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ANiC news
ANiC and ACNA events calendar
November 16 – ANiC’s electronic synod at 1pm eastern time (Please note revised date and time)
November 23 – Bible-in-a-Day seminar at St George’s (Burlington, ON)
January 28-29 – Ontario clergy gathering on the “Craft of Preaching”. Information to come.
April 8-10 – Ontario clergy silent retreat (details to come)
April 2014 – Women of the Word workshop at St John’s Vancouver. Date to be determined.
May 5-8 – Western region clergy and spouse retreat, Malibu Camp, BC
May 6-8 – March for Life, Ottawa, ON
May 20-24 – Anglican 1000 church planting regional conference, Toronto, ON
June 25-28 – Anglican Church in North America Assembly 2014 at St Vincent College, Latrobe, PA
November 5-7 – ANiC Synod 2014 at a location to be announced
Philippines disaster appeal
If God has touched your heart as you’ve seen media coverage of the devastation in the Philippines caused by the typhoon, please consider channeling your giving through the ARDFC. ARDFC is partnering with Compassion Canada for this emergency relief work since Compassion has ongoing work in the Philippines serving vulnerable children and their families. Compassion shares ARDFC’s commitment to working with local churches, helping these churches meet the pressing needs in their communities.
All donations to ARDFC designated for this disaster relief work will be matched by the Government of Canada.
As you pray for the Philippines, please also remember in prayer our Filipino congregation – Holy Trinity Filipino Anglican Church in Edmonton, Alberta and their rector the Rev Robert Gomowad.
Finally, if you’ve ever wondered how to wisely select which charity to donate to in responding to disaster needs, you’ll appreciate this thoughtful advice.
ANiC synod, November 16
ANiC is holding a synod via electronic communications this Saturday at 1pm Eastern time. All official delegates from ANiC congregations should have received the necessary information on how to participate. If you are a synod delegate and you need help, please email the ANiC office or call 1-866-351-2642. See the ANiC website for information.
Western region clergy and spouse retreat planned for May 5-8
Bishop Trevor Walters invites ANiC’s western region clergy and their spouses to set aside May 5-8 for a retreat at Young Life’s spectacular Malibu Camp in Princess Louisa Inlet. Details are still to come. Plan to attend!
Women of the Word workshop planned for St John’s Vancouver next spring
Although a date is still pending, a workshop is planned for next April in Vancouver which will focus on “training women to teach the Bible to other women” and equip women “to live out the truths of the gospel. The workshop is designed for women who serve in regular teaching ministries including large group instructors, small group teachers and women’s ministry leaders...” The workshop is
offered by The Charles Simeon Trust. Check it out here and contact Jan Hobbis at St John’s Vancouver for information if you are interested. Watch for the date.
Year-end coming quickly
As the year-end approaches and you finalize you charitable giving for the year, please consider the needs of our own ANiC parish, of ANiC as a diocese (yes, we do need individuals as well as parishes to support us in order to continue offering member congregations a high level of ministry support), and of ARDFC (the Anglican Relief and Development Fund Canada).
Ministering in Pakistan
Bishop Stephen Leung was to have ministered at a diocesan conference in Lahore, Pakistan this past week. However, he and his wife Nona, as well as Dean Archie & Caron Pell, heard while en route to Pakistan that the conference had been postponed a week due to tensions in the country. Although Bishop Stephen could not stay due to other commitments, Dean Archie is stepping in to deliver the talks Bishop Stephen was to present – 5 in total. Please pray for Dean Archie as he ministers God’s Word.
Parish and regional news
St Aidan’s (Windsor, ON) has decided, after much prayer and thought, to appeal the loss of their church building and funds to the Supreme Court of Canada. Please remember the congregation, leadership, legal counsel, and judges in your prayers.
St Peter &St Paul’s (Ottawa, ON) has a new Facebook page.
Be sure to email your parish news to Marilyn Jacobson.
Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) news
TEC finds another way to attack ACNA’s Diocese of Quincy
After losing soundly in a recently decided court decision, the US Episcopal Church (TEC) wasted no time in filing a new lawsuit against the ACNA’s Diocese of Quincy, this time in a different county and specifically targeting individuals – the bishop, clergy and church leaders. The result is that Quincy’s bank accounts have been tied up once again.
Lawyer A S Haley writes, “…this latest lawsuit is simply an outrageous attempt to bludgeon the already cash-starved Anglican Diocese of Quincy and its member parishes and missions into submission. Worse, it comes right after the Anglican Diocese prevailed at trial over ECUSA on many of the same issues raised in this new lawsuit… in typical blunderbuss fashion, they are going after the individual rectors… as well as Bishop Morales and the members of the Diocese's standing committee and corporate board (whom they personally sued in the case they already lost)… To prepare and file a proper challenge to it will take thousands of dollars that the Diocese (with its funds just re-frozen by the appellate court) does not currently have at its disposal. And this, no doubt, is what Bishop Lee must be counting on…”
Primate of Congo on ARDF – Congo
In a short video, Archbishop Henri Isengoma, Primate of the Anglican Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo, explains how important the partnership of ARDF (and ARDFC) has been in supporting his Church’s efforts in relieving suffering, proclaim the gospel, resettle war refugees and retrain child soldiers. In 2011, ARDFC completed a project in partnership with the Church in Congo which helped resettle returning war refugees.
Real Identity, a new book by ACNA’s Bishop Thaddeus Barnum
Archbishop Bob Duncan says Bishop Thaddeus Barnum’s book Real Identity “…challenges us to congruity between the outside and the inside, between what we seem to be and what we actually are, between the mind and the heart… What happens when disciples are challenged by great adversity or hidden temptation? Do we walk the talk then? ...”
Anglican Communion
Ongoing GAFCon coverage
Media impressions – In a special GAFCon edition of the Anglican Unscripted video newsmagazine, journalists George Conger and Kevin Kallsen offer their impressions on the Nairobi conference. In a wide-ranging discussion they mention that: the conference far exceeded their expectations; they sense spiritual attack during the conference; and they were impressed by the “maturity” of the ACNA House of Bishops in the absence of Archbishop Bob Duncan, giving them confidence in our Province’s future. They also discuss the hot potato issues of Anglo-Catholics and the ordination of women – and how the conference held together despite different views.
GAFCon and the Anglican Communion – The Rev Dr Stephen Noll writes about the “sea change” in the Anglican Communion that was initiated when it became clear that several western Churches were rejecting the authority of God’s Word and historic Christian teaching. This theological storm now has resulted in a sea change in Anglican Communion polity and given rise to the Global Anglican Future Conference serving as a de facto Instrument of Unity. Writing following GAFCon 2, Professor Noll explains:
“How will the GFCA model being an instrument of Communion? I think many features are already clear. First of all, it will be "confessional," i.e., the essentials of the Christian faith in the Anglican tradition will be at the heart of its identity. Secondly, it will be evangelistic and committed to mission. Thirdly, its leadership will come from the Global South, and it will call on special talents from the West. Finally, it will have a form of mixed polity, similar to that of the two Conferences in 2008 and 2013. Finally, the GFCA's "Commitment" is "to meet again at the next GAFCON" (Commitment 9). This is not a threat but a promise that the movement has a future, indeed that it represents the global Anglican future.”
Dr Noll, in a video interview with AnglicanTV, discusses the conference from an insider’s perspective. He says that the GAFCon movement will ultimately prove its worth as it supports parishes and dioceses in evangelism, theological education, discipleship and economic empowerment.
GAFCon and England – AnglicanTV conducted a very interesting video interview with Rev Canon Dr Gavin Ashenden, a Queen’s Chaplain, in which he forecasts that within five years Anglican clergy in Britain will find themselves jailed if they refuse to perform same-sex blessings. He also discusses GAFCon from an Anglo-Catholic perspective.
Writing for the Church of England Newspaper, George Conger discusses GAFCon 2’s anticipation that the Church of England will fragment over the issues of same-sex blessings and women bishops. The Nairobi conference participants pledged to support traditionalist evangelical and Anglo-Catholic members of the Church of England and recognized the Anglican Mission in England. “While covering a vast amount of ground, the Nairobi Commitment was a clear call to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the House of Bishops of the General Synod of the Church of England. “Bishops have to decide,” Canon Ashenden said, between “Biblical orthodoxy” and the spirit of the age. “You must choose,” he said.”
A Church Times article says “The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) will effectively provide for Anglican traditionalists the fellowship and support that provinces give to dioceses, Dr Peter Jensen, a former Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, told the Church Times at the close of the GAFCON conference in Nairobi last week.”
GAFCon and the Church of Ireland – And Irish delegate concludes his report by saying:
“…[GAFCon can be] summed up in Ephesians 5.14: Wake Up. Paul warns us of the danger of being partners with darkness (sin) instead of exposing this darkness by the light (through our proclaiming and living the gospel). Perhaps this takes us to the heart of the challenge that comes out of GAFCON 2. What does it mean for orthodox Anglicans today to wake up? What does it mean to take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead to expose them?”
Full information about the GAFCon 2 conference is posted on the GAFCon website.
Archbishop of Canterbury addresses World Council of Churches
Anglican Ink reports that Archbishop Justin Welby rushed from his meetings in Kenya with the GAFCon Primates to Iceland where he met with the other Presiding Bishops of the Porvoo Communion of Churches – many representing theologically “liberal” churches.
International news in brief
Canada
An Anglican Journal report on the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) House of Bishops meeting in Quebec City, October 24 to 29, indicates that the Primate Fred Hiltz and many of the bishops were somewhat uncomfortable with the marriage canon resolution passed by the last General Synod as it could lead to a change of doctrine. Bishops David Parsons and Darren McCartney, reported on the shortage of clergy in the Diocese of the Arctic and the crisis for the newly constructed St Jude’s Cathedral caused by the creditor demanding immediate payment of a $3 million debt. They also mentioned that they’d attended the GAFCon in Nairobi – news which reportedly met with “some consternation among the bishops”. Archbishop Hiltz expressed concern with GAFCon’s agenda “…that says the church in the West or in North America preaches a false gospel…or they are saying the instruments of Communion are so ineffective that we have to begin to create our own, then that creates a lot of angst and frustration, and in some cases, anger.”
ACoC’s “National Indigenous Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald has been elected as North American regional president for the World Council of Churches’ (WCC)…””
England
The Telegraph reports that “Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the former bishop of Rochester, said proposals to make Britain the first non-Muslim country to sell a bond that complies with sharia could trigger a series of “unforeseen consequences”.”
Forward in Faith has put out a statement on the new draft legislation on women in the episcopate. They say, that the provision, while “…still far from… ideal… may have the potential to provide workable arrangements...” The statement details the positive changes as well as the matters sill to be addressed.
Wales
The Church in Wales has launched a Province-wide consultation on a code of practice for implementing the decision to ordain women as bishops in a way that accommodates those with conscientious objections.
Australia
George Conger reports that “The Bishop of North West Australia has warned that if the state or federal governments legalize same-sex marriage, Anglican clergy in his diocese would no longer serve as marriage registrars.”
Rome
Retired Church of England Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali is reported to have met in private audience with Pope Francis on November 7.
Iran
VirtueOnline reports that at least two of the four members of the Church of Iran who were sentenced to 80 lashes for taking wine during a communion service were whipped – reportedly “with extreme violence” – on October 30.
Central African Republic
The Christian Post reports that more than 100 church leaders representing Central African Republic's four million Christians “…have issued a joint plea for [UN] military help to disarm a largely Muslim insurgency and prevent "genocidal interfaith civil war".” They accuse “…the Séléka rebel coalition of killing pastors, raping nuns, torturing civilians, burning villages, destroying churches and looting property. Rebels under the banner of Séléka tossed out President François Bozizé in March, forcing him to flee the country. Human-rights watchdog groups say that in the seven months since, rebels have killed hundreds of people and have driven tens of thousands from their homes, many of which have been looted and burned.” Please pray.
Nigeria
All Africa reports that, once again, well-armed Boko Haram terrorists have killed dozens in coordinated multiple attacks, this time in Damaturu, in capital of Yobe State. As a result a 4pm to 7am curfew has been imposed by the military authorities. Pray for the peace.
Kenya
Dr Agnes Abuom from the Anglican Church of Kenya was elected moderator of the highest governing body of the World Council of Churches. She is the first woman and first African to hold the position.
Persecution
The Age, an Australian publication, provides an excellent analysis of growing persecution of Christians worldwide, its causes and surprising lack of coverage in the media. The author writes, it is “…all part of the biggest human rights challenge now facing the globe… a largely unobserved global war on Christians. Things may be worse now for more Christians than at any time in history...” The 16 countries guilty of the most “heinous and systematic” offences are: Burma, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Resources
Ministry resources
Strange fire – Pastor and author John MacArthur responds to critics, here and here, of his recent high-profile Strange Fire conference in which he, and a number of other Christian leaders, put forward the case for cessationism. Cessationism is the understanding that the Holy Spirit no longer gives believers miraculous spiritual gifts as a normative Christian experience, as was the case for the first century apostles. MacArthur’s book on the subject hit the market today. The Rev Matt Kennedy weighs in on the debate and suggests it is an “elephant in the room” for the ACNA – and for the entire Christian Church.
Systematic theology – Canon Dr J I Packer speaks on the topic “What is systematic theology and why do we need it” in this almost-one-hour-long Simeon Trust video.
Evangelism – The latest edition of the 9Marks Journal, which can be downloaded at no charge, is focused on evangelism – in the workplace, across economic boundaries and cultures, and within our neighbourhoods.
Videos – Worship House Media offers for sale a selection of mini-movies that can be shown in church, including this comic take on the church family that has it all together.
The Meaning of Sex? is a new book by Pastor Denny Burk which carefully unpacks what the Bible says about sex and what the Bible says to contemporary cultural norms and the “liberal” theologians who embrace those norms. Tim Challies says, “What Is the Meaning of Sex? is a good book – a very good book – and one I heartily recommend. There are hundreds of books out there on sex and marriage, but none quite like this and I believe it will prove especially helpful to pastors and to ministry leaders who find themselves navigating increasingly tricky waters. Burk’s careful work in the text of Scripture lays a foundation that will provide guidance for even the most perplexing question.”
Resources for Christian living
Evangelism – A frail Billy Graham celebrated his 95th birthday by releasing a video. This evangelistic video, The Cross, is available online, along with two others – Lose to Gain and Defining Moments. You can read about Billy Graham’s worldwide ministry and many crusades in a National Post article. Is there a way you can use these well-produced videos in ministry?
Marriage – The best marriage advice ever? “Marriage isn’t for you”!
For husbands – 18 Things I’ll not regret doing with my wife
For wives – 18 Things I’ll not regret doing with my husband
Youth – A new youth magazine has launched. Love in Action is a supplement to the November- December 2013 digital version of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada magazine, Faith Today. Both (digital) publications are free online.
End of life video – The Christian Medical and Dental Society has produced a helpful video, called The Gift, which focuses on the end of life and the positive message of a natural death.
39 articles – Canon Phil Ashey continues his video series on the 39 Articles with brief looks at the “Person of Jesus” in Article 2 and “the going down of Christ into Hell” in Article 3. This series would make a great addition to an adult Sunday School class or home group exploring Anglican beliefs.
Are you a Christian? – A powerful cartoon asks this question. (Be sure to scroll all the way down.)
Family – Calling family, the original small group ministry, Timothy Jones says, “…the most significant influence on children’s spiritual formation remains the religious life modeled and taught to them by their parents” – not professional children and youth ministers at church. However, only about one-third of churched parents read or discuss Scripture at home with their children on at least a weekly basis.
Abortion – Complications: Abortion’s Impact on Women is a new scholarly book that compiles data from over 650 papers, mostly in medical and psychological journals, books and official publications, to document the harm caused to women by abortions. The book is designed to make this little known information available to medical professionals, counselors and women contemplating abortion. LifeSiteNews provides a review.
Soul food
Just for laughs
Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother Joel were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud.
Finally, his big sister had had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in church."
"Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked.
Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, "See those two men standing by the door? They're hushers."
Thought
”A lion in God’s cause must be a lamb in his own.” ~ Matthew Henry
““Not called,” did you say? “Not heard the call”, I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin.” ~ William Booth
And now a Word from our Sponsor
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
James 5: 7-11
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