Diocesan mergers ahead in the US and Canada
“Aging congregations and falling attendance may force the mergers of the dioceses of Montreal and Quebec, the Montreal Anglican reports. …
Last year Bishop Drainville [Quebec] told the Canadian House of Bishops his diocese was ‘teetering on the verge of extinction.’ Of the diocese’s 82 congregations, 50 were childless and 35 congregations had an average age of 75.”
– George Conger reports for The Church of England Newspaper.
(h/t Anglican Essentials Canada blog.)
See also the June 2010 Montreal Anglican PDF.
Anglican Church of Canada’s synod guide for talking about sex
“According to the Windsor Report 2004, scripture is the channel through which the supreme authority of the triune God is exercised (WR section B paragraphs 53–54). However…”
– The Anglican Essentials Canada blog has posted some excerpts.
Anglican Church (of Canada) facing threat of extinction
“The Anglican Church in Canada – once as powerful in the nation’s secular life as it was in its soul – may be only a generation away from extinction, says a just-published assessment of the church’s future.”
– The Globe and Mail reports.
Greetings to the bishops-elect of the Anglican Network in Canada
To Bishop Donald Harvey, and Bishops-elect Stephen Leung, Charlie Masters and Trevor Walters –
From Archbishop Peter Jensen, Secretary of GAFCON Primates Council:
Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the whole armour of God so that you can take your stand. Preach the word, correct, rebuke and encourage. With our love, prayers, support and encouragement for your ministry.
Read the greetings from other Anglican leaders at Anglican Mainstream.
(Photo: Anglican Essentials Canada.)
The United Church of Canada’s uncertain future
‘
It’s not the only religious organization in Canada to suffer from a lack of interest. But more than others, perhaps, the United Church has tried to find relevance and attract attention by offering what many complain is an all-inclusive, interpretive and ‘watered-down’ brand of faith. …
At least one church has become a virtual no-God zone.
Gretta Vosper is the minister at West Hill United Church in Toronto and author of With or Without God: Why the way we live is more important than what we believe. …’
– read the full article at the religion blog of the National Post.
(Photo courtesy West Hill United Church.)
Canada case concerns us all
“Last week I attended a fascinating talk given at St Andrew’s, Roseville by Mrs Lesley Bentley, a churchwarden at St John’s, Shaughnessy in Vancouver. Sydney Anglicans have a greater interest in St John’s than most Canadian churches because Canon David Short, a Sydney-trained minister, is the rector…”
– Bishop Glenn Davies writes at SydneyAnglicans.net. (Photo: Russell Powell.)
The latest from Canada
It’s a little way off, but you might plan to hear Lesley Bentley, spokeswoman for the Anglican Network in Canada (and member of St John’s Shaughnessy) when she visits Sydney in May.
She’ll be speaking on the state of the Anglican Church in Canada, and the story of the Anglican Network in Canada. The meeting is being hosted by St. Andrew’s Roseville, 8:00–9:30pm on Tuesday 12th May.
Download a PDF flier (180kb, direct link).
Anglican Coalition in Canada welcomes new Province
Dec 6th 2008 – Vancouver, Canada
The Anglican Coalition in Canada is pleased to announce its full participation in the emerging Province called the Anglican Church in North America. This new province was called into existence by the GAFCON Primates, representing the vast majority of the Anglican Church worldwide. Read more
Anglican Church of Canada on Facebook
The Anglican Church of Canada, looking for a new way to reach the faithful, has launched its own official page on the popular social networking site Facebook.
“It’s an exciting new step for us,” Brian Bukowski, Web manager for the church, told the Anglican Journal…
– Story from The Toronto Star.
Anglican Church of Canada slashes budget
Directors at the General Synod office have been asked to slash $1.3 million from the 2009 budget, a move designed to break a recurring pattern in recent years of huge budget deficits. …
Archbishop Hiltz … cautioned against looking at the situation negatively, saying, “The ship is not sinking; rather it’s moving in another direction…”
– Report from The Anglican Journal of the Anglican Church of Canada.
Anglican Network in Canada: Open letter to Primates
5 September 2008
Open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates of the Anglican Communion
After consulting with my Primate, Archbishop Gregory Venables, I report with great sadness that two Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) churches under my jurisdiction – St Matthews (Abbotsford, BC) and St Matthias and St Luke’s (Vancouver, BC) – received letters on 26 August 2008, informing them that the Bishop of New Westminster had taken action on 10 July 2008 to seize control of those parish properties. The letters also notified the wardens, trustees and parish councils that Bishop Michael Ingham had dismissed and replaced them and ordered the clergy to vacate the church buildings by mid-September. It is clear that our other two ANiC parishes in Vancouver, St. John’s Shaughnessy and Church of the Good Shepherd, will receive the same action in the near future.
This is the fourth Canadian diocese to act in this way against ANiC churches which have come under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. …
– Read the full letter from Bishop Don Harvey, Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada as a 48kb PDF file (direct link).
See also our earlier stories –
New Westminster takes steps against Southern Cone clergy.
New Westminster moves to seize control of ANiC parishes.
St. John’s Shaughnessy responds to New Westminster.
New Westminister letters to parishioners.
Up, Down and Out in Canada: J I Packer
My wife and I moved from England to Canada in 1979. Principal James Houston has recruited me to teach theology at Regent College, which, though over age, I still do. God’s call was clear, and our only uncertainty was where we might find a spiritual home. New Westminster Diocese, of which Vancouver is the see city, was decidedly liberal, and its few evangelical clergy seemed to be keeping their heads down lest they be noticed.
But in 1978 my oldest friend among Canadian clergy, Harry Robinson, became rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy, only a mile and a half from where God, by a happy providence, gave us a place to live, so that problem was solved. Called as I am to be a pastor, I had found fulfillment before in an honorary parish appointment alongside teaching duties, and I became Harry’s honorary assistant the moment we arrived. …
– Dr Jim Packer tells his story – at VirtueOnline. (Photo: Ed Hird.)
Anglican Church of Canada sets stage for same sex marriage
“Anglican Church of Canada Council of General Synod – Highlights from May 24
Revision of the marriage canon
…the following resolution was adopted: the Council of General Synod –
- concurs in the Faith, Worship and Ministry Committee’s understanding that it is to address the particular category of “legally qualified persons,” i.e. same-sex couples at least one of whom is baptized Christian;
- agrees that development of a theological rationale for the marriage of such couples should precede the preparation of any draft amendments to or revision of the Marriage Canon;
- requests the committee to report to the COGS no later than November 2009, and
- directs that, if the Faith, Worship and Ministry Committee develops such a rationale, it should, in conjunction with the Handbook Concerns Committee, prepare draft amendments to, or a draft revision of, the Marriage Canon for consideration by the COGS in March 2010 for possible submission to the 2010 session of the General Synod.”
from the Anglican Church of Canada’s Council of General Synod meeting in Mississauga, Ontario. Emphasis added.
Archbishop of Canterbury ‘recognises only Anglican Church of Canada’
The propaganda war hots up prior to tomorrow’s deadline for former New Westminster clergy who have aligned with the Anglican Network of Canada. From the Diocese of New Westminster website:
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said the only church body in Canada that belongs to the Anglican Communion is the Anglican Church in Canada. …
The letter from the Archbishop, who heads the Anglican Communion… was in reply to a letter of concern from the Brandon bishop about the activities of the Anglican Network in Canada.
From the New Westminster website.
See also this story from three months ago and another from last weekend.
Anglican Church of Canada chooses litigation over negotiation
News Release from the Anglican Network in Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada’s House of Bishops has rejected an overture from the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) to seek negotiated settlements of property disputes rather than pursue litigation.
Bishop Donald Harvey, moderator of ANiC, expressed his disappointment, and said that, while he was fully aware of the sensitivities of “diocesan autonomy” and wasn’t surprised at this response, “I had hoped the Primate would have attempted to facilitate negotiations between the dioceses and the Anglican Network parishes.” Read more
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…