Tag Archives: Bishop Michael Ingham

Bishop Michael Ingham announces his retirement

Posted on by
38

Read it all here:

Bishop Michael Ingham announced today he will be retiring from his position on August 31st, 2013.

“The Diocese of New Westminster has been at the forefront of positive change in the Church for decades” he said. “From the ordination of women, to support for indigenous peoples, to the dignity of gay and lesbian Christians, to inter-faith dialogue – it has been a privilege to serve a Diocese living and growing at some of the leading edges of the Anglican Church of Canada.”

The “positive change in the Church” remark is something of a mystery. Michael Ingham, by being the first Anglican bishop to authorise same-sex blessings, was instrumental in the rupturing of the Anglican Communion, a change about as positive as a magnitude 7 earthquake.

In his letter of resignation, he notes:

In my almost twenty years in episcopal orders I – together with many others in this Diocese – have borne witness in the Anglican Church of Canada to important principles central to the Christian Gospel. Our witness of faith frequently encountered strong religious opposition. Strangely, the secular world has been more supportive.

To congratulate oneself on actions which were opposed by the majority of Anglicans and applauded by most secularists seems an odd boast for a retiring Anglican bishop; isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?

To affirm his standing in Vanity Fair, Michael Ingham has been awarded an honorary degree:

Michael Ingham, Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster, is the first Bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion to authorize the blessing of same-sex unions. The degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, will be conferred on The Right Reverend Ingham on Friday, June 14 at the 2:30 pm ceremony.

St. John’s Shaughnessy is only attracting 40 people to its main Sunday service

Posted on by
7

The church building will hold over 800 people and before the Diocese of New Westminster acquired ownership of it, over 800 people attended the church.

Now, under the liberal regime of Bishop Michael Ingham, around 40 people are attending. Rev. Michael Fuller announced the number in his November 4th sermon:

Michael Ingham lectures on “finding postmodern balance”

Posted on by
3

The full title of the lecture for Luther College is “Finding the Postmodern Balance: evangelical, catholic, liberal.”

Since the demise of Christopher Hitchens, Ingham is surely now the least qualified candidate to lecture on matters Christian; Luther College must be a strange place.

Bishop Michael Ingham reviews the Anglican Church of Canada’s position on war

Posted on by
2

He comes to this conclusion:

The Ecumenical Call discusses the justifiable use of armed force, and concludes “there are extreme circumstances where, as the last resort and the lesser evil, the lawful use of armed force may become necessary.” This is a difficult conclusion for many Christians, and yet it would reflect the broad views of Canadian Anglicans as expressed in these official statements through the years.

A clear and consistent pattern of belief is evident in the documents surveyed here. Violence and war are incompatible with Christ’s teaching. Christian responsibility is to build up communities of peace founded upon justice for all people and for the earth itself. Peacemaking and reconciliation are at the heart of the Christian gospel.

I would have thought that the violent death of God’s son offered as a propitiation for the sins of the world is at the “heart of the Christian gospel”, rather than the polysemous vagueness of “peacemaking and reconciliation”. But, then, I’m not an Anglican bishop.

Diocese of New Westminster to spend $4.5 million in an attempt to revitalise seized parishes

Posted on by
2

Having won the court battle for the buildings of St. John’s Shaughnessy, St. Matthias and St. Luke, and St. Matthew’s Abbotsford, the Diocese of New Westminster must decide what to do with them. Since it has no substantial congregations in the buildings, the diocese has concluded that it must “plant three new churches” to “establish Diocese of New Westminster, Anglican Church of Canada worship” in the parishes. The diocese makes no mention of worshipping Jesus.

The money is to come from “the assets of the parishes returned to the diocese by the courts of Canada” along with funding from the diocese.

In any other circumstance the diocese would quietly close non-viable parishes but, in this case, there would be too much loss of face and Bishop Michael Ingham is prepared to spend $4.5 Million to make sure that doesn’t happen. I expect that it will anyway.

The whole document is here.

Note the last sentence: the parishes have a limited time in which to spend $4.5 million to “become vital and sustainable” before they are put on the chopping block.

St. John’s Shaughnessy is like a mausoleum

Posted on by
18

Since the Diocese of New Westminster won the court battle for the buildings of parishes that left the diocese and joined ANiC, St. John’s Shaughnessy, once the largest Anglican parish in Canada, has gone downhill a little. Sunday attendance has dropped from 850 to between 3 and 13; the parish is running a deficit of $20,000 per month and in the week, the building, according to the treasurer, is like a mausoleum.

This was discussed is a parish meeting in November 2011.

Here is the mausoleum remark:

And the $20,000 per month deficit:

Who is paying for this deficit, you might be wondering? The well known philanthropist, Bishop Michael Ingham:

You can listen to the whole meeting here:

A triumph of Pyrrhic proportions for Bishop Michael Ingham.

Occupy St John’s, Shaughnessy

Posted on by
Reply

The Diocese of New Westminster, having secured legal ownership of St John’s, Shaughnessy’s building, is looking for a new rector for the church. Such is the paucity of suitable contenders in Canada, that Michael Ingham on a recent trip to Canterbury, asked Rowan Williams for suggestions.

And now, according to this, Rowan Williams has come through:

Archbishop Rowan Williams has followed-up and recently sent +Michael a letter suggesting two possible candidates for the Interim Ministry position at St John’s, Shaughnessy.

It looks as if Rev. Giles Fraser or Rev. Graeme Knowles might have found a new job.

Bishop Michael Ingham explains natural disasters

Posted on by
2

I admit that explaining the existence of evil from a Christian perspective isn’t that easy. But, although even the best attempts tend to leave some loose ends and intellectual explanations are not necessarily emotionally consoling, Michael Ingham has not brought the Christian understanding of evil to new heights in his musings on the Japanese tragedies.

According to Ingham: “Natural evil is the result of things over which we have no control” and “We call them evil because they are evil” and “Natural evil is random. It is not planned”.  Eat your heart out, Thomas Aquinas.

From here:

Bishop Michael Ingham told the audience that disasters such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan are examples of “natural evil,” which happen randomly and can’t be explained by any divine plan.

“Natural evil is the result of things over which we have no control — earthquakes, tsunamis,” Ingham said during the 90-minute service.

“We call them evil because they are evil. They wreak havoc upon the innocent and the defenceless. … Natural evil is random. It is not planned. It afflicts us without reason and without human deserving.”

In the face of such unspeakable horror, Ingham said, the world must come together as a community of neighbours.

“We must cultivate the virtue of compassion,” said Ingham. “We cannot survive as isolated individuals or isolated societies. The pain of our neighbours is our pain. When neighbours suffer, neighbours respond.”

Has Ingham said anything the Humanist Canada society might not have said? No.

Bishop Michael Ingham tells us that all the great religions lead to God

Posted on by
13

Christians believe that when Jesus said “no-one comes to the Father except through me”, he meant it. If Jesus was wrong and, as Ingham says, “all the great religions are authentic pathways to God”, Jesus blundered rather badly, didn’t really need to die on the cross for our sins and suffered from delusions of grandeur.

Or perhaps it’s Michael Ingham who suffers the delusions.

It’s very difficult to see how someone can be a Christian and not take one of Jesus’ major claims seriously; it’s even harder to see how that person could be a bishop in a Christian church – but, then, he is a bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada.