There was also extensive discussion on the principles of trust law in relation to religious purpose trusts, as well as the court’s traditional inherent jurisdiction and its duty in respect of such trusts.

Mr. Cowper gave an overview of the history of the crisis and the division occurring in the Anglican Church, not only locally in New Westminster (which he referred to as “ground zero” of the crisis), but nationally and internationally, characterizing this case as one of “division not departure”. The Anglican Church is dividing, so is it fair and just for one party (in this case, the defendant diocese and bishop) to claim all the property and assets? As Mr. Cowper stated, “The question before the Court is whether the division created by the Defendants’ doctrinal and liturgical innovations justifies the expulsion of the plaintiff congregations from the church properties they funded, maintained and have long considered their church homes”.

Mr. Justice Kelleher was clearly engaged and listened intently throughout the day, asking clarifying questions on several occasions.

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Anglican Church of Canada parishes in Waterloo Region should soon be able to hold services to celebrate the relationships of gay parishioners, but they won’t be blessing same-sex marriages for at least another year — if ever.

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I must confess that I’m quite torn on the issue [of same sex blessings] and in that sense ponder whether I actually might reflect where a significant part of the church might be. On the one hand, I agree with the National House of Bishops desire to “develop the most generous pastoral response possible within the current teaching of the church”. On the other hand, my catholic sensitivity of whom we are as church mandates that I take very seriously the Archbishop of Canterbury’s request that we embrace a ”˜season of gracious restraint’ in the matter of same-gender blessings. To state the obvious, nothing is easy here!….

As we journey to General Synod 2010 in Halifax, I intend to embrace the pastoral model. It is where I suspect Huron’s heart is. For further clarification, I am committing to maintaining the moratoria as requested by the wider Anglican family. For me, this season of ”˜gracious restraint’ will take us to Halifax 2010. We find ourselves in an ”˜in-between time’ that must be used to prepare for the national gathering and beyond. I also reaffirm the National House of Bishops’ statement on Sexuality that commits to the most generous pastoral response possible within the current teaching of the church. To that end, I am asking the Diocesan Doctrine and Worship Committee (or a sub group) to synthesize and make available the most recent and relevant material to aid in this discernment time. (This is a long list that includes the House of Bishops statements/The Rothsay report/The Galilee report/The Windsor Report/The Anglican Consultative Council statements/Primates’ communiqués/Lambeth Indaba reflections/Council of General Synod communiqués/ Anglican Covenant process”¦see why my file is so large!) I’m also requesting the Doctrine and worship Committee (or a sub group) to develop appropriate protocols, guidelines and evaluative tools to enable us to move forward with appropriate liturgies to celebrate the love, mutual fidelity and support that gay and lesbian Anglicans model every day for the church and wider community. I envisage that the framework for this would be Eucharistic in nature with approved intercessory prayers but with no nuptial blessing (as per the 2007 statement of the House of Bishops).

When the Doctrine and Worship Committee has done their work, I am prepared to consider giving permission for those requesting to move ahead (using of course, the approved liturgies).

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ANGLICANS in the Diocese of New Westminster are scheduled to go to court May 23 in a case that could determine the shape of Canadian Anglicanism.

At stake is the ownership of four church buildings, but the case could set a precedent that would affect the ownership of other church buildings across Canada, Anglican and otherwise.

The two sides in the dispute are currently engaged in a mediation process that is due to conclude at the end of this week. If the mediation effort is unsuccessful, the court case will go ahead as scheduled May 23; it is expected to take two to three weeks, with a decision likely to come before the end of the year.

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Council of General Synod (CoGS) wrestled with the blessing of same-sex unions and marriage when it met here May 8 to 10 and in the end decided not to ask General Synod 2010 to amend the marriage canon to allow for the marriage of same-sex couples.

The discussions focused on responding to two new documents produced by the Primate’s Theological Commission and the Faith, Worship and Ministry Committee. There was also a report about an international dialogue about sexuality that was initiated between Canadian dioceses that have taken steps toward the blessing of same-sex unions and dioceses in Africa. CoGS responded in a written statement, “A Word to the Church on Questions of Human Sexuality from the Council of General Synod Meeting, May 2009.”

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Reacting to Bishop Cameron’s statement, the lay delegate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Suzanne Lawson said, “Interesting.” She added, “I think that would be difficult for the Canadian church. I actually spend a good deal of time thinking about how change comes about and time is an important element in that. If we are to be looking in Canada at something that will take seriously the Covenant and reframe our thinking, we need some time to talk about it at General Synod in Nova Scotia and we may need more time three years from then.” General Synod, the Canadian Anglican church’s governing body, which gathers every triennium, is scheduled to meet in Halifax in 2010.

Ms. Lawson said, “We need to respect the provinces where that is a required amount of time.”

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The implications of Canada’s push forward on gay blessings, however, was raised in an open session on creating diocese-to-diocese links with African churches to dialogue with them on issues of human sexuality. The majority of Anglican dioceses in Africa are in broken or impaired communion with those portions of the Canadian Church that have endorsed or authorized gay blessings.

Nonetheless, the Canadian bishops stated that they remained Anglican. The Archbishop of Canterbury “has stated in writing that his office and the Anglican Communion Office recognize one ecclesial body in Canada as a constitutive member of the communion, the Anglican Church of Canada.”

The Canadian bishops said they “affirm this statement. We cherish our communion with the See of Canterbury and remain committed to the life and witness of the Anglican Communion in the service of the Gospel.”

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While much of the attitude of Burundians is the result of their resilience in the face of ongoing conflict, their hope is built upon a strong faith, reinforced by programs funded by Canadian Anglicans through PWRDF.

Dioceses and individuals annually give about $4 million to PWRDF, an indication of the level of compassion and commitment by ordinary, everyday Anglicans.

This world relief and development organization works with local groups and the diocese of Bujumbura to fund projects that address difficult issues in Burundi: poor maternal and child health, HIV-AIDS, poverty, violence against women and peace-building.

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The fourth volume of The Anglican Episcopate in Canada is packed with details on 105 bishops consecrated in Canada between 1976 and 2008. Written by former primate Archbishop Michael Peers, each bishop’s entry provides details on education, service, ordinations, and elections and is accompanied by a photo.

Not only is the book an archival record, but Archbishop Peers has written his own observations on episcopal ministry over this period. Since 1976, the Anglican Church of Canada has seen many firsts, including the first ordinations of Aboriginal and the first women bishops.

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Dean Terrance “Terry” A. Dance has been elected the new suffragan (assistant) bishop of the London, Ont.-based Anglican diocese of Huron.

Bishop-elect Dance, who has been dean of the diocese and rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Ont., was elected on the fourth ballot. He received 198 votes from lay delegates and 75 from clergy during an election that drew 400 delegates March 28 at St. Paul’s Cathedral. He was chosen out of 10 candidates.

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The development of the Athabasca oil sands has led to dueling pastoral letters from Northern Alberta’s Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops. Bishop Luc Bouchard of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Paul has called for a halt to mining, saying its development “constitutes a serious moral problem.” However, Archbishop John Clarke of the Anglican Diocese of Athabasca has endorsed development, chastising those who were “vilifying one of the most exciting and challenging projects in Canadian history.”

Spread across 54,000 sq miles of sparsely populated Northern Alberta, the Athabasca oil sands contain an estimated 1.7 trillion barrels of heavy oil or bitumen, and are roughly equal to the world’s total proven reserves of conventional petroleum. Commercial extraction of oil from the tar sands began in 1967, but recent developments in oil extraction technology as well as the spike in world petroleum prices has led to considerable private and government investment in the region.

On Jan 25, Bishop Bourchard released a pastoral letter to his diocese urging a halt to exploration and surface mining. “The integrity of creation in the Athabasca oil sands is clearly being sacrificed for economic gain,” he argued.

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Patrick Yu, the area bishop for York-Scarborough, discusses the Toronto bishops’ proposal for same-sex blessings in an email exchange with Sue Careless.

TAP: At General Synod in 2007 you voted against a local option (by diocese) for same-sex blessings (SSBs). Today you are supporting a local option for SSBs in parishes in the Diocese of Toronto. What has changed?

Patrick Yu: I have struggled with the issue since the 70’s. Looking back, it has been a mixture of resistance and support. I did resist a hasty, non-reflective revisionism but I also resisted a narrow and non-reflective conservatism as well. Recently I find myself resisting schism, particularly wholesale condemnations of the kind Jesus warns against which often violate the ninth commandment! [Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.] Perhaps less known is my support for a public place for gays and lesbians which is distinct from marriage. I also work hard to secure a place for those people, priests and parishes who, in conscience, cannot pronounce same-sex relationships blessed as marriages. If you look at my voting record at GS2007, and more importantly, my activity in the House of Bishops around that time, you will see this combination, which often feels like tension. That has not changed. What has changed is a growing conviction that God is calling the Diocese of Toronto to a renewed sense of mission, particularly in the area of owning and sharing our faith in Jesus with others, and growing churches. I see our effort as a way to break the logjam around sex which threatens to paralyse us in our mission, particularly in public discussions like Synod.

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Two British Columbia parishes have quit the Anglican Church of Canada and have affiliated with the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). The votes by St Matthias in Victoria and St Mary’s Nanoose Bay increase the breakaway group’s ranks to 28 parishes served by three former Anglican Church of Canada bishops and 73 priests and deacons.

By a vote of 170 in favor and 10 opposed, St Matthias withdrew from the diocese on March 8 and joined the traditionalist breakaway group led by Bishop Don Harvey, the former Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. The congregation has left its property to the diocese and a remnant group and on March 15 began worshipping at a local community center.

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The Diocese of Toronto plans to bless same-sex relationships without taking any formal vote on the theologically contentious issue.

“(A vote) would cause more division than it would cause resolution,” the diocesan bishop, Colin Johnson, told the media.

Johnson will set up a commission of clergy and laity to engage in a consultation process but most observers see it as a “done deal” without any vote. The consultation likely will only fine tune the details.

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Believers will be delighted to learn that a pro-God message will be spread around Calgary starting Monday – albeit on the sides of buses and trains – in response to the controversial atheist ads already making the rounds on the city’s public transit.

“God cares for everyone … even for those who say He doesn’t exist!” reads the banner advertisements to be placed on eight buses and two light-rail trains over the next four weeks.

Transit ads will also direct people to the website http://www.godexists.ca, where they can add their voice to the debate.

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The Anglican Church of Canada’s management team met with National Bishop Susan Johnson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and her senior staff on March 18 and 19 to discuss ways to strengthen the relationship between the two churches, including plans for a joint General Synod/National Convention to be held in Ottawa in 2013 and the possibility of sharing national office space in the future.

“If full communion is really going to have some sense of visibility across the Canadian church, there have to be some pretty bold steps that we take together to help people realize that we are, in fact, churches in full communion,” said Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, noting that it has been eight years since the two churches reached an agreement to be in full communion.

Officers from both churches will meet next fall, followed by a joint meeting of the Council of General Synod, (CoGS, which governs the church between General Synods) and the Lutheran National Church Council, “probably in March 2011,” said Archbishop Hiltz. This would culminate in 2013 with a joint gathering of the governing bodies of each church. “It is exciting to see the momentum,” he said.

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Since the ANiC was launched in November 2007 with two small churches, two priests, and two bishops, we have grown to comprise 73 priests and dea­cons, three bishops, and 28 parishes, with a total average Sunday attendance of 3500. That initial growth has come from Canadian Anglicans who have felt conscience-bound to align with a biblically faithful Church, while still retaining their full Anglican identity. In recent years, tens of thousands have left the Anglican Church of Canada ”” and Anglicanism. The ANiC now provides an option for those who wish to remain Anglican. Our prayer and aim is that our future growth will come primarily from reaching out to the millions of unchurched Canadians through evangelism, church-planting, and discipleship.

Unfortunately, we are currently dealing with unnecessary and costly distractions because of litigation over church property. Despite our re­peated requests to seek mutually ad­van­tageous settlements through nego­tia­tion or mediation, four Angli­can Church of Canada dioceses ”” New Westminster, British Columbia, Niagara, and Huron ”” have forced ANiC parishes into court. The Primates’ recent commu­niqué calling for gracious restraint and mediation gave us hope (News, 13 February), but so far the Anglican Church of Canada has insisted on pursuing disputes in the secular court system.

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The debate over Alberta’s oilsands is taking on religious overtones these days.

Two months after a Roman Catholic bishop wrote a scathing letter against the province’s vast and controversial energy development, an Anglican bishop has spoken out against “vilifying one of the most exciting and challenging projects in Canadian history.”

John Clarke, bishop of Athabasca ”” a diocese that covers all of northern Alberta ”” said in a pastoral letter that some politicians and news reports focus on negative images of the oilsands, such as the mining process, tailings ponds and dead waterfowl.

“It is time for all (of) us across the Diocese of Athabasca and the Canadian Church to support the good work of the people of Fort McMurray, and not allow the agenda to be driven by the sensationalism of the National Geographic approach,” Clarke wrote in a letter published last week.

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In the American House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans when The Episcopal Church faced its deadline to deal with terms like moratoria, ”˜words’ were fiercely debated. How far could the House of Bishops go to deliver words which might placate the Anglican Communion without giving anything away? This was a studied course of dishonesty.

Now we have the most egregious example of all in the declaration by the Canadian diocese of Ottawa that it will allow a parish to perform same-sex blessings in order to ”˜discern’ the way forward. Needless to say, it’s an odd kind of ”˜discernment’ to do something you are not agreed upon in order to reach agreement. It seems like a recipe for division and conflict.

Furthermore, the diocese claims that it is not violating the moratorium on samesex blessings. “There is nothing in the moratorium that says we cannot continue to discern,” said Archdeacon Ross Moulton of Ottawa. It seems unnecessary to point out that the very meaning of the word ”˜moratorium’ rules out this kind of discernment. But Archdeacon Moulton has a different dictionary it seems.

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To me, the turning point in Canada came at General Synod two years ago in Winnipeg when a motion was passed that indicated that same sex blessings are not in conflict with the core creedal doctrines of the Anglican Church of Canada. When that was passed, for me it was game over ”“ as far as being able to stay in the Anglican Church of Canada was concerned.

The Anglican Church of Canada has now made up its mind, has now decided what its theology is going to be and all they are hanging back on is timing. When will be the best time to do this with the least fallout? At the end of the synod, it was agreed that they would spend an extra three years studying this, with no diocese taking action. Despite this talk of restraint, since that time, six separate dioceses have voted to ask their bishop for permission to proceed with same sex blessings.

And two weeks ago the Diocese of Toronto, with its four bishops, decided they were going to authorize certain parishes within the diocese to perform same sex blessings without taking it to synod at all. They rationalized that, since it was only going to be allowed in a small number of parishes, there was no real harm in it. This sort of reasoning makes no sense at all.

This past year, we have gone through a series of struggles on both sides of the border. Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh has been a great champion in the United States as have a number of other diocesan bishops. And they have been a great help to us, because it is very difficult to stand alone. Together with them we are planning to see if we can form a new province in North America.

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In that interview I reviewed with him the multitude of task forces, hearings, Bishop’s statements, regional and parish meetings and the long list of Diocesan and General Synods that have discussed and wrestled with this issue since 1976. I gave him a full account of our dealings with dissenting parishes and the court proceedings we have been involved in. I shared with Archbishop Rowan our experience of the incredible contribution that gay and lesbian people have made and continue to make in every aspect of our Church’s life and witness, and expressed the overwhelming desire on the part of two Synod’s to move forward with the blessing of committed same-sex relationships for couples who have been civilly married. I also indicated to him my intentions with regard to my giving permission for these blessings to begin to take place.

One of the most powerful moments in the course of my fifty minute meeting with the Archbishop was the opportunity to describe the process of how our new Vision has emerged and how we believe that God is calling us as a Diocesan family to enhance and develop our work together under the five key areas of focus that are outlined in the Vision. In fact I indicated that it was my sense that the challenge the Vision offers us around the work of prophetic justice-making has made us even more determined to become a more open and inclusive Church.

Archbishop Williams listened carefully to my presentation and there was no doubt that I had his full attention. He thanked me for such a full and detailed report and he indicated how important this opportunity was for him to hear from me personally. We went on to have a very helpful and frank conversation about the implications involved and I expressed my own personal commitment and the strong desire of the Diocese of Niagara to remain in communication and dialogue with our sister and brother Anglicans around the world. I made it clear that we very much value and hold dear our membership in the Anglican Communion and we are grateful for his leadership and ministry.

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The Anglican Church of Canada has reached the point where its bureaucracy has outlived its compassion. There. I said it. And I can speak with at least some small authority, considering that I was once an Anglican myself, although my observations led to enough disillusionment to see my departure from the Anglican Church. Generally I don’t like to disparage people for their religion (except Scientologists), but recent developments at the Anglican parish of St. Matthias in Victoria have tipped my hand.

The Anglican Church of Canada is in a state of unrest, for a variety of reasons mainly to do with biblical interpretation. In a nutshell, two completely separate theologies are competing for the same religious title: one rather conservative theology, which believes that the Bible carries great literal authority, and one rather liberal theology, which does not believe that the Bible carries great literal authority — although it still acknowledges the Bible as an important document. As you can see, the two just won’t mix, they won’t get along, it’s like asking a six year old boy to hold hands with a girl, it just ain’t gonna happen, no dice, no way, no how. But naturally, the higher-ups in the Anglican administration are trying to keep the two halves together, to ensure that the schism within the Anglican Church does not develop into a full-blown separation.

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The congregation at St. Matthias Anglican Church in Fairfield voted overwhelmingly Sunday to leave the Anglican Church of Canada, the latest sign of division among parishes across the country over controversial church doctrines like blessing same-sex marriages.

Of the 180 people who voted, 94.5 per cent said they want to join the Anglican Network of Canada, a conservative body that opposes same-sex marriage.

About 30 people refused to participate in the vote and wrote letters opposing the split, said church spokesman Michael Skinner, who chaired the meeting.

But another 20 parishioners who could not attend in person wrote letters of support, he said. The congregation had been just over 200 people.

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The Diocese of Ottawa has said it will perform same-sex blessings, becoming the first Canadian Anglican diocese to make such a move since a ban was imposed on the practice by the international church.

The diocese said it is developing a liturgy and protocol for the rite and once they are created it will start performing the ceremonies for gay couples on a limited basis. But critics of same-sex blessings say those steps will widen the schism in the Canadian church.

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A rogue Anglican group will hold a vote Sunday on whether to split from its Victoria-area parish over its views on same-sex marriage, a church leader confirmed Monday.

Bruce Bryant-Scott, the archdeacon of the Vancouver Island Diocese of the Anglican Church of Canada, said St. Matthias parishioners will decide whether to join the breakaway Anglican Network in Canada, which opposes same-sex unions.

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The Primates gave considerable attention to the report of the Windsor Continuation Group. It addressed the strained relationships within the Communion over matters of sexuality and unity, and provides recommendations for ways forward in deepening and in some cases restoring Communion. A very significant recommendation, which the Primates whole-heartedly affirmed, is to examine the Instruments of Communion, their respective roles and the manner in which they relate to one another.

The moratoria on the selection of Bishops in same-gender unions, rites of blessings for same-sex unions and cross-border interventions were much discussed. The Primate’s letter acknowledges that deep differences over these matters are held with great conviction. There was a continuing call for gracious restraint on all three fronts.

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This week, at their meeting in Alexandria, the primates have been debating the Covenant, a new document that is at the heart of the solution and sets out a Bible-based orthodoxy that the provinces will be invited to sign up to. Some provinces may well refuse to do so. These include Canada, where one diocese, New Westminster, has already authorised same-sex blessings, and another, Toronto, is expected to follow suit within a year.

The Episcopal Church of the US might also have difficulty giving full support to a document that does not do full justice to the ministry of clerics such as Bishop Robinson, now an establishment figure who is friendly with President Obama ”” he prayed the invocation at the start of the inauguration celebrations last month.

The result will be not schism but a two-tier communion, with all provinces in communion with the “mother church” in England and its primate, Dr Rowan Williams, primus inter pares or first among equals, but some having a lesser status and not being in full communion with each other.

At the same time the new “church” formed by conservative evangelicals in the US, led by the deposed Bishop of Pittsburgh, Bob Duncan, which is seeking recognition as a new province, is likely to be granted some extra-provincial status allowing the thousands of Anglicans it represents to remain within the Communion. This would lead to two parallel Anglican provinces operating in the US, one free to pursue its mission of inclusivity including the consecration of bishops of different sexualities, the other mandated to preach its own gospel of what it believes to be “orthodoxy”.

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i have been getting a bunch of emails from people who haven’t seen this or who can’t find it. Please take the time to read it all.

In a telephone interview at the end of the primates’ meeting, held Feb. 1 to 5 in Alexandria, Egypt, Archbishop Hiltz also said that it appeared relationships among church leaders, which had been ruptured because of bitter divisions over the issue, were being repaired. “I think we’re on the way toward healing within the communion,” he said, describing the mood at the meeting as “generous and gracious.” The past two meetings in Dromantine, Northern Ireland, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, had been chilly and emotionally-charged, with some primates either boycotting the eucharist or refusing to take holy communion with their fellow church leaders as a symbol of the Anglican Communion’s “brokenness.”

Archbishop Hiltz said that although he was disappointed that there had not been a “focused conversation” among primates involved in cross-border interventions right at the meeting, he was nonetheless “encouraged” that the primates chose to adopt a recommendation made by the Windsor Continuation Group for a mediated dialogue.

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The rift in the Anglican Communion over same-sex marriage blessings and gay clergy is being sent to mediation.

“It’s out of a commitment to reconciliation that this whole process is emerging,” Anglican Church of Canada Primate Fred Hiltz told the Star in a phone interview from Cairo.

Hiltz was among Anglican leaders from around the world meeting in Egypt this week, where a proposal by conservative Anglicans in Canada and the U.S. to set up an orthodox church operating parallel to the more liberal churches of the two countries was discussed.

“There was really no consensus among the primates over that matter,” said Hiltz, who opposes establishing a parallel church.

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