My Silent Nighting Across the Land

The Anglican Church of Canada's Silent Night project calls for parishes and groups to video themselves singing Silent Night with each singer donating a toonie to support Anglican military chaplains who minister to the women and men of the Canadian Forces. 

I got to be involved in three. I sang in Mississauga with the Council of General Synod, shot the video of the women of the first Cursillo weekend in the Diocese of Qu'Appelle singing it (on an iPhone 4), and helped organize the St Barnabas, Medicine Hat, effort (which happened while I was away doing the Cursillo). 

Happy New Year

This post didn't happen yesterday because we were driving through the blizzard between here and Swift Current (twice!) to give the granddaughters back.

Come and See Evangelism

I can't think of anything deeply theological to write, but my Morning Prayer reading this morning was from John 1 where Nathanael says, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Many are asking the same question about the Anglican Church.
Philip's answer to Nathanael was a simple one and a good one: "Come and see," he said. It's a response many Anglican parishes and individuals can, and should, still say often, and with confidence.

A Bit of Fluff

Jude got a new NZ lambskin steering wheel cover for her beloved red Neon, Cloe, for Christmas.

It's a bit like driving a bedroom slipper. Cosy, though.

A New Bishop

Fraser Lawton is being consecrated Bishop of Athabasca this evening. A good one. God bless him and his family.

Anglican Communion Covenant Digest for Today

A good discussion and summary with links over at the excellent and thoughtful Anglican Down Under here.

The thing that lit up for me in it all was this from the "Covenant Working Party Commentary on Revisions to Section 4:"

If, however, the canons and constitutions of a Province permit, there is no reason why a diocesan synod should not commit itself to the covenant, thus strengthening its commitment to the interdependent life of the Communion.”

Let's get at it!

Anglicans Must Change or Die

Sobering words by Steve Weatherbe of canadianchristianity.com. His article focuses on the Diocese of British Columbia's development director, the Rev. Dr. Gary Nicolosi, who calls for the Vancouver Island Anglican diocese to encourage growth by requiring

50 percent of rental incomes be spent on evangelization; by rewarding clergy with higher salaries and more holidays; by training those that don’t grow their parishes – and, if necessary, move them to non-leadership positions, or out of the ministry entirely.

It's not just a BC problem. It's an Anglican Church of Canada, Diocese of Calgary, StB and my problem, too. Lord, have mercy.

All here.

A Momentous Vatican Announcement and Two Anglican Choices

In his Hope Among the Fragments, Ephraim Radner writes that we conservative Anglicans only have two choices; stay, or go back to Rome.

A New Road to Rome

The Pope's invitation to disaffected Anglicans has now made the second of Radner's choices  a real option (see the Catholic News Service article here).

Staying On

On staying, "Staying On" by Philip Turner, an excellent piece over at The Anglican Planet:

As I understand it, my role as a Presbyter is to protect the church from strange doctrine rather than go to another place whenever error rears its ugly head.

…past divisions leave all sorts of opportunities to find a church that is more to my liking–one that seems a little more faithful. On a relative scale of things there are no doubt a number of more faithful options.  But to my mind, to avail myself of one or another of them is simply to repeat what I believe to have been an inadequate grasp of the way in which God has confronted the defection of the world.  No matter how noble my intentions and no matter how understandable my reasons, I, nonetheless, repeat in my own life the divisions of the past.  In so doing, I avoid once again, as did my forebears in the faith, the way my Lord took.  He stayed on.

All here. (H/T Canon James Robinson)

And, for better or for worse, that's where I find myself at the moment.

McGrath, "Christianity's Dangerous Idea" and the Future of Protestant Denominations (like Anglican)

More Alister McGrath, Christianity’s Dangerous Idea: the Protestant Revolution—a history from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first (HarperOne, 2007)…from page 404 on the future of the Protestant denomination (which includes us Anglicans):

This often strong sense of belonging and commitment to the local congregation is rarely extended to the denomination as a whole, which is likely to be viewed as an inefficient and redundant bureaucracy that makes serious financial demands of local congregations while giving little in return.

A fourth factor that has been identified as of significance by sociologists with a particular interest in Protestant denominations is the rise of “lay liberalism,” which erases the clear boundaries separating believers from unbelievers. Where evangelicalism emphasizes the distinctiveness of Christianity, this pragmatic, laid-back lay liberalism feels able to renegotiate Christian moral and theological principles in the light of prevailing social norms. This has led to an erosion of the boundary between “church” and “world”—but also between Protestant denominations. Without clear “faith boundaries,” identification with any particular form of Protestantism—indeed, even with Christianity itself—becomes socially meaningless.

Shame! The Diocese of Niagara Sues Individual Laypeople

See here.

See how these Christians love one another.

Yet another thing that makes it more difficult for people in parish ministry to promote the Anglican Church of Canada as being a good place to put down roots and learn to follow Jesus. Why would anyone, especially anyone starting out, want to do so in an organization that does this, or allows it to be done, to people who disagree with it?

On "Here I Stand, I Can Do No Other"

I follow Mark Driscoll's blog over at The Resurgence. He's been doing a series on various theological topics…short pieces from a reformed Calvinist perspective. Martin Luther is the subject of today's post. Driscoll quotes Luther's response when he was called upon to recant his reformed views:

Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures or with open, clear, and distinct grounds of reasoning . . . then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me! Amen.

That would be my challenge to Anglican leaders who are advocating doctrinal revision around the authority of Scripture and sexuality: instruct and convince me with evidence from the Holy Scriptures or with open, clear and distinct grounds of reasoning.

Instead, the tools of Anglican instruction and convincing I read about are changed locks, lifted licences, punitive litigation,  and name-calling.

God help us, indeed.

A Case For Faithful Anglican Staying

As is so often the case; ideas, opinions and thoughts about what concerns me float about in my mind "without form" until one day I come across something which crystalizes and settles them into a coherent form. This, from Philip Turner, Christopher Seitz and Ephraim Radner over at VirtueOnline, is such a something:

It is now the case that the people we know do not see any near possibility of reform and they no longer pursue such purposes. They have recognized the futility for near term of politically realistic change. However, they do hold certain convictions, and they do have certain commitments that give shape to their present actions-actions that hardly qualify as passive. These convictions and commitments are reflected in patient and enduring witness rather than in strategies and tactics designed to bring about desired future states. They grow from trust that God will use faithful witness in his own time and in his own way to bring about his purposes-purposes that do not stem from our imaginings or our desires but from God's justice and God's mercy.

This is where I now find myself

The experience of two General Synods have convinced me of how unlikely reform is in the Anglican Church of Canada and the futility of any attempts at Biblical or orthodox theological argument in the face of the well meaning but tragically mistaken revisionist tide. Yet this is the time and place into which God, in his wisdom, has called me.

So patient and enduring witness it is 

Turner, Seitz and Radner are committed to: 

witness rather than a strategy designed to bring about a desired future state. Our work is not to take this kingdom by force of design and tactic, but to make a faithful witness, practice faithful endurance, and wait upon the Lord to see what he will make of what we do and say.

Certainly my attempts at "design and tactic" have not been particularly fruitful in the wider church, or in my parish, for that matter.

I find I am strategically challenged, alas

I am, however, capable of faithful endurance. I don't much like it, but, with the Lord's help, it's doable. 

The whole piece here.

And not only that…

In a piece by Timothy Morgan of Christianity Today, one Russell Levenson Jr, Rector of the largest Episcopal church in the United States, explains why he and his parish are staying:

Daniel had to stay in Babylon, but did not abandon his faith. Jeremiah was not given another Israel. Ezekiel had to preach to the dry bones. When Jesus and his message were completely rejected, he did not leave. He wept. He stayed. He did not move on to Egypt. He stayed and faithfully preached when they believed and when they did not believe.

John Stott's Counsel

Levenson visited with John Stott recently. They talked and prayed about the challenges facing the Anglican Communion. When he asked Stott for his counsel, Stott said:

If I were you, I would stay … you have the truth on your side … and I think you are called to stay and faithfully preach the gospel. Remember what Max Warren said, 'the church is evidence of God's patience.' And we just don't know what fruit or reform will be born as a result of a long period of faithful preaching and witness to the evangelical faith we share.

Faithful staying, witness, endurance and preaching…

…while leaving the outcomes to the LORD are the order of the day for the likes of  Turner, Seitz, Radner and Levenson. Me, too, I guess.

O Lord, write these on my heart and may our faithfulness lead to Kingdom fruitfulness in the Anglican church. 

Read the whole interview with Levenson here.

On Smells and Bells

On the one hand, something that makes my heart sing from Matt Kennedy over at Stand Firm (in a post on the use of incense in worship):

we embrace the essential biblical truths recovered during the Reformation...

1. Sola Scriptura--the bible is the sole infallible source of revelation, the primary authority in the church by which all doctrine and discipline must be tested and measured.

2. Sola Fide--sinners are justified through the instrument of faith alone

3. Sola Christi--Christ's righteousness, sacrifice, and mediation is the sole basis or grounding for the justification that is communicated to sinner by faith alone.

4. Sola Gratia--the whole arch of salvation, from beginning to end, is due to and grounded in the free gracious gift of God and for no merit or deserving on our part.

5. Soli Deo Gloria--God's purpose in Creation, Judgment and Redemption is ultimately his own glory.

Therein lies our hope, our future and our salvation.

A pleasing Aroma

And speaking of "smells," I've always enjoyed it although I've discovered you need a high ceiling in your sanctuary. We tried it one Christmas Eve in the low-ceilinged St Francis in Airdrie, Alberta. One of the acolytes fainted dead away in the blue, sweet smelling haze. Flat on her face. Talk about being slain in the Spirit.

More from Matt on the sweet "smells" issue here.

A Less Pleasant Odour and Yet Another Warning Bell

(H/T The Essentials Blog)

The Globe and Mail is reporting that the Bishop of Montreal intends to proceed with same sex blessing despite the recent House of Bishops decision.

Why is it that we only seem to hear from the liberal revisionist bishops in the media? I wonder why our conservative bishops are so quiet? Faithful Anglicans who are trying to stand for Biblical orthodoxy within the ACoC need to hear some encouragement from their episcopal leaders. We need to hear something Biblical and clear and firm to counter the bland, nuanced, official Anglicanese which always tries to say yes and no at the same time and which, therefore, ends up saying nothing definite at all. And we need to hear it from the bishops within the institution otherwise it seems as if it's only the Southern Cone or the Global South bishops who are concerned about what is happening to our church.

When those who are silent seem to consent, it's hard for us in the trenches not to be discouraged as the mud gets deeper and the stench increases.

Canadian Primate and Bishops Respond to Lambeth Moratorium Call

Our Primate and some Bishops have responded to the Lambeth moratorium call (no more same-sex blessings, no more actively homosexual bishops, no more cross-border interventions) in a piece from The Journal. Not surprisingly, Bishop Michael Ingham, is among them.

Bishop Michael Ingham, whose diocese – New Westminster – voted to allow same-sex blessings in 2002, reacted strongly to the WCG’s proposals, describing it as “an old-world institutional response to a new-world reality in which people are being set free from hatred and violence.”

Bishop Ingham said that if the proposal for a moratorium on same-sex blessings is adopted, “it will put the Anglican Church of Canada in the position of having to support and defend irrational prejudice and bigotry in the eyes of our nation.”

Notice how Ingham insinuates that we who do not believe that the Holy Spirit is leading the church in this direction are not only keeping homosexual people mired in hatred and violence but are irrationaly prejudiced bigots. I find that offensive.

George Elliott, suffragan bishop of Toronto (York-Simcoe), had this to say,

“I don’t think there’s a going back. I think there are ways in which we can perhaps slow down or continue to consider what a moratorium might be. But I don’t think it’s possible to go back. I don’t think it’s fair to go back.” He said that dioceses that have moved ahead “and done it faithfully,” have done it in the context of Canadian church polity. “It would be absolutely devastating to even think about moving back to where we were before.”

In other words, the context of Canadian church polity trumps Scriptural, traditional and reasonable theological contexts.

Bishop Victoria Matthews of the Windsor Continuation Group and the new Bishop of Christchurch, New Zelaand, sums it up well,

“I don’t think they actually mean ‘can’t,’ I think they actually mean ‘won’t,” she said. “It’s not physically impossible to change that. I can understand if they say they don’t want to.”

It's all here.

Lambeth Aftermath, Purple-shirted, Flatulence, Schism is Better than Heresy and the Future

"Purple-shirted Flatulence: Schism is Better than Heresy" is the arresting title of an article which is an excellent summary of where we find ourselves after Lambeth 2008 and how we got here. Mark Dawes, The Jamaica Gleaner News religion editor, gets The Windsor Report and how it plays in Anglicanism right:

The Windsor Report served to invoke a charge not uncommonly laid against Anglican ethos. The charge was that the report did not go far enough and that the Anglican communion was sacrificing biblical truth to preserve unity. Indeed, there is a saying that Anglicans prefer to accommodate heresy within their ranks rather than have a schism.

He also gets it right on the opposing views of biblical authority:

The problem posed by homosexuality to the Anglican church was theological long before it became organisational. For the conservative Anglican, the Bible is inspired and, therefore, authoritative for faith and practice. For liberals, the Bible is inspiring, like good Shakespearean writings, and listening to Mozart or Marley.

Finally, 

The Anglican church has had five years to deal with homosexuality among clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions. Collectively, the church has lacked courage to take the hard decision that beckons. There have been enough conferences, councils and purple-shirted flatulence on the issue of homosexuality. If a person can find where the Bible sanctions homosexuality he/she should be recruited by George W. Bush to find bin Laden. Anglicans have lost enough time on the issue of homosexuality. The two opposing views on homosexuality are incompatible. There is no middle ground. There has been enough talk. There comes a time when schism is far better than heresy.

Read it all here: Jamaica Gleaner News - Purple-shirted flatulence: Schism is better than heresy - Saturday | August 9, 2008. H/T Stand Firm.

Dawes is right. Anglican leaders, whether for the sake of not excluding anyone, or because they were ignorant or in denial of the depth of the divide that has formed, have avoided coming to a resolution on the issue that faces us. Instead, for fear of offending anyone, they have remained silent, or opted for endless "dialogue," while all the while, in the case of the Anglican Church of Canada, simply declaring that this is not a communion-breaking issue which they must think will just make it all go away.

What that and Lambeth 2008 have brought us to is summed up by Stand Firm's, Sarah Hey:

The end result of the Lambeth Conference is that it leaves the revisionists with zero consequences as of yet from the international communion. And with ten years before another Lambeth Conference.

...from her excellent no-tell-us-what-you-really-think summation of it all here.

And so the US Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada will continue on their present course. Victoria Matthews, former Bishop of Edmonton, now Bishop of Christchurch in God'sOwnCountry (New Zealand), is a member of the Windsor Continuation Group comments:

Regarding the difficulty of the Canadian and US churches in stepping back from their approval of same-sex unions, she told the Anglican Journal, "I don't think they actually mean 'can't', I think they actually mean 'won't'."

...from Jim Coggins at canadianchristianity.com here. 

O for a Canadian Conservative Episcopal Voice

Yesterday I read a letter Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary, Fred Henry, wrote to Alberta's Premier, Ed Stelmach, on abuses being perpetrated by the Alberta and other Human Rights Commissions across the country. It is a good, clear, courteous, but firm, letter. You can read it here.

O, how I wish there was such a conservative Anglican Church of Canada bishop who would speak out as clearly on such matters and who would counterbalance and challenge the influence and effect of the writings, statements and actions of the bishops, dioceses and provinces who are promoting theological liberalism.

Another Bulkhead Gives Way: The Diocese of Huron and Wisdom from JI Packer

Another bulkhead has just given way in His Majesty's Ship, The Anglican Church of Canada, namely the Diocese of Huron (see here). We settle even lower in the water. I expect to hear the band playing "Abide With Me" at any moment. More lifeboats are being swung out. Some have already left.

A lucid and timely reminder of what we need to keep us faithfully afloat from JI Packer:

CHRISTIANITY, the faith of the patristic creeds and Reformation confessions (of which the 39 Articles, historically and theologically, form one), rests on the authoritative truth of biblical teaching. Nothing un- or anti-biblical may be received as a standard of faith and practice.

ANGLICANISM, the English version of reformed Christianity, now internationalized in the worldwide Anglican Communion, is Trinitarian, incarnational and Christocentric; liturgical, pastoral and educational; gospel-focused, holiness-oriented and continuity-conscious. It rests on an explicit estimate of the canonical Scriptures as "God's Word written," which as such is sufficient for salvation (Article 6), a unity of gospel instruction (Article 7), the final authority for belief within the Christian fellowship (Articles 8, 20-22, etc.), and coherent throughout, so that as "it is not lawful for the church to ordain anything that is contrary to God's Word written," as "neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another" (Article 20).

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA (ACC) is constitutionally based on the Solemn Declaration of 1893, which expresses the intention that "this church...shall continue in full communion with the Church of England throughout the world," maintaining the "Doctrine, Sacraments and Discipline of Christ as the Lord hath commanded in his holy Word, and as the Church of England has received and set forth the same" in the Book of Common Prayer, including the Ordinal and the 39 Articles; and the determination to "transmit the same unimpaired to our posterity."

…over at VirtueOnline here.

Another Naughty Doodle on Certain Episcopal Behaviour and the Mess We're In

List and Learn: a Naughty Doodle

Goodies from JI Packer: Building on the Solid Rock, Burlington, Ontario

The great and Reverend Dr James I Packer on Global Realignment: Who we are and where we stand – A Theological Perspective. Some of the things he said that “lit up” for me:

• He spoke of ACC slippage from the Anglican heritage and the increasing isolation from the wider communion that has caused.


• He described the peace he has found in standing firm even though he finds no pleasure in it.


• He defined schism as unjustifiable and unwarrantable separation and as sin. The schismatics are the people who cause the division in the first place. In our present situation, members of ANiC are, therefore, not the schismatics, the innovators are. This is a realignment as a result of a schism perpetrated by revisionist Anglicans.


• He described the Anglican Heritage as “the most precious, the wisest and the richest in all Christendom.”

Amen.

Ottawa Synod

So the Diocese of Ottawa has moved closer to the precipice with same sex couples and marriage. LORD, have mercy. See the Anglican Journal story here.

The last General Synod resolution claiming that the blessing of same-sex unions is not in conflict with the core doctrine of The Anglican Church of Canada opened the door. If it is not in conflict, why not go ahead? After all, the same General Synod only narrowly defeated the resolution affirming the authority and jurisdiction of any diocesan synod, with the concurrence of its bishop, to authorize the blessing of committed same sex unions. Besides, New Westminster got away with it. At the moment, there is no real way to discipline such actions.

I voted against both motions; the first because I believe SSBs are in conflict with core Christian, if not Anglican, doctrines of Creation, and the Nature of Men and Women; the second because diocesan synods do not have the authority to go against the clear teaching of Scripture.

This is simply, tragically wrong.

The Synod of the Diocese of Montreal is about to meet and consider the same resolution.

Christ, have mercy.

How the Light Gets In: General Synod 2007

That our erstwhile Primate should give Leonard Cohen the last word in his remarks at the opening service of General Synod 2007 in Winnipeg sticks in my mind. The words were:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

They come from “Anthem,” a song on Cohen’s 1992 album The Future. They were delivered in the context of what Archbishop Hutchinson was saying about grappling with moral theology in the serious and potentially divisive issues we face.

Although Cohen is a Canadian icon and no mean poet, and although I appreciate the idea that the light of Jesus can, indeed, get in despite the "cracks" and imperfections in our lives, Cohen is far from a credible authority on matters of moral theology. The title track on that same album begins like this:

Give me back my broken night
my mirrored room, my secret life
it's lonely here,
there's no one left to torture
Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!

Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.

Not much light getting in through that particular crack.

The crack in the hull of a ship (or nave) is how the water that sinks it gets in. I am uncomfortably reminded of the “unsinkable” Titanic.

And was there the suggestion that a crack (or schism) in our ACC fabric would be a good thing, or is that just me?

It's quiet out there

Back home after General Synod 2007. Resting and wondering. Things have gone quiet in the Blogosphere as I write.

In the meantime, the latest Anglican Essentials Report has reponses from both the Federation and the Network:

A Message from the Anglican Essentials Federation…

Canadian Anglicans have been left trying to grasp all the implications of passing a motion declaring the blessing of same-sex relationships as “not in conflict” with Anglican doctrine – while, at the same time, rejecting the “local options” motion. Within that tension, we now await the response of the rest of our Communion and will be looking to the Communion for guidance in the work of answering the many questions this Synod has raised but not clearly answered.

The Federation gratefully acknowledges the bishops who gave leadership in these crucial debates – as well as the delegates who bravely championed orthodox views.

Please see our website for more information about Federation: www.anglicanfederation.ca

A Message from the Anglican Network in Canada…

Conflicting decisions of General Synod have once again caused confusion among Canadian Anglicans. By declaring that same sex blessings are not in conflict with Anglican core doctrine, while not proceeding with the explicit authorization of same sex blessings on a local option, many have been left wondering what it all means. Despite the news headlines, the Network believes the Anglican Church of Canada did NOT close the door on same sex blessings at General Synod but, in fact, opened the (doctrinal) side door for these blessings.

In addition to the above, by overwhelmingly refusing to take the steps specifically requested by the Primates, they have failed to repair the bonds of communion with the global church. In light of the Dromantine and Dar es Salaam Communiqués, we believe the Primates will see these actions as a clear indication that the Anglican Church of Canada has chosen to “walk apart”.

We are committed to remaining in full communion with the overwhelming majority of global Anglicans, who are, like us, committed to historic, biblically-faithful Anglicanism. We look forward to the response of the Primates to clarify what has happened and will be consulting with our membership regarding the best way forward in light of these decisions.

Please see our website for more information about Network: www.anglicannetwork.ca

It's quiet out there...too quiet?