Conger

Canadian Synod to offer product placement to corporate sponsors: The Church of England Newspaper, April 23, 2010 p 6. April 30, 2010

First published in The Church of England Newspaper.

Product placement and corporate sponsorships have come to the Anglican Church of Canada. Under a scheme announced last week corporations are being invited to display their logos and distribute advertising materials for a fee at the church’s General Synod.

The top spot, for a “visionary” sponsor includes a private lunch with Archbishop of Canada Fred Hiltz, a “passport” to Synod for two, “branding opportunities” with “visionary level signage” throughout the conference including an hour’s advertising over the course of the convention’s video streaming and “company logo flags prominently displayed on every dining hall table.”

All this can by yours at the June 3-11 General Synod at St. Mary’s University in Halifax for only £20,000.

Three “supporter” tier sponsors will get a half-page advertisement in the synod directory, signage throughout the convention space, web-cast commercials and a “passport” to Synod for one, for only £5000, while “friends,” valued at £1650 will see their company’s name printed in Acts of Faith, the church’s gift guide.

“This event not only presents an opportunity for you to get your message out to delegates from across Canada, and it is also an opportunity for you to support a faithful group of community and not-for- profit leaders from across the country and their guests from around the world,” Archbishop Hiltz said.

The investment was worthwhile, he noted as the “delegates to General Synod are some of the most committed, dedicated and tireless volunteers in our country.”

The March 31 circular and letter from Archbishop Hiltz said the synod agenda would be “timely, relevant and important and includes debates, resolutions and presentations on major global issues such as poverty, human sexuality, the rights of indigenous peoples and the care of the environment.”

The Anglican Church of Canada has seen a precipitous decline in attendance and giving over the past quarter century. In November the Council of General Synod approved a £6.5 million budget that included an estimated £320,000 deficit. Expenses have exceeded income for the past ten years, however the Synod has pledged to eliminate deficits by 2012 and has cut costs and is seeking novel methods of raising income to support the national church’s operations.

Canadian Diocese of British Colombia is on verge of extinction: CEN 1.29.10 p 8. February 10, 2010

The Diocese of British Columbia is “one generation away from extinction” a report prepared by a diocesan task force has warned. To save itself, the report prepared by the Diocesan Transformation Team recommended the diocese shutter 19 of its 52 congregations, and pursue a programme of transformational ministry.

Five of the redundant churches would be renamed and recreated as “hub churches” to serve the areas affected by parish closures, the Jan 25 report said.

“We have the choice at this time to be able to make the choice for a transformational change, focused on mission and where we’re going, rather than dwindling,” Bishop James Cowan told a press conference announcing the release of the report.

The recommendations will go to the March meeting of the diocesan synod for action.

“I would not say we are yet a church in crisis,” Bishop Cowan explained. “We are a church that is saying a crisis could come if we don’t act.”

In October Bishop Cowan told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation he believed the diocese would pull out of its decline if it focused on social justice issues. The September 2009 issue of the diocesan newspaper reported that average Sunday attendance had fallen from 4,955 people to 3,856 people, and the average congregation had fallen from 95 members in 2007 to 82 members in 2008. Only four of the diocese’s congregations showed a budget surplus and a growth rate in excess of 2 per cent.

Bishop Cowan was optimistic about the future however, telling the CBC the reorganization was an opportunity of reaching “out in social justice areas as well as in areas of spirituality and connection with the culture in which we live.”

Church in Quebec is ‘dying’: CEN 12.04.09 p 7. December 13, 2009

The Diocese of Quebec is all but dead, its bishop told the Canadian House of Bishop at their fall meeting in Niagara Falls, the Anglican Journal of Canada reports.

The Rt. Rev. Dennis Drainville said his diocese was “teetering on the verge of extinction” according to an account given by the church’s official newspaper.

Of the diocese’s 82 congregations, 50 were childless and 35 congregations had an average age of 75. These graying congregations often had no more than 10 people in church on Sundays, he said. “The critical mass isn’t there, there’s no money anymore,” he said.

Falling attendance is not solely confined to the Anglican Church, however. Until the 1960’s Catholic Church attendance stood at more than 90 per cent. However, According to a 2008 Léger Marketing poll, the proportion of Quebec’s nearly six million Catholics who attend mass weekly now stands at 6 per cent, the lowest of any Western society.

To combat the decline, Bishop Drainville, who told his colleagues it was very possible he would be the “last bishop of Quebec,” urged the House of Bishops to re-imagine how the church could engage society.

A church should provide a “a compassionate, caring community, a transformational relationship with God, and life-changing liturgy,” the bishop said. Anglicans had all three, but seemed unable to “present this to society.”

In 1901 ‘mainline’ Protestants, predominantly Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists made up 56 per cent of the Canadian population. By 2001 this had fallen to 29 per cent. However, within the Protestant totals a dramatic shift away from the mainline churches has taken place, Dr. Bruce Guenther, associate professor of church history and Mennonite studies at Associated Canadian Theological Seminaries has noted.

Guenther found that total Protestant attendance had not declined in real numbers over the last quarter-century but there has been a massive shift within Protestantism. The mainline churches attendance declined by 33 per cent between 1981 and 2001, while evangelical church attendance rose by 50 per cent and was now 25 per cent larger than the old ‘mainline’.

Between 1961 and 2001 the Anglican Church of Canada lost 53 per cent of its members, with numbers declining from 1.36 million to just 642,000. The rate of decline has increased in recent years, according to an independent report given to the Canadian House of Bishops in 2006 by retired marketing expert Keith McKerracher.

After the report’s release, McKerracher said, “My point to the bishops was: Hey listen, guys, we’re declining much faster than any other church. We’re losing 12,836 Anglicans a year. That’s 2 percent a year. If you draw a line on the graph, there’ll only be one person left in the Canadian Anglican church by 2061.”

In his comments to the House of Bishops last month, Bishop Drainville said Quebec would not be the only diocese to go under. “There will be many other dioceses that will fail.”

New archbishop for Toronto: CEN 10.23.09 p 6. October 28, 2009

First published in The Church of England Newspaper.   The Anglican Bishop of Toronto has been elected metropolitan archbishop of the ecclesiastical province of Ontario. Bishop Colin Johnson was elected on the second ballot at the Oct 15 provincial synod held in Cochrane, Ontario. He is the fourth metropolitan archbishop elected in the Anglican Church of Canada this year. On Sept 25 the ecclesiastical province of British Columbia and Yukon elected the Bishop of Kootenay, the Rt Rev John Privett as archbishop of the western Canadian province. This follows upon the Sept 11 election of the Bishop of Fredericton, the Rt Rev Claude Miller as Archbishop of the ecclesiastical province of Canada, and the June 11 election of the Bishop of Keewatin, the Rt Rev David Ashdown as Archbishop of the Province of Rupert’s Land.

Archbishop Johnson succeeds Archbishop Caleb Lawrence, the Bishop of Moonsonee whose term as metropolitan of the province which included the dioceses of Moosonee, Algoma, Ontario, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara and Huron, ends in October.

Archbishop Johnson was educated at the University of Western Ontario and received his ministerial training at Trinity College, Toronto. Ordained deacon in 1977 and priest in 1978 by the Bishop of Toronto, Archbishop Johnson served in parish ministry from 1977 to 1992 when joined the staff of the Bishop of Toronto as his Executive Assistant. In 1994 he was appointed Archdeacon of York, and elected area-bishop of Trent-Durham in the diocese in 2003.   In 2003 he was elected diocesan bishop.

“I feel very honoured and apprehensive in some ways about the workload, but challenged by the position and looking forward to serving,” Archbishop Johnson told the Anglican Journal, adding that he hoped as archbishop he would be a provincial voice calling for the government to combat poverty and social inequality.

Three new Metropolitan Archbishops elected in Canada: CEN 10.02.09 p 8. October 6, 2009

First published in The Church of England Newspaper. Three metropolitan archbishops have been elected to serve the Anglican Church of Canada. On Sept 25 the ecclesiastical province of British Columbia and Yukon elected the Bishop of Kootenay, the Rt Rev John Privett as archbishop of the western Canadian province. This follows upon the Sept 11 election of the Bishop of Fredericton, the Rt Rev Claude Miller as Archbishop of the ecclesiastical province of Canada, and the June 11 election of the Bishop of Keewatin, the Rt Rev David Ashdown as Archbishop of the Province of Rupert’s Land.

This follows upon the Sept 11 election of the Bishop of Fredericton, the Rt Rev Claude Miller as Archbishop of the ecclesiastical province of Canada, and the June 11 election of the Bishop of Keewatin, the Rt Rev David Ashdown as Archbishop of the Province of Rupert’s Land.

At 53, Archbishop Privett becomes the youngest of Canada’s four metropolitan archbishops: the Anglican Church of Canada is divided into four ecclesiastical provinces: Canada, Ontario, Rupert’s Land, British Columbia and the Yukon, and is overseen by the Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz.

Archbishop Privett becomes the 11th metropolitan of British Columbia and Yukon, which is comprised of the dioceses of British Columbia, Caledonia, New Westminster, Yukon, Kootenay and the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior. Educated at the University of Saskatchewan, Archbishop Privett trained for the ministry at the College of Emmanuel and St Chad, Saskatoon, and earned graduate degrees from the University of Alberta and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in the United States. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1981 and the priesthood in 1982 in the Diocese of Edmonton and elected Bishop of Kootenay in 2005.

Archbishop Miller was elected the 22nd Metropolitan of the province of Canada at the provincial synod held Sept 10 to 13 in Gander, Newfoundland. The province along Canada’s Atlantic coast includes the dioceses of Montreal, Quebec, Fredericton, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Western Newfoundland, Central Newfoundland and Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. A second career priest, Archbishop Miller was a civil engineer for 25 years, before he was ordained in 1989 in Fredericton, and was elected was bishop of the diocese in 2003, and was elected archbishop on the first ballot.

On June 11 the Province of Rupert’s Land, which stretches across the Canadian prairie and north to the Arctic elected Bishop David Ashdown of Keewatin at the provincial synod meeting at Holy Cross Church in Calgary.

Archbishop Ashdown was elected on the third ballot, and will be metropolitan archbishop for the dioceses of Keewatin, Rupert’s Land, Brandon, the Arctic, Qu’appelle, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Athabasca, Edmonton and Calgary.

Educated at the University of Saskatchewan, Archbishop Ashdown trained for the ministry at the College of Emmanuel and St Chad and was ordained priest in 1978. He served in the Diocese of Qu’Appelle until 1992, and as Archdeacon of Athabasca until 1999, and then as Archdeacon of Keewatin from 1999 to 2001, when he was elected bishop.

Canada bishops avoid addressing the gay issue: CEN 5.01.09 May 1, 2009

THE GLOBAL economic meltdown and the Anglican Communion’s divisions over homosexuality took centre-stage last week at the Canadian House of Bishops’ meeting in Niagara Falls. However, in their April 23 “letter to the church” the bishops declined to address head-on the splits within the Canadian Church over gay marriage, saying only that they had “reviewed motions by General Synod 2007 concerning same-sex blessings.” Divisions over doctrine and discipline centring round sexual ethics have so far led to the creation of 28 parishes served by three former Anglican Church of Canada bishops and 73 priests and deacons under the umbrella of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) — the Canadian wing of the third province movement in North America. In 2007 General Synod declined to authorize rites for same-sex blessings, but asked for further study as to “whether the blessing of same-sex unions is a faithful, Spirit-led development of Christian doctrine.” The discussion of human sexuality was held in a closed-door session during the April 18-23 meeting, with no report issued on the deliberations. However, tensions over sexuality remain high, with Toronto and a half dozen other dioceses indicating they will go ahead with gay blessings in violation of the 2008 Lambeth Conference call for a “season of restrain” over further liturgical innovations on same-sex blessings. Read it all in The Church of England Newspaper.

Postponement for Canadian bishop post: CEN 4.10.09 April 10, 2009

The bishops of Canada’s ecclesiastical province of British Columbia and the Yukon have postponed the election of a bishop for the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior (APCI), stating the APCI’s ecclesiastical foundations needed to be firmly defined before they would take action. Following a meeting of the province’s bishops on March 27, Archbishop Terry Buckle, the metropolitan of the province and Bishop of the Yukon released a statement saying the bishops’ decision not to take action was unanimous. Read it all in The Church of England Newspaper.

Canadian parish votes to split: CEN 10.03.08 p 6. October 3, 2008

A parish in the Diocese of Huron has voted to quit the Anglican Church of Canada and realign with the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) under the oversight of the Province of the Southern Cone. The secession of the 11th Canadian parish for South America adds further heat to the Anglican fire, evaporating the Archbishop of Canterbury’s already slim hopes that the January primates meeting in London would avoid controversy.

At a Sept 28 parish meeting, the congregation of St. Aidan’s Church in Windsor Ontario voted unanimously to come under the oversight of the moderator of ANiC, Bishop Donald Harvey. Of the congregations 250 eligible votes, 109 attended the parish meeting and all voted to secede.

“We are delighted to welcome the people of St Aidan’s into a faithfully Anglican and unabashedly Christian organization,” said the Ven. Charlie Masters, executive archdeacon of ANiC. “They join a growing movement of North American Anglicans seeking to remain in full communion with the global Anglican Church,” he said.
The Bishop of Huron, the Rt. Rev. Bruce Howe retired on Sept 1, and the see is currently vacant. The diocese’s suffragan bishop, the Rt. Rev. Robert Bennett, however, claimed the split had been motivated by disputes over same-sex marriage. “I do not accept this decision as appropriate and the leadership of this diocese will be meeting to further address this situation,” he said in a news release.
In a statement announcing the vote, ANiC said St Aidan’s had “acted because they are determined to remain biblically faithful, true to historic Christian orthodoxy and long-standing Anglican teaching.”

The Anglican Church of Canada had abandoned “mainstream Anglican teaching and doctrine, particularly in relation to the authority of the Bible,” ANiC said, adding that Presiding Bishop Gregory Venables of Argentina had taken the parish on board in response to the needs of “biblically faithful Canadian Anglicans for spiritual protection and care on an emergency and interim basis – pending a resolution to the crises in the worldwide Anglican Communion.”

On Sept 10 Anglican Journal reported that the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Fred Hiltz had asked the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams to convene a meeting of the Primates of Brazil, the US and Canada with Bishop Venables.

The three had “repeatedly asked” Bishop Venables to “stop meddling in the internal affairs of their provinces,” the Anglican Journal said, adding that Bishop Venables had “of his own accord, been providing episcopal oversight to churches that are in serious theological dispute with their respective provinces.”

Bishop Venables told the Living Church magazine the request to hold a meeting, made through the press seemed “more like a publicity stunt than a serious desire for dialogue.”

On the second to last day of the Lambeth Conference, Archbishop Hiltz and US Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori proposed a meeting with Bishop Venables and Dr. Williams over his support for ANiC and the Diocese of San Joaquin. However, Bishop Venables declined the invitation and left the conference a day early.

“What more is there to discuss?” Bishop Venables said. At Lambeth he had spoken with the Canadian primate about these issues. “I told him why I was doing this and he told me how he felt about it,” he said. “Boundary crossing is not the primary issue. It is a secondary issue resulting from the communion-splitting action of blessing sexual sin by the U.S. and Canadian churches.”

Canadian Bishop in ‘trespassing’ warning: CEN 6.25.08 June 25, 2008

The Bishop of New Westminster, Michael Ingham has warned Dr. JI Packer, the Rev. David Short and other Vancouver clergy who have quit the diocese for the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) that if they remain in their churches they would be guilty of trespassing. In a speech to his diocesan synod on May 31, Bishop Ingham told delegates to the Vancouver area synod the diocese did “not seek litigation, but if all appeals to reason and responsibility fail, we may need to seek relief from the civil courts in order to re-build and restore these parishes after the departure of their leaders and some members of their congregations.” Read it all in The Church of England Newspaper.

More backing for breakaway Anglicans in Canada: CEN 6.20.08 p June 20, 2008

A second Canadian diocese has given its backing to the breakaway parishes of the Anglican Communion in Canada (ANiC), affirming their place within the Anglican Communion. The Synod of the Diocese of the Arctic, meeting in Iqaluit on Baffin Island from May 27 to June 3 adopted a resolution affirming its “strong support” for the ANiC congregations, “recognizing them as members of the Anglican Communion.” Read it all in The Church of England Newspaper.

More financial woes for Canada: CEN 6.06.08 p 8. June 9, 2008

The Anglican Church of Canada reported its fifth straight year of financial deficits last week, with expenses exceeding income in 2007 by £394,000. In a presentation to the members of the Council of General Synod (CoGS) — the Canadian church’s governing body between meetings of General Synod — church treasurer Peter Blachford (pictured) noted the lose would have been £1 million had not the church received a refund from the Canadian government on funds paid in to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement — a government organized fund to compensate those abused in church affiliated schools. Read it all in The Church of England Newspaper.

Breakaway congregation recognition is blow to Canadian Church: CEN 5.09.08 p 6. May 11, 2008

The Anglican Church of Canada’s united front against the breakaway congregations and clergy of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) received a major blow last week after a diocesan synod voted to recognize the secessions.

“All of these churches have by their decisions stayed within the Anglican Communion,” the synod of the Diocese of Athabasca said on April 26, disputing assertions made by Bishop Michael Ingham of New Westminster and other Canadian bishops that by quitting the Canadian Church the secessionists were no longer Anglicans.

The Northern Alberta-based diocese adopted a series of resolutions affirming that it was in “full communion” with ANiC and its sponsor, the Province of the Southern Cone.

The diocese also expressed “its dismay” at the attempts by several bishops to respond to the secessions by turning to the civil courts. “By resorting to the civil courts so readily, the bishops of those dioceses where there are dissident parishes and clergy have displayed so visibly that, to them, the issue is power, not the will of God,” synod said, according to a statement posted on the diocesan website.

Archbishop John Clarke, metropolitan archbishop of Rupert’s Land, and Bishop of Athabasca stated the diocese’s intent was to remain “in communion with as wide a range of our brothers and sisters in Christ as is possible.”

The vote was not a step towards quitting the Canadian Church, he noted, writing “be assured that the Diocese of Athabasca is as deeply committed as ever to the Anglican Church of Canada and to the Anglican Communion.”

However, Archbishop Clarke criticized the push towards permitting same-sex blessings in the Canadian Church, expressing his disappointment with dioceses who abused the language of the church’s canons and prayer book to achieve their political ends.

“We believe that we are bound to adhere to the decisions of General Synod, not only in the letter but also in the spirit,” he said. “We understand the decision of General Synod 2007 not to endorse the right of dioceses to bless same-gender unions as meaning that it was the mind of General Synod that we should not proceed at this time.”

Canada won’t talk to ANiC: CEN 4.25.08 p 7. April 27, 2008

The Canadian House of Bishops has rebuffed a request from the breakaway Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) to negotiate a settlement of property disputes, saying the national church has no power to act.

Property issues “are always resolved within dioceses” Archbishop Fred Hiltz said following the April 15-18 meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario. “I don’t hold any title to property. General Synod doesn’t hold any title to property,” explained the Canadian church leader.

Bishop Don Harvey of ANiC said he was disappointed the bishops would chose litigation over dialogue, but was not surprised. “I had hoped the Primate would have attempted to facilitate negotiations between the dioceses and the Anglican Network parishes.” Four parishes in British Columbia and Ontario are currently in court with their dioceses, and more lawsuits are expected from dioceses seeking to regain control of breakaway congregations.

On April 11, Bishop Harvey wrote Archbishop Hiltz seeking a meeting with national church leaders and bishops “to discuss the possibility of pursuing alternate dispute resolution mechanisms (i.e. negotiation, mediation or arbitration) to address the outstanding issues”

“It would be much better for everyone concerned if we could work out some interim arrangements between ourselves without the necessity of resorting to the civil courts,” he said.

However, Archbishop Hiltz said it was too late. “Our hope has been that we would be able to resolve our differences outside of court,” Archbishop Hiltz told the Anglican Journal, however once dioceses began suing clergy and congregations, it altered the equation. “We can’t be weighing in once the processes are started,” he said.

In other business, the House of Bishops meeting held closed door discussions on the church’s divisions over homosexuality. At the end of their meeting, the bishops released a statement affirming their “shared episcopal ministry” scheme that would allow alternative pastoral oversight for traditionalists at odds with liberal bishops.

Conservative Canadian bishops told the Anglican Journal they would “continue to try to take a stand. What people mean is they want to know orthodox bishops will faithfully represent orthodox positions on the faith both in what we say in this house and how we vote and also when we are back home in our own dioceses.”

Suffragan Bishop Larry Robertson of the Arctic explained that conservative bishops would continue to witness to the faith within the structures of the Anglican Church of Canada. ” If I believe homosexual behaviour is wrong and that any form of sin leads us away from God, then the loving, caring pastoral way is to say ‘You have to change your ways.’ The pastoral way is to make a person whole.”