The Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) is deeply grateful for the work of the Anglican Communion Primates (leaders of Anglican Churches worldwide) who met this week in Alexandria, Egypt, to discuss issues of justice, righteousness and the current brokenness in the Anglican Communion.

The Primates addressed pressing humanitarian and political issues and published statements regarding the crises in Zimbabwe, the Sudan and Gaza. We pray that their thoughtful discussions and subsequent statements addressing these pressing matters will bear good fruit. We call upon ANiC parishes and members, and all Christians worldwide, to join with the Primates in praying for peace and order in the war-torn regions of our world.

We are grateful that these leaders also addressed the “continuing deep differences” in the Communion, acknowledging the “depth of conscientious conviction involved” and that “the Lambeth 1998 Resolution 1:10 in its entirety remains” the undisputed position of the Anglican Communion on sexuality.

We appreciate the Primates’ recognition that members of the Common Cause Partnership and the Anglican Church in North America are fully Anglican and their unanimous support for the Windsor Continuation Group’s recommendation that the Archbishop of Canterbury initiate professional mediation to address the difficult issues in North America. The call for “gracious restraint” clearly shows their desire to preserve faithful Anglican parishes and protect clergy while the Communion continues to wrestle with the profound theological divide. We pray that “gracious restraint” will be exercised by the Anglican Church of Canada and that no further faithful Anglicans will be forced to leave their churches until the crisis is resolved.

ANiC members, together with ACNA and all our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Communion, will continue to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and to minister locally, nationally and internationally through our active and vibrant congregations.

This is from the comments below but I am highlighting it in case others missed it:

I remain at a loss as to why this is being proposed NOW, and being made public NOW, just as the Primates meet. I am grateful for the openness and desire for discussion around the concrete proposals (unlike some dioceses with which I am familiar). And in the spirit of such discussion, I included the following in a letter I sent yesterday to two of the Toronto bishops.

It is hard to escape the fact that the process you have now set in motion — one that involves public proposals, discussions, synodical actions, and all dealing with a way of ordering a particular “pastoral response” that involves episcopal oversight and particular permissions, following directives that involve the nature of prayers ”“ cannot avoid being seen as one of ecclesial “authorization” of liturgical matters surrounding same-sex unions. The following words of the Archbishop of Canterbury were given at the end of the recent Lambeth Conference:

One of the problems around this is that people in different parts of the world clearly define ‘public’ and ‘rites’ and ‘blessing’ in rather different ways. I’d refer I think to what I said in the address this afternoon. As soon as there is a liturgical form it gives the impression: this has the Church’s stamp on it. As soon as that happens I think you’ve moved to another level of apparent commitment, and that I think is nowhere near where the Anglican Communion generally is. In the meeting of Primates at Gramado in Brazil some years ago, the phrase ‘A variety of pastoral response’ was used as an attempt to recognise that there were places where private prayers were said and, although there’s a lot of unease about that, there wasn’t quite the same strength of feeling about that as about public liturgies. But again ‘pastoral response’ has been interpreted very differently and there are those in the USA who would say: ‘Well, pastoral response means rites of blessing’, and I’m not very happy about that. (Final Press Conference, August 3, 2008)

I would underline two things in this response by Archbishop Williams. First, the key character of putting the “Church’s stamp” on same-sex unions somehow, simply by there being a publically permitted or authorized form of prayer (“liturgical form” ”“ which is a deliberately vague phrase), is crucial. Second, the fact that “pastoral response” was always understood among the Primates at least ”“ and even here with a great deal of trepidation ”“ as involving no more than “private prayers”. Although you and your colleagues may feel that you are proposing something that would fall within this realm of only informal acknowledgments of private prayer, the very process you are following will make this very difficult to sustain in the judgments of many others around the Communion. The fact is that, among other things, your proposal includes the following:

Ӣ Episcopal permission be given to a limited number of parishes, based on Episcopal discernment, to offer prayers and blessing (but not the nuptial blessing) to same-sex couples in stable, long-term, committed relationships, as an extension of the current pastoral norms.
Ӣ Episcopal guidelines on the nature of the prayers/blessing will be established. A particular rite will not be authorized.
Ӣ Episcopal permission for blessings will be required.
Ӣ Evaluation of this pastoral response will be undertaken after one year.
Ӣ No parish or clergy will be required to participate.
”¢ A Bishop’s Commission will be formed to create the guidelines, monitor activity and review.

All of this represents formal, episcopal, diocesan, public, liturgical prayers of blessing. And while it is true that the Archbishop’s remarks above do not carry any kind of formal authority in determining how the Church of Canada and her bishops will define “pastoral response”, I think it fair to say that his rather moderate definitions will be shared by, and even defined more strictly by, many others among our Communion partners. I believe, in short, that it will be very difficult indeed to make the case and persuade others of the fact that the Diocese of Toronto is not moving forward with a contravention of the informal moratorium articulated at Lambeth (and before), not to mention moving in a way that simply does not defer to the general concerns of many Anglicans around the world.

At its monthly meeting of the Diocesan Council, held on January 29, 2009, the bishops outlined their proposal. The bishops plan to engage in a consultation process in order for the pastoral care of all Anglicans to be strengthened. They will implement their response when the bishops discern that it is appropriate.

The bishops’ proposal in offering a pastoral response is as follows:

* Episcopal permission be given to a limited number of parishes, based on Episcopal discernment, to offer prayers and blessing (but not the nuptial blessing) to same-sex couples in stable, long-term, committed relationships, as an extension of the current pastoral norms.
* Episcopal guidelines on the nature of the prayers/blessing will be established. A particular rite will not be authorized.
* Episcopal permission for blessings will be required.
* Evaluation of this pastoral response will be undertaken after one year.
* No parish or clergy will be required to participate.
* A Bishop’s Commission will be formed to create the guidelines, monitor activity and review.

Bishop Johnson said that it is too early to say what form the proposed prayers or blessings in the diocese will take. However, he emphasized that the bishops’ pastoral response does not include the provision for a marriage rite. He was clear in saying that any movement towards the recognition of same-sex unions as marriage or the approval of authorized liturgical rites would fall under the purview of General Synod and not diocesan authority. The Bishop emphasized that no parish or priest would be asked to act contrary to their conscience, and that pastoral generosity must also be extended to those who would oppose this proposal.

Please take the time to read it all and the accompanying link.

Toronto Anglicans will start blessing same-sex relationships within a year, the Toronto Star has learned, a move that puts local churches at the forefront of the issue but could inflame an already divisive debate within the church.

“One of the chief purposes of the church is to provide care for people who come to the church in a particular need,” Toronto Bishop Colin Johnson told the Star in an exclusive interview.

The move, a first for any diocese in Canada, brings Toronto churches closer than any others in the country to allowing same-sex marriage blessings ”“ the most contentious issue facing Anglicanism today.

It stops just short, however, of offering blessings to gay marriages, offering them instead to couples in “stable long-term committed relationships,” according to a policy paper approved by the executive council of the diocese this week and obtained by the Star.

Read it all.

The staff of the Anglican Communion Office here quite outnumbers the accredited press and the lobby groups from both the right and left are nowhere to be seen. Have we reached a point in the life of the Communion where weariness and frustration over sexuality issues has run its course? Have people simply stopped coming because they know that nothing will change and that opinions are locked in no matter or how many more studies are mandated?

The primates’ four-day agenda has a few critical issues before it including discussions on Zimbabwe, global warming and a Christian response to the current crisis in the world economy. Other issues such as Gaza and other wars, violence, HIV/AIDS, human rights violations in many of the Communion’s provinces — one Primate was denied a visa to travel here — have not made it to the agenda.

Read it all.

Conservative Anglicans say they do not expect their new North American church to receive official approval from Anglican archbishops who will convene next week (Feb. 1-5) in Alexandria, Egypt.

“We do expect that our situation will be discussed,” said the Rev.
Peter Frank, a spokesman for the newly established Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). “At the same time, it would be very surprising if there was some kind of quick, game-changing action.”

After years of disagreeing with the liberal majorities in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, conservatives broke off and formed a rival church last December. Conservatives hope the fledgling province will ultimately be recognized as the official Anglican franchise in North America.

Read it all.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has issued a joint statement with the Rev. David Giuliano, Moderator of the United Church of Canada, calling for an independent investigation into the Israeli bombing of the Shaja’ih Family Healthcare Centre in Gaza City on Jan. 10, 2009.

Read it all.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has asked the primates (national archbishops) of five provinces, including the Anglican Church of Canada, to reflect on the impact that the current Anglican conflict over sexuality has had on the mission and priorities of their churches.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said that he and the primates of the U.S. Episcopal Church, Uganda, Pakistan, and South Africa, have been invited to offer their reflections during the primates’ meeting scheduled Feb. 1 to 5 in Alexandria, Egypt.

Read it all.

The Rt. Rev. Ronald Ferris, Bishop of the northern Ontario Diocese of Algoma in the Anglican Church of Canada from 1995 to 2008 and the Diocese of Yukon from 1981 to 1995, has left the Anglican Church of Canada and transferred his canonical residence to the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina.

Bishop Ferris is the third bishop within the past 14 months to leave the Anglican Church of Canada for the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), part of the Common Cause Partnership seeking status as a new Anglican province in North America. In a statement released Jan. 23, Bishop Ferris said in his new position he will focus on church planting in the Lower Mainland region of southwest British Columbia. He will assist the Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey, moderator of the ANiC.

Read it all and there is a lot more there also.

The merger of two local churches is a sign of the times ”” and it just makes sense, say congregation heads.

St. David’s Anglican and Holy Cross Lutheran churches recently joined to become St. David’s Anglican/Lutheran Church.

“We were sharing a building and resources and decided that was working well. We thought we could go one step further and become one congregation,” said Pamela Harrington, diaconal minister.

The notion of a merger was presented to the two congregations, as well as the one at St. Athanasius’ Anglican Church. That congregation decided to remain independent.

Average attendance at Holy Cross was 30 to 35, while it’s about 50 at St. David’s.

Read it all.

The theme of Lambeth was “Equipping Bishops for Leadership in Mission and Strengthening Anglican Identity”. Each day began with a celebration of the Eucharist followed by a study of the “I Am” sayings in the Gospel according to John. Much of our time was spent in “Indaba”. Indaba is an African word meaning a meeting for purposeful conversations among equals. In those circles we discussed a wide range of topics including evangelism, the authority of scripture, sexuality, a covenant for the Anglican Communion, ecumenism, and social justice.

The matter of blessing same-sex unions was very much a part of discussions in the conference. In the Reflections report produced by the conference it was noted that a strong majority of bishops present agreed that moratoria on same-sex blessings and cross-provincial interventions were necessary. In a letter following the conference, the Archbishop of Canterbury acknowledged that while the majority of bishops had spoken that way, “they were aware of the conscientious difficulties this posed for some and that there needs to be greater clarity about the exact expectations and what can be realistically implemented. How far the intensified sense of belonging together will help mutual restraint remains to be seen”.

At the fall meeting of the Canadian House of Bishops we had a full discussion of the call for moratoria and issued a statement in which we said, “a large majority of the House can affirm the following:

“A continued commitment to the greatest extent possible to the three moratoria ”“ on the blessing of same-sex unions, on the ordination to the episcopate of people in same-sex relationships and on cross-border interventions ”“ until General Synod 2010. Members of this House, while recognizing the difficulty that this commitment represents for dioceses that in conscience have made decisions on these matters, commit themselves to continue walking together and to hold each other in prayer”¦

“We ask for your continuing prayers as we steadfastly seek to discern the mind and heart of Christ for the wholesome care of all members of his Body, the Church. We share a deep hope that though we may never come to consensus over this matter of the blessing of same-sex unions, we will live with differences in a manner that is marked by grace and generosity of spirit, one toward another.”

Read it all.

The Rt. Rev. Donald Harvey, moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Nashotah House Seminary.

Read it all.

The Anglican Church of Canada’s Council of General Synod (CoGS) has given its cautious approval to the principle of an Anglican Covenant, but has reserved judgment pending a review of the final text.

At its Fall meeting in Toronto last week, CoGS, the Canadian church’s governing body between meetings of the triennial General Synod gave an affirmative response to the question posed by the ACC/Primates Joint Standing Committee whether it cold “give an ”˜in principle’ commitment to the covenant process at this time, without committing itself to the details of any text.”

The 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion have been asked to respond to the current “St Andrew’s Draft” of the covenant by March. The Covenant Design Group is scheduled to hold its final meeting in London next April and issue a final revision for presentation to the May meeting of the ACC in Jamaica.

Read it all.

In Oshawa’s gritty south end, tough economic times mean big business for Father Makarios Isaac.

“Everybody has been affected in this neighbourhood one way or another,” said Isaac, priest at St. Philip The Apostle Catholic Church, a stone’s throw from the General Motors’ assembly plants facing layoffs or closure.

It’s a time when the old adage ”” as GM goes, so goes Oshawa ”” affects more and more parts of the community.

Read it all.

Distinguished Anglican theologian JI Packer and the Rev David Short have been appointed honorary clerical canons of Sydney’s St Andrew’s Cathedral.

Both Dr Packer and Mr Short had their licenses removed by the Canadian Anglican leadership when their church. St John’s Shaughnessy in Vancouver, voted to realign with the Province of the Southern Cone.

The congregation made the move because of their local Bishop’s support for same-sex blessings.

In an extraordinary reaction, condemned by leaders across the Anglican world, 82 year old Dr Packer, the author of christian classics such as ”˜Knowing God’ is no longer considered a clergyman by the Canadian Archbishop.

Similar action was taken against Mr Short, the rector of the largest Anglican Church in Canada.

In view of the action, Archbishop Jensen said the move to appoint the pair as honorary clerical canons was a symbolic tribute to their ministry and to the fact that Sydney still recognises their holy orders.

Read it all.

Father Hawkins is Dean of Cathedral Church of St Alban the Martyr, Prince Albert.

Bishops from four dioceses emerged from the house of bishops meeting in October struggling with how to proceed with plans to introduce same-sex blessings in their dioceses.

While the majority of bishops agreed to a moratorium on same-sex blessings, the bishops from the dioceses of Ottawa, Montreal, Niagara and Huron, and from the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior faced pressure at home to offer same-sex blessings.

Given the strong support for a moratorium and the fact that two significant meetings will be held early in 2009 ”” Anglican primates meet in February and the Anglican Consultative Council meets in May ”” few decisions are expected to be made before the spring.

Read it all.

Did you know that the same amount of corn that produces enough ethanol to fill the fuel tank of an SUV would feed a Mexican for a year?

Or that the price of tortillas, Mexico’s staple food, has tripled and even quadrupled in some parts of that country because the price of white corn, which is indexed to the international price of yellow corn used for ethanol production, has risen dramatically?

In other words, there are people around the world who are starving because more and more land is being dedicated to cash-rich fuel crops like corn instead of food.

These were some of the points raised at a recent forum, Connecting the dots on the food crisis, sponsored by Kairos, the Canadian ecumenical justice organization, of which the Anglican Church of Canada is a member. The forum explored the root causes of the food crisis in the Global South, including the push for agro-fuels in rich countries like Canada and the U.S., the decades-long liberalization policies of governments, and the growth of agri-business transnational corporations.

Read it all.

Faced with declining revenue and recurring budget deficits in recent years, the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada announced on Nov. 25 the termination of seven positions at its national office in Toronto. The terminations were part of a plan to cut the 2009 budget by $1.3 million and reduce the deficit to $800,000.

“I want to emphasize that all these decisions were due to structural changes we are forced to make as a result of financial constraints we are facing. None were due to performance issues,” said an internal memo sent to staff by Archdeacon Michael Pollesel, the national church’s general secretary. “Each of these seven individuals contributed to the ongoing life of church house and we thank them for their time with us.”

Five staff from the financial management and development department and the communications and information resources department were laid off; the positions of two staff (yet unidentified pending negotiations) set to retire next year will not be filled.

Read it all.

About 50 conservative Anglican leaders, including eight young theological students, gathered in Toronto for a one-day consultation on Nov. 25 and emerged with a determination to remain within the Anglican Church of Canada. They came from 16 dioceses across the country.

Rev. Brett Cane of St. Aidan’s Anglican Church in Winnipeg is chair of Anglican Essentials Federation who was quick to point out that the organization is going through a name change. He said that the “Essentials” label has negative connotations in some parts of the country. He said that the federation is loosening its connection to the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). “We will still maintain links of fellowship with the network but we will not be organizationally tied together.”

Read it all.

The plan is scheduled to be publicly released on Dec. 3 in Chicago at a gathering of the Common Cause Partnership, a coalition of conservative Anglicans who oppose moves within the Anglican Church of Canada toward blessing same-sex unions and the ordination of an openly gay man as an Episcopal bishop in the U.S.

“What’s quite disturbing, in my opinion, about this proposal is the determination to create a province based on theological grounds,” Archbishop Hiltz said Nov.17. “The creation of provinces, as I have always understood it, is based on mission. It is based on a commitment to embrace and give flesh to an expression of the gospel in a particular context. There is a geography associated with that context, there is a set of cultural needs, a set of social needs.”

He also noted that the Anglican Consultative Council is the only body of the church that can create a province, and it does so, only after “after a long period of discernment and testing the viability and capacity for the province to maintain itself in the spirit of mission.” The Anglican Consultative Council is also the only body of the church that includes bishops, clergy and laity.

Read it all.

ANiC Bishop Donald Harvey said he hopes that the draft of the new province’s constitution, which is scheduled to be made public in Chicago on Dec. 3, could be discussed at the primates’ meeting in Alexandria, Egypt in February.

Although the Common Cause Partnership only represents about 100,000 Anglicans (3,000 in Canada) ”“ those who have left the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church in the U.S. largely over blessing same-sex unions and the ordination of an openly gay bishop ”“ ANiC leaders are confident that the support of conservative primates who represent about 40 million Anglicans in the Global South means that their proposal will have to be taken seriously. “I think the GAFCON [Global Anglican Future Conference] primates are the ones that would push for it for us. They have already indicated they would,” said Bishop Harvey. “It may take longer than we’re hoping simply because of procedural things, but if it goes before the primates and we get even a qualified sense [of acceptance], it would be progress,” he said.

Bishop Harvey warned of dire consequences for the global communion if the primates reject the idea of the new province in Egypt. “Then it goes to the GAFCON primates, and it could be anything after that point ¬”“ it really could,” he said. “I think it would be painful and cause decisions to be made that would be unfortunate for the communion as a whole. It would cause more fragmentation.”

Read it all.

Dissident Anglican churches are hammering out the details of a plan to create a North American church body that would be recognized by the global Anglican community and operate with authority parallel to the national Anglican churches in Canada and the United States.

If they’re successful, it could be in place in less than a year.

“There are committees working strenuously at the present time trying to bring this about as soon as possible,” said Bishop Donald Harvey, who oversees the Anglican Network in Canada.

Read it all.

The Anglican Church of Canada, looking for a new way to reach the faithful, has launched its own official page on the popular social networking site Facebook.

“It’s an exciting new step for us,” Brian Bukowski, Web manager for the church, told the Anglican Journal.

“We’ve been waiting for the right time to step into social networking, and Facebook is so well established at this point. We know our page can be effective there.”

Read it all.

Just over a year ago, in that Consecration service, I stood at the chancel steps of this Cathedral and answered the questions posed to me by our Metropolitan, Caleb Lawrence. I had no idea then, just how two of those promises would need to be held in such a state of tension in this early stage of my episcopacy: “Will you boldly proclaim and interpret the gospel of Christ, enlightening the minds and stirring up the conscience of your people?” and “Will you share with your fellow bishops in the government of the whole church ”¦?”

Over the past several months, I have endeavoured to prayerfully and faithfully wrestle with these two critical duties of a bishop in the Church and at times dealing with the issue of the blessing of same sex unions has felt like a monumental task and a heavy burden to bear. How do I keep in balance the responsibility I feel toward those who have elected me as their bishop, while at the same time remaining faithful and loyal to the members of our National Church and the Anglican Communion? So many times I have prayed for the wisdom of Solomon around this issue and I continue to wait upon God for a more complete answer.

However my faithful attempt to respond to this responsibility and challenge has now been made public, on Monday in the form of my response to the Statement of the House of Bishops and my more detailed release yesterday that outlines our next steps as we move forward. I am fully aware that some on both sides of the issue will see this as a lack of wise leadership on my part and I accept that. Having consulted as widely as possible, across our own diocese, across our country, at the House of Bishops (including many discussions with our Primate), and of course at Lambeth, I believe that I have come to a better understanding of what is at stake and what the implications are of the decisions we make at this critical period in the history of our Church. There is time set aside on tomorrow’s agenda for me to hear directly from members of synod in response to these announcements.

Read it all.

As is the case with our brother and sister Anglicans in the Dioceses of Montreal and Ottawa, I believe we are among those who have been called by God to speak with a prophetic voice on this subject. I, therefore, intend to ask for a rite to be developed for the blessing of same sex couples who have been civilly married, along with a process to enable these blessings to take place that will at the same time honour the diversity of tradition and theology that exists across Niagara.

It is my hope that this process would move ahead as expeditiously as possible and that I will be in a position to report back to the Diocese within the next few months.
I want to assure you and be absolutely clear, that all clergy and all parishes will be fully free to follow their own conscience in this matter, as and when we are able to move forward.

Read it all.

The Diocese of New Westminster on November 5 filed its Statement of Defence and Counterclaim in a second suit brought against it in BC Supreme Court.

The second suit was brought on October 15 by a former clergy, Stephen Leung, and some others at the parish of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Vancouver. Stephen Leung left the Priesthood in the Anglican Church of Canada in April of 2008.

Good Shepherd, primarily Chinese-speaking, was one of the four parishes in the diocese that last February voted to leave the Anglican Church of Canada and join a dissident group, the Anglican Network in Canada, affiliated with the Church of the Southern Cone of South America.

Read it all.

A Canadian Anglican bishop signaled on Monday he would defy the wishes of the global Anglican church and start drafting a ceremony for blessing homosexual marriages.

Bishop Barry Clarke said he would be following through with the wishes of the diocese of Montreal, which he heads, and set up a commission to come up with liturgy for such blessings.

In August, the decennial Lambeth Conference of global Anglican leaders asked for a moratorium on the blessing of same-sex unions, and Canada’s bishops said on Friday a large majority of them were committed to such a moratorium.

But Clarke told Reuters he was not part of that majority, and he would be proceeding with plans he had laid out before the Canadian bishops met last week.

“I don’t want to stop the journey, because I think that would be unhealthy,” he said.

Read it all.

The Canadian house of bishops on Oct. 31 said a “large majority” of its members could affirm “a continued commitment to the greatest extent possible” to a moratorium on the blessing of same-sex unions but also recognized that this would pose difficulty for some dioceses “that in conscience have made decisions on these matters.”

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, acknowledged that this stance allows dioceses such as Montreal and Ottawa some wiggle room to continue what their bishops have recently described as “incremental” and “experiential” steps toward same-sex blessings.

“This is a very honest statement from the point of view that it clearly reflects the reality of the Canadian church ”¦ that there are some within the house who would not stand within that majority,” said Archbishop Hiltz in an interview at the end of the meeting Oct. 27 to 31.

Read it all.

The head of Montreal’s Anglican church plans to bless same-sex unions despite a suggested two-year moratorium following a meeting of Canada’s Anglican bishops.

Rt. Rev. Barry Clarke, head of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal, which includes 72 parishes and 110 congregations, said last night he will meet with diocese officials to develop “a protocol and a liturgy implementing the blessing of same-sex unions.”

The bishop said he will be respectful of the range of positions in his diocese regarding unions, including “those who disagree with it.”

Read it all.