Monthly Archives: March 2009

It's fun being green when you are the US President

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Canadians urge their PM to follow Obama’s greenness:

Harper urged to follow Obama’s green lead

The Harper government is being urged to follow Barack Obama’s lead and inject billions of dollars into green jobs and green energy.

This sounds like a wonderful opportunity for Harper to beef up a few things. This is how Obama does Green:Add an Image

US President Barack Obama has arrived in London for the G20 summit with a large contingent of the White House staff with him.

Hundreds of security guards, doctors, chefs and others are accompanying President Obama on his visit, and the entourage includes a number of presidential vehicles – including his new armour-plated limousine, The Beast, and aeroplane, Air Force One.

The 4,000 sq ft Boeing 747 is fully equipped for the president to work while he is in the air.

For Obama, to travel green means making the sacrifice of only using enough jet fuel to launch two four bedroom houses five miles into the air.

I expect the armour plated car uses a two cycle lawnmower engine, though.

What does the Resurrection really mean to Fred Hiltz?

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The God-Man, Jesus was nailed to some pieces of wood and left to hang there until he was dead. During that time, he absorbed all the sins of the entire human race – including mine, which on their own are bad enough – and received the just punishment for them from his Father. Including being removed from his Father’s presence, a presence that he had experienced for an eternity before time even existed. He did this because he loves us and he didn’t want us to have to bear the punishment that we deserve, but he didn’t.

He died and was buried. Our sins died with him and he offers us redemption; as proof of this, he rose from death to life 3 days later. This had never happened before; it is evidence that we too will rise from death.

This article from the Anglican Journal by Fred Hiltz, Primate of Canada doesn’t mention sin; this is not particularly surprising, since the Anglican Church of Canada doesn’t much like to acknowledge that man is sinful, much less that real justice would demand that we be punished for our sin. The notion that Jesus was punished for our sin instead of us is complete anathema to the ACoC, since it flies in the face of the central tenet of the new religiosity experientially discerned by the wrinkled shamans of what used to be a Christian Church: All You Need is Love

In the Anglicans in Mission campaign in the early 1980s, we used prayers and messages about mission from partner churches. I shall never forget the message from the Church in Korea. It read, “The church should light the sacred candle of the resurrection, not merely through its preaching within its walls, but also through actions outside the walls of the church.  We should dedicate ourselves to the task of reviving conscience and justice which will bless us with a brighter, more just society.” That was wise counsel then and now.

For Fred, Easter means a more just society. Why do you think your churches are empty, Fred?

St. Hilda's Oakville twinned with St. Francis Zimbabwe

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Symmetry can be found in mathematical proofs, poetry and snowflakes. Occasionally, what at first might appear as a haphazard coincidence, exhibits all the elegance of symmetry. Here we have a surprising example of the symmetrical relationship between St Francis Anglican church, Zimbabwe and St. Hilda’s, Oakville, Canada.

The symmetry is as follows:

Bishop Sebastian Bakare Leftrightarrow !, Bishop Don Harvey

Reverend Vincent Fenga Leftrightarrow !, Pastor Paul

St Francis parishioners Leftrightarrow !, St. Hilda’s parishioners

Nolbert Kunonga Leftrightarrow !, Michael Bird

five people  in St Francis with the Kunonga-affiliated priest and his wife Leftrightarrow !, Cheryl Fricker, Sue-Ann Ward, piano player and lay reader

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A GLEN Norah resident was shot and injured in the arm when police fought running battles with parishioners at St Francis Anglican church, arresting two priests, a church warden, one youth member and another church member.

All those arrested belong to the main Anglican church that is led by Harare Bishop Sebastian Bakare.

Buoyed by their brave Bishop Bakare, who a few weeks ago ignored the riot policeman at the altar trying to disrupt his Sunday service, and carried on with worship at the main cathedral in the city, Glen Norah parishioners decided Sunday time had come to reclaim their church.

So they left a local hall they had been renting after being thrown out by the police at the behest of Nolbert Kunonga, a zealot of Robert Mugabe’s repressive regime.

“Since we were thrown out of the church by the police, we have been attending church service at a parishioners house in Glen View 7 but since the onset of the rainy season, we have been renting a hall in Glen Norah A,” Reverend Vincent Fenga said from his cell at the Glen Norah Police Station.

“So yesterday the church agreed that since our colleagues elsewhere had gone back, we should also do the same and start to use the church at the time we were given by the courts, which is 11 AM but lo and behold, the police were not having any of that so problems erupted as church members started to tussle with the police.”

The angry parishioners wanted to know why the police were protecting Kunonga, especially when only five people were holding service, the Kunonga-affiliated priest and his wife included, were the only ones using the church for service in the morning.

Some started throwing stones at the police as the police used force to try and force the parishioners out of the church yard and building. Teargas and gunshots were subsequently fired as police tried to disperse the parishioners who had now been joined by residents who live around their church.

A local man who was relaxing at his home was shot and injured in the arm. His name has not been released.

At least four people were arrested and they have been identified as Mr Mutyamaenza, assistand parish priest Mr Musariri and one youth, Jussy Chingunduru. Two of them who are diabetic, including the church warden, have since paid guilt of admission fines and have been released.

The police, however, refused to allow Reverend Fenga and the youth leader, Chigunduru, to leave the cells. They will be arraigned at the Mbare Magistrates Court Tuesday.

Members of the parish’s Mother’s Union converged at the police station and spent the whole day singing church hymns outside the station in protest at the arrest of their priest which they say is unfair.

“Since the unity government came into being, the police officers, who were no longer guarding the church, came back and we have not been able to use our church, a church we built with our own money simply because of Kunonga,” a senior Mother’s Union leader said.

“We are not going to stop, we will continue until we reclaim our church. We have a court order that says we should use the church from 11am so what is the police trying to do, they almost killed an innocent man, all in the quest of protecting one man so he can control the church and its money. Like they say my son, everything that flies will one day have to land and so will Kunonga and Robert Mugabe. We wonder what the unity government says to all this.”

The injured man, whose name was not immediately available, is said to be in a stable condition. Police refused to comment but a spokesperson said investigations were underway into yesterday’s incident.

Since September 2007 the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe has been controlled by Nolbert Kunonga, the former Bishop of Harare.

The controversial former Harare Bishop broke away from the Lambeth Palace-affiliated Harare diocese, and defied a high court ruling last year ordering him him to share churches with his Anglican rivals.

About a month ago the Church secured an affidavit from Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, in which denied knowing anything about a police operation to force Anglicans away from their churches.

It was read to parishioners by Anglican priests wherever they met, and they were urged to return to their churches on Sunday.

Emboldened by the formation of the new power-sharing Government, the church’s flock is now beginning to return in force and many hope Kunonga will soon be a creature of the past.

Parishioners of St. Francis, thank you for the inspiration.

Rowan offers advice to the BBC: the pot calling the kettle black

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Rowan on ignoring Christians:

Dr Rowan Williams had a meeting at Lambeth Palace with director general Mark Thompson in which he said the corporation should not ignore its Christian audience.

The talks came at a time when some senior figures are worried about signs that the BBC is more interested in promoting minority faiths than in broadcasting Christian programming or teachings.

Rowan is an expert in this area: he himself is well versed in ignoring his Christian audience, preferring, instead, to pontificate on the virtues of sharia law, the evils of global warming and who to blame for the financial crisis.

Clearly what is needed at the BBC is a series of Indaba groups to continue the conversation and listening. As they discern their way forward. Rowan could lead it.

The Stepford diocese

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In the latest synod of the Diocese of Niagara, the diocese’s dealings with ANiC parishes – which have taken place mainly in the courts – were enumerated for the benefit of the synod delegates:

  • Litigation with ANC – these comments are on public record
  • Feb 08 – 3 congregations withdrew
  • Preliminary Court hearings took place in Feb and then in March 08
  • She ruled on the sharing the buildings by D of N and ANC – costs to be paid by withdrawing congregations.  Application for appeal was denied and costs were awarded.  The wardens of the withdrawing congregations are the defendants
  • St. Peter’s later passed a motion to withdraw in June of 08
  • Costs have been adjudicated in one case – in favour of the diocese 20,000.  This has been paid.  Our request was for 180,000.  The justice was looking at whether these costs are to be assumed personally by the wardens.  We do not have a decision yet from the judge.
  • There is a provision if there is a difficulty in the interim arrangements – this can go before an arbitrator.  We have given a list of things that need to go before the arbitrator.
  • The network lawyer has an application to move the court case from Hamilton to Milton.  This application is to be heard on Apr 5.  We oppose this.
  • There is a case in the Diocese of New Westminster.  In our case we applied for our right to hold these parishes.  In their case the network are plaintiff and the diocese is the defendant.  That matter is to be heard in May.
  • We continue to work with the people of St. Peter’s to bring them into the main body of the litigation.
  • If we get a decision on costs in a reasonable period of time – there would be a possibility that we will be in court in the fall of 2009 – on the main action.  That is optimistic.
  • Everything in this report is on public record.
  • No questions

There is nothing much new in this; the unnerving part is that there were no questions. After a litany of institutional persecution of Christian brethren at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, no-one could think of anything to say.

Perhaps there was something in the water.

The Diocese of Niagara Synod: Same-sex blessing timetable

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From the Bishop’s charge to the 134th synod that took place on March 28, 2009:

Following up on the commitment which I made just prior to the first session of Synod in November, and in light of various conversations which have taken place since, especially my meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury in January, I have asked the Dean to facilitate the work of a small group of laity and clergy from across the diocese in bringing to me suggested rites for the Blessing of Civilly Married Same-Sex Couples.  You will recall that Synod in 2007 asked the Bishop to allow clergy, whose conscience permits, to bless the marriages of civilly married same-sex couples, where at least one of the partners is baptized.   I anticipate that these rites will be prepared by later this spring, and that I will be able to present them to the clergy of the diocese at the Annual Clergy and Licensed Layworkers Conference in May.  I will be giving my permission to proceed shortly thereafter.

and a little further down we have:

I invite you all to join with me in lifting up your voices and shouting out for joy because I believe that a light is dawning upon the Diocese of Niagara and that that light is allowing us to see the beginnings and the glimpses of a new and exciting path ahead.

Which brings to mind Matt 6:22-23:

The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

George Pitcher bids a cheery farewell to Bishop Nazir-Ali

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George Pitcher’s pitch:

Dr Nazir-Ali’s departure signals the end of Anglicanism’s damaging schism, says George Pitcher.
Again, it’s important not to read too much in to Dr Nazir-Ali’s resignation itself. He has had the See of Rochester for 15 years; at not yet 60, he has another career in him yet. But can anyone seriously suggest that, had those biblical traditionalists of the southern hemisphere, known collectively as the Global South, prevailed last year in overthrowing the authority of Canterbury in favour of an African-led Communion, he would have abandoned his important foothold in the English Church?

No. Dr Nazir-Ali, scourge of homosexual liberalism and what he sees as the Muslim threat to Christendom, pitched his tent with the African rebels, under the flag of the unfortunately named Gafcon, but now finds that army dispersed and demoralised.

In the upside-down world of liberalism, a rebel and schismatic is someone who holds to 2000 years of established Christian doctrine, while a crumbling colonial edifice entrenched in an old boy network of back-slapping bishops that boast about making up their own rules is the standard-bearer of all that is proper and decent.

In fact, it is the largely decadent western expression of Anglicanism that is rebellious and schismatic; it is the one that has departed from received doctrine.

Once Pitcher has established that it is “important not to read too much in to Dr Nazir-Ali’s resignation”, he does just that. I have no idea why Dr Nazir-Ali’s has decided to change careers and neither does Pitcher, I imagine. One thing that Pitcher’s article does reveal, though is that a liberal finds the idea of eschewing ecclesiastical power – which is not much different to secular power – impossible to understand unless it is because the power has failed to achieve its ends. What seems to beyond Pitcher’s grasp is that God may have called Nazir-Ali to do something else and Nazir-Ali is more interested in what God wants than a pointed hat.

As for Gafcon’s army being dispersed and demoralised, there are millions of Gafcon/Foca Anglicans who are completely unaware of that – because it isn’t true.

Long live the Royal gay couple

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Something special for monarchists to ponder:Add an Image

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of gay rights group Stonewall, says the review is an ideal opportunity to end similar discrimination against homosexuals.

He wants measures to let future generations of Royals take part in a same-sex wedding – without losing their right to inherit the throne.

If this happens we could easily end up with a King and – er – Queen.