By sponsoring a film in which people love paying taxes and business is the villain. The reason for this sponsorship is made no less recondite by the fact that the ACoC is running out of money and is appealing to business to sponsor its forthcoming synod.

The most memorable scene in Poor No More, a documentary that premiered this week in Toronto, takes place on the shop floor of a large truck manufacturer in Sweden.

A female employee, talking while she works, says it’s “okay to pay taxes because our system takes care of all the people.” She explains that if she became sick or had an accident, she would get 80 per cent of her wages. Like all Swedes, she is entitled to subsidized child care, elder care, high-quality health care and 10 days of parental leave a year.

A delegation of Canadian visitors — host Mary Welsh and two Canadian workers trapped in insecure, low-wage jobs — listens in disbelief.

The trio moves outside to a Stockholm street. “I love paying taxes,” a passerby affirms.

It seems as if the Canadians have stepped into fantasyland.

That is what the filmmakers intend. “If we can’t imagine a world without poverty, we probably can’t get there,” says executive producer David Langille.

The documentary, a three-year effort, is Langille’s first foray into the world of filmmaking. He is a part-time university professor with an extensive network of contacts in the social justice movement.

Fifty sponsors — from the Society of Energy Professionals to the Anglican Church of Canada — paid for the $550,000 film.

The goal of the documentary is to break the barriers that prevent Canadians from acting to eliminate poverty.

The first is a belief that only a small minority cares. The second is a belief that the cause is futile. The third is burnout. After 25 years of lobbying, organizing, demonstrating and preaching, the poverty rate has barely changed.

This time, Langille and his colleagues want to send a message of hope: Poverty can be beaten, without bankrupting the national treasury or reducing the country’s standard of living.

The documentary is polished, interesting and well-paced. But it is one-sided. Every commentator in it — professors, authors, union leaders and heads of think-tanks — blames big business and its friends in government for turning Canada into a land of poverty amidst plenty.

Having failed to find the money needed to run its own synod, the ACoC has decided to tackle something easier:

Subject: Toward a World Free of Nuclear Weapons

Moved by: The Rev. Canon Dr. William E. Prentice, Diocese of Ottawa

Seconded by: The Rev. Dr. Linda Privitera, Diocese of Ottawa

Be it resolved that this General Synod:

Expresses its support for a world free of nuclear weapons, and asks the General Secretary to convey our position to the Government of Canada, requesting:

1. from the Government information about Canadian activities to support nuclear disarmament, and
2. from the Prime Minister a public affirmation of Canada’s commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons.

Many are rejoicing as the ACoC does its bit to disarm the West:

Its own health and wealth, that is; it now has a Theology of Philanthropy:

The new way: a theology of philanthropy
While we admit that putting a stop to this is not an easy task, and certainly not something we can do alone, the Department of Philanthropy is working diligently with dioceses, parishes and our partners within the national church to help the church unearth a theology of philanthropy—a theology that is mission-driven and that inspires Canadian Anglicans to give gladly as a faithful expression of their Christian vocation.

If the Biblical injunction to tithe hasn’t persuaded Anglicans to fork over their cash, there’s going have to be a lot of digging before the ACoC unearth(s) a theology of philanthropy that will. Oh, sorry, I forgot: to take tithing seriously requires a literalistic reading of Scripture.

What’s the next step after corporate sponsors? Peddling spoons on ebay.

From the Globe and Mail:

The Anglican Church of Canada is inviting corporate sponsorship of its national convention this year, selling space for brand logos on delegate documents, advertising signs in its meeting spaces and a private lunch for executives with the church’s senior archbishop.

A theme well suited to a church at sea:

From June 3 to11, more than 500 people will gather in Halifax, N.S. for the national triennial meeting of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC). Uniting under the nautical theme “Feeling the Winds of God—Charting a New Course,” General Synod members will make decisions about the national church in the context of worship and prayer.

It has a Sears catalogue:

The Anglican Church of Canada is pleased to announce the launch of Acts of Faith; A Guide to Supporting the Ministries of the Anglican Church of  Canada.  The gift guide is a joint initiative of the Departments of Philanthropy and Communications and Information Resources, and represents an unprecedented collaboration amongst all of the partners and charitable entities within the national church; bringing them together in one fundraising vehicle for the first time.

Numerous schemes to persuade you to part with your money:

Gift Planning means finding a way to make an important gift to a cause you believe in while still getting the best tax benefits possible and achieving personal financial goals.

And recently added corporate sponsors:

The Anglican Church of Canada is pleased to announce that for the first time in its 117 year history, General Synod is offering religious based organizations and affiliates the opportunity to support its triennial national convention through a variety of unique sponsorship initiatives.

The information below will help you better understand the opportunities in sponsorship of the upcoming General Synod meeting in Halifax.

I am looking forward to the ACoC peddling its wares in an infomercial. I have a suspicion Fred Hiltz already uses this:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GeF7A05zQ8]