Suicide prevention in the Anglican Church of Canada

The church has hired two new suicide prevention workers. You might suppose that their focus would be on the recovery of those unfortunate enough to have accidentally overdosed on ACoC sermons. But no, they will be working on Indigenous suicide prevention, a worthy endeavour, without doubt.

The irony is that while these new hires will be working to prevent suicide among Indigenous people, as indeed they should, many of the rest of the clergy are perfectly happy to go along with, and even attend, bless and sanctify, state assisted suicide simply because it is now legal in Canada.

For example, the new bishop of Toronto, Andrew Asbil was present at a recent joint euthanizing.

From here:

The Anglican Church of Canada has hired two new suicide prevention workers as part of its Indigenous ministry.

Jeffery Stanley, a master of divinity student at the Vancouver School of Theology, began work June 25; Yolanda Bird, a former member of Council of General Synod (CoGS) with extensive experience working with children and youth, began July 3.

Each will be responsible for helping deliver existing suicide prevention programs in the dioceses in their areas, as well as helping develop new ones, said Indigenous ministries co-ordinator Canon Ginny Doctor. Their work will also include developing teams of volunteers in dioceses where the need for suicide prevention is especially high, she said.

Happiness gurus commit suicide

From here:

Suicide notes were found with the bodies of a couple who took their own lives last week, police sources said.

Lynne Rosen, 46, and John Littig, 48, who worked as ‘happiness gurus’ and motivational speakers, allegedly left two notes at their home in Brooklyn, New York.

[…..]

They hosted a monthly radio show together called ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ on WBAI-FM.

A sad but fitting metaphor for the land that has enshrined the pursuit of happiness in its Declaration of Independence. There is nothing that makes happiness more elusive than pursuing it.

As William Blake observed:

He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sun rise.

The Anglican Church of Canada is working to prevent suicide

From here:

The Anglican Church of Canada is making progress toward overcoming a longstanding negative stereotype and becoming an effective partner in preventing suicide.

It’s about time the ACoC did something to reduce the existential angst afflicting the ranks of Canadian Anglicans.

Unfortunately, the article fails to mention exactly when the ACoC will be firing its bishops, closing its doors and turning the lights out.