Category Archives: Diocese of Niagara

Professor of church history says ANiC really is Anglican

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Something that sticks in the craw of the Anglican Church of Canada’s leadership is what the “A” stands for in “ANiC”. Thus, a group of Diocese of Niagara clergy complained when a local paper, the Burlington Post, referred to a new ANiC church building as “Anglican”.

Canon Alan Hayes, a professor of church history at Wycliffe, has defended ANiC’s claim to be Anglican in the Diocese of Niagara’s paper.

I had a chat over coffee with Alan Hayes a few years back; he was an affable fellow who lamented the diminishment of diversity within the ACoC after the departure of the ANiC parishes. While I’m keen to be able to call the church I belong to Christian, I’m not too concerned about whether it is generally recognised as being Anglican or not. Nevertheless, since it causes the opposition such consternation, I will continue to insist that it is, in fact, Anglican.

I don’t think he was fired for consorting with the enemy.

From here (page3):

I’m still digesting the letter you reprinted from some senior Burlington clergy to the Burlington Post differentiating ACC Anglicans from ANC Anglicans.

I hope that this doesn’t start a pattern where ELCIC Lutherans will write in to distinguish themselves from Missouri Synod Lutherans, PAOC Pentecostals from Four-Square Pentecostals, BCOQ Baptists from Fellowship Baptists, CCC Congregationalists from unaffiliated Congregationalists, Free Methodists from Wesleyan Methodists, Roman Catholics from Old Catholics, MCC Mennonites from Old Order Mennonites, OCA Orthodox from ethnic Orthodox, PCC Presbyterians from RPCNA Presbyterians, CRC Reformed from RCA Reformed —the permutations are almost endless.

Come on, Burlington Post! Pay attention to our schisms! Can it have escaped you how important they are?

But, wait. Is it such good strategy for Christians to stomp into the public forum shouting at the top of their lungs, “WE’RE not the same as THEM!”? Have we thought what this sounds like to the world?

Or, more scripturally, can we find spiritual health in rushing to draw lines of separation between ourselves and “the other”? Jesus used the parable of the righteous pharisee to answer that one, and Paul taught that we’re all one in Christ Jesus.

They say that one reason the early Church grew so explosively was that outsiders looked in with awe and said, “See how the Christians love each other!” Now we’re prompting the public to declare, “See how the Christians really, really don’t get along!”

How’s that working for us?

Canon Alan L. Hayes, Oakville

The Diocese of Niagara considers what to do with the three ANiC properties it acquired

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From here (page 1):

The future mission for all three parishes is being worked out.

A sign outside the Church of the Good Shepherd in St. Catherines states that “Transfiguration Anglican is coming soon.”

Bishop Michael Bird visited St. George’s Lowville on July 22, the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. He thanked the congregation for their faithfulness during the difficult time they experienced during the period of litigation with ANiC. He drew a parallel with St. Mary Magdalene, who was the faithful first witness to the resurrection, when the other disciples had not yet come to believe.

The Diocese is discerning and reflecting upon different ministry opportunities appropriate for St. Hilda’s Oakville.

The “ministry opportunity” currently being explored, discerned and reflected upon at St. Hilda’s is how to further the “future mission” of the Diocese by blocking the entrance to churches with lumps of concrete.

If Bishop Michael Bird were to visit St. Hilda’s – a calamity that was averted the whole time I was there – he could draw a parallel between the stone that was rolled away from the tomb at Jesus’ resurrection allowing disciples to enter, and the concrete barriers that were erected by the Diocese, preventing disciples from entering.

Diocese of Niagara has no use for the buildings it is seizing

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“An agreement in principle” has been reached between the Diocese of Niagara and the three parishes that left the diocese in 2008. This article (my emphasis) chronicles the experiences of the Church of one of them, the Good Shepherd in St. Catharines.

Anglican Diocese of Niagara Archdeacon Michael Patterson said the situation has been difficult for all sides and he is looking forward to its conclusion. An agreement in principle has been reached between the two parties, and all that’s required are signatures.

The diocese has not determined what it will do with the church building on Granthoam, Former members of the Good Shepherd parish who disagreed with the split have moved to other congregations in the city, he said.

“They have been patient and waiting upon outcomes to determine what would happen, generations of people who were members of that community, (who) hope upon hope that we’ll be able to re-ignite the community.”

But Patterson said that given the climate of church closures, amalgamations and declining attendance, the diocese cannot commit to re-opening the church.

Archdeacon Michael Patterson admits that the diocese has no real use for the building in St. Catharines; the same would go for St. Hilda’s since there is no congregation eagerly awaiting the return of the diocese there either.

This is at odds with a letter sent to the congregation of St. Hilda’s by Bishops Michael Bird and Ralph Spence in 2008 where they declared their determination to keep the church doors open come what may:

The doors probably will remain open – for the real estate agents and their prospective buyers.

Diocese of Niagara: St. Luke’s Palermo is turning into a 7 story retirement home

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The Diocese of Niagara is continuing the trend of combining its church buildings with community centres and, in this case, a retirement home. The current church building will remain, but will be moved.

This secularising of churches has the benefit of creating an aura of vitality in otherwise flagging parishes and also brings in cash to the financially struggling diocese.

Not all the residents are happy about the plan: some are discontented with the size of the new building and others with the ecological effects it will have. It appears to be going ahead though.

St. Luke’s is the parish where the diocesan version of St. Hilda’s meets; there aren’t actually any people in the diocesan version of St. Hilda’s, but the diocese likes to maintain the fiction, nevertheless.

From here:

Palermo’s St. Luke’s Anglican Church has been cleared for take off.

Town council voted, Tuesday night, to approve an application from Fram Building group that will see the historically valuable church moved to the eastern side of the same property, which is bounded by Dundas Street West, Valleyridge Drive and Springforest Drive, to make way for a 7-storey retirement facility and a new parish hall and community centre.

The proposed development will be accessed via Dundas Street and Valleyridge Drive. Parking for each facility will also be established.

The cemetery on the site will be maintained, while the existing parish hall and rectory will be removed.

I am Anglican

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But first and foremost, I am a Christian and don’t normally feel inclined to harp on about something that is peripheral to the kingdom of heaven, salvation, eternity and the forgiveness of sins.

I am going to make an exception for the moment, though. I belong to an ANiC parish that is a part of ACNA, the Anglican Church of North America. ACNA has not yet been recognised by Lambeth as an official Anglican body but, on February 10, 2010, the Church of England Synod passed a resolution that recognized the desire of ACNA to remain within the “Anglican Family.” This was not all ACNA hoped for, but it paves the way for full communion with Lambeth at some point.

While the Anglican Church withers in the West, it flourishes in Africa and most African Anglicans have declared full communion with ACNA: ACNA is in communion with 70% of the world’s Anglicans.

Does any of this really matter? As I remarked above, it is not of lasting significance, but I decided to make the point, nevertheless, because an Anglican priest from the Diocese of Niagara – who will remain nameless for the moment – on noting that the Niagara ANiC parishes intend to hang on to their prayer books, intoned: “you don’t need those, you are not Anglican”.

Contrary to the wish-fulfillment wet-dreams of this priest, ACNA is Anglican; ANiC is Anglican; I am Anglican.

The more important question is: “is the Diocese of Niagara Christian?”

Diocese of Niagara: All Saints Hamilton has a going out of business sale

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All Saints is a church that delights in drawing the circle wide – so wide that the parish hall became home to local musicians, the Techno Champions and the Subterraneans Collective. The latter group subtitled itself “The Sinking Ship”, inspired, no doubt, by the spiritual ambience wafting from the church sanctuary. When parts of the roof started to fall into the nave, the building was declared unsafe even for musicians; it was closed and sold to make way for a 12 story condominium:

The Synod of the Diocese of Niagara and the Hamilton nonprofit corporation Options for Homes want to demolish All Saints Anglican Church on Queen Street South at King Street West to construct a 12-storey, affordable housing apartment. The main level would be used for worship and ministry by congregation members.

The town’s view is that the main level will house “commercial units”:

Options for Homes is proposing to build a 12 storey condominium on the site of the former All Saints Church property, located at 15 Queen Street South at the corner of King Street West and Queen Street South.  The proposal is for 120 residential units with commercial units on the ground floor.

Here is the existing church building:

And here is a rendering of what the condominiums will look like:

Anyone interested in picking up a cheap baptistery should go here before they sell out.

The Diocese of Niagara is Tweeting

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The diocese has announced that:

[The] Niagara Diocese has “entered the 21st century and now have Twitter and Facebook accounts,”

Archdeacon Michael Patterson announced. He is the administrator of the Twitter account

The twitter account is @NiagaraAnglican, so naturally, I clicked on “follow”, only to discover that I have already been blocked! I feel so excluded.

 

I would like to point out to Archdeacon Michael Patterson that  is he is welcome to follow me on twitter, @anglicansam. In fact, I look forward to it.

Diocese of Niagara: the secret to church growth is to ditch the creeds

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A couple of luminaries writing in the Niagara Anglican reckon that churches are emptying because the diocese is determined to hold on to such outmoded esoterica as the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection of Christ.

This is odd, since all the priests who still believe these arcane curiosities left the diocese around 2008 – and the churches are still emptying.

From here (page 3):

Visitors to a church service from the secular world, hearing the creeds, listening to priests threatening Judgment Day, claiming that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, asserting that Jesus was literally born of a virgin and literally raised from the dead, must shake their heads in astonishment. Those who cannot tolerate what they consider hopelessly out-of-date do not return.

Diocese of Niagara does Diversity Training for Lent

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The training helps us understand our “otherness”, apparently. I don’t think I need it since I already appreciate my “otherness” from the Diocese of Niagara and am profoundly grateful for it.

From here:

Diversity Training- Understanding Our Otherness

With Maureen Brown, principal of Diveristy Trainers Plus. Maureen believes that at heart most people want the conversation on human diversity to be an honest one leading to the best results for all. As founder and principal of DiversityTrainersPlus, she helps people to have such conversations as she equips them to maximize the benefits of diversity in their environment. A former journalist, Maureen cuts through the jargon and misconceptions about diversity and inclusion with clarity and forthrightness.

I’m almost tempted to attend just so that I can learn to cut through jargon as effectively as Maureen. It would equip me to maximise the benefits of diversity in my conversation…. or environment… or something.

Diocese of Niagara performs the Vagina Monologues in cathedral

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Apparently the Diocese of Niagara will try just about anything except Christianity to entice people into its buildings: the place was full for the first time this century.

If you missed it, never fear, there will be a repeat of the fescennine folly at St. George’s Anglican Church, St. Catharines on Valentine’s day.

It’s all part of Living the Vision: coming soon to a church near you.

From here:

I was at the Christ’s Church Cathedral on Tuesday for a special performance of The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler’s still controversial (not to mention funny) play about some defining things that make a woman a woman, and a girl a girl.

Throughout the evening words were spoken that presumably had never been heard before in this hallowed space. Four-letter words some of them, with hard consonants, resounding profanely in the Gothic-Revival splendour of vaulted ceilings, stained glass and fluted columns. The hundreds who filled the church on this night would frequently drown out the sound of those words, not with indignant protest but laughter.

I was shocked. You might imagine. A “mainstream” church, with its pews full!?

The cathedral on James North, the centrepiece of the Anglican Diocese of Niagara, was built 1852-1876. Back then they didn’t envision plays in the church, certainly not with such language and content, and certainly not with the lines being delivered by ordained Anglican priests.

Back then, they really would’ve been shocked. You might imagine. But mostly because those ordained priests were … worst outrage of all … women.

Eight of them — female Anglican priests, from Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Guelph, Cayuga, Hamilton. They dressed in black vestments and red scarves, and at least one in stiletto heels.

Some even now will find it offensive that something called The Vagina Monologues was staged in a church, a sacred place, that priests said the “f” word and worse.