Tag Archives: Anglican Church of Canada

Justin Welby wants us to be reconciled reconcilers

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Putting this into tangible and local terms: my parish, St. Hilda’s, left the Diocese of Niagara in 2008 because we could no longer go along with the theological drift of the diocese. As a result, the diocese sued St. Hilda’s and ended up owning our building; the building is now up for sale.

Justin Welby believes that “reconciliation” would entail the individuals from both sides “finding a way to love the person with whom you are dealing, quite probably not agreeing with each other but disagreeing in love.”

Is this achievable? Yes, I think so. Will it make any difference? None whatsoever.

From a practical perspective, St. Hilda’s will not return to the Diocese of Niagara because the theological differences have, if anything, increased not decreased. The Diocese of Niagara and, more broadly, the Anglican Church of Canada, could recognise ANiC as a legitimate expression of Canadian Anglicanism. But then their consciences would nag them to give the buildings back, something which would be an act of God akin to his creating a rock too heavy for him to lift.

So while we may end up “disagreeing in love”, we will do so at a respectable distance, making Welby’s brand of “reconciliation” little more than a damp squib.

It’s time for the annual Earth Hour charade

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Earth Hour arrives every year towards the end of March. Celebrities like Yoko Ono, Stephen Fry and Cate Blanchett endorse it and trendy Anglican dioceses, having mislaid the Creeds, exhort their faithful to submit themselves unquestioningly to the replacement eco-dogma.

This is enough to put off any normal person but, for those still tempted to turn off their lights tomorrow and ignite a few high toxicity candles, there is this:

Hypothetically, switching off the lights for an hour would cut CO2 emissions from power plants around the world. But, even if everyone in the entire world cut all residential lighting, and this translated entirely into CO2 reduction, it would be the equivalent of China pausing its CO2 emissions for less than four minutes.

In fact, Earth Hour will cause emissions to increase: As the United Kingdom’s National Grid operators have found, a small decline in electricity consumption does not translate into less energy being pumped into the grid, and therefore will not reduce emissions. Moreover, during Earth Hour, any significant drop in electricity demand will entail a reduction in CO2 emissions during the hour, but it will be offset by the surge from firing up coal or gas stations to restore electricity supplies afterward.

And the cozy candles that many participants will light, which seem so natural and environmentally friendly, are still fossil fuels — and almost 100 times less efficient than incandescent light bulbs. Using one candle for each switched-off bulb cancels out even the theoretical CO2 reduction; using two candles means that you emit more CO2.

Anglican Church of Canada: good news and bad news

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The good news is that the 2012 budget deficit is not as bad as expected.

The bad news is that the 2012 budget deficit is not as bad as expected: like a temporarily resuscitated zombie, the ACoC will stagger on for a few more years than is decent.

From here:

An early, unaudited draft of General Synod’s financial results for 2012 expects a lower than anticipated budget deficit for 2012, the financial management committee (FMC) has said in its written report submitted to the Council of General Synod (CoGS).

Although final results are not yet certain pending a completed audit, FMC said, “It is reasonable to expect that the deficit will be in the neighbourhood of $100,000.” A deficit of $287,680 had been forecast for that year.

However, “although 2012 will likely end up more favourably than anticipated four months ago, the outlook for 2013 has not changed,” said the report submitted by committee chair, Rob Dickson. The fall meeting of CoGS had approved a “transitional budget” with a deficit of $513,000.

The Anglican Church of Canada is “restructuring”

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Read all about it here.

In what I can only assume was an unguarded moment, Archbishop Colin Johnson let slip the real reason for the reorganisation: not to spread the Gospel more effectively or even to dabble more fervently in a spot of “ecojustice”, but to survive. After all, no church, no clergy stipend.

Archbishop Colin Johnson, diocesan bishop of the diocese of Toronto and metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Ontario, said the work of restructuring was “a lot like trying to lose weight.” Even losing a few pounds by giving up on some sweets, cutting down on meat and potatoes, and exercising more means one “will last longer,” said Johnson, who is also a member of the structures working group.

Anglican Church of Canada puts off Covenant decision – again

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At its 2010 General Synod, the ACoC decided to keep talking about the Anglican Covenant for another three years and make a decision about whether to accept it or not at its 2013 Synod. Now the Council of General Synod had decided to not decide for another three years: the plan is to continue talking until 2016.

For all practical purposes, the Covenant expired when the Church of England rejected it. Perhaps the ACoC didn’t notice or, more likely, in their never ceasing quest to be relevant, ACoC leaders want to continue prodding the corpse to make quite sure it is dead before moving on to less pressing matters such as the theological, financial, numerical and ethical collapse of their own institution.

From here:

When it meets this July, the Anglican Church of Canada’s General Synod will not be asked to either accept or reject the proposed Anglican Covenant.

Instead, the governing body will consider a motion that continues the conversation and delays  a final decision on the Covenant until the next General Synod in 2016.

[The Covenant is a set of principles recommended by the 2004 Windsor Report as a way of healing relationships severely damaged by divisions over human sexuality among member provinces of the Anglican Communion.]

At its spring meeting, Council of General Synod (CoGS) agreed to recommend that General Synod ask the Anglican Communion Working Group (ACWG) to “monitor continued developments” around the proposed Covenant. It requests that the ACWG render a report to the spring 2016 meeting of CoGS, and directs CoGS  “to bring a recommendation regarding the adoption of the Covenant” to the next General Synod in 2016.

 

The Anglican Church of Canada and Cheez Whiz

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Dean Southworth invented Cheez Whiz. Not only did he invent it, he liked eating it. Until one day in 2001 when, on sampling a jar, his taste buds recoiled with disgust:

So it was with considerable alarm that he turned to his wife one evening in 2001, having just sampled a jar of Cheez Whiz he’d picked up at the local Winn-Dixie supermarket. “I said, ‘Holy God, it tastes like axle grease.’ I looked at the label and I said, ‘What the hell did they do?’ I called up Kraft, using the 800 number for consumer complaints, and I told them, ‘You are putting out a goddamn axle grease!’ ”

The reason for this less than satisfying culinary experience was revealed on reading the list of ingredients. Kraft has taken the cheese out of Cheez Whiz:

One crucial ingredient was missing, however. From its earliest days, Cheez Whiz always contained real cheese. Real cheese gave it class and legitimacy, Southworth said, not to mention flavor. Now, he discovered, not only was cheese no longer prominently listed as an ingredient, it wasn’t listed at all.

What has this got to do with the Anglican Church of Canada, you may be wondering. Simple: when you remove a vital ingredient from something it tends to become repellent. In the case of Cheez Whiz, the missing ingredient is cheese; for the Anglican Church of Canada, it’s Christianity.

Canadian church and Muslim leaders meet to sort out the Middle East

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From here:

Representatives of Canadian churches and church-based groups met on Feb. 4 with Arab and Muslim leaders who are similarly committed to “peace with justice” in Israel and Palestine.

Both sides have been careful to note that the meeting signalled nothing more than a commitment to meet face to face more regularly in order to consult and share information about issues affecting peace in the Middle East.

Hosted by the Canadian Friends of Sabeel, the meeting in Toronto gathered an ecumenical forum on the Middle East which includes representatives from the Anglican Church of Canada, the United Church of Canada, the Presbyterian Church in Canada, the Roman Catholic Church and church-based groups such as KAIROS. They were joined by six delegates from the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF), which describes itself as “a national, non-partisan, non-profit” umbrella of over 40 member organizations.

The article goes on to note that “[t]he meeting signals a new beginning of intentional conversation”. Churches pontificating on how to achieve peace in the Middle East is hardly new: presumably prior efforts to establish Elysium were thwarted by the conversations being unintentional.

The only tangible action being suggested is a divesting of church interests in companies that do business in Israel; predictably one-sided and hardly new – however intentional.

Ottawa is handing out free condoms

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Ottawa’s Public Health department is handing out free condoms, ostensibly to prevent sexually transmitted diseases:

Not using a condom is the top risk factor among individuals diagnosed with an STI: In 2010, nearly 75% of people diagnosed reported not using one. Condoms, when used correctly and consistently, are an effective method to prevent STIs and unplanned pregnancies.

There is a Condom Locator, an Order Form, Instructions for halfwits and a Resources  page which, strangely enough, concentrates on gay sex.

I was scratching my head as to why Ottawa rather than, say, Toronto or Montreal, has decided to spend taxpayer dollars on condoms. Then it occurred to me that the program will be in full swing in time for the Anglican Church of Canada Synod scheduled from July 3 to 7 in Ottawa.

Anglican Church of Canada does the Stations of the Cross

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Here is the production for Station 1, Jesus is Condemned, in which the Rev. Scott McLeod sees a homeless man and overhears another passer-by say: “They should just gas them all”.

The worthy McLeod, having rashly jumped to the conclusion that the remark was directed at homeless people rather than ACoC clergy, was filled with self-righteous anger and moved, not so much to help the homeless man but to congratulate himself on not being as other men: a sinner.

Droning on sanctimoniously about the sins of others is an odd way to begin the church season in which one should be pondering one’s own sins and how they resulted in the sacrificial death of God Incarnate.

At least the video is true to its liberal, social justice roots: monotonous and boring.

In the Anglican Church of Canada, hope is a boat

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St. Paul hoped for eternal life (Titus 3:7); Job’s hope was in God (Job 13:15); King David placed his hope in God’s steadfast love (Ps 33:18).

Thrusting aside these passé, fevered deleria of Middle Eastern primitives in favour of something relevant to today’s Anglican sophisticates, the Anglican Church of Canada has decided that hope is a boat; and they have a song to prove it.

The song, “Hope” is the winner of the ACoC’s Marks of Mission song contest.

Apparently, it’s “catchy and deep” and Fred Hiltz is a fan.

Although it is a pretty enough tune, well sung and produced, I can’t for the life of me see what it has to do with Christianity. But, then, the same could be said about the Five Marks of Mission. Or the Anglican Church of Canada.