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News – ANiC and AEN
ANiC and ACNA events calendar
May
12. 4pm – Ordination of the Rev Brian de Visser at St Peter’s & St Paul’s
Ottawa
May
26 – Healing retreat at St Luke’s Pembroke
May
27, 3pm – Ordinations of the Rev Anson Ann & Shihoko Warren, Good Shepherd
(Vancouver)
June
4 – ACNA Archbishop’s Cabinet meeting, Ridgecrest, NC
June
5 – ACNA College of Bishops meeting, Ridgecrest, NC
June
6 – ACNA Provincial Council meeting, Ridgecrest, NC
June
7-10 – ACNA Provincial Assembly, Ridgecrest, NC
June 10 – Inaugural
service for Christ the Redeemer (Iranian) church plant in North Vancouver, BC
June 11-12 – Asian &
Multicultural Ministries in Canada (AMMiC) conference, Vancouver
June 20 – Melvin Chen will be ordained deacon at Christ
the King, Toronto
June 22-23 – Anglican Fourth Day Province-wide Grand Ultreya, Montgomery, Alabama
July 31 – Aug 1 –
ACNA Archbishop’s Cabinet meeting, Pittsburgh, PA
August 1-2 - ACNA Executive
Committee meeting, Pittsburgh, PA
October TBA – ACNA Bishops/Clergy
& Spouse Retreat
November 14-16 – ANiC
synod, clergy day and lay conference in Ottawa
Our condolences
It
is with sadness mixed with great hope that we learnt of the death of Ceri Hynes,
wife of the Rev Howard Hynes, rector of St Stephen the Martyr (St John’s, NL). Ceri
had battled cancer for many years. Her requiem was held on May 5 with Bishop Don
presiding and Bishop Charlie preaching. Our love and deepest sympathy go to Howard
and their three teenaged children: Mafanwy, Anwen and Liam.
Healing ministry
May 26 – St Luke’s Pembroke,
ON is offering a "Healing the Whole Person" retreat on Saturday. May
26 9:30am to 4pm led by the Rev Canon Dr Mark Pearson. Canon Mark
has led retreats for ANiC churches before and comes very highly recommended. He
is a prolific author, speaker and director of a Christian renewal and healing
centre in New Hampshire. Registration is $25 and people are asked to bring a
bag lunch (snacks and drinks provided), however subsidies are available. You
can register by emailing St Luke’s or by calling the church office at 613-735-5000.
May 27, 7pm – Canon Mark then will lead a healing
service at St Peter & St Paul’s on Sunday evening May 27 (Pentecost).
May 25, 7pm – On the
Friday
evening prior to these events, Canon Mark will hold a training session at St Luke’s
for people involved in healing ministry. Those involved in the ministry of
healing and prayer are welcome. There is no charge.
Ordinations
Melvin
Chen will be ordained on June 20 at Christ the King, Toronto, as a transitional
deacon. Mel, who recently graduated from Wycliffe, is planting a multicultural church
in Toronto which will be a pioneer project of our Asian and Multicultural Ministry
(AMMiC). Mel and his family come from Singapore and have ministry experience in
Thailand. Please pray for Mel and his family as they embark on this new faith
adventure.
Julian Gibb will be
ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Trevor Walters in Phoenix, Arizona
on behalf of the local ACNA Bishop, Bill Thompson. Julian was a Regent student,
Artizo intern, and member of St John’s Vancouver.
Bishop Don Harvey
reports on the GAFCon leaders conference in London
While attending the Fellowship
of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) / GAFCon meetings in London,
I was invited to attend local parishes on the two Sundays I was in the area.
On April 29, I spend the morning at St Nicholas, Tooting where a
large, dynamic congregation has grown out of a church that was ready to be
closed. The congregation, in excess of 200, is family-oriented with a wide
range of ages and ethnic backgrounds. The Vicar, C J Davies (known to all as "CJ")
interviewed me about the situation in Canada that led to the formation of ANiC
and drew parallels to what is now happening in England. At the potluck luncheon
– for which well over 100 stayed – many questions were asked and
much appreciation was expressed for our efforts to remain faithful to Holy Scripture
and yet continue to be part of the Anglican family.
After the GAFCon meetings, I spent a delightful
weekend at Christ Church, Beckenham as the guest of the Vicar, Nicholas Wynn-Jones and his wife Harriet. On Friday
night, there was an information sharing evening with people present from nearby
parishes. On Sunday, after preaching, I again was "interviewed" by
one of the staff in a manner much like the previous week. While wanting to
share our message, the overall objective was to awaken people from their
complacency of thinking "it can't happen here".
In all respects, the GAFCon meeting, held at St
Mark's in Battersea, was extremely rewarding – both from the perspective of
excellent presentations, and even more so, for the "networking" and
chatting with others from around the Communion that was constant between
sessions.
One
afternoon I was interviewed in the plenary session by Archbishop Peter Jansen
(Sydney) concerning the situation in Canada and the witness we are attempting
to make. The long and sustained applause that followed indicated strong
approval and appreciation for what we are doing and was a confirmation that we
are recognized as part of our worldwide Anglican family. Throughout the Conference I was delighted to
have the Reverend Ray David Glenn as the other ANiC representative. He was
chosen to chair one of the morning sessions – which he did efficiently
and well.
People making news,
marking milestones
Bishop Malcolm Harding celebrates 50 years of
ordained ministry on May 20. He was ordained deacon at Trinity Church, Galt, Ontario
on 20 May 1962. Eleven years later, he was priested on 19 August 1973 at St
Paul’s Church in Dauphin, MB. His consecration as fifth Bishop of Brandon was
on 11 June 1992 at St Matthew’s Cathedral, Brandon, MB. Bishop Malcolm and
Marylou will also celebrate 50 years of marriage on October 27.
Congratulations
to the Rev Emmanuel Sadarak, rector of St John’s Surrey, who graduated from a
one-year course in English and theology at Christ for the Nations College on
April 21. Emmanuel+ was ordained in Sudan and pastors a primarily Sudanese
congregation.
Bishop
Ron and Jan Ferris’ son Ramesh was
interviewed by CTV recently in his role as an ambassador for the
eradication of polio. Bishop Ron is rector of Church of the
Ascension in Langley, BC.
Parish and regional news
Christ
the Redeemer (North Vancouver, BC) – A Persian (Iranian) congregation has
formed and is ministering to North Vancouver’s large Farsi-speaking community
– including people with roots in Iran, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. Known
as Christ the Redeemer, the congregation is a church plant initiative of St
John’s Vancouver in partnership with ANiC’s Asian and Multicultural Ministries in
Canada (AMMiC) under Bishop Stephen Leung. The congregation of about 30 has
been meeting regularly since 2011 for Sunday services (3pm) and mid-week Bible
studies.
Archdeacon
Dan Gifford is acting as priest-in-charge with Pastor Ahmad Shafghat assisting.
An official inauguration service will be held on June 10 at 3pm at Silver
Harbour Senior’s Centre, 144 East 22 Street, North Vancouver. All are welcome.
The 22 May 2011
St John’s Vancouver Parish Life Notes tell us a little about Pastor
Shafghat’s amazing story prior to coming to Canada:
“Pastor Shafghat was a
leader in the underground church in Iran for many years and was jailed for five
years in notorious Evian prison because of his Gospel work in Tehran. He and
[his wife] Muzjgan were smuggled out of Iran thirteen years ago and were
separated from Azita and Siavash [their daughter and son-in-law and St John’s
parishioners] then. They ended up in Athens, Greece where they began a ministry
to refugees from Tajikistan, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. On weekdays Muzjgan
feeds 600 refugees a day from a very simple kitchen. Pastor Shafghat shares the
Gospel after the meals and many have come to faith in the Lord Jesus as a
result. On Sundays he works as pastor of an Iranian church in Athens.”
St Luke’s (Pembroke, ON) is
rejoicing in the blessings of a busy spring and thriving E100 groups reading and studying Scripture.
A three-week series of leadership training nights were just kicked off with
twenty-five registrants. Breakfasts for women and gatherings for seniors have
been launched to rave reviews. Other parish ministries include marriage
preparation classes and confirmation classes for both adults and teens.
Saint
Matthew’s (Abbotsford, BC) has launched a website for its School of Life & Ministry. The school is designed to “systematically
train the laity in the fullness of Christian doctrine and practice with a view
to making mature disciples who in turn can make disciples.”
Good
Shepherd (Vancouver, BC) will hold a summer conference at Summit Park
Conference Centre in Abbotsford, BC on the weekend of June 29 – June 2. The
Rev Eric Thurston, Director of Training, Artizo Institute, is one of the
speakers, ministering in English, while the Rev Paul Chan will minister in
Cantonese. More information is on the Good Shepherd
website.
Please
email parish news to Marilyn or call 1-866-351-2642 ext 4020.
News – Anglican
Church in North America (ACNA)
Archbishop Bob Duncan video interview
In a surprisingly candid interview, Archbishop Bob discusses
behind-the-scenes of the Anglican Mission in the Americas debacle, the GAFCon
conference, the Fellowship of Confession Anglicans movement. He speculates that
upwards of a dozen Primates will join the GAFCon Primates Council by the May
2013 GAFCon 2 gathering. He also announced that10 Primates will attend ACNA’s
provincial assembly in June.
Legal
update
In a welcome move, seven current and retired US
Episcopal Church (TEC) bishops, together with the three TEC theologians behind
the Anglican Communion Institute, have signed and submitted a legal brief in the
Fort Worth case which contradicts a key plank of TEC’s legal argument. The
29-page document argues that TEC’s polity, as expressed in its canons and
constitution, is in fact hierarchical only at the diocesan level. “These amici curiae support the
traditional polity of The Episcopal Church founded on the autonomy of its
constituent dioceses and therefore submit that the trial court erred both as a
matter of fact and as a matter of law when it found that The Episcopal Church
has a hierarchical authority superior to the diocese and its bishop.”The signatories make it clear,
however, that they disagree with the Diocese or Fort Worth and Bishop Jack
Iker’s decision to realign out of TEC.
While applauding the courage of these TEC bishops
and priests, canon lawyer A S Haley (aka the Anglican Curmudgeon) expresses concern that they may now be subject
to disciplinary actions by the presiding bishop for having the temerity to
weaken her attorney’s case.
Developments
related to AMiA and former AMiC clergy and parishes
ACNA Archbishop Bob Duncan and the Primate of
Rwanda, Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje released
a join communiqué outlining the status of clergy and congregations
within (and formerly within) the Anglican Mission in the Americas.
There are three options
available: remain with Rwanda through PEARUSA, transfer to another Anglican
jurisdiction through letters dismissory, or follow the Anglican Mission into
its new venture. Provision and procedure for each of these options is available
or is being developed as rapidly as possible. (These materials will be
available through the www.pearusa.org website as they are developed.)
The Rwandan House of
Bishops asked that those AMiA bishops resigning from their house declare their
intention to move to another jurisdiction before the end of April. Bishop Chuck
Murphy and those remaining in AMiA have announced that they will be received
into the Congo House of Bishops.
Two
former AMiA bishops have recently joined the ACNA and will serve as honourary
temporary assistant bishops. Anglican Ink
reports that, “The Rt Rev TJ Johnston will serve
as an assistant bishop to the Rt Rev Foley Beach of the Anglican Diocese of the
South and the Rt Rev John Miller will serve as an assistant bishop to the Rt
Rev Neil Lebahr of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese…”. This
is in keeping with the Archbishops’ statement which said: “An AMiA bishop
received into ACNA will be received in the following manner:
| • |
Graciously
and willingly, as the Lord has received all of us, and with the understanding
and expectation that God’s love constantly transforms and renews us into the
image of Christ |
| • |
Into
a diocese or diocese in formation, that is, through proper ecclesiastical
interaction between Rwanda and the diocesan bishop |
| • |
As
an assisting bishop, which does not automatically seat one in the ACNA College
of Bishops |
| • |
Able
to give episcopal care to former AMiA churches and clergy that follow them into
that diocese, under the blessing of the diocesan bishop |
| • |
Prepared
to engage a process of full reconciliation with all parties wounded through the
actions of recent months |
Bishop Chuck Murphy issued a statement saying the AMiA had
successfully established a multi-jurisdictional mission society under retired
Archbishops Emmanuel Kolini, Moses Tay and Yong Ping Chung, as well as current
Primates Henri Isingoma (Congo) and Eliud Wabukala (Kenya). However, Anglican Ink reports that Archbishop Wabukala
has since withdrawn.
This week’s Anglican Unscripted newsmagazine video provides
some background and a video interview with Archbishop Bob Duncan which offers
detailed insight into the matter.
Please continue to pray for ANiC’s Bishop Charlie
Masters as he, together with Archbishop Leonard Riches, works on behalf of ACNA
to facilitate reconciliation and restored relations among all the parties
involved in this messy situation.
Legal
matters
Christ Church Savannah (Georgia), one of three
churches that had appealed to the Supreme Court of the US over issues of
property, has withdrawn
its appeal and settled with the Episcopal Church
diocese. The diocese had sued the church leaders for over $1-million. This
settlement relieves the church leaders of this threat. For a full discussion of
this settlement see canon law expert A S Haley’s blog, Anglican Curmudgeon.
How
Anglicans in TEC and ACNA work together
Bishops John Guernsey of
ACNA and Mark Lawrence of the Episcopal Church Diocese of South Carolina joined
forced to speak at Holy Trinity Claygate on the subject of how it is possible
to fellowship and work together for sake of the Gospel across organizational
boundaries. Audio of the session is available
online.
Tearing the fabric of Communion documented and
updated
The American Anglican Council
(AAC) has updated its 2009 summary of actions and statements by US Episcopal
Church leaders that violate Biblical doctrine and Communion teaching. "Tearing
the Fabric 2012" is available on the AAC
website. The document catalogs heresies, describes the fruits of
TEC’s new theology, documents its declining membership, and details litigation,
harassment and uncanonical actions.
Global Anglican Communion
update
GAFCon Leaders Conference marks milestone for
evangelicals in the Communion
The recently concluded
Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCon) leaders’ conference, April 23-27, in
London was a great encouragement to all participants. Over 200 leaders from 30
countries and 25 Anglican provinces participated in the conference. [Note:
Meetings of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) are known as GAFCon
meetings, while the global movement itself is known as the FCA.]
Documents, audio and video
of selected sessions, photos, media documents and some very encouraging
interviews are posted on the GAFCon
website as well as on Facebook.
(Be sure to “like” FCA on Facebook!) The final
statement for the conference is on the FCA website.
From the news-making
standpoint, there were several key developments:
| • |
The GAFCon primates,
meeting prior to the conference, issued a statement calling for the chair of the Primates meeting, one of the so-called
“Instruments of Unity”, to be elected by the Primates rather than to
automatically fall to the Archbishop of Canterbury. For more on this, see a Church Times
article. |
| • |
GAFCon 2 (ie the second
Global Anglican Future Conference) is planned for May 2013 at a venue to be
announced. |
The
chairman of GAFCon primates’ council and the FCA, the Most Rev Eliud Wabukala
(Kenya) opened the conference with a
keynote address on the identity of confessing Anglicans in light of
the current crisis. He noted that, “The heart of the crisis we face is not only
institutional, but spiritual.” He called for a renewed focus on evangelism and
for new Communion structures that would help, not hinder, the task of
evangelism – built on the model of councilor leadership modeled by the
GAFCon Primates’ Council.
In
speaking of the work of the GAFCon primates, he commented, “Since
2008, we have acted, perhaps not always as quickly or as clearly as we should,
but there has been action. In accordance with the Jerusalem Declaration, the
GAFCON primates sponsored the Anglican Church in North America as a new
province and ceased to be in communion with The Episcopal Church of the United
States and the Anglican Church of Canada. It is a cause of great joy to see
that despite aggressive use of the courts and the loss of property which
previous generations intended for the work of the gospel, the ACNA is far from
being just a place of shelter for the wounded. It is dynamic missionary body
which is growing remarkably through visionary church planting.”
According to a media
release, in his plenary address, “Bishop
[Michael] Nazir-Ali concluded that the Anglican “Instruments of Unity” have
failed dramatically and that the FCA is called to model a biblical way for the
churches of the Anglican Communion to gather and relate to one another so as to
carry out the Great Commission in the coming decades.”
Conference
participants formed a number of networks in order to pursue ongoing work in
areas vital to the FCA movement. These networks include:
| • |
Episcopal leaders –
a forum for bishops to encourage one another, improve communication and welcome
new members to the FCA |
| • |
Pastors –
a forum for pastors to provide mutual encouragement and develop Christian
discipleship |
| • |
Evangelists –
a forum to equip lay evangelists and church planters to proclaim the gospel,
edify the church and serve society |
| • |
Women in ministry –
a forum for women to share challenges and resources and pray together |
| • |
Theological educators – a forum to encourage and train theological
educators in developing Biblical patterns of theological education, to resist
revisionist intrusions and to share theological resources |
| • |
Cross-cultural workers – a forum for cross-cultural workers to share
their needs and to connect to available resources and networks |
| • |
Aid and development workers – a forum to promote a biblical theology of
development, which includes economic empowerment and self-sustainability |
| • |
Lawyers –
a forum for lawyers to assist the FCA in the pursuit of its mission and to
offer members counsel in matters of civil and canon law. |
In
concluding the conference, Archbishop Peter Jensen (Sydney, Australia), the FCA
General Secretary, challenged participants to commit to:
| • |
reaffirm
the Jerusalem
Declaration |
| • |
commend
the Jerusalem Declaration to others as the basis for resolving the spiritual
crisis currently besetting the Anglican Communion |
| • |
invite
Anglicans around the world to join FCA in order to serve Christ and his mission |
| • |
promote
and fund the networks in their various aims to strengthen the Church |
| • |
create
a network for ministry among young people |
| • |
pray
for the work and ministry of FCA and for each other |
At the conference, a statement from the Anglican Mission in England and FCA England reminded members of the
Church of England, that through FCA England “those who might otherwise have
been under pressure to leave the Church of England [CoE] can remain within the
family of global Anglicanism” regardless of what transpires in coming months
with the CoE on matters of theology and ministry.
Media coverage of the
conference included a Church Times
article which provides an overview of the event and comprehensive coverage on VirtueOnline.
Journalists Kevin Kallsen
and George Conger bantering in a recent
edition of the Anglican Unscripted newsmagazine video take a swipe
at GAFCon and the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans for their poor
communication and branding – and the confusion between the two entities.
Other news in brief
Canada
The annual Cranmer Conference will be held at Church
of St John the Divine in North Bay, Ontario, August 24-26. It aims to provide 19-29
year olds with sound theological teaching.
Canada
The Church of
England Newspaper reports that some Anglican Church of
Canada dioceses in eastern Canada – including Montreal, Quebec,
Fredericton, Nova Scotia and PEI, Western Newfoundland, Central Newfoundland
and Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador – may merge to form fewer larger
dioceses. In addition to realigning dioceses, there is consideration of “centralizing
diocese-based administrative functions such as human resources, payroll and
information technology”. The actions are proposed to decrease costs and address
dwindling numbers of parishioners.
England
All Souls
Church Langham Place (London) is appealing for volunteers to help tag its 3600
archived sermons and talks – including many delivered by the Rev John
Stott. For information on how you can help, see the
church website.
Sudan
The Anglican
Communion News Service reports that Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak
“…who was instrumental in delivering peace to Sudan has raised the spectre of
full-blown war and appealed for restraint from the presidents of Sudan and
South Sudan.” He said, “We should learn from the 55 years of war not to return
to it so hastily. The blood of those who fought for peace should not have been
poured in vain. We call on all sides to exercise restraint and pursue peace at
all costs. God is on the side of those who seek peace.” The report adds that
with the rise in tensions, “…there have been attacks against Christina churches
in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital.”
Nigeria
The Church Times reports Archbishop Nicholas Okoh
(Nigeria) told the British House of Lords that the violence against Christians
in Nigeria was perpetrated by Muslim extremists known as Boko Haram. He
speculated that Boko Haram’s attacks were, in part, politically motivated. Writing
for the BBC, a former resident describes the affects of the violence
on his home area.
Soul food
Did you know?
The Book of Common Prayer – at least the 1662 edition
– is 350 years
old. The first Prayer Book was published in 1549.
Church websites
The
Sydney Anglican website offers good
advice for those responsible for parish websites. The author
suggests that newcomers and seekers should be seen as the primary audience. He
writes, “Our websites are an easy entry-point to Christian things, for people
who want to know more, but aren't ready to visit yet. This doesn't mean the
church website should be unhelpful for members - it just means that their needs
are secondary to the needs of those who aren't yet there.” The article links to
particularly good examples of church websites.
Just for fun
The local news station was
interviewing an 80-year-old lady because she had just gotten married for the
fourth time. (Her previous 3 husbands had passed away.) The interviewer asked
her questions about her life, about what it felt like to be marrying again at
80, and then about her new husband's occupation. "He's a funeral
director," she answered.
"Interesting,"
the newsman thought.
He then asked her if she
wouldn't mind telling him a little about her first three husbands and what they
did for a living. She paused for a few moments, needing time to reflect on all
those years.
After a short time, a
smile came to her face and she answered proudly, explaining that she had first married
a banker when she was in her early 20's, then a circus ringmaster when in her
40's, and a preacher when in her 60's, and now in her 80's, a funeral director.
The interviewer looked at
her, quite astonished, and asked why she had married four men with such diverse
careers.
She smiled and explained,
"I married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and
four to go."
And now a word from our sponsor
Now this I say and testify
in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility
of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the
life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of
heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy
to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned
Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as
the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former
manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in
the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the
likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore, having put away
falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are
members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on
your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer
steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that
he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come
out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the
occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy
Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all
bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you,
along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:17-32 ESV
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