From the National Post:
Just a week after rioting and mass arrests rocked the city’s core, yesterday Toronto was the scene of mass inclusiveness, welcome and friendship as huge crowds welcomed Queen Elizabeth II, just ahead of a welcome for up to a million attending the annual gay and lesbian Pride Day parade.
Her Royal Highness, who wore a blue and white dress, and a robin-blue straw hat with a ribbon, sat in the front row of the Cathedral Church of St. James this morning as Dean Douglas Stoute knit the day’s two themes deftly together with a sermon calling for the Anglican Church to hold a “respectful, inclusive dialogue with all God’s people,” adding, “this is not easy.”
Also in the packed church, which boasts Canada’s largest steeple, were the Queen’s husband, Prince Philip and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and his wife, Terry McGuinty.
“The church is undergoing a rebirth,” the Very Reverend Stoute told the congregation. “It is at times destructive.” He noted that some in the Anglican church have sought to defend traditional biblical ideas of who belongs and who does not, a reference to a schism in the Anglican church over the blessing of same-sex unions.
“A church grounded by inclusiveness and openness is becoming more relevant,” he said.
“Polarization within Anglicanism is not new,” Rev. Stoute added, noting the 16th-century division between Catholicism and Protestantism and the 19th century dispute between high church and low church.“Throughout history Anglicanism has sought to find a middle road,” he added. “It is a recognition that we do not have all the answers. It requires that we let go of pride and reach out to listen with open minds and open hearts.”
I’m tempted the think that the Very Reverend Stoute has been over-imbibing in the drink of his namesake.
“A church grounded by inclusiveness and openness is becoming more relevant”; never in its entire existence has the Anglican Church been less relevant or more ignored. When it isn’t ignored, it is ridiculed for abandoning its own beliefs in favour of galloping as fast as it can on the treadmill of trendiness like a demented hamster in its wheel.
“The church is undergoing a rebirth,”. That must be why the number of people attending church has fallen from 1.2 million in 1960 to 650,000 in 2001 to 325,000 in 2009. This rebirth bears a remarkable resemblance to a death rattle.
““Throughout history Anglicanism has sought to find a middle road,” he added. “It is a recognition that we do not have all the answers. It requires that we let go of pride and reach out to listen with open minds and open hearts.” The new evangelism: we have no idea what to believe; do you? Why not join us on Sunday and we can all wonder what it’s all about together.
The poor Queen – with any luck she had jet lag and fell asleep.
Oh dear, there is that “we” “they” comment about who “belongs” in the church. The doors of our church, St. Hilda’s are open to EVERYONE, because everyone belongs as a person in need of God’s blessing and forgiveness. Yes, we follow the teachings of Jesus because His teaching is the only one that makes ANY sense.
I thought sermons were always vetted before being delivered to royalty. I suppose that courtesy has vanished too?
Her Majesty The Queen is “above politics”. Everyone at the Cathedral should be painfully aware of this. To present a sermon filled with politics during Her Majesty’s visit is nothing short of taking advantage of Her Majesty’s visit. It is wrong, and it is insulting.
I have to wonder
1) What were the Bible Passages that were read during the service?
2) Where these passages the ones that should have been read according to the lectionary?
3) Did the sermon make any reference at all to the Bible Passages?
AMP – I would like to find the answers to those questions too – I am trying to find out –
Wasn’t the Lord’s Prayer in one of those readings? “Forgive us our sins . . ‘ etc –
Despite both the C.B.C. and National Post claiming that the Queen had intended MASS at the Cathedral (I don’t think they call it that at St. James)the Royal couple were in fact (as I could hear from the loudspeakers on TV) attending Matins, or Morning Prayer. Have no idea what was on hand for readings that morning, but the gliberals always find a way to make the diversity/inclusiveness crapola fit into any reading.
How sad your wonky comments are. There is very real insight into the massive social paradigm shift in which all churches are currently caught up.
How about a little real insight into issues instead of provocative knee-jerk reactions continued and arrogant sniping? You might even get to serve a useful role in public faith discourse. That would be great.
In the meantime, I would suggest to you a very serious and thoughtful read of Harvey Cox’s The Future of Faith.
Harvey Cox did say one sensible thing: people are less and less willing to accept religious teachings on the authority of someone else.
The “someone else” includes many of the bishops and clergy of the Anglican Church of Canada who are increasingly adopting a creakily resuscitated mish-mash of paganism, Unitarianism and new-age superstition. Cox is right: many of us are not willing to go along with it – hence this blog.
It’s a great blog, David, certainly better than having to suffer through virtueonline.org where the discourse is truly appalling. David Virtue cannot be the only voice for either Anglican orthodoxy or evangelism and I’m very glad and heartened that this site is here.
Please specify whose wonky comments you are referring to and, while you’re at it, the massive social paradigm in which all churches are currently caught up in. It seems to me that FAITH has been kicked out of public discourse and that the present leadership of the Anglican Communion is either fine with that or in a desperate bid to join it to prove to those who wouldn’t listen anyway that it’s still relevant. Empty churches say it all and they are getting emptier because of this unnecessary and agenda driven noise. All of this homage to modernity will pass in time as it always does. But there must be a few brave souls around to fight and preserve in some determined fashion a heritage that can boast giving more more to common humanity in terms of the faith it believes in than the trendy faithless relativists who wish to destroy it. But keep on writing though it really isn’t necessary. I know what you think, rather than believe, before you touch the keyboard. Add Karen Armstrong to your Harvey Cox and use them as bookends to your small library.
It’s not homage to modernity, Mr, McKillop. It’s homage to the anarchy and moral relativism of POSTmodernity.