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News – ANiC and AEN
ANiC and ACNA events calendar
May
26 – Healing retreat at St Luke’s Pembroke,
ON
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 in Vancouver
June 20 – Melvin Tai will be ordained deacon
at Christ
the King, Toronto
June 22-23 – Anglican Fourth Day Province-wide Grand Ultreya, Montgomery, Alabama
June 29 – Ordination
of Jesse Martin to the diaconate at St Peter &
St Paul’s, Ottawa
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
March 12-14 – 2013 Clergy
Retreat at Cedar Springs, Washington
Welcome!
ANiC welcomes the Rev
Barclay Mayo and his wife Mary who are building a street mission in Squamish,
BC. Mountain Valley Mission is
“focused outwards in Christian service to the Squamish Community”… pursuing “an
intentional commitment to helping those from the Squamish area who are at risk
through poverty and addictions”. You can see Bishop Don’s welcoming announcement.
Ordinations
Jesse
Martin, a recent Regent grad and a product of the Artizo ministry leadership training program,
will be ordained a deacon by Bishop Charlie Masters at St Peter & St Paul’s
(Ottawa, ON) on June 29. Jesse will assume his duties as assistant curate as St
Peter & St Paul’s on July 1. Please pray for Jesse, his wife Jen and two
young children. Jen has served as director of children’s ministries at St John’s
Vancouver.
Please
also remember in prayer the three others being ordained in the next few weeks:
Please pray for our bishops
The following overview of activities
will help us pray more specifically for our bishops’ ministries.
| • |
On May 18, Bishops Don,
Charlie and Stephen met with Dr George Sumner, principal of Wycliffe College,
regarding the theological training of ANiC students. |
| • |
All of ANiC’s active
bishops will participate in the ACNA College of Bishops and the Provincial
Assembly meetings in North Carolina in early June. |
Bishop Don Harvey, this time accompanied by
Trudy, begins his annual "Busman's Holiday" on May 22 by driving
through the Maritimes, down into New England, and finally to North Carolina. They
will be with ANiC parishes in New Brunswick on Pentecost Sunday (May 27), then drive
down to Rutland, Vermont, where Bishop Don will confirm seven candidates at All
Saints on May 30. This will be followed by ministry at Sunday service at Holy Trinity,
Marlborough, MA. And finally to North Carolina for a full week of meetings
beginning with the Archbishop’s Cabinet meeting and ending with the Provincial
Assembly. The following week they will spend at Ridgecrest, North Carolina for
meetings of the Cabinet, the Executive and the Provincial Assembly. Finally, he
say’s, “a relaxing drive back home” should get them to St. John's by mid-June.
On Pentecost Sunday (May 27), Bishop Don marks the 48th anniversary of his ordination to the sacred priesthood. We join
him in expressing our gratitude to God for these years of ministry.
Bishop Charlie Masters will
preside at a confirmation service at Grace Anglican (Mississippi Mills, ON) on
May 26 – which is also the congregation’s fifth anniversary celebration. Then,
on May 27, he joins the people of St Hilda’s (Oakville, ON) as they mark their
transition from their long-time worship and ministry facilities to their new
place of worship. Later, on the weekend of June 16 and 17, he will be with the
people of St Peter & St Paul’s Ottawa to fete long-time rector David
Crawley+ and lead the induction service for Paul Donison+.
Please continue to pray
for Bishop Charlie as he represents ACNA in working with current and former
AMiA (Anglican Mission in the Americas) bishops to resolve this situation for
God’s glory.
Bishop Stephen Leung, in
addition to his ongoing ministry as rector of Good Shepherd, Vancouver, gives
leadership to ANiC’s Asian and Multicultural Ministry (AMMiC) which is
currently evangelizing, discipling and growing congregations in Calgary,
Toronto and Greater Vancouver. In the coming month he will be:
| • |
preparing three ordinands
for their ordination and subsequent ministry within AMMiC; |
| • |
preaching at the June 10
inaugural service for Christ the Redeemer, ANiC’s Farsi-speaking congregation
in North Vancouver, BC; and |
| • |
preparing for and leading
a mini-conference at Regent College (Vancouver) on June 11-12 for Christian leaders focused on
intergenerational issues in the Asian community. All are welcome! Please pray
for God’s blessing on this conference. |
Bishop
Trevor Walters recently accompanied Bishop Charles and Claudia Dorrington on a
mission trip to Cuba where there are now 12 churches and six church plants as a
result of the Dorrington’s faithful ministry. Bishop Dorrington, who is the
diocesan bishop for the Reformed
Episcopal Church (REC) Diocese of Western
Canada and Alaska and the Mission District of Cuba, has ministered
in Cuba, together with his wife, for one month each year for the past 10 years.
Please pray for official recognition for these REC churches in Cuba so they
will be allowed to gather in larger buildings. Currently, since the REC is not
a recognized denomination, these churches are restricted to gathering in homes.
Bishop
Trevor was inspired by the many testimonies he heard of transformed lives and
by the eagerness of non-Christians to discuss spiritual matters. He plans to
work with Hungry for Life to “take a
group of ANiC clergy at no cost to themselves to see this miracle in Cuba. Of
course we hope that the clergy upon being inspired would adopt a Cuban clergy
for less than a hundred dollars a month covering salary and expenses.”
Bishop
Trevor also recently had a confirmation service at St John’s Vancouver and a
baptism at Saint Matthew’s Abbotsford. On
June 20-27, he will participate
with four other ACNA bishops and five Anglican Mission in America (AMiA)
bishops in a leadership program designed to build relationships.
Parish and regional news
St Peter & St Paul’s (Ottawa, ON) has
a busy June planned. On June 16 the Rev David Crawley who has served for 19
years as rector will be feted at a celebration service and banquet. Then on
Sunday, June 17, current assistant priest, the Rev Paul Donison will be
instituted and inducted as rector at the 10am service. David+ will move into a
new, part-time ministry at St Peter & St Paul’s in pastoral care and
healing. Finally, on June 29, the Feast of St Peter and St Paul, Jesse Martin
will be ordained to the diaconate and will become assistant curate in the
parish on July 1.
On May 27, St Hilda’s (Oakville, ON) will mark the
last Sunday the congregation will worship in its long-time building. The new facility
is the Knights of Columbus hall at 1494 Wallace Road, Oakville. Despite the
upcoming move, the congregation has been busy with their usual ministries. For
example, you can see photos of St Hilda’s annual garage sale
give-away. Please pray for this congregation during this time of
transition.
Good
Shepherd (Vancouver, BC) will hold a summer conference at Summit Park
Conference Centre in Abbotsford, BC on the weekend of June 29 – July 2
which is open to all. 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. You are welcome to join in and bring your
non-Christian friends. More information is on the Good Shepherd website.
Grace Anglican (Mississippi Mills,
ON) is celebrating its fifth anniversary on May 26, 1pm with a
service of confirmation with Bishop Charlie.
All Saint’s (Rutland, VT) –
Bishop Don will confirm seven candidates on May 30.
Please
email parish news to Marilyn or call 1-866-351-2642 ext 4020.
News – Anglican Church
in North America (ACNA)
More bishops and churches move from AMiA to join
ACNA
Anglican Ink reports that Bishop Todd Hunter
has come under the ecclesial authority of Archbishop Bob Duncan. Bishop Hunter
will not be a diocesan bishop but will continue to lead his “churches for the
sake of others” (C4SO) church planting movement. The article indicates that
Bishop Hunter made the move because he was, as a matter of first principles,
wanting to further the cause of unity. It continues, “Bishop
Hunter also stated that he had asked for and had received forgiveness from the
Primate of Rwanda, Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje for “my part in actions,
attitudes or communications that were hurtful to him or to my brother bishops
in Rwanda.””
The same article states that Bishop Silas Ng, the
sole Canadian bishop in AMiA, has announced that he will remain in AMiA and
follow Bishop Chuck Murphy to the Congo, under Congolese Primate Archbishop
Henri Isingoma. However, this ecclesial arrangement seems to be short-term.
In their latest weekly video commentary, Anglican Unscripted, journalists Kevin Kallsen and George Conger corrected
their earlier mistake in suggesting that the way in which bishops have been
admitted to ACNA from the AMiA was uncanonical and unAnglican. It’s worth listening to ACNA’s Canon Phil Ashey
explain how the admission of former AMiA bishops is being handled in accordance
with ACNA’s – and the dioceses’ – canons. (The interview starts at
about the 22 minute mark of the program.) Kevin and George conclude by giving
kudos to ACNA for their gracious response to the reporting error.
As one of those charged with developing ACNA’s
canons, Canon Ashey ably explains the principles governing the canons –
especially the principle of subsidiarity, which means that power is pushed down
to the lowest level possible within Anglican polity. He explains that the
canons of the dioceses’ which have admitted these bishops as assisting bishops explicitly
allows this and the ACNA canons give the dioceses this power. However, the ACNA
canons require that bishops with jurisdiction – diocesan, coadjutor, and
suffragan bishops – must receive the consent of ACNA’s House of Bishops. ACNA
canons do allow for non-jurisdictional bishops with special missions. Canon
Ashey also explains that drafters of ACNA’s canons, tried to ensure they were
as transparent and readable as possible. The entire ACNA canons document is
only 36 pages long.
A
booming church plant
The Washington Post has a great article on an ACNA
church plant in Virginia that is growing rapidly despite meeting in a school
cafeteria. One “take away” is the importance of being rooted and actively
involved in the life of the community.
A
“province among provinces”
Reflecting
on the recent meeting of global Anglican leaders organized by the
Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, the Ven Dr Jack Lumanog, ACNA’s Canon
for Provincial and Global Mission a conference delegate, said:
“It was encouraging to see
the Anglican Church in North America treated as a Province among Provinces. We’re
no longer a fledgling Province in the eyes of the other Primates. FCA is the
future of what’s happening in the Anglican Communion – in Africa, Asia,
North America and South America. We’re seeing a revival take place. We have to
go where God is leading and this is the future.”
More than 200 bishops,
clergy and laity from 30 countries and 25 provinces attended the event in
London April 23-27. GAFCon 2, a Global Anglican Future Conference modeled on
the game-changing GAFCon 1 in Jerusalem in 2008, is planned for next May at a
yet-to-be-named location.
Legal
update
The Los Angeles Times
reports that A California court has “ruled in favor of the Episcopal Church in its long-running legal dispute over the
rightful ownership of the properties of two congregations that seceded from the
church years ago”. The two churches are: St David's Anglican Church in North
Hollywood and All Saints Anglican Church in Long Beach.
Global Anglican Communion
update
Addresses from the GAFCon leaders conference in London
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali’s
address at the GAFCon leaders conference, entitled "Jesus, Lord of His
Church and of the Church’s Mission", is now available
online. Other addresses, as well as video and audio from the
conference which was organized by the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, are
available on the GAFCon
website. Papers on
Anglican ecclesiology might be of particular interest to some.
Other news in brief
Canada
Bishop William Anderson of the Anglican Church
of Canada’s Diocese of Caledonia argues that theologically marriage cannot be
redefined in an Anglican
Journal article precipitated by President Barack Obama’s announced
support of “same-sex marriage”.
According to a report on the
diocese’s website, the recent Diocese of New Westminster synod, held
in part in the facilities of St John’s Shaughnessy, passed a
motion “…requested that the Bishop lift the partial moratorium that has been in
place since 2005 and authorize priests of the Diocese of New Westminster to
bless the civil marriages of gay and lesbian couples in those parishes that
support this pastoral act…. Bishop Michael responded by saying that he will
think about this decision...”
United States
The Church of
England Newspaper reports that “On 3 May 2012
delegates to the church assembly meeting in Tampa voted by a 60 per cent to 40
per cent margin to affirm the church’s traditional teaching in the Book of
Discipline on human sexuality” which states that homosexual practice is “incompatible
with Christian teaching”.
England
The
Telegraph reports that, “the
Church’s House of Bishops gave its approval to legislation to admit women to
the episcopacy and rejected a series of attempts to significantly water down
the powers of future female bishops… In theory the vote clears the way for the
church’s General Synod to have a final vote on the issue in July. But there
were signs… that the compromise failed to satisfy either side in the debate.”
The Times
reports that “The Church of England faces a
significant rebellion from thousands of women from within its own ranks
tomorrow when they launch a protest against the ordination of women bishops.
More than 2,200 Anglican women who oppose women bishops will present a petition
to the Church’s bishops who are meeting in York in preparation for the General
Synod in July which will debate the issue.”
Archbishop Barry Morgan (Wales) was added to the committee charged with nominating the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop
Morgan like the majority on the Crown Nominations Commission for Canterbury is
theologically “liberal”.
The Anglican
Communion News Service reports that “The historic Anglican mission
agency CMS (Church Mission Society) is re-advertising for an Executive Leader…
The agency, founded in 1799, now has more than 2500 members and over 200 global
mission partners. It is seeking "a spiritually mature, committed
Christian, passionate about mission and prayer… someone with experience of
cross-cultural working, collaboration and partnership and a strong track
record of leading change in an influential, complex organisation.” For more
information see the CMS website. The closing date is May 21.
Wales
The Church of
England Newspaper reports that “The Church in Wales has declined to
endorse the Anglican Covenant. The Governing Body – the Welsh church’s
general synod – on 18 April 2012 passed a motion calling for further
study of the covenant in light of its failure to be affirmed by a majority of
dioceses of the Church of England.”
Ireland
TheChurch of Ireland General Synod, despite moves to prevent the issue
from coming to a vote, passed a
motion which states in part that ““The Church of
Ireland affirms, according to our Lord’s teaching that marriage is in its
purpose a union permanent and life-long, for better or worse, till death do
them part, of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either
side, for the procreation and nurture of children, for the hallowing and right
direction of the natural instincts and affections, and for the mutual society,
help and comfort which the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity
and adversity.”
Singapore
The newly elected bishop-designate of Singapore, replacing Archbishop John Chew, is the Rt Rev
Rennis Ponniah. Bishop Ponniah is a highly regarded Bible teacher and will be a
speaker at the ACNA Assembly in North Carolina in June.
South Sudan
The Anglican
Communion news Service reports that Episcopal and Catholic bishops
from South Sudan have released a statement calling for an end to the
hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan. Modeled after Martin Luther King’s
famous “I have a dream” speech, the statement also urges the international
community to “apply pressure where it is needed to bring a just
and lasting peace”.
Kenya
Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, a widower, married the Rev Rhoda Luvuno in Mombasa recently. However, some clergy expressed
concern that the normal announcement of banns had been neglected, setting a
poor example for other parishioners.
Myanmar
The Archbishop of Myanmar, Stephen Than Myint Oo, has expressed
concern that the changes that have finally come to his country are happening
too fast and could prove detrimental to the people. A news release from the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
(USPG) says, “The Archbishop of Myanmar has warned that political change is
happening so fast that his country could be swamped by consumerism and
competition… [Archbishop Stephen] said: ‘Myanmar is at the crossroad of big
change. It is more important than ever that people remember us in prayer.
Together we must be more active and more conscious, and there must be more
learning and more co-operation’.”
Nigeria
The Church of
England Newspaper reports that “At least 20 people were killed in two attacks on
churches by the militant Islamist terror group Boko Haram in Nigeria on Sunday,
while Islamist extremists have been blamed for a Sunday morning attack on a
church in Nairobi that has left one dead… [These] are the latest in a series of
attacks that police blame on Boko Haram – a militant Muslim group that
seeks to impose Sharia law on Nigeria and to expel or convert the country’s
Christians. On Easter Sunday, 36 people were killed… while on Christmas Day 37
people were killed in church bombings.
Soul food
Book of Common Prayer
The
Rev John Richardson (aka The Ugley Vicar) provides an informative
overview of the origin and evolution of the Book of Common Prayer.
Have we bought into the idol of “self fulfilment”?
There’s a helpful
article on the Gospel Coalition website that explains why the
continued moral decline in society is happening so quickly and why the church
seems to lack both the will and the moral authority to “stand in the gap”. By
accepted much of the same idolatrous thinking in excusing our own sins, we
eject “a God who calls us sinners… [and who] calls on us to deny ourselves” in
favour of a God who blesses “the vain pursuit of self-fulfillment”.
The delicate question of church music
A US Episcopal
Church study on the feasibility of revising its 1982 hymnal found
that congregants were decidedly opposed to the idea, especially those under 30
and over 60. The opposition to revision was consistent across regions and
across the urban/rural divided. Among the clergy, those most likely to favour
revision were females and those who were middle-aged. Congregants also stated a
preference for singing over listening to music, however choir quality was still
considered important. The study also found that “…those congregations which
are using full service bulletins, as opposed to an order of service along with
prayer book and hymnal, experience greater growth in average Sunday attendance…”.
Just for laughs
A
lady and her husband were out for a walk when the lady collapsed. Immediately, the
husband called 911.
Operator:
"Where are you?"
Husband:
"On Eucalyptus Road."
Operator:
"Can you spell that for me?"
Husband:
"Um… er… well... How ‘bout I drag her over to Oak Street and you pick her
up there?"
I
just got a call from a charity asking me to donate some of my clothes to the
starving people around the world. I told them to forget it. Anybody who fits
into my clothes ain't starving!
www.mikeysFunnies.com
And now a word from our sponsor
“Seek the LORD while he
may be found; call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the
LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will
abundantly pardon.
“For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts
than your thoughts.
“For as the rain and the
snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and
sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that
goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish
that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the
hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field
shall clap their hands.
“Instead of the thorn
shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name
for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Isaiah 55:6-13 ESV
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