Tag Archives: Diocese of New Westminster

The Diocese of New Westminster has elected a new bishop

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Melissa SkeltonThe Reverend Canon Melissa M Skelton.

In this video, Skelton declares that she wishes to bring “restoration of a sense of feeling and reality of unity in the diocese.” Clearly, she supports the Ingham decisions that split the diocese, since she believes that the diocese was “called” – presumably by God – to go “down that road.”

Her recipe for “the re-unification of the diocese” is listening by using circle processes. I’m not sure what she means by circle processes – other than going around in circles, an activity at which Anglicans have had plenty of practice, particularly when pretending to listen. Doubtless, a veneer of unity won’t be too hard to manufacture since the most vigorous dissenters from diocesan dogma have already left. Those who remain will be too timid to make much of a fuss, contenting themselves, instead, with their appointed role of token conservatives: evidence of diocesan diversity.

Earlier this year, Skelton was hoping to be bishop of New Jersey; New Westminster, with its “difficult 20 years”, must have been her second career choice.

Nominees for the next Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster

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Here is the list; each candidate has provided some self-promotional material – euphemistically known as a Curriculum Vitae – which can be inspected by clicking on the candidate’s name. The good news is that there may be relief for those of you suffering from incurable insomnia: each of the aspiring bishops has made a video.

Notable by his absence is Dean Peter Elliott.

Listed in alphabetical order, the eight (8) candidates which the Committee recommends to you for consideration are:

  1. Ven. Ellen Clark-King, Vicar, Christ Church Cathedral, Diocese of New Westminster (Ph.D., M.A., C.T., B.A.)

  2. Rev. Canon Dawn L. Davis, Incumbent Priest, Trinity Church Aurora, Diocese of Toronto (CHRP, M.Div., B.A.)

  3. Rev. John Hebenton, Vicar, Anglican Parish of Gate Pa, Tauranga, Diocese of Waiapu, Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (BSc, LTh [Hons], M.Min, B.A.)

  4. Rev. Richard G. Leggett, Incumbent Priest, St. Faith’s Anglican Church, Diocese of New Westminster (Ph.D., M.A., M.Div., B.A.)

  5. Ven. Lynne E. McNaughton, Incumbent Priest, St. Clement Anglican Church, Diocese of New Westminster (D. Min., M.Div., B.A.)

  6. Rev. John Oakes, Hon. Assoc. Priest, All Saints Episcopal Church, Belmont, Diocese of Massachusetts, TEC and on leave with permission to officiate, Diocese of New Westminster (Ph.D., M.Div., M.A., M.C.S., Dipl. C.S., B.A.)

  7. Rev. Canon Melissa M. Skelton, Canon for Congregational Development and Leadership & Rector, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Diocese of Olympia, TEC (M.Div., M.B.A., M.A., B.A.)

  8. Ven. John R. Stephens, Incumbent Priest, St. Philip’s Anglican Church, Diocese of New Westminster (M.Div., B.Sc.)

Celebrating the Day of the Dead in the Diocese of New Westminster

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Rather than celebrate All Souls’ Day, St. John the Divine, perhaps in recognition of the state of its diocese, is celebrating the Day of the Dead by singing and dancing to – what else – Grateful Dead songs:

What is the Day of the Dead, All Souls Day, “El dia de los Gospel and Grateful Dead Nov 2muertos” November 2? It is a holiday that celebrates friends and family members who have died. It is celebrated in Spain, Brazil and Mexico and in cultures around the world with festivals and parades, sugar skulls and marigolds and favourite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. It is the perfect occasion for St John’s to welcome the wider community to an evening of reflections by Pitman Potter, singing Grateful Dead songs with FOMO and friends, dancing together in spirit, and raising money for The Helping Hands Society.

The above description seeks to amalgamate the Day of the Dead and All Souls’ Day – yet another Anglican attempt at via media, I suppose. They are, however, quite different: All Souls Day is a commemoration of the faithful departed (surely there must be some in the diocese) while the Day of the Dead celebrations:

can be traced back to a precolumbian past. Catrinas_2Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors had been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years. In the pre-Hispanic era skulls were commonly kept as trophies and displayed during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.

The festival that became the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess known as the “Lady of the Dead”, corresponding to the modern Catrina.

Diocese of New Westminster proposes moving its offices to St. John’s Shaughnessy

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Since most of the congregation left St. John’s Shaughnessy, the building has been costing the diocese $20,000 per month to maintain. The diocese is finally publicly admitting that the rump congregation of St. John’s has little use for such a large building:

St. John’s (Shaughnessy) has the stewardship of a building that is far beyond their current parish needs. They are in active search for a complementary “tenant”.

The diocese wants to:

lease a significant space from the Parish of St. John’s (Shaughnessy) at a rate that would be approximately half of the current occupancy cost …….. We currently occupy approx. 4100 sq. ft.; the space we are looking at in the Admin and Christian Education Building is approx. 11,000 sq. ft. – the complete lower floor with entrance on the Cartier side of the building.

The congregation that was chased out of the building thoughtfully kept it in good condition for the new tenants:

It has been determined that the building structure is very sound.

Although, sadly:

The building systems (air management, heating, electrical, single glaze windows, etc.) are at the stage of requiring updating to current standards. The building’s roof is in need of replacement and is scheduled for 2014.

As the document notes:

This is an opportunity for the Diocese.

An opportunity to convert a building designed for worship into one designed for administration; and that, after all, is what being a Missional Church is really all about.

Bishops Ingham and Cowan gather at the totem pole

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The two bishops were celebrating the transfer of a parish from the Diocese of New Westminster to the Diocese of B.C. Out of the frying pan into the fire.

11-09-2013 4-16-52 PM

Why stand at the foot of a totem pole rather that at the foot of a cross you might be wondering: the cross would be too Christian.

In reading about totem poles, we are repeatedly reminded that they have no religious significance – just like Anglican bishops – and that each animal on the pole may  represent an ancestor; Aboriginals also thought that the totem pole animals could transform themselves into men. All beliefs that, one presumes, bishops Ingham and Cowan think fit comfortably into Canadian Anglicanism.

From here (page 4):

Soon a gathering of people circled around the totem pole that sits in harmony beside St George church. The visitors were warmly welcomed with singing and drumming. Mike Willie spoke of the long history of his people, the totem and the church. Bishop Ingham welcomed everyone into the church for worship and a time of blessing the restored church.

Diocese of New Westminster: where have all the orthodox clergy gone?

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An article in the Diocese of New Westminster’s paper laments the lack of orthodox clergy in the diocese.

It seems that most of the orthodox clergy and laity have defected to ANiC or other denominations and now the writer wants them back. Being “open” is not enough: orthodox clergy should be encouraged into the diocese by the leadership. Currently, there is even a perception that the diocese is hostile to orthodox clergy. Who knew?

The article doesn’t delve into how this could be achieved. How can a diocese that the orthodox have abandoned because they are convinced the diocese first abandoned the Gospel possibly entice them back? The only way is for the diocesan leadership to repent; if such a miracle is imminent, it is a well kept secret.

From here (page 12):

One of the geniuses of Anglicanism over the centuries has been our ability, and until recently in our part of the world, our insistence on ensuring a balance exists between Anglicans of all stripes, be they liberals, conservatives, high church, low church, etc… This focus is embodied in the tradition of alternating between liberals and conservatives in appointing archbishops of Canterbury.

Sadly, this balance no longer exists in this diocese. With the unfortunate departure of entire parishes and continual leakage of individual parishioners to the Network and other denominations, the presence of orthodox clergy and laity in this diocese is miniscule. Regardless of what side of the fence any of us may be on, or if we are in the shrinking middle, nobody should be pleased with this state of affairs.

It may not be well known, but the few conservative parishes that remain are having a difficult time attracting clergy and laity as there is a general perception out there that this diocese is hostile to those of that persuasion. I hope the leadership of this diocese will make a concerted effort to encourage orthodox clergy and laity to come to this diocese in order to bring a more balanced tone of Anglicanism to the lower mainland. Simply being “open” to this wing of the church is not sufficient.

Dean Peter Elliott fills in for Michael Ingham

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Bishop Michael Ingham has retired. The Very Rev. Peter Elliott has taken over Ingham’s administrative duties in the Diocese of New Westminster. I am unsure whether this is a harbinger of Elliott’s eventual installation as the next bishop and he is getting in some practice, whether it means he won’t be bishop and he really is just filling in, or whether it is of no significance at all in the matter of bishopric succession.

I really can’t understand why anyone would want to be the bishop of such a fractious, financially unstable diocese; I suppose the lust for power is blind to such trifles.

From here:Peter Elliott

The Very Rev. Peter Elliott, Dean of the Diocese of New Westminster and rector of Christ Church Cathedral became Administrator of the Diocese and took over the day-to-day administrative functions of the Office of the Bishop assisted by Synod Staff. During the month of September and in collaboration with Synod Staff, the Nominations/Search Committee will produce materials both electronic and print to communicate information about the Diocese of New Westminster (Diocesan Profile) to encourage nominations.

Michael Ingham to speak in the Diocese of Niagara

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Now that he has retired, Bishop Michael Ingham has started on the lecture circuit.

Where better to begin than the diocese which has been attempting to out-liberal the Diocese of New Westminster for about a decade: the Diocese of Niagara. He will be speaking at the Bishop’s Company Dinner – a diocesan club for well-heeled laypeople inclined to senior cleric sycophancy – on September 30, 2013.

IngThose who wish to be regaled with tales of Ingham’s former triumphs – or how to break up a worldwide denomination by being inclusive – may do so for a mere $225. I wonder how much Ingham is being paid.

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The Diocese of New Westminster at the Vancouver Pride Parade

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More than 500,000 people attended the Vancouver Pride parade on Sunday.

130 of them attended the Diocese of New Westminster’s special Pride Day service in the Cathedral; 60 of them may have been there for the free brunch.

So go the diocesan plans to fill the 600-seat cathedral.

proud anglicans

Dean Peter Elliot takes comfort in something the Pope said

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In a recent interview the Pope said:

If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person?

Since the Catholic Church hasn’t changed its view that while same sex attraction is not sinful, homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered”, the Pope was obviously referring to a celibate gay person.

This did not deter the Diocese of New Westminster’s Dean Peter Elliot from taking the Pope’s statement and using it to imply that he suddenly supports gay marriage.

So goes the tortured logic of liberal Anglicanism.

Dean Peter Elliot’s talk is aptly named, The Spirit of the Time.

From here:

Obviously the furthest thing from the Pope’s mind when he held his impromptu press conference last Sunday evening was that his remarks about gay people would be received, in Vancouver BC, at the beginning of Gay Pride Week. This annual festival culminates on August 4 with Vancouver’s largest parade with well over 100,000 people downtown.

It wasn’t always so. For generations homosexual people were relegated to the sidelines of society, forced to hide relationships and encouraged to lie. The first pride parades attracted but a few participants and often incurred the ridicule of homophobic onlookers. But over the years a transformation – you might even say transfiguration-of consciousness in Canadian society occurred. Many things contributed to this change of mind including the decriminalization of homosexuality, the increasing numbers of LGBT people ‘coming out’ to families and friends, the public face of the gay men’s health crisis of HIV-AIDS, and an exploration of sexuality by scientists leading to the conclusion that homosexuality is simply a normative variation in human nature, in and of itself, morally neutral.

The Anglican Church of Canada and its sister church in the US, the Episcopal Church have been deeply involved in this discussion: for well over a decade, church councils and conventions were dominated by heated debates about the place of LGBT people within the church and the status of our committed relationships. This diocese of New Westminster became a primary location for this: through the leadership of our Bishop Michael Ingham and the passionate voices of laity and clergy this became the first diocese in the Anglican Communion where, in 2002, a rite for the blessing of committed same sex relationships was authorized. In 2003 Canadian courts followed, opening the institution of marriage to same-sex couples, a position that was later endorsed by federal Parliament and the provincial legislatures. Within the last year the President of the US has advocated for same sex marriage, and then last Sunday the Pope made his comments.

[…..]

Pope Francis, in his statement If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person opens the possibility that the good news of Jesus includes all of God’s beloved children. It is in Christ that all of us seek transformation so that we too can take our part in bringing liberation and dignity to all people-taking our part in the bending arc of the universe toward justice.

The worthy Dean has been so busy exerting himself in the bending arc of the universe, he missed the Freudian slip.