Tag Archives: Diocese of Rupert’s Land

Diocese of Rupert’s Land plans to proceed with same-sex marriages

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The bishop of Rupert’s Land has issued the following statement that clearly says – amidst the usual faux-pious gobbledegook – that he intends to go ahead with marrying same-sex couples in spite of the fact that the motion to approve same-sex marriages won’t be voted upon until the next general synod, that it is unlikely to pass anyway and that it could not receive final approval until 2019.

Fred Hiltz has already received an oracle  that this was bound to happen; I suppose Phillips, having seen that, thought to himself: “Why wait?”

An Update from the Bishop on Same-sex Marriages in our Church May 23, 2016.

It is my hope that this brief pastoral update will be helpful to members of our Diocese. Since the communication from the House of Bishops and the response from the Council of General Synod regarding the proposed change to the marriage canon back in March, 2016, I have noted both the interest and concern around how I view same-sex marriage in our Diocese, as well as the confusion and anxiety about what my approach to same-sex marriage might be.

Through continued prayer, listening to many voices, studying the Commission’s report, This Holy Estate, and much conversation, I am able to offer the following, hopefully straightforward, statement: I am convinced that the time has come for the provision for same-sex marriages in our Diocese to become reality. I am committed to working toward making that happen both as soon as responsibly possible, and in a grace-filled manner that minimizes the impact for those who struggle with this issue – both within and beyond our Diocese.

How this needs to take place is yet to be determined and it is important that I, our other delegates to General Synod, and all of the members of our Diocese, remain open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in discerning that path.

Yours [not in any way, shape or form – editor] in Christ,
Donald Phillips, PhD
Bishop of Rupert’s Land

Same-sex blessings in the Diocese of Rupert’s Land

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In spite of assurances given during the 2010 Anglican General Synod that the ACoC was not approving the local option (each diocese decides for itself) for the blessing of same-sex unions, many dioceses have done just that. The latest to do so is the Diocese of Rupert’s Land.

Here (page 5), you will find a regurgitation of the, by now, familiar litany explaining why the diocese feels compelled to do something that 60 million Anglicans believe they should not do. The Diocese has prepared a “protocol”:

The Bishop and clergy of Rupert’s Land have completed preparation of a protocol for the pastoral practice of blessing same-sex unions. The protocol says why same-sex unions may be blessed in Rupert’s Land parishes and how this should be done.

The “protocol” is quick to point out that:

Different Anglicans and different parishes hold different convictions on this point, arising from differing interpretations of scripture and tradition.

It omits to mention that the number of Anglicans – or, indeed, Christians – worldwide  that agree with the diocese’s interpretation is miniscule.

“Diversity” is honoured – probably because conservatives contribute most of the money and, for that reason, the diocese can’t afford to chase them out – much as it might secretly want to:

Diversity of views is honoured and appreciated. Congregations and individuals are called to show pastoral generosity to one another. No cleric and no parish is required to participate in same-sex blessing.

Clergy opposed to blessing same sex couples will have to refer them to the bishop who will then refer them to clergy who have seen the light and are not opposed. So recalcitrant clergy might just as well get with the program since it’s going to happen anyway:

Clergy opposed to same-sex blessing should refer couples to the bishop.

Let’s be clear, though, that this is not a “marriage”, even though it bears an uncanny resemblance to one:

In order to be clearly distinguished from a marriage liturgy, the rite of blessing for a same-sex union will not include an exchange of legal consents, an opportunity for objections, a declaration of union, a rite of civil marriage, a signing of the parish marriage register or a nuptial blessing.

Repeat after me: “this is not a marriage.”

Diocese of Rupert’s Land approves same-sex blessings

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From here:

The blessing of civil marriages between same-gender couples can now take place in diocese of Rupert’s Land parishes that wish to offer them.

Approximately a third of the Anglican Church of Canada’s 30 dioceses now have moved forward with same-sex blessings, an issue that has deeply divided Anglicans in Canada and worldwide.

The 2010 meeting of General Synod, the church’s governing body, did not approve the so-called local option allowing dioceses to grant same-sex blessings. But it recognized that the local option has been exercised by some dioceses and may be used in the future without the approval of the national church.

The reason the “local option” – allowing dioceses to make their own decision on whether to permit same-sex blessings – was not approved at the 2010 general synod is because it would have earned the Anglican Church of Canada a slap on the wrist from Canterbury – albeit a mild one.

To avoid this, the local option was not sanctioned – in the full knowledge that dioceses would make up their own minds anyway. It was an act of cowardice, a passing of the buck, an exploration of a deeper hypocrisy.

As the malaise spreads, it seems pretty clear – to me at least – that the fragile, forlorn hope nursed by naïve conservatives that the Anglican Church of Canada might eventually repent has degenerated into wilful self-deception. Short of a sovereign act of God, the ACoC is charging headlong into the abyss: get out now before you are sucked into the gaping maw created by its gadarene plunge to perdition.

Diocese of Rupert’s Land supports healthcare for refugees

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The headline of this article from the Journal declares: “Rupert’s Land goes to bat for refugees”. Good for Rupert’s Land, you might think: they are paying the healthcare costs for some refugees.

Not at all. The Diocese of Rupert’s Land isn’t spending money to improve refugee healthcare, it’s spending it on suing the federal government to compel it to use everyone else’s money to pay for refugee healthcare. To rub salt in the wound, the healthcare is better than that enjoyed by the taxpayers from whom the federal government collects the money.

This is the Anglican Church of Canada’s charitable giving modus operandi: don’t spend money on helping people when you can sue someone else to make them do it instead.

Federal cuts to refugee health care will deter church groups from sponsoring refugees, Anglican Church of Canada officials have warned. “Clearly, it would cut down on the number of refugees that we are able to accept because church groups just don’t have the resources to pay [for medical care],” said Bishop Don Phillips of the diocese of Rupert’s Land, where more than 2,000 refugees have been sponsored.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and Adele Finney, executive director of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, have expressed “deep concern” about the cuts to the Interim Federal Health program. Previously, private sponsors assumed the cost of food, shelter and transportation for a year, while the government provided health care. Under the revised rules, which took effect June 30, church-sponsored refugees will no longer have access to government-funded health care.

On June 26, the diocese of Rupert’s Land and the Hospitality House Refugee Ministry, which sponsors refugees with funds from the Anglican diocese of Rupert’s Land and the Roman Catholic Archepiscopal Corporation of Winnipeg, announced plans to file a lawsuit against the federal government.