The Anglican Church of Canada has cut its 2010 budget by $450,000 in order to reduce the deficit to $500,000. The General Synod Treasurer, Michael George explains this startling turn of events:

General Synod is facing financial pressure on several fronts. Proportional giving from the dioceses has been steadily decreasing over recent years. The overall decrease is partly due to recent economic circumstances, but a more pervasive problem is the reduction in parish size and attendance. General Synod is currently working to get a better understanding of the levels and expectations of proportional giving from dioceses.

Now what could possibly be the reason for the reduction in parish size and attendance? Could it be because the ACoC has invented a sub-Christian religion which is masquerading as Christianity; or because the demented Michael Ingham has deposed one of the most renowned theologians of our time –  J. I. Packer – while his boss, Fred Hiltz does nothing to stop him? Or is it because bishops in the more liberal dioceses hound and persecute their orthodox priests until they are driven out – in the name of inclusion. Or, perhaps it is because the ACoC has a pillage and burn strategy towards those who disagree with them, suing everyone in sight.

What could it be?

I think – to adapt a proverb wrongly ascribed to Euripides – that it’s because “Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad”.

I know that isn’t exactly a startling revelation – which, in itself speaks volumes on the state of the ACoC.

A letter in the November Anglican Journal illustrates that – at least in the near future – there is little likelihood of slowing the gay agenda juggernaut. Here is the letter (emphasis mine):

It’s hard to know exactly why Harold Munn’s article made us so angry (Let’s talk about sex, Sept, 2009). We share his position on the issue of same-sex blessings. We also share his desire to remain in communion with those who don’t and find his story of unlikely friendship endearing.

Perhaps it is because his “two straight guys talking about same-sex blessings” falls into the same category as “two white guys talking about reconciliation with First Nations people” and “two men talking about the ordination of women.” Perhaps it’s because after a few meetings, Canon Munn and his colleague found there was little left to say. We don’t have that luxury and neither do clergy in same-sex relationships in the diocese of British Columbia (Canon Munn’s home). We long for the day we don’t have to constantly defend our position on the issue of same-sex blessings.

Rev. Andrew Halladay
Rev Davis Taylor.

There are a number of things one can surmise from this letter:

• The Reverend gentleman who wrote the letter are in a same-sex “relationship”;
• There are other priests, possibly many other priests, in same-sex relationships;
• The assumption going in to any debate on this issue is that priests in this kind of relationship are entitled to live out – or indulge – their sexual proclivities;
• Priests who have a same-sex paramour, rather than hide the fact, wish to “come out” and, in doing so need to justify their behaviour in order to keep doing what they are doing while remaining priests in the ACoC;
• Priests who are not homosexual almost certainly know other priests who are and, as a fellow priest, feel an obligation to defend them.

I attended a meeting held by the Diocese of Niagara a few years back when the issue of same-sex blessings had come to a head. One of the speakers was a young homosexual priest whose argument boiled down to, “I’m gay; I want to be in a stable sexual relationship with another man. If that doesn’t happen, I am doomed to a life of frustration. I am entitled to sexual fulfilment”. In the room, there was a lot of sympathy for him.

On ebay:

Anglican Church Of Canada” Past & Future Video VHS. Starting bid: $4.99.

The description reassures us that with:

“This Canadian Import Video You Get PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE Of The ANGLICAN CHURCH”

That’s right, the entire history of the Anglican Church of Canada on one VHS tape; I understand that the “future” section is fairly brief.

The Anglican Journal points out that:

Failure by governments and international institutions to ensure people have access to food means that for the first time more than 1 billion people are undernourished, according to  a coalition of religious, human rights and development groups.

Much of the Anglican Church of Canada’s effort to feed the hungry is devoted to parading a few bedraggled zealots at Queen’s Park and spending money on full page newspaper ads imploring the government or somebody – anybody – to do something about poverty; something that doesn’t affect the $100K per year earned by the average bishop.

Co-incidentally, Lifesite News reports that 1 billion abortions have been performed worldwide.  I am still waiting for a definitive and clear condemnation of this from the Anglican establishment; I fear it will be a long wait.

The Diocese of Brandon has a strange website; its creator appears to be proud of the fact that the main page “reflects neither diocesan nor any other policy”:

The Brandon diocesan website is a pro bono site. It neither captures nor stores any information about those browsing it. Not a lot happens in this diocese. The purpose of this main page is to provide a worldwide snapshot of matters judged to be of Christian concern, useful for sermon and intercession material and culled from responsible sources. The very contradictory nature of some of the articles should make it plain that it reflects neither diocesan nor any other policy.

But then, the diocese has a pretty strange bishop too: Jim D. Njegovan. Some of his bizarre antics are chronicled in Zoominfo where this champion of tolerance and inclusion declared:

Bishop Jim Njegovan of the Diocese of Brandon, Manitoba made it clear that neither Anglican Essentials literature nor The Anglican Planet, Canada’s alternative to the officially-sponsored Anglican Journal newspaper would be tolerated in his diocese.

I think the author of the diocesan website has it wrong: a lot happens in the Diocese of Brandon, but not much of it makes sense.

Alleviating poverty used to be something that the church believed was its duty. Today the Anglican church, as it visibly withers year by year, is very much wrapped up in its own myopic pursuits: seeking out gay individuals to transform into clergy, suing those who are not in agreement and paying for full page newspaper ads badgering the government to do the church’s job. After a token  plea to Anglicans, Johnson makes clear that charity has become the province of government – and the taxpayer:

As we come together to celebrate this Thanksgiving, I ask you to pause and imagine looking down at a half-empty plate of plain food, a meal that will leave you hungry at the end. That’s the reality for 300,000 Ontarians who rely on food banks to ward off hunger each month.

There are many others. Some we know personally, because they turn to our churches seeking food and companionship. We do what we can to help. The needs are great. The numbers of the poor have grown in the recent recession.

A key part of the solution involves a stronger response from Government. We applaud this Government’s initiative in its current budget. There is still much more that must be done for the hungry and poor in our midst.

As a first step, we recommend a $100 Healthy Food Supplement be added to the monthly incomes of people living on social assistance. Research has shown that people on social assistance, living far below the poverty line, have a poorer diet and get sick much more than other people. An extra $100 per month would enable them to afford more nutritious food.

Yes, there is a cost to this. But hunger and poverty are also costly, in terms of extra health care, emergency food services, less alert students and much more. And what price can we put on the anxiety of not being able to feed your children properly, or the desperation of simply struggling to get through each day?

Look out Cochrane:

Cochrane will be host to the Ontario Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church from Wednesday October 14 through Friday October 16.

Over 70 delegates, the Primate Archbishop Fred Hiltz, 12 Bishops, guests, speakers and observers will assemble in the Transfiguration Hall for 2 days of intensive meetings, decision-making, worship and the election of a new Metropolitan.

What can be done? Hard to say, but try hanging garlic on your door and sprinkle holy water along the city walls.

A group of Anglicans from the Union of Myamar – what used to be called Burma – were denied visas by the Canadian government, ostensibly because the government is unconvinced that they will be willing go back at the end of the visit.

They were planning on visiting churches in the Diocese of BC and the diocese has paid some of their expenses; the diocese wants its money back:

The Anglican Church has been forced to incur substantial expenses for these 11 men and women from Myanmar.

Exit visas were issued for all delegates by the Union of Myanmar.

I call on the Government of Canada to explain its actions, apologize to those affected and request compensation for costs incurred.

Olivia Chow is incensed:

At the news conference with Chow was Victoria NDP MP Denise Savoie. She asked, “If the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is unwilling to take the word of Canadian church officials about a group of priests with unbreakable ties to their home parishes, then what hope does an ordinary citizen have in sponsoring their family member to visit Canada?”

And has set up a Facebook group to advertise her outrage.

In case anyone is thinking Canada is unduly parsimonious in its largess towards actual refugees, in 2006 over 800 Myanmar refugees were admitted.

Perhaps the endless political agitation by the Anglican Church of Canada has come home to roost and the visitors were denied entry because the church vouched for them.

The street preacher exhorting sinners to repent in order to avoid the fires of hell is less than popular these days. For the typical Anglican bishop, it is unthinkable: after all the fires of hell are already licking at the foundations of most Canadian dioceses. So, instead, the pitch is to attend a church – any church, or even religion (“tradition” as bishops like to say); and for those less than enamoured with rampant inclusion, there is always a chance of a conversation about gay priests with one of the mitred reverends. It’s all very civilised:

Bishops make pitch to startled commuters

Idling taxis, hot dog stands and four smiling Anglican bishops in full regalia. That was the sight greeting sleepy-eyed commuters leaving Union Station during this morning’s rush hour.

Sporting long, damask robes of pearly white or sky blue, heads topped with pointed bishop’s hats, the clergy passed out cards encouraging the Bay Street hordes to make their way to a house of worship this Sunday. Most people accepted the handout drowsily, without comment; others seemed startled or amused at the group’s elaborate outfits. A few passers-by stopped for quick chats before scurrying along to their offices.

“You invite people to baseball games or to the movies,” said Bishop of Toronto Colin Johnson.  “Traditionally, we’ve not been good at inviting people to come to church.”

Johnson oversees the 211 parishes of an area that stretches from Mississauga to Brighton and north to Haliburton; in total, 80,000people are on the church’s rolls. This morning’s outing was modelled on the United Kingdom’s “Back to Church Sunday” a two-year-old program that encourages regular churchgoers to invite friends to join them.

Although the foursome represent the 254 congregations of the Golden Horseshoe, Johnson stressed that they were encouraging Torontonians of all faiths to reconnect with their own traditions. “Faith gives life perspective, shape, direction and hope,” he said. “It helps people see they’re part of something larger than themselves.”

Most who stopped to chat with the bishops seemed to be regular churchgoers already. Making his way from Whitby to Bay Street via GO Train, Gerald Godinho stopped to debate with Bishop Linda Nicholls about ordaining gay and lesbian priests, a contentious issue that has led various international Anglican Communion members to threaten fissure from the central church.