 |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
Handle with prayer!
News – ANiC and AEN
Clergy retreat, March 29-31
Sometimes, in order to advance,
you first have to retreat! ANiC’s
annual clergy retreat is once again being held at lovely Cedar Springs, WA,
just across the border from Abbotsford, BC – on March 29-31. The speaker
is the Venerable
Michael McKinnon, ANiC archdeacon for New England and rector of Holy Trinity, Marlborough,
MA. If you were at ANiC’s Synod 2010, you got a taste of Archdeacon Michael’s sense
of humour and deep passion for knowing and teaching God’s Word. His topic will
be “The transforming power of the Word of God”. Full information is on the
ANiC website including the tentative
agenda. You can register
online here.
Welcome to Celebration Church in
Barrie, Ontario!
The Rev Brian McVitty and the congregation of Celebration
Church (Barrie, ON) were welcomed into ANiC by our moderator Bishop
Don Harvey on February 2 – and will be welcomed again next Sunday by
Bishop Charlie Masters. The
congregation worships on Sunday at 10:30am in the Fellowship Hall of Inniswood
Church, 460 Yonge Street, Barrie.
Welcome to The Way in Wasaga
Beach, Ontario!
A new ANiC project has just taken
root in Wasaga Beach on the shores of Georgian Bay, just north-west of
Barrie. The people of The Way will meet on Sundays at
11:15am at Zion Presbyterian Church, Sunnidale
Corners, Stayner, ON. Bishop Charlie Masters will welcome this forming
congregation in person on Sunday, February 27.
New Ginger Group books published!
The popular Anglican Agenda Series has
expanded again. The new titles
are:
• Taking Holy Communion Seriously,
by the Rev Dr Brett Cane
• Taking Baptism Seriously, by the
Rev Canon Dr J I Packer
• Taking Marriage Seriously, by the
Rev Dr Archie Pell
These and previously published
books can be ordered
online for $3 per book.
These small books, written by a
diverse group of Anglican theologians known as the Ginger Group and edited by
Dr J I Packer, cover topics of interest and concern to Anglicans today. The books are intended to address pertinent
matters for the church today and are great for personal study or group
discussion.
Ottawa settlement pending
A tentative settlement has been
reached but the ratification process will not be concluded until both
congregations have accepted the settlement – February 12 at the earliest.
ARDFC update
Good news! ARDFC just got its 2010 year-end
financial statement which showed generous donors gave $27,793 in 2010 toward
the Diocese of Maseno West (Kenya) Malaria Reduction Project. That means we are more than halfway
toward achieving the $50,000 goal. Well done!
Short-term mission trips to China
and Thailand – Are you coming?
ANiC parishioners from across Canada are welcome to consider joining the two Asian Mission short-term mission trips to China and Thailand – or participating through prayer and/or financial support. The two missions are:
| • |
A mission to support the work of the Anglican Church in Thailand, with a focus on ministry to Karen refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border, is tentatively set for June 6-20. |
| • |
A mission to work with disabled children and encourage their families in Changsha, China is tentatively set for June 30-July 14. |
The application deadline is February 26. More details are available on the Asian Mission website. Approximate participant cost for each trip is expected to be around $3000. (Asian Mission is a ministry of ANiC under the episcopal leadership of Bishop Stephen Leung.)
Healing seminar planned for
Ottawa area
Vina Sweetman and the Isaiah 40
Foundation team will hold a Healing of the Whole Person seminar March 3-5
– Thursday and Friday evenings, and all day Saturday. The seminar will
explore our relationship to God, our understanding of ourselves, and how we
relate to others. There will be worship, teaching and opportunities to receive
prayer for healing. This will be held at Blackburn Hamlet Community Church,
2598 Innes Road, Blackburn Hamlet. Pre-registration is required. For information on costs see the Blackburn Hamlet Community Church
website. To register
call 613-837-2422 or email bhcchurch@gmail.com. February 24th is the
early-bird registration deadline.
Register today! Inaugural
conference for Asian Mission in Canada, 21-22 March 2011
Bishop Stephen Leung is
organizing an inaugural conference for the Asian Mission in Canada. The conference – which will be held
primarily at Regent College in Vancouver, 21-22 March 2010 – will explore
the theme: Discerning contemporary culture: Challenges and Christian ministry
in a permissive age. Featured speakers include: Dr Brian Stiller, the Rev
Warren Lai, the Rev Ken Shigematsu, the Rev Dr David Pao, Dr Toni Dolfo-Smith,
Mr Daniel Komori and Dr James Houston – and more. Registration now before the earlier
bird rate expires. Evening sessions at Good Shepherd (Vancouver) are free and
open to the public.
ANiC in the media
Two
Vancouver ANiC parishes were referenced without being named in the Saturday
Vancouver Sun. Religion
reporter Douglas Todd, in an article titled, “Chinese celebrate festival
despite shift in religious beliefs”, notes that Chinese Christians tend to be
“conservative” on moral issues. Then he says, “That
is something the Vancouver-area Anglican diocese has painfully realized after
deciding in 2002 to bless couples in same-sex relationships. Two of the four
breakaway congregations involved in a bitter legal property battle with the
Anglican diocese are ethnic Chinese.”
Calendar of upcoming events
– for your interest and prayer support
Feb 12 – Richmond, BC
– Effective Youth Ministry Seminar
with Ken Moser
Feb 19 – Victoria, BC church
planting workshop
Feb 25-27 – Good Shepherd
(Vancouver) revival
conference
Feb 28-Mar 2 – reFocus Canada,
Growing a Biblical Church, (Willingdon Church, Burnaby, BC)
Feb (TBD) – Brandon, MB church
planting workshop
March 3-5 – Blackburn Hamlet Church (Ottawa) – Healing the Whole Person seminar
March 5 – Langley, BC church
planting workshop
April2– Ottawa,
ON church
planting workshop
March 21-22 – Asian Mission
inaugural conference, Vancouver, BC
March 25-27 – ACiC renewal
mission in Vancouver
March
29-31 – ANiC’s 2011 clergy
retreat near Abbotsford, BC
March2–
Burlington, ON church
planting workshop
April 12-14 – Gospel Coalition conference,
Chicago, Illinois
April 30– Montreal,
QC church
planting workshop
May 14– St John,
NB church
planting workshop [Note
new date!]
June (TBD) – Marlborough,
MA church
planting workshop
On the front lines: Church plant and project profile
Many ANiC lay leaders, priests
and even a bishop have taken up the Anglican1000 challenge to share the Gospel
in new ways and focus on mission and church planting. This exciting and
sometimes overwhelming vision has spurred on ANiC church planters – lay
and ordained alike – to work hard as they slog through the trailblazing,
excited to see what the Lord will do. With every newsletter we hope to offer a window into this ministry. Our
first profile is St John’s Richmond.
Profile: St John’s Richmond – A church plant grown-up
St John’s Richmond (SJR) began as
an independent Anglican-styled ministry before the formation of ANiC. The journey began in 2004 with a prayer
group. The Rev Sean Love remembers
being surprised that it developed more slowly than he anticipated. For a year and a half it met as a
weekly prayer group, then morphed into a weekly Bible study accompanied by a
children’s program. In 2006, SJR
launched with a weekly Sunday morning service. It was the second congregation to be welcomed into ANiC in
November 2007.
Sean remembers being terrified in
the beginning as he learned how to plant a church as well as become a
pastor. He was often driven to his
knees in prayer. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, he can see the Lord’s
faithfulness throughout the process. The slowness of the journey, with its
focus on prayer and Bible study, defined the ministry, drew in new people, and
established a good foundation for a Bible-centred church.
About 100 adults and children now
comprise SJR. They have a heart
for promoting Biblical literacy in church-goers and non-church-goers
alike. SJR started a programme
called “Bible in a Day”; a one-day seminar that “offers a clear and coherent
overview of the Bible through lectures, exercises, visuals and discussion.
It helps people grasp the breadth and depth of the Bible."
Sean and his wife Penny live in
Richmond with their three sons, the oldest now in high school, and ask for
prayer for the parish of SJR as they focus on evangelism and begin to invest in
the training of new leaders.
Please pray for all the plants,
projects and new ministries of ANiC, that the Lord would do amazing things that
exceed our expectations!
News – Anglican Church in
North America (ACNA)
Church planters get recharged
Nearly 350 ACNA church planters
and “wannabe” church planters – including more than 20 Canadians – converged
on Plano Texas for the second annual church planting summit, January
25-27. Internationally known
keynote speakers, Tim Keller and Todd Hunter challenged attendees to see church
planting as an integral part of the Mission of God that is driven by a passion
for evangelism and fueled by prayer. When the ACNA was founded in June 2009, Archbishop Bob Duncan challenged
us to plant 1000 new congregations within five years in order to reach North
America with the "transforming love of Jesus Christ". From this the Anglican1000 movement grew.
In an ACNA news
release, the Chairman of the Anglican1000 movement, Canon David
Roseberry, says, "Anglican 1000 is a movement that is popping up
everywhere! New churches are being planted, older churches are spinning
off congregations, and bishops are tilling the field. It is hard to keep
up with it. It is an idea whose time has clearly come… The Archbishop
spoke a vision that caught hold. It is a future that we all want to be
part of. What the Anglican1000 Summit showed me is that there are increasing
numbers of younger planters that are presenting themselves. The room was
full of 20-30 year old missionaries... each of whom is crying out to God, 'Here
I am, send me!'"
The Rev Ray David Glenn (St
George’s, Burlington) was the MC and gave a plenary address, while Bishop Ron
Ferris brought a field report from the Church of the Ascension (Langley, BC).
TEC ultimatum: Leave ACNA or lose
your building
An ACNA congregation of about 400
people has agreed to
a settlement with its former Episcopal Church (TEC) diocese so that
it can keep its building without going to court. The congregation of St
Phillips (Moon Township, Pennsylvania) left TEC in 2008, together with a number
of other Pittsburgh parishes, and joined the Anglican Church in North America
(ACNA). However, the settlement
requires the congregation pay an undisclosed sum to the diocese for the
building and sever ties with ACNA.
According to
lawyer A S Haley, the diocese’s insistence that the congregation
leave ACNA and not plant any new Anglican churches for five years, may be
unconstitutional. He says, “The conditions
being imposed appear to violate the right of St Philip's to exercise its
religion freely, as the First Amendment guarantees.” In response, the ACNA issued a news release saying the proposed settlement was “heartbreaking”. Earlier, the standing committee for ACNA’s Diocese of
Pittsburgh passed a resolution at the request of St Philip’s leadership
allowing the parish to withdraw from the ACNA diocese subject to an affirmative
vote by the parish. ACNA’s constitution explicitly states that parish property
belongs to the congregation.
Archbishop Bob’s diocese loses
latest round of court battle
The ACNA Diocese of Pittsburgh,
lead by Archbishop Bob Duncan, Primate of the ACNA, has been
handed a legal setback with a court awarding diocesan assets to the
Episcopal Church. The ACNA diocese immediately
filed for a rehearing citing errors of fact in the ruling. A statement from the diocese reaffirmed a desire to seek a reasonable negotiated settlement
with TEC and a pastoral
letter from Archbishop Bob appealed for his diocese to stand
together, fast and pray. At stake
are the title deeds of 24 parish properties and more that $20 million in
endowments.
Texas judge revises order, grants
ACNA diocese’s requests
The ACNA Diocese of Fort Worth has announced that the judge hearing its case has granted “…all our objections to the Partial
Summary Judgment orders he issued Jan 21. As a result, The Episcopal Church
authorities will not succeed in their efforts to force some 6,000 regular
Sunday worshipers to vacate their churches any time in the near future - and
perhaps never, depending on the results of an appeal of the case… Responding to
one of the most serious concerns raised in the objections, Judge Chupp said
that he does not "want to see empty buildings."”
Flaunt it!
If you want to flaunt your ACNA
“colours”, you can order a variety of items from the ACNA online store –
including polo shirts with the ACNA crest, ACNA lapel pins, and ACNA
flags. You can also order ANiC
items from the ANiC online
store – including books, pens, lapel pins and tote bags.
ACNA chaplaincy grows
The Church of
England Newspaper reports that “The senior serving chaplain of the
US National Guard was ordained a priest in the Anglican Church in North
America… Organized in 2007, the Deanery for Chaplains of the ACNA is led by
Bishop Derek Jones and has 100 clergy serving in the US military, Bureau of
Prisons, Veterans Administration and in the health care industry.”
News – Canada
Renewal mission planned for
Vancouver
The Anglican Coalition in Canada
is planning its annual renewal mission for March 25-27 at Harvest City Church,
7416 Victoria Drive, Vancouver. Guest speakers are David Macfarlane of the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association of Canada and Pastors Giulio and Lina Gabeli of Westwood Community
Church (Coquitlam, BC). For
information and registration, see the
brochure.
Terrific conferences for clergy and church leaders
| • |
The 2011 reFocus Canada preaching
and theology conference is set for February 28-March 2 at Willingdon Church,
Burnaby, BC. This year’s theme is “Growing a Biblical Church” and the speaker
line-up is outstanding: Mark Dever (Washington DC pastor), Ray Ortlund
(Nashville pastor), Rick Reed (Ottawa pastor), Vancouver church-planter Norm
Funk, and John Neufeld (Willingdon Church pastor, Burnaby). Past reFocus
speakers have included Bishop Charlie Masters and Canon David Short. Topics for this conference include: “What is a biblical church? How do we define
successful growth? How does this play out in a new church or an existing
church? What part does expositional preaching play? What does effective
evangelism look like? What does membership and discipline look like in a
biblical church?” For more
information and to register see the reFocus website
|
| • |
The
2011 Gospel
Coalition conference will be held April 12-14 in Chicago,
Illinois. The theme is “They
testify about me: Preaching Jesus and the Gospel from the Old Testament”. The long line-up of speakers includes: R. Albert Mohler, Tim
Keller, Alistair Begg, James MacDonald, Conrad Mbewe, Matt Chandler, Mike
Bullmoreand Don
Carson.
|
| • |
An Apologetics Canada conference will be offered March 4-5 in Coquitlam, BC at the Coquitlam Alliance Church. Entitled,
“Believers thinking, thinkers believing” the conference will hear from a stellar
line-up of speakers who will help Christians know what they believe and gain
confidence in sharing and defending that faith. |
News – United States
Bishop Howe, one of the few orthodox
TEC bishops, announces retirement
The Orlando
Sentinel reports that Bishop John Howe has announced that he will
retire next year. The long-serving bishop of the Episcopal Church’s Diocese of
Central Florida called for the election of his successor in a special
convention on November 19. Although Bishop Howe has been a staunch proponent of traditional moral
values and Christian teaching, he has been unwilling to break with the
Episcopal Church.
Lutheran leaders try to bar the
door as orthodox flee increasingly “liberal” church
The Layman Online reports that
“Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) leaders are proposing new rules
that will make it harder for congregations to leave the denomination… The changes
are proposed as nearly 300 congregations have completed current departure
requirements, and another 140 congregations have begun the process. These
congregations represent a loss of 200,000 ELCA members… many congregations are
departing due to the denomination’s theological drift away from the Bible
– including new policies on same-sex marriage, gay ordination and
teachings that contradict Scripture.”
ACA says it will not accept
pope’s offer
VirtueOnline
reports that “The Anglican Church in America (ACA), one of the
largest of the Continuing Anglo Catholic bodies in the US, has issued a letter
through its chancellors saying it will not join with its Archbishop, John
Hepworth, and accept the Pope's offer of a personal ordinariate.”
Other US news
Church of England Newspaper
– Jan 21 2011 – …no let up in
Episcopal Church lawsuits
News – International
Chairman of GAFCon tells it like
it is
In a fascinating webcam interview with AnglicanTV’s Kevin Kallsen, Bishop Greg Venables, who recently stepped
down as Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone, talks earnestly and passionately
about the false teaching that has torn the Communion. He says, that “many have
become darkened in their understanding… that’s why there can be no dialogue;
we’re talking from completely different perspectives… sometimes, sadly, it is
because people have turned their back on the Gospel of Jesus Christ… So we have
this urgency of preaching the Gospel…” He added that he believes we are under God’s
judgement because we have suppressed the revelation of truth we’ve received.
On Dr Rowan Williams, he said, although
there is a tremendous amount of love and respect for the Archbishop of
Canterbury, “…we cannot allow one person and a small group around that person
to assume authority over the Anglican Communion. That was never within
Anglicanism…because it is not in Scripture.” He added that “sadly, we’ve
slipped into a western, almost colonialist leadership now” in the
Communion.
However, Bishop Greg expresses
confidence in the future of the Anglican Communion, saying “the majority are in
love with God… Anglicanism has got a lot of life in it because it’s something
God has created and there’s an awful lot to be done yet.”
While the Communion has become
dysfunctional, he said that, “Both the Global South and GAFCon are planning
very important activities in the coming days… We are not ashamed of the Gospel…
We have to proclaim it which is the principle activity of the Anglican Church
worldwide. We just have to get on
with it. And that is what both of
the Global South and GAFCon together are planning on doing. Working together, working in unity,
working in love …”
VirtueOnline offers a
fuller report on the interview.
Primates Meeting marks end of an era
The meeting of the Primates
called by the Archbishop of Canterbury concluded in Dublin, Ireland on January
30 with a number of
statements and letters – including statements on climate change,
on the death of a Ugandan homosexual activist, and on Haiti, as well as letters
to churches urging action on gender-based violence, and an open letter
condemning the persecution of Anglicans in Zimbabwe. The meeting also produced a working
document which attempts to define the purpose and circumscribe
the authority of the Primates’ Meeting. Traditionally, the Primates’ Meeting has been seen as one of
the four instruments of unity in the Communion. Finally, the Meeting elected a Standing Committee; however the membership of this committee has not been
made public.
Only 23 primates, representing
less than one-third of global Anglicans, participated in the meeting. Most of the primates who choose to stay
away did so largely because of their frustration with the failure of the
Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Communion Office to implement
decisions of past Primates Meetings. The AEC blog has posted a number of discussions on the Primates’ Meeting and its
outcome.
In his analysis, the Anglican
Curmudgeon, canon lawyer
A S Haley, concludes, “The documents posted at the close of the
recent Primates' Meeting in Dublin tell the story. The takeover of the
Instruments of Communion by ECUSA, aided and abetted by the Archbishop of
Canterbury, is now complete. Anything of substance was carefully avoided at
Lambeth 2008; the proposed Covenant itself was derailed at ACC-14 in Jamaica,
and then carefully defanged by the newly reorganized Standing Committee; and
now the Primates' Meeting has let itself descend into irrelevance -- with the
primates of the churches having most of the Anglican Communion's membership
absenting themselves, and refusing to prop up the pretense of normalcy any
longer.”
The Church Times
quotes Bishop Greg Venables saying, “There was a denial of the
seriousness of the crisis facing the Communion which led to the absence of
Primates representing two-thirds of the Anglican Communion, and there remains
a complete lack of trust, which every day is getting worse. The Dublin meeting has just made things
worse, as they did not deal with the reasons why people stayed away or the
causes of the divisions in the Anglican Church.”
The Anglican
Communion Institute’s analysis of the meeting makes the important
points that: the Primates at the Meeting represented a “small fraction” of
active Anglicans; the Meeting had no continuity to previous Primates’ Meetings,
with no follow-up on previous decisions and “seemed to operate in a vacuum”;
and, in the most important document produced by the Meeting, the Primates
present contradicted “the role repeatedly specified for the Primates’ Meeting
by the Communion over the last forty years”.
The writers conclude:
“Those meeting in Dublin staked
no claim to continuity with the past, ignoring the will of the most
authoritative of the Instruments of Communion—the Lambeth Conference of
Bishops. For all these reasons,
the group of Primates who met in Dublin cannot be recognized as acting in
accord with the accepted Communion understanding of the Primates’ Meeting as an
Instrument of Communion. This Instrument thus joins the others as now being
dysfunctional and lacking in communion credibility. We are left with a
grouping—one can no longer say “communion”—of three dozen or so
autonomous churches, many of whom are not in communion with others, without any
effective Instruments of Communion to bind them together. This is made no less
heartbreaking by being the Communion’s obvious trajectory for several years.
“But we can only proceed from
where we are. The first task for those who share a Communion ecclesiology is to
begin to re-constitute working Instruments of Communion… the vast majority of
the Communion continues to share Anglicanism’s historic faith and order
notwithstanding its rejection by two provinces. What is needed as a matter of
urgency are Instruments that express that common faith. We call on the Primates
representing the vast preponderance of Anglicans, together with their
colleagues, to take up the charge of seeing to the furtherance of the Communion
and we pledge our prayers to that end.”
VirtueOnline
concludes its analysis with the expectation that “…orthodox
Anglicans worldwide will increasingly coalesce around GAFCON and the Jerusalem
Declaration as the Covenant flounders and fails to unite Anglicans. It might
well be true that Rowan Williams' day is also done with a communion now in
total shambles.”
According to the Anglican
Journal, Archbishop Fred Hiltz (Anglican Church of Canada) saw the
event differently. He told the
Journal, “I think the meeting went very, very well. We had a superb
facilitation team who managed the process for us. We had considerable
time-sharing with one another… We saw a fair amount of convergence… There was a small writing group…which
included me, to prepare the draft of a statement…”
Archbishop Hiltz also offered his
view on the Primates who chose not to attend, saying, “…the primates’ meeting
is a given [if] you’re a primate…. I have an obligation to attend the primates’
meeting…” To say, ‘I won’t go’ in some sense is to deny the voice and
perspective of your own church that you represent…” And Archbishop Hiltz made it clear that the Primates’
Meeting should have no real authority in the Communion, saying, “… the primates
were assuming an authority [that] as a group was never intended.”
George Conger of the Church of
England Newspaper notes that, for the first time, the secretary
general of Anglican Communion Office was included in the official photo of the
Primates. The article then quotes Dr Phillip Turner of the Anglican Communion
Institute and former dean of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, commenting on
the reports produced by the Primates Meeting.
“These
reports are theologically vacuous,” Dean Turner said. “Sadly, they only display
the fact thatthis Instrument has become dysfunctional. It has
become dysfunctional because neither the Primates as a group nor the Primate
who is primus inter pares were
willing and able to address the actions” of the North American churches.
The
“fabric” of the communion remains torn “because of a failure in leadership,” he
said, noting that the “communion as we have known it is gone.”
In its
place the Dublin primates have adopted an ecclesiology where “we are all
friendly and we do good works, but we need not share commonly recognized forms
of belief and practice,” Dean Turner said.
Blogger Peter Carrell
from New Zealand suggests that the Anglican “Minority” Communion
– comprised primarily of those represented at the recent Primates
Meetings – should now be called the Global Forum of Independent Anglican
Churches. He goes on to recall
former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie’s thoughts on independence:
"But we have reached the
stage in the growth of the Communion when we must begin to make radical
choices, or growth will imperceptibly turn to decay. I believe the choice
between independence and interdependence, already set before us as a Communion
in embryo twenty-five years ago, is quite simply the choice between unity or
gradual fragmentation." [Cited S66, Windsor report; R Runcie, Opening
Address, reproduced in The Truth Shall
Make You Free, The Lambeth Conference 1988, CHP (1988), p.16.]
The Church Times
reports that Dr Williams will now “engage in… shuttle diplomacy in
an attempt to improve relations with the Global South primates who boycotted
last week’s primates’ meeting”.
Charles Raven has an interesting analysis titled “Dublin and the Art of Dishonest Conversation”. He says, “We might well ask ourselves
what sort of Communion we are in when the chief passion of the Archbishop of
Canterbury and those still willing to work with him is for ‘conversation’...
Afitting way therefore for the absent Primates to follow through their
principled negative decision would be by the positive action of
sponsoringthe GAFCON/Global South equivalent of the Anglican Ordinariate
in England itself, mounting a challenge to ‘dishonest conversation’ at its source
in the mother church of the Communion itself… [A]s the Communion undergoes its
present convulsions it must be wise to make provision for a faithful Anglican
future that is not subject to the institutions which are now exposed as serving
the wider Communion so badly.”
Additional
commentaries on these meetings are available from:
The
American Anglican Council – February 4 2011 – Whitewashed
Tombs
VirtueOnline
– February 2 2011 – Dublin: The
Primates Meeting – A review and analysis
The
Anglican Communion Institute – January 26 2011 – The Dublin
‘Meeting’
Around the Communion and the
globe
West Indies – The Anglican
Communion News Service reports that the West Indies has adopted the
Anglican Covenant. It is the third province to do so, following the lead of
Mexico and Myanmar.
Rwanda – The new Primate of
Rwanda, Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje, has been
installed. He takes
over from the high-profile, retired primate, Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini.
Egypt – Front Page
Magazine reports that Christians in Egypt are deeply concerned that
the growing revolution could open the door for an extremist Islamic
regime. Christians in Egypt have
been the target of growing violence including the New Year’s
Eve bombing of an Alexandria church that killed 23 and badly wounded
more than 100. Fox News
reports that 15 more Christians were recently murdered in a town 150
miles south of Cairo. Fox reports that “Egyptian Christians fear what will
become of the already persecuted minority should Muslim extremists take
control.”
Presiding Bishop Mouneer Anis
(Jerusalem and the Middle East) said in an interview
published by the American Anglican Council, “…we pray and hope these
demonstrators will go back home and give an opportunity for the new government
and new vice president to continue to work on the fulfillment of all these
promises they have made… We in the church here would like to see a very
gracious transfer of authority. We don't want our president to go in a
non-gracious way. I think the Western administrations don't understand well the
situation on the ground here. They don't know that if the president left
suddenly there would be a vacuum (like what happened in Iraq), and this will
give an opportunity for extreme groups to fight and divide and to play around.
So I'm sorry that these administrations asked the president to step down
immediately. They don't understand the situation… We are heartbroken because of what's
happening to our beloved country. Do pray for Egypt to recover from this crisis...”“ He added
that the churches are safe (so far) and that they have been having daily
services in the cathedral for all who can come.
In a follow up email on Saturday,
Bishop Anis quoted 2 Chronicles 20:12b, “We do not know what
to do, but our eyes are on you." Then he specifically asked us
to “Pray for wisdom for all those who are in authority. Pray that the
spirit of fanaticism and extremism would not penetrate our society. Pray
for the financial needs of the people in general, and the staff of the diocese.” And yesterday, he reported a return to some normalcy and thanked people for praying.
The American Anglican Council
offers a 2-minute
video with thoughts on how to pray for Egypt.
Iran – The National Post
reports a wave of executions in Iran and Compass
Direct News reports that as many as 120 Christians have been rounded
up and imprisoned as the government tries to stop the house church
movement. Many have been forced to
sign statements saying they would no longer attend church as a condition of
their release. “…those who tend to
remain detained are the leaders of the groups. While in prison, many Christians
undergo harsh treatment that may include solitary confinement, prolonged
interrogation, threats and verbal insults, pressure to recant and beatings,
according to the Elam report.” One young pastor has been sentenced to death.
Sudan – The New York
Times reports that student protests have spread to Northern Sudan,
however numbers of protesters have been relatively few and ineffective so
far. The Sudan is facing increased
uncertainty and economic turmoil with the impending separation of the south
with its petroleum wealth.
The National Post
reports that, 98.83 per cent of the votes cast in the South Sudan
independence referendum were in favour of succession. Please continue
to pray for a peaceful negotiation of the terms of separation. On 9 July 2011,
the world’s newest nation, South Sudan, is to come into being.
Israel – Arrests have been
made in the December stabbing death of CMJ staff member Kristine
Luken. The accused are
Palestinians who were allegedly seeking revenge and mistook Kristine and fellow
CMJ staff member Kaye Wilson, who survived the attacked, for Jews. CMJ is an independent
Anglican ministry working in Israel.
Somalia – A 36-year-old
Christian mother of four, ages 4 to 12, was publicly
killed by Islamic extremists on the outskirts of Mogadishu. The Islamists slit her throat in front
of the villagers. The extremists
control much of Somalia and are determined to irradiate the few remaining
Christians.
England – The Guardian
reports that Church of England attendance continues to fall –
down to an average Sunday attendance in 2009 of 944,000. The number of
baptisms, marriages and even funerals also fell.
Brazil – Since it was
expelled from the Anglican Province in Brazil (IEAB) five years ago and came
under the Primatial care of the Southern Cone, the evangelical Diocese of Recife has more than
doubled its congregations, clergy and members. In 2010 alone, the diocese confirmed
363 – most of whom were new converts. The diocese now has a presence in nine Brazilian states.
Soul food
Just
for fun – Valentine’s Day humour
After
she woke up, a woman told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a
pearl necklace for Valentine's Day. What do you think it means?" "You'll know tonight." he replied
thoughtfully.
That
evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife.
Delighted, she opened it, to find a book entitled "The Meaning of
Dreams."
From Mikey’s Funnies www.mikeysFunnies.com
Of
interest
Bishop
Michael Nazir-Ali, who addressed ANiC’s most recent synod, has written an
article discussing the Roman Catholic and Anglican views of Mary,
the mother of Jesus.
Edward
Tingley of Augustine College (Ottawa) has provided a resource addressing fuzzy
thinking about marriage: “22 Mistakes about
Marriage”, which explains why legitimizing same-sex marriage
requires a total redefinition of marriage.
An audio lecture also posted on the Augustine College website explains postmodern thinking and
how post modernists reject rational argumentation. (Select “Faculty & Associates in the left-hand menu.
Then select the first lecture “Recognizing post-modernism”.)
Worth
reading
The Anglican Church League
(Australia) recently revisited a
message delivered by Canon David Short (St John’s Vancouver) to the National Canadian Anglican Essentials
Conference – “The Way Forward” – in Ottawa on 31 August 2004. In that message, Canon Short drew on
the teaching of 1 Corinthians to address issues of sexual morality and
Christians.
Please
pray...
For our bishops and clergy and
their families – especially those battling illness
For ANiC projects, church plants
and parishes, and for their proclamation of the Good News of Christmas to those
in their communities who desperately need new life in Christ
For the legal counsel for the four
ANiC parishes in the Vancouver area as they await the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on their
application for leave to appeal.
For
other ongoing legal challenges faced by ANiC parishes, including:
| • |
The settlement
ratification process involving St George’s & St Alban’s (Ottawa) and their
former Anglican Church of Canada diocese |
| • |
The
ongoing litigation involving St Aidan’s (Windsor) and the ANiC parishes that
were formerly in the Diocese of Niagara – and their mounting expenses |
For all
the congregations involved in court proceedings and disputes. Pray for a continued focus on, and
blessing upon, their ministry in the midst of this turmoil. Pray for peace for the wardens and
trustees who are on the front lines and bear the burden of risk and
responsibility
For the
leaders and parishioners of the ACoC dioceses pursuing eviction of and legal
costs against ANiC congregations and wardens
For donations to the ANiC legal defense fund which supports
parishes in disputes with their former dioceses
For
funding of the ARDFC’s malaria
prevention project in Kenya
For persecuted
Christians, especially in Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia and other Muslim lands
For the Sudan and the
implementation of independence for the South.
For
repentance and revival in our hearts and in our nation, for a hunger for God
and a thirst for His Word
For all
those in positions of leadership and influence in the Anglican Communion, that
they would seek to honour and obey God above all else
For the GAFCON and Global South Primates of the Anglican Communion as they plan for
meetings of orthodox Anglican leaders
And now a word from our sponsor
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in
my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt
his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my
fears...
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in
him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who
fear him have no lack!...
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their
cry…
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves
the crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them
all…
The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be
condemned
Psalm
34
... back to "Newsletters" main page
|
|
|
 |
