Anglican Church of Canada resolves to remove prayer for conversion of the Jews
“An effort to remove a prayer for conversion of the Jews from the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and to replace it with one for reconciliation with the Jews has passed its first major hurdle at General Synod.
On July 15, a resolution to amend Canon XIV passed its first reading at the 42nd General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada. The amendment would delete prayer number four in ‘Prayers and Thanksgivings upon Several Occasions’ from use and future printings of the BCP, and replace it with a prayer entitled ‘For Reconciliation with the Jews.”’
The resolution passed by nearly unanimous votes in all three orders. …
Archbishop Fred Hiltz, outgoing primate [pictured], invited Primate-elect Linda Nicholls to sign a copy of the resolution to amend Canon XIV and present it to Rabbi Stein following the passing of the resolution by General Synod.”
– Story from the Anglican Church of Canada’s in-house Anglican Journal.
(One wonders what the Apostle Paul might say to this.)
Anglican Church of Canada Same-sex marriage vote fails
“The Anglican Church of Canada has defeated a motion allowing for same-sex marriages, despite overwhelming support from both the denomination’s laity and clergy. …“
– Report from The Vancouver Sun.
However, according to Anglican Samizdat, several dioceses will continue to marry same-sex couples. Image: Anglican Samizdat.
How Anglicans in Canada found New Life after their Eviction
“You’d be hard pressed to find anyone more Anglican than David Short – which just made everything worse.
The 61-year-old is a fourth-generation Anglican minister, born in Africa while his parents were missionaries. He can even top that – his father was also born in Africa to missionary parents.
Home was Sydney, Australia…”
– This article from The Gospel Coalition tells the story of David Short and other faithful men and women in Canada.
Related: Many earlier posts mentioning Vancouver.
Asia Bibi begins new life in Canada – but her ordeal may not be over
“Asia Bibi has arrived in Canada hoping to start a new life after her years on death row. But although there is huge relief among campaigners for religious freedom that she is out of Pakistan, her ordeal may not be over.
Islamic extremists have pledged to pursue the Christian woman and kill her for the act of blasphemy of which she was accused and later acquitted. …”
– Story from The Guardian.
Trinity Western University loses before Supreme Court of Canada
“Trinity Western University, an evangelical tertiary institution in British Columbia, has lost two cases it had brought protesting the decision of two Canadian Provincial Law Societies to not authorise graduates of their proposed Law School as able to practice in the Provinces.
The reason for the denial of accreditation was that TWU requires students and staff to agree to a Community Covenant Agreement, which undertakes (among other things) that they will not engage while studying or working at TWU in ‘sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman’. …”
– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster provides his analysis of the decisions.
Related: Supreme Court of Canada strikes a blow against religious freedom.
Supreme Court of Canada strikes a blow against religious freedom
“The Supreme Court of Canada struck a brave blow on Friday for LGBTQ students who would be compelled to attend a proposed law school at Trinity Western University – a small, private, evangelical Christian school in Langley, B.C., whose ‘community covenant’ prohibits sexual relations except among married men and women.
That is to say, they struck a blow for nobody. …”
– Read the full article at Canada’s National Post.
From Trinity Western University:
“Until now, Canada has encouraged the rich mosaic created by the diversity of views, race, gender, and belief systems.
Sadly, the Supreme Court has decided that this does not extend to a law school at Trinity Western University.”
What is the Community Covenant? Read it here (PDF).
Then read this summary of the background to the legal case.
Image: Trinity Western University website.
Abortion, Canada, and the relentless wave of Authoritarian Secularism
“I love taking Claude (family greyhound) for an early morning walk through the streets of Parkdale and Mentone, and to listen to the Bible as we go. Today in the Psalms, I was struck by Psalm 8:2, which says,
‘Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.’
Afterward, I was catching up on the news and heard a report about a recent announcement by Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Organisations applying for Government funding for the Canadian Summer Jobs program, must now sign an attestation that they support abortion. …”
– Murray Campbell in Melbourne looks at the Canadian example as a foretaste of what Christians in Australia can expect.
Canada: Former Bishop-Elect of Caledonia has employment ‘terminated’ in that diocese
“The Rev. Jacob Worley was told by Archbishop John Privett in a phone call and a letter received Friday, Nov. 10 that Worley’s employment as a priest in the Diocese of Caledonia is being terminated. Worley says that when he asked what the reason was, Privett (who is Metropolitan of the Province of BC & Yukon) declined to give him one.
In accordance with Immigration rules, Worley has to leave Canada for the United States within ten days of his last day of employment …
In May of 2017, Worley made headlines in Church news when the House of Bishops of the Province of BC and Yukon refused to approve him as Bishop of Caledonia …
… Worley had served for a time within AMiA (Anglican Mission in America) in the United States.”
– Story from The Anglican Planet. (link via Anglican Samizdat.)
Earlier: from Anglican Journal, April 2017, U.S.-born priest elected bishop of Caledonia.
Church needs to know its purpose, Abp Hiltz tells Anglican Church of Canada
“Hiltz made the comment in an address that began and ended by wondering what St. Paul might think of the church, what advice he might give it and how he might pray for it.
On the church’s deliberation over changing its marriage canon to allow same-sex marriage, for example, Paul might remind it of his counsel to the Ephesians to be ‘humble and gentle and patient with one another, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:2-3),’ he said. …”
– Report from Anglican Journal. (Paul might also remind them of his counsel to the Ephesians in Ephesians 5:1-21.)
via Anglican Samizdat.
Bishop of New Westminster joins in petition to prevent Franklin Graham speaking in Canada
“Bishop Melissa Skelton [of New Westminster] has added her voice to those attempting to stop Franklin Graham’s Vancouver crusade. …
I’m writing to let you know that I have signed on to a letter from a group of concerned civic leaders and clergy about the upcoming visit of Franklin Graham to Vancouver as a part of The Festival of Hope. …”
– from Anglican Samizdat. The statement can be read in full here.
Anglican Church of Canada: General Synod vote count in error – the vote for same-sex marriage was actually passed
“A stunning reversal of a divisive vote has paved the way for the Anglican Church to perform same-sex marriages in Canada, but that won’t happen before 2019 at the earliest.
The canon change must be approved by two successive General Synods before it is official…” – Report from CTV News.
Photo: Screenshot from this Anglican Church of Canada video.
(Even if the error had not been realised, several Canadian bishops had said they would go ahead and marry same-sex couples anyway.)
Move to see ‘Anti-Transgender speech’ criminalised in Canada
“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a bill that would criminalize anti-transgender speech, with violators receiving up to two years in prison.
The new bill, introduced May 17 on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, aims to amend the Canadian Criminal Code to expand the country’s ‘hate speech’ prohibitions to include any public speech or communication that ‘promotes hatred’ on the basis of ‘gender identity’ or ‘gender expression.’ It would also change the Canadian Human Rights Act to cover transgender people…“
– Story from The Blaze.
Related: Questions and Answers from the Canadian Department of Justice.
“Q. Will “gender identity” and “gender expression” be defined in the Bill?
A. In order to ensure that the law would be as inclusive as possible, the terms “gender identity” and “gender expression” are not defined in the Bill. With very few exceptions, grounds of discrimination are not defined in legislation but are left to courts, tribunals, and commissions to interpret and explain, based on their detailed experience with particular cases.”
Photo: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Anglican Network in Canada’s Bishop Charlie Masters statement from Canterbury
Anglican Network in Canada’s Bishop Charlie Masters reports from Canterbury
“Once Primates had finally addressed the issue of discipline, it was time for Archbishop Beach to quietly step away from the remainder of the meeting as ACNA had committed itself to only continue at the meeting if TEC and the ACoC had stepped away and until repentance and godly order were restored. The ACoC remained and, although mild sanctions were applied to TEC, its Primate also remained in the meeting.”
Full text below: Read more
Review of the Report from the Marriage Commission of the Anglican Church of Canada
The Church of England Evangelical Council has commissioned a Review of the Report (“This Holy Estate”) of The Commission on the Marriage Canon of the Anglican Church of Canada.
The Commission was established in 2013 by the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, with consideration of the report (including a motion ‘to allow the marriage of same-sex couples’) to come at their 2016 General Synod.
The Review of the Canadian report, made for the CEEC by Dr Martin Davie, complements earlier reviews of similar reports by The Episcopal Church of the USA and The Scottish Episcopal Church.
– Read his full review here. (PDF file)
Related: The American Anglican Council’s Canon Phil Ashey writes:
“[The Canadian report] follows exactly the pattern we saw in the United States in TEC: create facts on the ground in violation of the Bible, and then call for ‘theological reflection’ upon those facts-that-you-have-just-established. In this case, the theological reflection in ‘This Holy Estate’ presents only three possibilities for the General Synod, none of which affirms a Biblically faithful understanding of marriage and human sexuality…”
Photo of Archbishop Fred Hiltz: Anglican Church of Canada.
‘Supreme Court of Canada deals final blow to Anglican parishioners’
“A breakaway group of Anglican parishioners has been dealt a deathblow in their legal battle over ownership of a Riverside church.
The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to grant St. Aidan’s parishioners leave to appeal, dismissing their case with costs.”
– report from The Windsor Star, Ontario. (h/t Anglican Essentials Canada blog.)
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…