From here:
There was a time when being a charity meant doing something real, something tangible.
Operating a soup kitchen.
Providing medical help to those in need overseas.
Helping orphans here in Canada.
Providing valuable goods or services.
That’s real charity work.
No longer.
Now it appears that hyper-political lobbying can count as charitable work too.
Yes, you can be a full-time whiner, and that counts as charity work!
This isn’t intended to be a description of the Anglican Church of Canada, but it is an apt characterisation:
The Social Justice and Advocacy Committee is organizing groups of Anglicans to meet with their newly elected and re-elected MPPs in the next few months to build positive relationships and discuss ways of advancing progress on the critical issues of poverty, hunger and affordable housing facing our society.
Most charities are engaged in some sort of advocavy. The Canadian Cancer Society does it, the United Way does it, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops seeks intervenor status all the time on economic and social matters. The ACoC is perfectly within its realm to be advocating on behalf of the homeless and hungry. I applaud their efforts.
What exactly was your point?
Is it?
I thought Jesus told his followers – the church – to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit prisoners, not pester the government to do it with other people’s money.
For me the point is that the ACoC and all of its internal groups, committees and organizations, should be primarily concerned with spreading the Word of God. The longer it is diverted from this primary work the worse will be its continued decline.
There may be something to harvest this year. But if the fields are not planted now there will be nothing to harvest next year.
In time the ACoC will decline to such a diminished state that it will no longer be able to advocate for anything.
You obviously don’t see the church I see.
The ACoC preaches social justice. ANiC preaches the gospel. The ACoC is feverishly closing churches. ANic is steadilly planting churches.
What are you seeing that I am not?
My diocese is busy planting churches. And your church has a scorched earth policy with regard to my church.
Ravaging a parish of its congregation is devious. Exploiting the resources of the diocese and then leaving itis even moreso. There is little in the behaviour of ANiC that suggests she is the “guardian” of the gospel you make her out to be.
Eph 3:20,
I’m not sure how you work that out. The ACoC has won most of the lawsuits for buildings and has turfed out the ANiC congregations leaving such small or non-existent congregations that the parishes are not viable. If anyone has a scorched earth policy, it is the ACoC.
You’re not seriously suggesting that the ANiC congregations that have left the ACoC were somehow tricked into doing so, surely?
Exploiting what resources exactly?
i found out on the weekend that if I were to join the Brotherhood of Anglican Churchmen the membership fee would be $15, $10 of which would go directly to the Diocese.
This is just one example of how the Diocese is supported by the local parishes and groups. Frankly I do not see a proportionate amount of support coming back from the Diocese to the local parishes and groups.
If there is any exploitation (which I honestly hope there is not) than it is being committed by the Diocese.
“Pearls before swine”