The Bishop of Caledonia doesn’t approve:

“As a bishop, I cannot recognize the legitimacy of what Niagara is doing,” said Bishop Bill Anderson of the diocese of Caledonia. “I sadly conclude that Niagara has chosen to walk apart, and is therefore in a state of impaired communion.”

Bishop Bird from the Niagara Diocese claims, however, that the blessing of same-sex-couples is prophetic, not contrary to the core doctrine of the ACoC – many people have searched for years and still have found nothing that is contrary to the core doctrine of the ACoC – and is fully in line with the typical Anglican heterosexual wedding:

From Here:

The Niagara Rite is intended for the voluntary use of priests who wish to offer a sacrament of blessing regardless of the gender of the civilly married persons who wish to receive the blessing of the church and wish to affirm their life commitment to each other before God in the community of the church

Effective September 1, 2009, permission will be granted by Bishop Michael Bird for the use of the Niagara Rite as outlined in the protocols that are included.

In spite of protestations that this is a blessing not a marriage, the rite itself looks a lot like a “marriage” to me:

N, I take you to be my spouse (or partner, or some equivalent term).
All that I have I offer you;
what you have to give I gladly receive;
wherever you go I will go.
You are my love.
God keep me true to you always
and you to me.

And:

N., this ring I give to you,
with my body I honor you.
God make me your true spouse (or partner, or some equivalent term)
in the spirit of Jesus Christ.

As for being truly inclusive:

Will you each love one another with integrity and gentleness?
I will

Clearly, the S&M brethren have been forgotten. The question is, will they enjoy the hurt of being excluded?

There is nothing like having a low expectation of something to set the tone; thus the Diocese of Niagara has a new program called the Wall of Innovation (who came up with that name?). In anticipation of a barrage of negativity, much like this moribund forum,  the diocese admonishes potential critics:

Please note – although we really want to give every member of the Diocese of Niagara the privilege of commenting and entering into a productive dialogue, we will not accept comments that are vitriolic or hurtful in any way. These will be removed.

Free speech is cherished in Niagara – so long as you don’t upset the delicate sensibilities of Michael Bird as he journeys in the pursuit of excellence.

Update: The presentation is here and technically is quite well done – an Adobe Flash page that looks like a curved (I almost said “bent”) version of iTunes Coverflow.

The Diocese of Niagara and its contingent of itinerant squatters – all 3 of them – assembled and organised by Rev. Cheryl Fricker (pew saleswoman extraordinaire) have come to the sensible conclusion that St. Hilda’s sanctuary is too hot, smelly, mouldy and orange to be worthy of their occupation during the dog days of summer.

Therefore, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Niagara Potemkin St. Hilda’s, “during the summer, services will be held at St. Aidan’s church, people from St. Hilda’s are welcome to join.”

The people from which St. Hilda’s? There is no congregation in the diocese of Niagara version of St. Hilda’s. Perhaps this is a oblique invitation for me to visit St. Aidan’s with a camera; perhaps not.

All Saints in downtown Hamilton is to be sold to make way for condominiums:

Ten years ago, workers spent months carefully dismantling the bell tower at All Saints Church in downtown Hamilton.

Now the stage is set for all the stones at All Saints to come tumbling down.

The church has commanded the southeast corner of Hamilton’s royal intersection since the 1870s.

But at King and Queen, as at churches everywhere, times have changed. Since the ’60s, pews have emptied out. Too many churches, not enough people.

Back in 1974, somebody made a firm offer to buy the All Saints property for $350,000. The congregation turned it down. Bishop John Bothwell was not amused:

“For a couple of hundred people to maintain this enormous building, when there are three or four other Anglican parishes within a few blocks with similar depleted congregations and enormous buildings, seems to me to be questionable,” the bishop said then.

That last paragraph is an interesting statement and one that will undoubtedly be applied to the 4 Niagara ANiC buildings if the diocese ends up winning them; after all, there are considerably fewer than a couple of hundred people in all 4 diocesan parishes put together.

The Spectator article goes on to say that the condominiums will be affordable housing that will be sold at cost. What the article does not say is how much the diocese is making from the sale; I wonder if it’s enough to cover the $220,000 in legal fees incurred while suing the 3 Niagara ANiC parishes?

One of the side benefits of attending a conference is the occasional itinerant tidbit that drifts innocently within earshot.

It appears that the pressing need the Diocese of Niagara has for the 4 ANiC parish buildings – ostensibly to house the rampant hordes clamouring to attend a DoN service –  isn’t quite so pressing after all. The congregation at St. George’s Loweville has dwindled to about 8 people and they meet in houses, not the parish building.

The diocesan spin is, it’s a part of Fresh Expressions – for octogenarians.

On their way to the Annual General Meeting of the Ontario Prayer Book Society, a car full of BCP enthusiasts were diverted by traffic past St. Hilda’s building in Oakville. Overcome with grief at the perfidy of the Diocese of Niagara puppets that are infesting the building, they disembarked and wept openly over the sign.

Update: it seems this lamentation is for “that sad situation: Saint Hilda’s Oakville”, not perfidy at all. Pity.

Having seen this touching display, St. Hilda’s ANiC is using the BCP much more often.

This hymn has taken on new meaning in the Diocese of Niagara. At the last Niagara synod, all priests who are not in favour of same-sex blessings were asked to stand up to identify themselves; whereupon the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit duly noted their names.

The Diocese of Love and Inclusion also fired two priests. One was a conservative priest who had a thriving congregation; he was told he “just didn’t fit in”. He was given severance, but hasn’t actually seen any of it. The other was a liberal priest who did not manage to persuade an Anglican and Lutheran congregation to merge; she was told that “if you can’t do it, we’ll find someone who can”. She was given 6 months to find a new place to live, but the utilities in the rectory were all disconnected  by the diocese, so she had to leave immediately.

The Pursuit of Excellence in Ministry at work.