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Handle with prayer!
News – ANiC and AEN
Beloved, former St John’s (Vancouver) rector passes away
At 84 years of age, the Rev Harry Robinson, former
rector of St John’s Shaughnessy, died suddenly of a heart attack near his home
on Mayne Island, BC, on April 4.
Bishop Charlie Masters says, “The Lord used Harry
in a mighty way in two of Canada’s great cities – Toronto and Vancouver. He was
of great encouragement in my life and even took the time at one point to
encourage me to consider ordination for which I will always be grateful.”
In his tribute to the Rev Robinson, Bishop Tony
Burton, former bishop of Saskatchewan, writes on his
blog: “A gentle giant physically and morally, he combined a probing
intuitive intelligence with an enormous love of people and focus on the Gospel
task.”
The Rev David Short and the Rev Dan Gifford write on the St John’s Vancouver
website: “We give great thanks to God for Harry's ministry over the
years (he was rector of St. John's 1978 to 1992 and subsequently was a member
in his retirement.”
Comments on
the AEC blog also share memories of Harry’s impact:
| • |
“… that physical size was
dwarfed in contrast to the magnitude of the inspiring vision of the Love of God
that came through Harry to all with whom he came into contact….” |
| • |
“He was
the best Canadian Anglican preacher in his generation.” |
The funeral is to be held on Tuesday, April 12 at 1pm
St John’s Vancouver (Granville Street and
Nanton Avenue).
St Matthias and St Luke’s (Vancouver) invites you
to a Seder Meal
One year ago a group of parishioners from St
Matthias & St Luke’s (SMSL) journeyed to Jerusalem and participated in a
Seder meal hosted by Christ Church Jerusalem. The Seder is the Jewish ritual
supper celebrated in remembrance of the Passover. It is likely the meal Jesus
shared with his disciples before he was crucified, making it the Christian’s
first Communion.
Maundy
Thursday, April 21, SMSL is hosting a Seder meal to commemorate Jesus’
institution of the Holy Eucharist. All ANiC parishioners in the area are
invited to attend, but please register before April 11 so adequate food
preparation can be organized.
Time: April
21, 2011, 6:45pm
Place: St Matthias and St Luke’s
church hall, 680 West 49 Ave, Vancouver (enter by parking lot)
Registration: email
SMSL Church at stmstlchurch@telus.net before April 11
Church plants and projects
Plant and Grow conferences across Canada
There are only three Plant and Grow workshops left
for 2011! The sessions focus on both planting new churches and growing
established churches. Join rectors, lay leaders, church planters and could-be
church planters for exciting, foundation-building sessions. Be encouraged and
learn. All welcome. Register with contacts below:
Calendar
of upcoming events – for your interest and prayer support
April 12-14 – Gospel Coalition conference, Chicago,
Illinois
April 17 – Church of the Epiphany & St
Peter by the Park (Hamilton) – Palm Sunday
family event
April 26-29 Titus Institute Exponential
Conference on Church Planting in Orlando
May 28 – Moncton, NB church planting workshop
June (TBD) – Marlborough, MA church planting workshop
June 6-20 – Asian Mission short-term
mission trip to Thailand and the Karan refugee camps
June 30 – July 14 – Asian Mission short-term
mission trip to China, working with disabled orphans
Nov 2 – Clergy Day as well as spiritual life
conference for laity – both in Victoria, BC
Nov 3-4 – ANiC synod, Victoria, BC
On the
front lines: Growing and planting churches
This week, hear about the journey and progress of
Christ the King church plant in Toronto, led by the Rev Ray David Glen. Ray David provides leadership to ANiC’s church planting initiatives
across Canada and is a director of the Anglican 1000 movement.
Christ The King (Toronto,
ON)
“I feel like I’m inside the Book of Acts,” Claus
Lenk says as he describes the ANiC congregation he helped found in the heart of
Toronto. Less than two years ago, the seed was planted when Claus and his wife
Heather opened first their home and then, as the group grew, the board room in
their business. It all started in May 2009 with 13 people meeting to discuss
the possibilities and seek God’s leading. They began meeting regularly to study
the Acts of the Apostles, worship and pray, incorporating Compline. During this
time attendance grew to about 18. “Studying the book of Acts really taught us
about boldness and living in obedience to God,” Claus says.
In the fall of 2010, Christ The King was launched
as an official ANiC church plant, moving to regular Sunday services at 6:30pm
at Blythwood Baptist Church, 80 Blythwood Road, Toronto. The Rev Ray David
Glenn serves as rector – in addition to his responsibilities at St
George’s Burlington – and the Rev Robin Guinness assists in leadership
and in many aspects of church life. Average attendance has grown to about
26.
Fellowship is a key ingredient in Christ The King’s
steady growth. Every service ends with a social time around a light lunch. But
eating together isn’t the only way they build community. Recently they began
incorporating testimonies into their services allowing parishioners to share
their spiritual journeys with each other. One parishioner, a cradle Anglican
recounted how he had grown up in the Anglican Church. However, he said, it was
only during the last 18 months, as he became involved at Christ The King, that
he began to get a deeper understanding of the claims of Christ. During this
time, he was reborn and now has a new purpose. “That”, says Claus, “made all
the hard work of church planting worthwhile.”
The parish
website states: “Our passion – and joy – is introducing our neighbours in the
urban Toronto community to the redemptive and transforming power of Jesus
Christ – through friendship, acts of service, and the faithful teaching
of God’s Word.” We pray that God will continue to bless with much fruit as they
live out this vision.
Inspiration
for planting and growing churches
Anglican
1000 – Audio of the January Anglican 1000 church planting summit in Plano
Texas is now posted to the Anglican 1000
website – including sessions by the keynote speakers, Bishop
Todd Hunter and Dr Tim Keller. In a session titled: “Anglican 1000 Summit,
Anglican1000 Update”, the Rev Ray David Glenn gives a report from Canada and
our primate Archbishop Bob Duncan provides a report on progress toward the goal
of planting 1000 churches in five years. Archbishop Bob says that among the
ACNA and its ministry partners there has been a 38 percent growth in
congregations in the first 19 months of ACNA’s existence. While getting
accurate information was difficult, he said, there were now 973 churches listed
on the ACNA website earlier this year.
Showers
help plants grow – Here’s an innovative idea! The Anglican 1000 blog notes that an Anglican church planter in Los Angeles is holding a shower to help
launch the parish. The list of needed gifts includes everything from crayons
for Sunday School to a drum kit to monthly worship space rental.
Church planting in the
media – As our
culture becomes increasingly secular church planting becomes more of a novelty.
This can create opportunities for publicity in the media – especially
community newspapers – where unique “human interest” stories are always
in demand. Recently, one BC community paper featured a (non-ANiC) church planter’s story on the cover of the paper, with a two-page
feature inside, illustrated with photos.
Can’t afford to buy a
church building? Here’s one
way… An
ACNA church plant in Virginia was able to afford to purchase a building by renting
out space for executive offices.
Prayer
for ACNA’s church planting – In preparation for the upcoming Exponential
Conference on Church Planting in Orlando, Florida at the end of this
month, organizers from the Titus Institute for Church Planting invite
“pray-ers” to play an important role in ACNA’s church planting
movement. The Rev Kathleen Adams from Titus Institute writes: “As you know, (church planting) is a major
goal and directive of our Archbishop, Robert Duncan. This year a special prayer
room with intercessors praying for the conference, its speakers, workshop
leaders and participants will be in place.” Intercessors are invited to pray on
site or at their home churches. The conference is taking place Tuesday April 26
– 29.
News
– Anglican Church in North America (ACNA)
Fort Worth cathedral
plants a church… in Cambodia
St Vincent’s Cathedral in Bedford, Texas is working
with the Diocese of Singapore to plant a church in the Cambodia province of
Pursat. The Anglican Church in Cambodia is a missionary deanery of the Province
of Southeast Asia. Together, St Vincent’s and St Andrew’s in Singapore have
purchased land and are developing facilities for the church plant. Over
Christmas, 1300 Cambodians came to church.
A news story on the ACNA
website states that this partnership is “…one of many that exist within the Anglican
Church in North America. Each partnership is a living testament to the Anglican
Church’s commitment to mission, to evangelism, to our Anglican brothers and
sisters on the other side of the globe, and to planting new, Gospel-centered
churches.” Within ANiC, the Asian Mission, lead by Bishop Stephen Leung,
has organized two mission trips this summer. The mission to the Karan refugees
on the Thailand-Myanmar border is conducted in partnership with the Diocese of
Singapore.
Legal
updates on disputes involving ACNA dioceses
Fort
Worth – The Church of
England Newspaper reports that “A Texas trial court has suspended proceedings
in the Fort Worth property disputes, until the state’s appeals court rules on
issue of whether a diocese may secede from the General Convention of the
Episcopal Church.” A S
Haley writing in the Anglican
Curmudgeon said the judge’s ruling will move the case along more
quickly and will “freeze the case so that the
Court of Appeals can take up the severed part of the case… now, rather than
later. …this was a decision that needed to be made in order to prevent chaos
and disorder from taking over.”
Thanks
to this ruling, Bishop Jack Iker and the ACNA diocese are now preparing to file
a Notice of Appeal directly to the Texas State Supreme Court. The announcement
on the diocese’s website says, “It is within the Court's discretion
to take the case directly, or to require that we go first to the intermediate
Court of Appeals. Since all parties agree that the case will come inevitably
before the high court, we hope to save both the time and expense of an
intermediate appeal as we seek resolution to the litigation brought against us,
which has been so distracting from our mission for the past two years.”
Pittsburgh – Archbishop Bob Duncan’s Diocese of Pittsburgh plans to
petition the State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania for a hearing after
a lower court issued an order denying its request for a re-hearing. The
Pittsburg Post Gazette reports that “the appeal will not stop parish property
negotiations. “What we are really looking for is a settlement or settlements
which allow our parishes not only to survive but to thrive,” [ACNA Diocese of
Pittsburgh spokesman] David Trautman said. The Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review states that “Negotiations over property issues are
expected to take place on a parish-by-parish basis, church leaders said…”
San
Joaquin – A judge has denied a request by the Episcopal Church (TEC) to consolidate the lawsuits it
initiated against nine individual churches and church leaders.
More news about ACNA
ACNA
website – April 6 2011 – Anglican
conference focuses on the Holy Spirit
News –
Canada
Merger of ACoC and
Lutheran offices in Ottawa proposed
The Anglican Journal reports that a proposal to establish shared offices in Ottawa for the Anglican Church
of Canada (ACoC) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCC) has received
a lukewarm reception at a recent ACoC Council of General Synod meeting. Currently
the ACoC office is in Toronto, while the ELCIC is headquartered in Winnipeg. The AEC blog also reports that the ELCC and the ACoC are “becoming increasingly intertwined, to the extent that they are adopting similar policies on homosexual
clergy and the blessing of same-sex couples”.
Tips
for churches during the election
The
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) offers tips for church
conduct during an election, saying “given that many churches are registered
with the Canada Revenue Agency as charities with the ability to issue income
tax receipts, there are certain considerations and policies that must be
considered. The government has set out specific guidelines that outline the
allowable political activities of charities.” The EFC also offers fact sheets
on various election issues, how to organize an all-candidates meeting and a
call to prayer for Canada– all available from the EFC website.
More news from Canada
AEC
blog – March 30 -- Diocese of
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island: same-sex blessing motions to be presented
at its May Synod
Anglican
Journal – April 8 2011 – Bishop George
Bruce to retire after 24 years
News
– United States
Survey of Episcopal
Churches finds most congregations are small and old
A survey of congregations
in the Episcopal Church (TEC) by the Church’s national statistics office
reveals that the average age of congregants is significantly older than the
general US population, with 30% over 65. It also found that churches continue
to shrink with “…the median parish having 66 persons at Sunday worship…” The Church of England
Newspaper report (posted on the Anglican Mainstream website) also
states that “The proportion of parishes in
financial difficulty rose sharply over the past decade. Only 28 per cent of
congregations reported being in “excellent” or “good” financial shape in the
survey, compared to 56 per cent in 2000.”
More US news
Church
of England Newspaper – April 1, 2011 – “Life
sentence” for abuse for US priest
News –
International
GAFCon
congress “almost certainly in Jerusalem” in 2012
Nigeria
– The Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh told the
Church Standing Committee that “Gafcon is alive and well. There will be leaders
meeting this year in New York, which will have an ecumenical character. Church
leaders other than Anglicans who share our stand on the contentious issue of
human sexuality and same-sex unions will be invited. The full Gafcon Congress
will hold almost certainly in Jerusalem again in 2012. We ask for your prayers,
for effective planning and execution.”
He
added that “The
Global South Primates have arranged a meeting with Chinese Government to
discuss the issue of the Christian faith. This meeting will take place in
September 2011.”
Archbishop
Okoh also reported that he led a delegation to the England in February which
visited the Archbishop of Canterbury. He reported that they asked Archbishop
Rowan Williams to allow Nigerians living in England to worship “the Nigerian
way” either in unused Church buildings or in their own services in parish
churches. They said that Nigerians found worship in the Church of England cold
and many were leaving for other denominations where they could express
themselves unreservedly in worship.
From
around the Communion and the world
Ivory
Coast – The Church of
England Newspaper reports that “Over a 1000 Christians have been
killed by Muslim soldiers at a mission station in Duékoué in the Ivory Coast…” Reportedly,
thousands of refugees had sought shelter in the Roman Catholic mission station,
fleeing the civil war in the country.
Uganda –The Archbishop of Uganda recently laid the
foundation stone for the new All Saints Cathedral in Kampala set to
be completed by Christmas 2012. He said the church is to be paid for by the
people of Uganda, for the people of Uganda. The 10,000-member congregation
currently meets in an overflowing 800-seat building, using tents for extra
space. The cathedral holds three Sunday morning services drawing more than 3600
people each week.
The Church of
England Newspaper also reports that the dioceses of eastern Uganda
plan to build a church-affiliated multi-disciplinary university. It is an
initiative of the Theological Education in the Anglican Communion (TEAC), a
committee that works closely with the Archbishop of Canterbury and reports to
the Primates’ meeting. Church affiliated universities are currently being built
in Tanzania, Ghana and other African nations.
Israel – The case involving the revocation of the Bishop of Jerusalem’s
residency visa by the Israeli government is ongoing. The Church of
England Newspaper reports that the Foreign Office in Britain issued
a complaint to Israel, saying it is “very concerned” about the situation. The
Diocese of Jerusalem reported on the ACNS website that Israel’s government wrote in a letter that Dawani “acted with the
Palestinian Authority in transferring lands owned by Jewish people to the
Palestinians and also helped to register lands of Jewish people in the name of
the Church”. “There were further allegations that documents were forged by the
Bishop. The letter also stated that Bishop Dawani and his family should leave
the country immediately”. The bishop denied the allegations, chose to take his
case to the Israeli courts, and awaits a court date to be set.
South
Africa – It is
reported in the Church of England newspaper, that “five men armed
with guns arrived at Bishop Seoka’s Pretoria home, declaring their intention to
kill the bishop and his wife.” The Bishop also received death threats by phone.
The suspects and motives are still unknown but he South African Council of
Churches said the bishop “…has long been an outspoken advocate for social and
economic justice and a courageous opponent of corruption and unethical business
practices in his capacity as a leader of the ecumenical movement.” In January
the bishop’s lay chaplain, a prominent property developer, was found murdered
in her home.
England – Writing on the Anglican
Spread website, the Rev Charles Raven, chronicles some of the recent
evidences of New Age heresy taking root in the Church of England. He begins, ”The
success of the nineteenth century Tractarians and their successors in promoting
the idea that the Church of England represented a ‘via media’ between
Protestantism and Catholicism was such that it is still accepted by many today
as one of Anglicanism's main defining features. But this mythology is being
replaced by another and it is not a change for the better. It is what we might
call a ‘via medium’, a project which is already well under way in TEC, to
reshape Anglicanism into a New Age style spirituality which bypasses the cross
and promises personal fulfilment through connection with a mysterious and many
faceted world of ‘the Spirit’.”
More
international news
Church
of England Newspaper – April 1 2011 – Kenyan call
to combat the “vice” of corruption
Anglican
Mainstream – April 7 2011 – Warriors
fighting for a new nation [Southern Sudan]
Soul
food
Resources
Preaching tips – The Proclamation Trust is offering a free download of a short paper by
Sinclair Ferguson on how to preach Christ from Old Testament texts.
Keeping the faith –
Do you have a child headed to university this fall? The newly released book, Thriving at College:
Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for the Real World might be helpful to them as they wrestle with standing firm in faith on the
university campus.
Lenten meditation –
An excellent meditation on the Communion
Partners website reminds us that we, like cars need to be realigned.
It concludes, “Like driving a car with seriously
misaligned wheels is dangerous, a misaligned heart is a critical threat to our
spiritual health and eternal well-being. Lent is the time that we are reminded
of our need to take our focus off ourselves and return to God as the center of
our lives, for he is our true and everlasting treasure. As Jesus said, “…where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.””
Just for fun
Copyright
Gospel Communications International, Inc - www.reverendfun.com
Please pray...
For our bishops
and clergy and their families
For ANiC
projects, church plants and parishes, and for their proclamation of the
Good News to those in their communities who desperately need new life in
Christ
For the four Vancouver-area ANiC parishes and their
legal counsel 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 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 involved in disputes with their former
dioceses
For the implementation by the Diocese of Maseno
West (Kenya) of the malaria prevention project,
sponsored by the ARDFC. May God
use it to bless Kenyans and
bring many to Christ
For the people of Japan and Christchurch, NZ.
May they turn to God and find comfort and hope
For persecuted Christians especially in Egypt, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Iraq,
Somalia, India and other Muslim and Hindu lands
For countries in Africa and the Middle East where radical Muslims are seeking to
leverage the political instability to gain control
For repentance and revival in our hearts and in our nation, for a
hunger for God and 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
The
hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord
and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all
around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.
He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O
Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones,
and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord GOD
to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will
lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with
skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am
the Lord."
Ezekiel 37:1-6
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