019. As our Primate, Fred Hiltz, has recently made clear, there very well may be amendments to the currently proposed canon change. Some other path may also emerge before 2019 as an alternative to a Yes/No vote, a binary and legislative approach that inevitably creates winners and losers, doesn’t account for culturally different ways of making decisions across our diverse Church, and risks oversimplifying the issue at hand. Although I would not abstain from a vote in 2019, locking episcopal candidates into such binary declarations at this stage is premature and potentially divisive.

The Very Rev. Andrew Asbil

I would vote in favour of the motion.

The Rev. Canon David Harrison

I would vote in favour of the change, as I did as a member of General Synod in 2016.

The Rt. Rev. Victoria Matthews

If the General Synod was being held this week and if I had a vote as the Diocesan Bishop of Toronto, I would vote YES to affirm the amendments to the Marriage Canon. I would do so believing that every Christian is called to interpret Holy Scripture in light of all of Holy Scripture, and I believe the weight of Scripture calls to care for every human person and give special attention and love to the marginalised. Secondly, I believe there are times when the church recognises a teaching in Scripture that has always been there but which has been undervalued. It is the work of the prophet to call the church to read Scripture with fresh eyes. In Luke 2.21-40, Simeon and Anna recognise the Christ in the Temple when everyone fails to recognise the Son of God. May our beloved church have eyes to see and ears to hear.

The Rt. Rev. Kevin Robertson

Unequivocally, I would vote “Yes” to amend the Marriage Canon, just as I did in 2016.

The Rt. Rev. Riscylla Shaw

Yes.

 

Massive turnout for Diocese of New Westminster’s reconciliation walk

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The Anglican Church of Canada, having largely abandoned the idea that Jesus was the propitiation for our sins by taking the punishment we deserve on himself, has no way to shed its liberal Anglo-Saxon guilt other than by participating in vacuous gestures, preferably befogged by clouds of smudging fumes.

Hence, to rid itself of its ancestors’ sins, the diocese is Walking in the Spirit of Reconciliation:Oops, wrong photo, that was the March for Life.

Here is the Walk in the Spirit of Reconciliation:

Anglican clergywoman chains herself to a tree

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It’s all part of protecting the planet from the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which, for Anglicans these days, supposedly signifies a deep Christian faith.

If only Anglican clergy could bring themselves to expend as much energy protecting the future inhabitants of the planet they feel is in such dire peril: unborn babies, 100,000 of whom will be killed in 2018.

From here:

A priest and her parishioner were arrested on Burnaby mountain after they chained themselves to a tree outside the Trans Mountain terminal Friday morning, according to Burnaby RCMP.

The two women began their protest around 7:30 a.m. They were identified by a friend as Rev. Laurel Dykstra and Lini Hutchings, both members of Salal and Cedar, an Anglican church part of the Diocese of New Westminster. Around the same time, a group of protesters from Protect the Inlet began blocking trucks from leaving Kinder Morgan’s Westridge marine terminal in North Burnaby. Some thirty people had gathered on site that morning. Burnaby RCMP arrived at both locations around 8:30 a.m.

[….]

Rev. Emelie Smith, the parish priest at St. Barnabas Anglican Church in New Westminster, said the two women were protesting because of their religious beliefs.

“I think it’s an act of faith. I think people should know they are doing this out of their deep Christian faith and need to protect the planet,” she said.

Rev Dykstra is bisexual, participates in the Vancouver Pride parade, thinks drag queens should be invited to speak to school children, and enjoys chaining herself to trees in her spare time.

Anglicans for getting high

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The Diocese of Huron’s Bishop Linda Nicholls is agitating for the setting up, in London Ontario, of a safe injection site, a place where people can get free sterilised needles to inject themselves with illegal drugs.

There are pros and cons to these establishments, not the least of which is that nobody wants to live next door to one. Since the bishop doesn’t, she doubtless feels quite comfortable in writing this letter:

I write in support of the proposed safe injection sites being considered by Council at 441 York Street and 241 Simcoe St.

As noted by the Sisters of St. Joseph in their recent letter to you:

“A recent academic article in the Harm Reduction Journal, “Supervised injection facilities in Canada: past, present, and future,” offers a careful review of the experience and impact of supervised injection facilities (SIFs). It notes that Canadian efforts have learned from positive experiences in Western Europe. In addition, Canada’s first sanctioned SIF, which opened in Vancouver 2003, was rigorously evaluated and met its objective of reducing public disorder, disease transmission and overdoses. Equally important, it successfully referred individuals to a range of external programs including detoxification, and addiction treatment programs. The evaluation demonstrated that the SIF was cost-effective and did not result in increases in crime or encourage initiation into drug use.
It should be noted that over 40 peer-reviewed studies have highlighted the benefits and the lack of negative impacts for this site. Moreover, the Supreme Court of Canada justices ruled 9-0 in favour of the continued operation of the SIF, noting that it “has been proven to save lives with no discernible negative impact on the public safety and health objectives of Canada.” (2011 ruling, p. 139)”

We would, of course, prefer to end the prevalence of drug addictions in our city. However, for those who are addicted the process leading to recovery is long, slow and difficult. Along the way the need for support including harm reduction through safe injection sites is a proven factor in assisting such healing.

Surely a safe injection site is preferable to the proliferation of the discarding of needles in public areas where they can be a hazard not only to the user but to other members of the public.

Ironically, I have heard nary a peep from the bishop on Canada’s plan to legalise marijuana, a drug known to cause irreversible brain damage. Surely standing against the legalising of a harmful drug makes at least as sense as providing safe space for the already addicted to further stupefy themselves?

The Diocese of Montreal to hold a Pride Mass

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The Diocese of Montreal is in radical decline:

Delegates to the annual diocesan synod approved a budget for 2017 with revenue of $2.08 million and expenses of $2.38 million, calling for a $300,856 operating loss, a little less than the $331,975 loss now forecast for this year. The operating losses were $529,482 in 2015 and $400,983 in 2014.
Diocesan treasurer Ron O’Connell told delegates, “Our diocese cannot sustain this rate of loss.” He said, “It’s very important that these things be addressed sooner than later, so that people understand that it’s time for action.” A number of parishes as well are facing threats to whether they can sustain themselves, he said, and some of them need assistance from the diocese in finding ways to “re-purpose” church buildings and other properties.

Fear not! Help is at hand in the form of a Pride Mass to Celebrate Human Diversity:

On Sunday, August 12 at 6pm Christ Church Cathedral will host a Pride Mass for a third consecutive year, as a kick-off to the Montreal Pride Week. Both Bishop Mary Irwin-Gibson and the dean of the cathedral, the Very Rev. Bertrand Olivier, will preach.

The beauty of all this inclusion and diversity is that not only does God love us while we were yet sinners, but, because he made us this way with a sinful fallen nature, he doesn’t want us to change even after we come to him. It’s all a part of being made in his image. It’s very comforting: my sin is all his fault.

The Pride Mass is a sign that we are open to a discussion about what it means to be loved by God for who God created us to be, without having to change or conform.

The Pride Mass is not just for LGBTQ+ persons, but for all who wish to celebrate the numerous ways in which God has created human beings in God’s image, and to celebrate the diversity of the human family.

If that doesn’t solve the problems of a diocese that is crumbling financially, spiritually and physically, I don’t know what will.

When love is the way, it’s easy

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At least, Michael Curry thinks so.

The Diocese of Huron, ever willing to be sucked into the black sinkhole that lies beneath the swirling vortex that masquerades as 21st century sagacity, has retweeted the salient points of the Royal Wedding sermon:

The truly sad thing about this is that John Lennon has already said it and, even though he said it better, it was still rubbish:

Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done

Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung

Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It’s easy
There’s nothing you can make that can’t be made
No one you can save that can’t be saved

Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It’s easy
All you need is love
All you need is love

How to choose a new Dean in the Anglican Church of Canada

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For six years Paul Kennington was Dean and Rector of Christ Church Cathedral in the Diocese of Montreal. Kennington is a homosexual in a civil partnership with Jonathan Bailey. When Kennington left the diocese in December 2016, a replacement with the right qualifications had to be found:

It is no surprise that it took nearly a year to find the right person to fill the position of Dean of Christ Church Cathedral. After all the qualifications were demanding. Among them, “ The new Dean and Rector of Christ Church Cathedral will bring to all dimensions of the role a strong capacity for leadership in visioning that will inspire others—clergy, parishioners, and supporters— with imagination, energy, and enthusiasm for the Cathedral’s mission.”

What is missing from this dazzling catalogue of clerical virtues is the one which the diocese seems to prize above all: the candidate needs to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor and be homosexual.

The Diocese of Montreal found Kennington in the UK, presumably having scoured Canada for a suitable candidate with the necessary sexual inclinations. It’s hard to argue with success, so the diocese, employing the same strategy, have discovered yet another homosexual UK vicar willing to be imported into Canada. The Very Rev. Bertrand Olivier is the new Dean. His husband is called Paul:

The Royal Wedding

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I didn’t get up early to watch the royal wedding. My wife did, though, so when I appeared, cup of tea in hand, the affair was in full swing with Justin Welby presiding over the recital of the marriage vows.

“An American gave the sermon”, my wife said.

“Yes, Michael Curry”, I replied. “You remember, the fellow in charge of The Episcopal Church – the church that isn’t allowed to represent Anglicanism anywhere. Except unimportant events like royal weddings.”

“It was all about love”, she said. “But he did mention Jesus”.

“Which, TEC’s or the real one?” I asked.

“Don’t be silly”.

“Well”, I said, “You know that Michael Curry doesn’t believe in marriage, don’t you? At least, not the same Judeo-Christian marriage that has been going strong for 6000 years: he thinks men can ‘marry’ each other!”

“That’s daft”, she replied. “Still, he did talk about love a lot. Don’t they look lovely together?”

“So it was a John Lennon sermon? – you know ‘All you need is Love’.”

“I suppose so. He was very enthusiastic about their love: he said we will see the end of poverty because of it.”

“I don’t expect Harry and Meghan will see much poverty”, I agreed. “Her dress wasn’t cheap, was it?” “Hang on a minute, isn’t that George Clooney in the congregation?”

“Yes dear, Meghan is a Hollywood actress, of course George is there. Do try to keep up, dear.”

“I don’t see Elton. Surely they didn’t forget him!”

“Yes, he’s there with his husband. Or is it his wife…… it’s hard to keep these things straight”.

“I’ll leave you to it”, I said, “it’s too much excitement for me first thing in the morning”.

What better way to sum up my enthusiasm for all this than with a pearl of wisdom from Michael Curry:

“The power of love is demonstrated by the fact that we are all here. Two young people fell in love and we all showed up!”

Coincidentally, my morning Bible reading included a passage from John (not Lennon) which offers a different explanation of why Michael, Justin, George, Elton, et al “showed up”:

For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12:43)

March for Life, Ottawa 2018

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See all images here.

Anglicans for Life Canada was here:

So were many others:

And the police:

Naturally, we made fun of our prime minister:

It wasn’t just conservative Christians:

There were protesters who didn’t just want to express themselves – they want to prevent us expressing ourselves:

Some wore masks:

March for Life, Ottawa 2018 videos

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I’ve just returned to my hotel after attending the Ottawa March for life.

Here are a couple of brief videos. The first is of the celebration after the march and the second is of the protesters who would like to shut down the march.

Notice any difference between those who celebrate life and those who celebrate death?