After a gun-wielding 14-year-old killed his son Jason at the local high school, Anglican minister Dale Lang led a memorial service and publicly prayed for the killer and his family.

That was 10 years ago, and to this day, the Taber, Alta., resident continues to share his story and message of forgiveness.

Lang was in Toronto Nov. 20 for a restorative justice conference to speak about forgiveness as a means to break a cycle of violence.

“If I was still angry at that young man for taking the life of my son, I would be doing more damage to my wife, to my family and to myself,” Lang said.

“If you stay in that anger for any length of time, it will become like a prison, a place that’s very difficult to leave. When we choose to forgive, we can make the choice even though sometimes it’s incredibly difficult and sometimes it will take a while to get to the path of forgiveness.”

A remarkable man and a wonderful family. Read it all–KSH.

The recent Anglican-Roman Catholic Bishops’ Dialogue held in Vancouver has produced a joint statement outlining concerns about human trafficking at the February 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver-Whistler.

Calling the Olympic Games “a celebration of human development through sport,” the statement also made it clear that the bishops are united as they “stand together to call attention to the profound social ill of human trafficking.”

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The Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald has questioned Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s assertion that he must renounce his orders as a bishop of the Episcopal Church because of his ministry in Canada.

The former Bishop of Alaska and Assistant Bishop of Navajoland now serves as the Anglican Church of Canada’s National Indigenous Bishop.

Bishop MacDonald told The Living Church he was “shocked and surprised” by the Presiding Bishop’s remarks on his ministry, adding that he has “written to her asking for clarification.”

“I am on loan to the Anglican Church of Canada under the PB’s supervision. I have an unofficial position, with no set authority or jurisdiction,” he said.

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The Anglican diocese of Quebec is “teetering on the verge of extinction” as parish finances continue to collapse and the number of parishioners dwindles.

This doom-and-gloom message was delivered to the recent Canadian House of Bishops meeting here by Bishop Dennis Drainville, who declared that he could possibly be “the last bishop of Quebec.”

Bishop Drainville urged the House of Bishops to have a “new vision” and to look at how “old relationships and structures” can be changed to respond to the needs of the times….

Quebec will not be the only diocese to falter, he warned. “There will be many other dioceses that will fail.”

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Admittedly, it was a bit of a surprise.

“It’s a bit of a bruise on us, no question,” Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, told the Anglican Journal. “It came out of nowhere.”
Still, Archbishop Hiltz doesn’t expect the Oct. 20 Vatican announcement opening the door for disaffected Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church””and still retain some of their Anglican traditions””will appeal to many Anglicans in Canada. Nor will it put a damper on ecumenical relations and the 40-year formal dialogue between the two churches, he said.

In fact, Archbishop Hiltz expects the fallout from this announcement to be minimal. “I personally don’t think there are going to be any huge implications from this. We are talking about a very small number of [Anglican] people who will respond to this provision that the Pope is putting in place.”

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(ACC News) The Anglican Church of Canada’s House of Bishops has issued this statement regarding the proposed Private Member’s Bill in Uganda called “The Anti-Homosexuality Bill”:

The House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada, along with the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, express our dismay and concern over the draft proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill currently before the Parliament of Uganda.

The proposed Bill would severely restrict the human rights of Ugandan citizens both at home and abroad by infringing freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, freedom of organization, and legitimate advocacy of civil rights. It would impose excessive and cruel penalties on persons who experience same-sex attraction as well as those who counsel, support, and advise them, including family members and clergy.

We, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada, affirm that our baptismal covenant requires us to “respect the dignity of every human being” and to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbour as ourselves.” We further note that 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution 1:10 called upon all bishops to reject the irrational fear of homosexual persons and to create opportunities to listen to the voice and experience of homosexual Christians. We recall that the Primates Meeting in Dromantine, Ireland 2005 condemned all persecution and violence towards homosexual persons. Clearly, the proposed Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill fails to meet these standards.

We therefore call upon our colleagues in the House of Bishops of the Province of Uganda to oppose this Private Member’s Bill. Together with our colleagues in the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, we call upon our own Government of Canada, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to convey to the Government of Uganda a deep sense of alarm about this fundamental violation of human rights and, through diplomatic channels, to press for its withdrawal.

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Mr. Justice Stephen Kelleher of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Reasons for Judgment released today ruled that the four parish properties under ownership dispute in the suit brought against The Diocese of New Westminster and Bishop Michael Ingham by 22 leaders of four dissident congregations remain within the Diocese of New Westminster.

In a 98 page, 336 paragraph decision, Justice Kelleher has upheld the integrity and authority of Structures, Canons and Constitutions of the Diocese of New Westminster and the autonomy of the Anglican Church of Canada.

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Mr Justice Stephen Kelleher of the British Columbia Supreme Court issued a mixed decision today in the case involving the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) Diocese of New Westminster and four Greater Vancouver parishes in the Anglican Network in Canada.
The four parishes ”“ St Matthew’s (Abbotsford), St Matthias & St Luke’s (Vancouver), St John’s Shaughnessy (Vancouver) and Church of the Good Shepherd (Vancouver) ”“ had asked the courts in early September 2008 to clarify their Trustees’ responsibilities in light of hostile action taken by the Diocese of New Westminster. After all four parishes voted overwhelmingly in February 2008 to disaffiliate with the ACoC and realign with the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), the bishop purported to terminate and replace the Trustees and take control of two of the churches’ properties and their bank accounts. ANiC is now part of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), a new Anglican province formed as a result of the worldwide split in the Anglican Church over profound disagreement on issues of doctrine.

Mr. Justice Kelleher found that the Bishop of New Westminster did not have legal or canonical authority for his purported termination and replacement of the Trustees, who were validly elected by the congregations and who control the use of the properties. However, he said the Trustees were required to exercise their authority “in relation to the parish properties in accordance with the Act, as well as the Constitution, Canons, Rules and Regulations of the Diocese.” He then said he would “leave it to the parties to arrive at a workable solution”. This clearly leaves the parties in a difficult position as they dispute the interpretation of those documents, particularly the Constitution.

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The Anglican diocese of the Lower Mainland will be able to retain ownership of four disputed parish properties worth more than $20 million, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled today.

Justice Stephen Kelleher decided against conservative Anglican dissidents who went to court claiming they deserve to have legal control of St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church in Vancouver — one of the largest Anglican congregations in Canada — as well as three other Lower Mainland church properties.

The clergy and trustees at the four conservative parishes left the 600,00-member Anglican Church of Canada last year and joined a smaller conservative breakaway Anglican organization called the Anglican Network in Canada, with about 3,500 members.

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Protocols

1. These celebrations are understood to be a pastoral response to same-sex couples in our communities. The rite is to be part of a Celebration of Holy Eucharist.
2. The clergy involved must seek the Bishop’s support and written permission a minimum of sixty (60) days before the proposed celebration.
3. Matters pertaining to the use of facilities, ceremonial planning and local arrangements will be made with the approval of the Rector of the parish in which the celebration is to take place.
4. It is required that at least one member of the couple be a baptized member of a congregation in the Diocese of Huron.
5. Appropriate pastoral support and instruction must be given at the local level in order to prepare the couple for the celebration and their ongoing Christian life in relationship.
6. As with all liturgical celebrations of the church, these events will be entered into the Parish Register (Vestry Book).
7. Clergy from beyond the Diocese of Huron shall obtain permission from the Bishop of Huron and their own Bishop.
8. Any member of the clergy may decline to preside at these celebrations.

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David Irving, currently the executive archdeacon of the diocese of Kootenay, has been elected the new bishop of the diocese of Saskatoon. Bishop-elect Irving will replace Bishop Rodney Andrews , who is retiring on Feb. 28.

“I am absolutely delighted,” Bishop-elect Irving said.

Although Bishop-elect Irving has spent most of his career in British Columbia, his work in the church began on the prairies. After completing his theological studies in England at two Oxford colleges, he was ordained a deacon in Edmonton in 1986 and then spent three years serving as the incumbent for the St. Thomas parish in Wainwright, Alta. “We had a wonderful time when we were in Alberta,” he said. “Prairie folks are special folks and we are certainly looking forward to being back there.”

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[Bishop Don] Harvey said the Pope’s invitation was neither helpful nor welcome.

“This is not the way to foster good ecumenical dialogue,” he said in his charge.

Both Harvey and Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, have said they do not expect many to take up the Pope’s offer.

Despite Harvey’s misgivings, several lay members of the Network at the synod told the Star on Monday they took comfort from the invitation.

“I was absolutely elated,” Phillip Wiebe of Vancouver said Monday.

Wiebe saw the Pope’s move as evidence that the Network has support for its conservative interpretation of the Bible.

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For Kristy Weenen and St. Thomas, Brooklin, it was a new beginning.

Ms. Weenen, 17, was baptized during the consecration service for St. Thomas, Brooklin’s new worship space.

“It was like I was being baptized along with the church,” said Ms. Weenen afterwards. “I was being welcomed into the church, and at the same time I was welcoming the church into its new life. It was an amazing experience.”

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An excerpt:

Gospel ministry is not just proclamation, evangelism, and pastoral care; it involves contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. If, at the end of the day, we have maintained Christian orthodoxy but failed to proclaim the gospel, we cannot claim to have pleased Christ nor fulfilled the New Testament ministry. In just the same way, if, at the end of the day we have proclaimed the gospel but failed to maintain Christian orthodoxy, we will have failed Christ.

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a brilliant example of contending for the faith. If the church is the temple of the living God and if that temple is holy, then tolerance of what God calls unholy will provoke his jealousy. There is an astonishing campaign at present in Canada and the USA to portray the blessing of same sex unions as a little in-house issue for the church, that those opposing this constitutionalization of sexual immorality are somehow missing the point and being side-tracked from gospel ministry. I received a letter this week from someone in the diocese of New Westminster who referred to the stance of biblically orthodox Anglicans as a “tedious and unnecessary conflict.” If that is the case then 1 Corinthians is a tedious and unnecessary book and the holiness of the people for whom Christ died is also tedious and unnecessary. We cannot just be pragmatic about this. We cannot believe those who say: “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.” Christian ministry which pleases Christ and is faithful to the New Testament will involve both gospel proclamation as well as contending for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

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Anglican Bishop John Chapman is allowing an Ottawa church to offer blessings for same-sex couples who are already civilly married.

“My intention is to embrace a liturgical process that will not discriminate between members of the church on the basis of sexual orientation,” Chapman told a congregation Thursday night at the beginning of the diocese’s annual synod. “This will be Ottawa’s offering to the ongoing discernment that is happening throughout the Anglican Church of Canada.”

St. John the Evangelist, at the corner of Somerset and Elgin streets, will be the only Anglican church in Ottawa offering the blessing as long as one person in the couple is baptized. The church, considered one of the more progressive Anglican churches with a strong connection to the gay community, asked the diocese in 2002 for permission to offer same-sex blessings.

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In light of the announcement by the Vatican of the creation of new ecclesiastical structures to make room for disaffected catholic-minded Anglicans to move over to the Roman Catholic Church, it seems important for catholic-minded Anglicans who have long been an integral part of the Anglican Communion to reassert their understanding of catholicity and tradition within Anglicanism.

The Society of Catholic Priests, formed the the early 1990s in the UK, has established a new branch of the Society in North America. Its mission is to promote priestly spirituality and catholic evangelism within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. Interestingly the announcement by the Vatican, while seemingly highlighting differences between the Anglican Communion and the Vatican over issues of ecclesiology, sexuality and ordination points to a more durable fact. There is an amazing degree of overlap between these two bodies across a range of theological issues that make such a move possible. Our catholic heritage within Anglicanism makes such an initiative feasible.
For those priests who find themselves unable, on a variety of grounds, to in good conscience remain Anglican, such a move may make some sense. While Anglicanism has developed varied patterns of authority and different systems for decision making, many feel drawn towards the more centralized structures and the official understandings of Roman Catholicism.

On the other hand, anglo-catholics have found the openness of the Anglican tradition, allowing for a wide range of views and different approaches, to reflect the realities of life in the Body of Christ as it is lived out in history and the world. For many within the catholic tradition, recent changes are a natural extension of our understanding of the evolution of tradition within the life of the Church. The catholic tradition has never been about simply safeguarding narrowly explicit interpretations of scripture but about engaging the contributions and experience of all the members of the Body of Christ in the life of the Church.

Our very sacramental and liturgical life is an outgrowth of our understanding of the value, indeed the essential nature, of human experience in expressing the life of a living Christ among us. Worship of a living God is expressed in a living tradition, and utilizes the fruit of the earth and the work of human hands, both of which are essential to the nature of catholicity.

As new questions face the Church, new rites evolve to address the human experience. The catholic tradition is one that lives in and confronts the complexities of the world as it is in all of its myriad grace and potentiality as well as in its vexing questions and dilemmas. The Church, at times is both anchor and sail in society. Its catholicity is that which holds fast to the essential in the face of volatility and proclaims newness of life when it is necessary.

In the face of division and anger, the Society of Catholic Priests is offering a life together that holds fast to the traditions of the Church while making room for the movement of grace, charity, and hope. It gives a non-anxious place for priests who are looking to find a place of rest amidst the eddies of church life. It is a place for the complexity of difference to meet the simplicity of devotion. It is a Society that looks to center itself in the mainstream of the Church, on the Prayer Book, and in our tradition. Our lives have been consecrated to the service of the Church and the Society of Catholic Priests welcomes those looking to be still, refrain from anger, and hope again for the unity of the Church in all of its diversity.

Robert Hendrickson

Communications Director

The Society of Catholic Priests

North American Province

——————–

The Society of Catholic Priests in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada exists to help all clergy flourish as priests in the Catholic Tradition of the Church and to encourage spiritual growth and Catholic Evangelism. More information on the Society can be found at our website: http://www.theSCP.org/. Those interested in registering for the Inaugural Assembly of this province of the Society may do so at http://thescp2009assembly.eventbrite.com/.

Pope Benedict’s overture to disaffected Anglicans created shock waves among Ottawa church officials Wednesday as they weighed the meaning of the historic event.

Many welcomed the Vatican’s decision to create a new structure within the Catholic Church that will make it more comfortable for conservative Anglicans to join.

Earlier this week, the Pope announced he will permit Anglicans who share the same essential beliefs as Catholics to maintain their traditions within the embrace of the Roman Catholic Church.

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Parishioners at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Edmonton will be on their feet during this Sunday’s service. Participating for the third year in the “Stand Up, Take Action to End Poverty” event, they are part of a grass-roots global movement to push world leaders to live up to their commitments to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which included eradicating extreme poverty.

Last year, the campaign recorded 116 million people participating, which broke a Guinness world record for the largest mobilization around a single cause, and organizers are hoping to have significantly more people involved this year in events held around the world from Oct. 16 to 18.

Inspired by a study of Micah 6:8, “Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God,” the youth at St. Paul’s got the congregation involved in this campaign, youth pastor Amy Croy said.

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The diocese�s 2010 and 2011 budgets, which were approved by Diocesan Council on Sept. 24 and will go to synod on Nov. 21 for final consideration, contain the following highlights:

� Parish allotment is going down from 24% of assessable net income to 22.65%, leaving more money in the parishes for ministry.
� Episcopal area budgets will be increased from $95,000 each to $112,500 each, creating more opportunity for area-based initiatives.
� Curacy grants will increase from $143,000 to $190,000, allowing more new clergy to receive on-the-job training.
� More money will be put into parish stewardship workshops, advocacy in the media, volunteer training, creating new Christian communities and church planting.

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If two women””one in Yellowknife, one in Regina””hear the call to be priests in the Anglican Church of Canada, the steps they will take to become ordained are quite different. Although both will wear collars and be “the Rev.” in the end, their assessment and education will depend on their diocese’s unique program, which could range from an informal mentoring relationship to specific course requirements.

A national conference””to be held January 5 to 7, 2010, in Montreal, Que.””will examine this diversity. Representatives from theological colleges and dioceses, students, and pastors will explore differences and discuss what should be core and common in preparing people for presbyteral (priestly) ministry in the Anglican Church of Canada.

People may be surprised to learn that there are minimal national standards for such preparation, said Dr. Eileen Scully, General Synod’s coordinator for ministry and worship, and conference staff support. All that exists is a 1986 document called “Prerequisites for Ordination” from the House of Bishops and the Advisory Committee on Postulants for Ordination (ACPO), which assesses candidates in discernment weekends, then offers non-binding recommendations to their bishops.

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The decision to suspend the camp’s operations is just the first of many expected changes in the diocese, which serves Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. In a recent issue of the Diocesan Post, Rev. Gary Nicolosi made it clear a major transformation is needed.

Under the headline – “Can We Handle The Truth?” – Nicolosi said average Sunday attendance across the entire Island fell last year to 3,856 from 4,955 in 2007. The average Anglican congregation had just 82 worshippers – down 15 from the previous year – and most parishes reported budget deficits.

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The Anglican Diocese of B.C. is in “crisis” and planning “drastic action,” to make up for dwindling revenues, declining attendance and increased deficit within its parishes totalling about $1 million.

The economy and declining attendance is likely to blame.

The diocese includes 64 churches on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, 26 in the Capital Region.

While there are more than 9,000 members on the islands, on average less than half that number attend weekly worship, down from about 5,000 regular attendees last year.

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The Anglican Diocese of B.C. has suspended operations at Camp Columbia on Thetis Island as it begins a major restructuring in the face of falling church attendance.

The 62-year-old Christian camp for children, youth and adults had racked up a deficit of more than $500,000, the diocese said in a news release.

The Diocesan Council decided it could no longer afford the drain on resources and laid off all five camp employees, the release said.

Neither Bishop James Cowan nor finance officer Harry Felsing was available for comment. But Felsing said in a posting on the diocese website that the council has made no decision to sell the 72-acre property.

The land and buildings are worth $4 million, church documents show.

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A New Brunswick Anglican bishop has been elected the senior bishop for the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada.

Archbishop Claude W. Miller will now preside over the dioceses of Montreal, Quebec, Fredericton, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Miller, 65, will continue to serve as the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton, a post he has held since 2003.

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Canon Fraser Lawton, 41, rector of St. Thomas’ Anglican church in Fort McMurray, Alta., is the new bishop-elect of the diocese of Athabasca.

“Northern Alberta is an exciting place where people have a can-do attitude,” said Bishop-elect Lawton in a telephone interview.

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In a kind of high-level pen pal relationship, theologians from six African dioceses are now exchanging essays about sexuality with theologians from four Canadian dioceses. Dr. Kawuki (Isaac) Mukasa, General Synod’s coordinator for dialogue, paired up dioceses during two trips to Africa, including visits to South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda from July 31 to Aug. 21.

Mr. Mukasa, a native Ugandan, considers this work essential to improving communication within the Anglican Communion, which is divided over the place of gays and lesbians in the church.

In Canada, the dioceses of Niagara and New Westminster have agreed to bless same-sex unions, and several other Canadian dioceses are considering following suit. Most African Anglican churches are conservative on the issue.

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Q: What was the most important aspect of your visit?

A: The learning for me was to see how the church witnesses to the Gospel in a situation that’s highly politicized, in a situation that always has the potential to be volatile and in a situation where Christians are clearly in the minority. The number of Christians in the Holy Land is diminishing year by year. As Bishop Suheil said, “We, Episcopalians and Anglicans are a minority within a minority.”

You learn pretty quickly there that a first principle in the diocese is faith in action. (It is) a diocese that has a huge commitment to education, healthcare, hospitality, housing and peace and reconciliation. Because of a diminishing number of Christians in the Holy Land, the bishop and the diocese have a huge focus on education and so they have several schools that they oversee and operate. The idea is to enable Palestinians, especially, to get an education”¦and to encourage them to stay in the Holy Land. The diocese is very committed to healthcare ”“ ”˜irrespective of one’s religion, one’s ability to pay whatever, we’re here to provide healthcare for you.’ Most of the people who visit the hospital doors are not Christians”¦.People who aren’t Christians recognize in the church a real commitment to their well-being, their health. Likewise with housing, Bishop Suheil and the diocese have been involved in housing projects, not just for elderly people but for young couples ”“ helping them to get established so that they can remain there.

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In developed countries, including the U.S., England and the rest of Europe, membership and average attendance also are down. Fewer than one million attend church regularly in England, where the mother church is officially 28-million strong. “They just go to have the baby christened and never come back,” says Mr. Nicolosi.

In the U.S., the ranks of the Episcopal Church have thinned by 55 percent, dropping from a peak of 3.5 million in 1964 to 2.2 million in 2007.

Still, declining church attendance is not universal. Attendance at the Pentecostal, Baptist and Christian Missionary Alliance churches is growing. “Evangelicals don’t just study the Bible, they study the culture and then connect the two,” says Mr. Nicolosi.

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The primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, was scheduled to make his first visit to the Middle East and to the Episcopal diocese of Jerusalem Aug. 22-29. The diocese extends over Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Israel.

“The context for the trip…is a resolution from General Synod in 2007 that the primate make a solidarity visit to the diocese of Jerusalem,” said Archbishop Hiltz. At press time, the primate was scheduled to meet with the bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East, Suheil Dawani, and to tour the diocese’s various projects and churches, including the Cathedral Church of St. George the Martyr. The diocese has 27 parishes that minister to various communities; it also runs hospitals, clinics, schools, institutions for the deaf, disabled and elderly, and inter-faith relations.

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