The Anglican Church of Canada’s Buzz video wins an award

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From here:

An Anglican Video production, “Vision 2019: catch the buzz,” was awarded the Bronze Remi award in  the religion, ethics, and spirituality category at Worldfest 2011, Houston, Texas. WorldFest received more than 3,200 entries from 33 countries.

When I watched the video, I found it cringingly embarrassing in its desperation to appear trendy: a fatal mistake, since technological trendiness only lasts a few hours. Everyone who is really trendy knows that Facebook is now passé and Google+ is where the action is. You even need an invitation to gain access.

The rest is all Gandhi, spiritual not religious, quixotic utopianism, unjust structures, Gaia – the usual stuff. When Jesus is mention, it’s because he created a buzz and went viral, banalities that are already beginning to sound dated.

Here it is:

Something else to evoke Pride

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“Pride”, having been hijacked by militant homosexuals, is fair game for everyone else, too: now you can be a Proud Prostitute – sorry, sex-trade worker.

From here:

An advocacy group for sex-trade workers in Halifax has launched a poster campaign designed to humanize their image, as a man faces charges for allegedly brutalizing a prostitute and murdering another.

Rene Ross, executive director of Stepping Stone, said the goal is to show that sex workers are everyday people.

“They are somebody’s mother, brother, daughter … and they’re not just whores, tramps, hookers, which is what labels society has given them,” she told CBC News.

One poster features an image of a grandmother with the caption, “I am proud of my tramp for raising two kids on her own.”

Presumably the proud grandmother would be content to see her grandchildren following in their mother’s footsteps.

Rowan Williams wants church schools to be inclusive

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Shocking news, I know, but here it is:

Dr Rowan Williams said they needed to be more concerned with providing places to disadvantaged children than “securing our membership”.

In an address to the General Synod, the Church’s parliament, on Saturday, the archbishop said that its schools need to be “open for as many children as possible”.

[……]

“How, in the context of far-reaching changes to how education is delivered in this country, do we continue to offer what we have always offered?” he said.

“Which is not a system of confessional schools designed to secure our membership, but a critical partnership with the state that seeks to keep open for as many children as possible the fullest range imaginable of educational enrichment.

“Our history as educators in this country is much to do with offering possibilities in social contexts where other providers have practically given up or have settled for less than the best.”

Today no confessional schools, tomorrow no confessional seminaries, next week no confessional churches. But all offering possibilities in social contexts.

What is worse than being called a Fascist?

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Being called a faggot. Hurled obloquies such as “fascist” and “fat git” are water off a duck’s back to those drenched in today’s ambience of tolerance. But refer to someone as something I used to eat with gravy every Wednesday and the equality Gestapo start launching probes.

Obviously I am going to have to brush up on my insults.

From here:

An Aberdeen councillor has been cleared of making homophobic comments towards the authoriity’s gay then-leader.

Jim Farquharson admitted calling John Stewart a “fascist” and a “fat git” but Mr Stewart claimed the term “faggot” had been used.

The incident happened after a heated council meeting in September last year.

A complaint was lodged with the Public Standards Commissioner for Scotland (PSCS). It has been ruled he was not in breach of his code of conduct.

Mr Farquharson categorically denied using the term at the time of the incident.

He told BBC Scotland: “I have never used such a word.”

However, he added that he stood by his fascist comment.

 

Rowan Williams thinks Western Anglicans are self-indulgent

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From here:

The Archbishop of Canterbury has attacked “self indulgence” within the Church of England as he spoke of how his visit to the eastern Congo left him “wanting to be a Christian”.

Dr Rowan Williams said hearing about the “transforming” work of the Anglican Church in the central African country had helped put into perspective “fashionable sneers” faced by the Church of England in this country.

He added that the dedication of Anglican workers in the eastern Congo has put into a “harsh light” the “self indulgence of so much of our church life” which gives people the excuse not to take God seriously.

Dr Williams said church members had risked their lives to rescue young men and women trapped in militias in the forests of eastern Congo.

The experience had highlighted how the church “mattered so intensely”, he said, and how if it wasn’t for the Church no-one would have cared for these young people.

“It left me wanting to be a Christian,” he said, adding jokingly: “Never too late.”

“It left me thinking that there is nothing on earth so transforming as a Church in love,” he said.

He’s quite right, of course, although I suspect that it was Christ rather than the institution of the church that mattered so intensely.

Considering this, one might expect Rowan Williams to welcome with open arms the Anglican Mission in England, an outreach from Kenya, a country whose Anglicans also take Christ seriously.

But, placing himself squarely in the camp of those who self-indulgently care more for the institution to which they belong than the salvation of men’s souls, he didn’t.

 

A Sparkling celebration

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Sparkle is over now, so if you were blissfully unaware of it (as, regrettably, I was), you will have to wait for next year’s celebration of all things transgender.

In addition to seeing Lynne Featherstone MP, minister for equalities and participating in the Tranny of the year competition, you could have attended a Special Sparkle Church Service at St Ninian’s United Reformed Church led by Transgender members; even though it isn’t Anglican, I expect many of us would have found that very tempting.

For those men who are not endowed as our inner woman would wish, consider Stick on Curves, which do this:

Before:

After:

 

If only I had known about these sooner. I wonder if Lynne Featherstone uses them.

ACNA bishop’s gmail account hacked

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From here:

The gmail account of the Rt. Rev. Foley Beach, pastor of the Holy Cross Anglican Church in Loganville and head of the Anglican Church of the South, was hacked and emails sent out to his thousands of contacts requesting money in his name.

[…….]

The scammers used Beach’s gmail account to send out an email from him claiming to have been mugged while in London. It claimed he had been held up at gun point and all his belongings – cash, cell phone and credit cards – stolen. The email gives a supposed hotel desk phone number in London and a request to send money to help him fly back home because his bank can’t get him the money for 2 – 4 working days.

This particular scam is quite widespread: I received a similar email, supposedly from a friend, a month or so ago.

So far, no TEC bishops have been charged.

The exsufflicate No Anglican Covenant gang now has two patron anti-saints

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From here:

The Rt. Rev. Dr. John Saxbee and the Rt. Rev. Dr. Peter Selby have been appointed the first episcopal patrons of the international No Anglican Covenant Coalition, whose slogan is “Anglicans for Comprehensive Unity.”

Oddly enough, Saxbee and Selby are also patrons of the Anglican homosexual lobby group Changing Attitudes. Funny coincidence, that.