 |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
More dates set for Anglican Essentials Canada meetings
With the theme, “Now is the time!” the Rev Canon Charlie Master, executive director of Anglican Essentials Canada, is attracting concerned Anglicans to meetings being held across Canada. The sessions in the Newfoundland and the Maritimes generated excellent response. Meetings are currently being held in Ontario and Quebec. Later this month, the “tour” moves to Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and wraps up on Vancouver Island in early June. ... more
Comment on HoB's pastoral statement
Bishop Donald Harvey, Dr. J.I. Packer and Rev. David Short joined forces to comment on the recent pastoral statement by the House of Bishops (HoB) of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC). (This pastoral statement can be seen at: www.anglican.ca) In their response, Bishop Don, Dr Packer and Rev Short expressed concern that the “The statement advocates using the Eucharist as a device to give the church's recognition to gay and lesbian married couples. This supposes that gay and lesbian practice is, in principle at least, are a form of Christian holiness, and it clearly insinuates the hope that the forthcoming General Synod will explicitly sanction the blessing of same-sex unions…” (See the full response at www.anglicannetwork.ca)
Meanwhile, Toronto Bishops issued their own statement toughening the language of the HoB's pastoral statement. www.toronto.anglican.ca
What is most interesting about the HOB statement is that others have interpreted it as indicating that the House of Bishops is actually “backing off” from proceeding with same sex blessings as a policy of the ACC. This is why the Anglican Network in Canada has been pushing for clarity from the General Synod in June. Such a lack of clarity only promotes confusion and chaos in the church and will ensure that the ACC “walks apart” from the Anglican Communion. The Primates' Communiqué from Dar es Salaam made it clear that ambiguity from TEC's General Convention was not acceptable and they gave them a deadline of September 30 to make their position clear. That deadline will apply to Canada as well since the invitations to Lambeth 2008 will go out after that date. Invitations to Lambeth are generally considered a good indication of who is and who isn't in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Countdown to General Synod in Winnipeg, June 19-25
General Synod is five weeks away and the Anglican Essentials (AEC) team is almost ready. High profile locations have been staked out for the AEC booth and our hospitality centre. About 300 letters have gone to delegates inviting them to AEC activities and outlining what we will offer during General Synod. These include:
| • |
Encouragement 2007, a series of events open to all delegates beginning at noon the day before General Synod starts and continuing with evening presentations during General Synod. The Rev. Dr. Andrew Goddard, tutor in ethics at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and an expert on the Windsor Report and the worldwide Communion, will be a featured speaker. The evenings will include prayer and praise times, as well as teaching. |
| • |
A daily newsletter, a display booth featuring a “book of the day”, and an Internet Café. |
AEC will also provide support for delegates who identify with us and seek help in addressing motions. This support will include seminars and coaching in how to address motions.
AEC has assembled a large team of volunteers, including: 30 from out-of-province doing everything from manning the booth to preparing communications; locals from the Diocese of Rupert's Land who will be providing hospitality, food, billets and music ministry; and volunteers from the Diocese of Brandon who will offer their chauffeuring services.
Scary thought
The Anglican Journal reports that retired Archbishop of Toronto, Terence Findlay, discussed the possibility of the Anglican Church of Canada being excluded from the Anglican Consultative Council (one of the three instruments of Communion) at a recent national conference in Ottawa on inclusiveness. He is said to have asked, “…does that mean that the right wing under (Bishop) Don Harvey becomes the recognized Canadian province of the Anglican Communion? That's really scary.” www.anglicanjournal.com
Seeing the AEC from the lens of the Toronto Star
The Rev Canon Charlie Masters was interviewed by a Toronto Star reporter on Tuesday and the story came out today (May 12). While secular media stories seldom fully reflect our true position and purpose, they do serve to communicate the existence of the Anglican Essentials movement to a broader audience, reaching Anglicans who could well be unaware of our existence but share our views. www.thestar.com
Nigerian Archbishop defies TEC Primate to install Bishop in Virginia
Bishop Donald Harvey recently represented the Network at the installation in Virginia of Martin Minns as Bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria presided at the event as bishops and representatives from England, the United States, Nigeria, Canada and Uganda joined the celebration. Also present was Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, Moderator of the Anglican Communion Network and the Chairman of the North American Common Cause alliance, of which CANA and ANiC are members.
The eight Nigerian bishops present warmly welcomed Bishop Don, expressing their delight to see “Canada” standing with them as they are with us. Bishop Don, who helped administer the Blessed Sacrament to the vast congregation, reports that the worship was moving and the congregation joyfully enthusiastic. “I was particularly encouraged by the deep devotion and the determination to remain faithful to the Word of God that I witnessed in people of all ages and cultures,” he says. “It's wonderful to know that we in Canada are not standing alone.”
The presence of ++Akinola's at the event caused outrage in the Episcopal Church (TEC). Just days before the service, ++Katharine Jefferts-Schori warned Archbishop Akinola not to come, saying his presence would exacerbate tensions. ++Akinola's response to ++Schori is well worth reading. In part, he says, “You speak in your letter of centuries old custom regarding diocesan boundaries. You are, of course, aware that the particular historical situation to which you make reference was intended to protect the church from false teaching not to prevent those who hold to the traditional teaching of the church from receiving faithful episcopal care. It was also a time when the Church had yet to face into the challenge of different denominational expressions of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I also find it curious that you are appealing to the ancient customs of the church when it is your own Province's deliberate rejection of the biblical and historic teaching of the Church that has prompted our current crisis.” Archbishop Akinola also said that as soon as TEC demonstrates it has returned to orthodoxy, CANA will be gladly returned. (See Archbishop Akinola's response: www.anglican-nig.org)
The Archbishop of Canterbury also wrote ++Akinola, but his letter arrived after the ceremony. Again ++Akinola' response is very revealing. (See www.globalsouthanglican.org)
See a report on the installation: www.christianpost.com
Your support is deeply appreciated
Please consider including the Network among your favorite charities. Your regular help allows us to provide the administrative, communication and spiritual support that keeps this ministry alive.
There are two ways you can make a donation to the Network:
| 1. |
You can donate online through the Canada Helps secure donations website for Anglican Essentials Canada. As you complete the donations page, please note in the instructions box that you are designating your gift for the Network. You will be given the option of opening a Canada Helps account to simplify future donations. Canada Helps will deduct your donation amount from your credit card and you will receive a tax receipt directly from them. |
| 2. |
You can send a cheque to the Network at Box 189, Milton, ON, L9T 4N9. Please make your cheque payable to Anglican Essentials Canada and note For the Network in the memo portion of the cheque. We will send you a charitable donations receipt for income tax purposes at the end of the year. |
Worth repeating
Lee Webb writing on CBNnews.com recently discussed “The Crisis in the Episcopal Church”. He said, “…As Robert Robinson stated in his great hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love." That's true of churches and denominations as well as individuals who claim to follow Christ.
Episcopal Church leaders and all of us, for that matter, would be well-served to read the preface of the Anglican Church's first Book of Common Prayer, published in 1549. It states, "There was never any thing by the wit of man so well devised, or so sure established, which in continuance of time hath not been corrupted."
Let us commit ourselves to serving our God faithfully and pray that He, by His grace, would revive and restore a once proud and faithful denomination.
For Webb's full column see: www.cbn.com
... back to "Newsletters" main page
|
|
|
 |
