Tag Archives: Andrew Asbil

Climate striking Anglicans

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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.

Toronto Bishops acknowledge Trans Day of Remembrance

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From here:

On this Trans Day of Remembrance, as Bishops of the Diocese of Toronto, we wish to acknowledge the dignity and inherent worth of all people, including every transgender person, and our opposition to all prejudice, discrimination, or actions that deny the full personhood of any individual based on their gender identity.

Trans people are valued and beloved members of our Church, as clergy and lay leaders, as members of our congregations, as people we serve and by whom we are served.

Now if the bishops would only acknowledge “the dignity and inherent worth of all people” including those still in the womb, their statement might be worth something. As it is, all the bishops are doing is sailing effortlessly along on the tide of our cultural foibles and expecting to be congratulated for it.

Looking on the bright side, since God is no longer Father and, hence, must be transgender, fae must finally feel at home as a “valued and beloved member[s] of our Church.”

Bishop elect Andrew Asbil needs help paying for his new vestments

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As we all know, when the attention of the Anglican Church of Canada strays momentarily from its primary mission of distributing propaganda in favour of same-sex marriage, it concentrates what’s left of its spiritual-not-religious energy on poverty reduction.

To make poverty history is an ambitious undertaking leaving many of us wondering how we can contribute individually to such a worthy undertaking.

Now, at last, there is something we call all do!

You may be unaware that the average salary for a Diocese of Toronto employee is only $120,000 per year. I’m not sure what the new will bishop make, but it seems he needs help paying for his new bishop’s clothes. Now is your chance to make poverty history! Keep your bishop off the breadline, contribute now, every little bit helps!

Euthanasia and the bishop

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I am reposting this article because Andrew Asbil, the clergyman who participated in  euthanising the couple, has just been voted the next bishop of the Diocese of Toronto.

I remember a time when for a church to be “prophetic” it had to stand against the tide of the culture, against the immorality of the state, against the prevailing delusions that beguile our impressionable egos. Not so today. Because same-sex marriage is legal, the church has embraced it and has assigned committees loaded with waffling liberal clergy to contort Scripture to their collective will. It is much the same for abortion. And now euthanasia.

On March 27 Mr. and Mrs Brickenden committed suicide together with the help of a doctor:

On March 27, George and Shirley died holding hands in their own bed in a Toronto retirement home.
Their children, who watched from the foot of the bed, say the couple drew their last breaths at almost the same moment.
They had been married for just shy of 73 years.
The Brickendens are one of the few couples in Canada to receive a doctor-assisted death together, and the first to speak about it publicly.

The local vicar was on hand, perhaps to deliver a sermon in hope of hastening the couple’s exit:

Present were Pamela, Saxe and Angela, their spouses, the two doctors and Andrew Asbil, the Dean of Toronto’s St. James Cathedral, who later told me he had “without hesitation” supported the couple’s wish for their funeral to be held at the Anglican church.

March 27 was Maundy Thursday when we remember Jesus’ Last Supper before his excruciating death on Good Friday, an unpleasantness that he would be pastorally encouraged to sidestep by today’s Dying with Dignity Anglicanism.

The Anglican Church of Canada has produced a report in which it comes down firmly on the side of indecision. There is also a study guide to encourage parishes to have indecisive conversations about the church’s indecision.

It is important to remember that In Sure and Certain Hope was not intended as a contribution to the debate about the moral appropriateness of medically-assisted dying. The changed legal landscape has moved us beyond that to a point where many of us are likely to know, love and care for those who will face difficult decisions and may choose to avail themselves of medically-assisted dying or to reject such an option.

How long will it be before General Synod has a motion before it to approve a euthanasia liturgy and consummate its longing to become a death cult. I’d give it 10 years.

Andrew Asbil to be new Toronto bishop

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And what a surprise! He supports same-sex marriage:

The Very Rev. Andrew Asbil (answering whether he would vote to change the marriage canon)
I would vote in favour of the motion.

Bishops run in the Asbil family. Andrew’s father is Walter Asbil who was bishop of the Diocese of Niagara from 1991-1997. If son takes after father, Toronto might be in for interesting times considering how the Disaster  – sorry, Diocese – of Niagara has turned out.

Pastoral Anglican euthanising

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I remember a time when for a church to be “prophetic” it had to stand against the tide of the culture, against the immorality of the state, against the prevailing delusions that beguile our impressionable egos. Not so today. Because same-sex marriage is legal, the church has embraced it and has assigned committees loaded with waffling liberal clergy to contort Scripture to their collective will. It is much the same for abortion. And now euthanasia.

On March 27 Mr. and Mrs Brickenden committed suicide together with the help of a doctor:

On March 27, George and Shirley died holding hands in their own bed in a Toronto retirement home.
Their children, who watched from the foot of the bed, say the couple drew their last breaths at almost the same moment.
They had been married for just shy of 73 years.
The Brickendens are one of the few couples in Canada to receive a doctor-assisted death together, and the first to speak about it publicly.

The local vicar was on hand, perhaps to deliver a sermon in hope of hastening the couple’s exit:

Present were Pamela, Saxe and Angela, their spouses, the two doctors and Andrew Asbil, the Dean of Toronto’s St. James Cathedral, who later told me he had “without hesitation” supported the couple’s wish for their funeral to be held at the Anglican church.

March 27 was Maundy Thursday when we remember Jesus’ Last Supper before his excruciating death on Good Friday, an unpleasantness that he would be pastorally encouraged to sidestep by today’s Dying with Dignity Anglicanism.

The Anglican Church of Canada has produced a report in which it comes down firmly on the side of indecision. There is also a study guide to encourage parishes to have indecisive conversations about the church’s indecision.

It is important to remember that In Sure and Certain Hope was not intended as a contribution to the debate about the moral appropriateness of medically-assisted dying. The changed legal landscape has moved us beyond that to a point where many of us are likely to know, love and care for those who will face difficult decisions and may choose to avail themselves of medically-assisted dying or to reject such an option.

How long will it be before General Synod has a motion before it to approve a euthanasia liturgy and consummate its longing to become a death cult. I’d give it 10 years.