The missing component in the church’s COVID-19 response

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This is how the church is responding to the Wuhan virus that is creating worldwide havoc.

I’ll start with the most fatuous: almost every Anglican archbishop is exhorting us to light a candle. A bit like this:

I have nothing against candles – except that we now have incandescent, fluorescent and LED lights that work better and don’t set things on fire. The problem is, whenever something bad happens, people compulsively light candles to symbolise…. something, nobody really knows what. Instead of a candle, why aren’t the bishops telling us to put a cross in the window; at least that is a clear symbol that announces to passers by the convictions of the occupants.

Then we have the synchronised recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. That can’t be bad, other than the “Thy will be done” bit. What, perish the thought, if His will is to smite what is undoubtedly an evil generation and its ecclesiastical enablers, hip and thigh?

Lastly, the church is no longer meeting. I find myself in two minds about this. As far as I am aware, never in the history of the church have Christians been afraid to congregate. If persecuted, Christians met in secret. I believe that the church continued to meet during the black death – someone correct me if I am wrong. Are Christians just as afraid of death as everyone else? I know, we don’t want to see the grim reaper marching through our congregations, that’s why I am in two minds about it.

What is the missing component? Repentance. Admittedly, the Anglican Church of Canada is in a state of constant repentance about bringing Christianity to the original inhabitants of Canada. But what about the very real current evils it tolerates – even celebrates – in our society? In Canada, 100,000 babies are murdered in the womb every year; euthanasia is now legal and has killed more people than the Wuhan virus (as of this writing); children are fed transgender nonsense by adults and being butchered to become something they are not and never will be. Has the church stood against any of this?

I know that to even suggest that God might be judging the world will evoke shrieks of horror from all, the loudest coming from clergy. But what if it is true? Should not the church be calling on the country to repent just in case? Before it gets even worse.

Make music not contagion

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Sing Praises to the Father, a strange little worship song I wrote a few years ago

And The Love of God, a children’s poem written by Bob Blackburn, a dear departed friend (age 100) that I set to music:

Here we go again with the candles

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Why do people – well, bishops in this case – think lighting candles is a good idea when times are trying?

Come to think of it, Bishop Jane Alexander may be on to something. In the 17th Century, the Great Fire of London purged the city of the unsanitary conditions that spawned the Great Plague. Her eight o’clock diocesan fire hazard could do the same for Edmonton.

Repelling COVID-19 the Anglican way

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Anglican Primate Linda Nicholls has the following admonition to those of her flock worried about the prospect of contracting the COVID-19 virus: whatever you do, don’t call it the Wuhan virus. That would be racist, the only sin left in the Anglican Church of Canada.

We urge our member churches to reflect a compassionate, peace-seeking response to COVID-19 by:

….. Actively repudiating the racism and xenophobia that has shaped certain reactions to COVID-19;

So, wash your hands and watch you mouth.

Even worse, if you really slip up and call it the Chinese virus, your bigotry will probably invite heavenly retribution; just writing that had me sneezing faster than I could say “xenophobia”.

Islamic call to pray in Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral

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No doubt about it, the Cathedral clerics are practicing for the year 2040 when, according to recent projections, the Anglican Church of Canada will cease to exist. Something will take its place and it will probably be Islam, so the church might as well get a head start and turn the cathedral into a mosque now.

The event was billed as an attempt to “improve interfaith understanding and constructive engagement”.

Here is the Islamic call to prayer which, you will not be surprised to see, makes no mention of Jesus but makes much of Muhammad being the messenger of God, a contention which, if true, make nonsense of Christianity.

God is Great! God is Great! God is Great! God is Great!
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
Hurry to the prayer. Hurry to the prayer.
Hurry to salvation. Hurry to salvation.
God is Great! God is Great!
There is no god except the One God.

The Muslims attending the event were there to explain Jesus to the Christians who attended. An odd choice considering that Islam teaches that Jesus did not die on the cross, was not resurrected, was not the Son of God and did not make atonement for the sins of the world.

If that hasn’t irritated you enough, you can seek further irritation by reading the entire article here (page 13). Perhaps you will get the same impression as me: Cathedral Christians are ashamed of their own beliefs.

An open exhibition on Jesus from an Islamic perspective was set up in the Cathedral’s parish hall, where members of the Muslim community engaged with the congregation and shared their belief and love for Jesus. Imams from Vancouver Mosque were also available for any detailed questions.

[…..]

Islamic Call to Prayer was made from the Cathedral pulpit at 12:30pm with an English explanation. This call to prayer is similar to the Christian church tradition of ringing bells before important services. The attendees also witnessed the Noon Prayer at 1:15pm followed by an explanation about the concept and purpose of prayer in Islam.

I suppose the good news is, when the Cathedral completes its metamorphosis into a mosque, there will be no more same-sex marriages held there.

Anglican Foundation of Canada to spend $50,000 to make the earth cooler

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If you have any ideas that have not yet occurred to any of the 85,000 environmental scientists working on reversing anthropogenic global warming, then the Anglican Church of Canada will give you – 20 of you – $2500 each.

My submission is to ban Anglican Church of Canada sermons: the reduction in hot air would probably catapult us into the next ice age.

When I saw the submission date, the obvious thought occurred to me. I quickly came to my senses and discarded it, since the Anglican Foundation of Canada has no sense of humour or of the ridiculous and is blissfully oblivious of the irony that, even though it can’t solve its own problems, it thinks it can solve everybody else’s.

Trash Wednesday

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There is something about Ash Wednesday that brings out the the worst in those Anglican panjandra who are desperate to create a spurious aura of relevance in a culture that has no use for them.

Here we have Ashes to Go from the Diocese of Toronto, brought to you by three McDonalds ex-employees who found their way into the Anglican priesthood to continue their fast food vocation in another form:

And in the UK, climate zealots are using fake oil instead of ashes. Remember You are Dust and to Synthetic Oil You Shall Return:

Complaint leads to removal of pro-life ad from Guelph Transit buses

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This is one of the advertisements:

The article below describes the advertisements as “controversial”, in itself a sad indictment on a society that sees controversy in protecting the unborn and none in inviting drag queens into children’s libraries to spread “diversity” to infants.

Read it all here:

A controversial anti-abortion advertisement that had been running on Guelph Transit buses has been removed by the City of Guelph after a complaint was made by a member of the public.

Lifelong Guelphite Fiona Douglas recalls seeing anti-abortion advertising by Guelph & Area Right to Life on Guelph Transit buses since she was a child. Now 27, Douglas has been campaigning for the past few years to have the advertisements removed from public property.

The nub of the problem is the phenomenon that was unheard of before 2010: triggering. The notion is that if a person is exposed to an idea which runs contrary to his conditioning, it might upset – trigger – him. And obviously, since my generation’s children seem to have inadvertently bred a crop of fragile snowflakes, we can’t have that.

“It’s triggering for me as someone who has never had an abortion. It upsets me that people are able to make other people question what is right for them and their health care through the lens of human rights,” said Douglas.

Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that the woman filing the complaint is against free speech, she hastens to assure us that she is all for it. As long as it doesn’t upset anyone:

Douglas said she believes strongly in freedom of speech and acknowledges Right to Life has every right to advertise, but doesn’t want to see messages that are misleading or could be upsetting to some people.

When is the Anglican church, which loves social action so much it has swapped saving souls for banning pipelines, going to do something socially positive and support groups like the Guelph & Area Right to Life?

Anglicans for freezing to death in the dark

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Canadian Anglican bishops like nothing better than to protest oil and gas pipelines in spite of the fact that the fossil fuel carried in the pipelines is the only thing stopping their heads freezing to their mitres.

The latest protest against the Coastal GasLink Pipeline has a new twist. It introduces the 2SLGBTQQIA element. Yes, I know this is a few more letters than we are used to but the Anglican Church of Canada prides itself on its inclusion, so the effect of a pipeline on 2SLGBTQQIA people (you know who you are) is a real concern.

My worry in all this is, why is there no “N” in 2SLGBTQQIA? For the necrophiliac community. Surely Anglicans should include those who are in a stable monogamous relationship and given to such affections: “till decomposition us do part” has a distinct liturgical ring to it.

Our ongoing concern is for the safety of all involved in this conflict, and particularly the unarmed, peaceful Wet’suwet’en land and water protectors and their allies. We share the concern that the MMIWG Final Report Calls for Justice 13.1-13.5 have not been addressed in the planning and implementation of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline. We call on the governments of Canada and British Columbia, along with Coastal Gaslink to “complete gender-based socio-economic impact assessments on” this project and “include provisions that address the impacts of projects on the safety and security of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.”