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1) http://members.shaw.ca/bc.christian.ashram/ British Columbia Christian Ashram (Retreat) Where Jesus is Lord
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Thursday, July 28th (6 p.m.) To Sunday, July 31st (12 noon) At Camp Alexandra 2916 McBride Ave., Crescent Beach, B.C. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Our Christian Ashram Leaders
Keynote Speaker/Evangelist: Bishop Sandy Greene From Colorado, USA (Anglican Mission In America, A Missionary Arm of the Anglican Province of Rwanda)
Bible Teacher: Todd Wiebe, Pastor, Sutherland Church, North Vancouver, BC Church-In-Action: Rev John+ and Bev Lombard, Gateway WEC Training Centre, Youth Leader: Brad Madu, Youth Pastor, Christ the Redeemer, Cloverdale, BC
Music Ministry: Ed+ & Janice Hird, St. Simon's Church North Vancouver, ACiC
*** If You Need Special Food or have Physical Limitations ***
Please tell us on Your Registration Form. Thank You!
email ed_hird@telus.net for Registration Forms or phone Norma Carruthers at 604-533-5509
All Registration Forms should be in by July 21st, 2005 to help the Camp Staff's planning.
* * * * * Save Money by Registering BEFORE July 14th * * * * *
"Come and join us for a renewing spiritual retreat and a refreshing vacation." For more info, click on http://members.shaw.ca/bc.christian.ashram/
2a) http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/ Anglican Mainstream International Akinola - ECUSA and Canada must withdraw 8th April 2005 In an open letter to the Nigerian House of Bishops, Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria, has clarified the position presented by the Primate's Communiqué. He writes, "the Primates do not expect ECUSA and the Canadian church to participate in ANY of the structures of the Communion until they have chosen to respect the mind of the Communion."
2b)http://titusonenine.classicalanglican.net/index.php?p=5942 http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2318 News : NIGERIA: Archbishop Akinola on the Primates Communique & ECUSA's HoB Posted by Robert Turner on 2005/4/8 9:00:00
A letter from the Primate of all Nigeria to the House of Bishops and the members of the Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria
My sisters and brothers:
Greetings in the name of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I am grateful for our fellowship in the Gospel during these difficult days within the worldwide Anglican Communion and I am still rejoicing at the memory of our time together in Kaduna. I am also thankful that while we are all engaged in many different expressions of practical concern for the poor and the oppressed at home and abroad, we share a common commitment to the primary mission of the Church, which is to proclaim redemption from sin and the promise of life eternal through faith in Jesus Christ.
I now write to you in response to the recent Covenant statement from ECUSA's House of Bishops during their spring meeting in Camp Allen, Texas and also because there have been a number of misleading reports about the recent Primates' meeting in Northern Ireland.
While the statement issued by ECUSA's House of Bishops expressed a desire to remain in the life and mission of the Anglican Communion, I was disappointed that the only regret offered was for their failure to consult and the effect of their actions instead of an admission that what they have done has offended God and His Church. As was pointed out in the Primates Communiqué issued in February 'the underlying reality of our communion in God the Holy Trinity is obscured, and the effectiveness of our common mission severely hindered." ECUSA has yet to grasp this reality and still appears to be chasing shadows. Until this is recognized, there can be no hope of meaningful reconciliation.
The statement answered the call for a moratorium with regard to the ordinations of non-celibate homosexuals with a pledge to withhold consent to the consecration of any bishop until 2006 - I find this response to be disingenuous since it holds the entire church to ransom for the sin of a few. While they have claimed to answer the call for moratorium on the blessing of same-sex unions, we know that there are Dioceses where the clergy are still continuing the practice of blessing same-sex partnerships with the Bishops' explicit permission. I find this duplicitous and I would point out that the underlying issue is not a temporary cessation of these practices but a decision to renounce them and demonstrate a willing embrace of the same teaching on matters of sexual morality as is generally accepted throughout the Communion and described in Lambeth Resolution 1.10.
With regard to the Primates meeting in Ireland, I find it highly offensive to hear claims that a group of us were influenced by external forces into taking stands that we would not otherwise have taken. There is absolutely no merit to these claims and I am saddened that there are those who wish to perpetuate this malevolent falsehood. Our actions and agreements were the result of prayerful deliberation and principled conviction. The idea that orthodox Americans manipulated us is an insult - in truth we in the Global South have been challenging them to stand firm. And there were a number of us who felt that the recommendations did not go far enough but out of respect for the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, we were willing to leave space for serious reflection and genuine repentance.
I was appalled by statements claiming that the devil was wandering the halls of the Dromantine Retreat Center - perhaps those who make such observations should first look within themselves before they accuse others. Many of us believe that what we achieved in our time together was due to the work of God's Holy Spirit, and to claim otherwise is blasphemous.
I have noted with disappointment that there are those in ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada who are suggesting that these Provinces should defy the Primates' request that they voluntarily withdraw their members from the next meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council. I would urge the appointed leadership of these Provinces to weigh seriously the consequences of such actions if indeed there is to be any hope of the reconciliation and healing that we all seek. Moreover I believe that it is an accurate sense of our meeting to say that the Primates do not expect ECUSA and the Canadian church to participate in ANY of the structures of the Communion until they have chosen to respect the mind of the Communion. Until they decide to return - something for which we earnestly pray - the sad truth is that they have walked away from the Communion.
Finally, I need to address the important matter of provincial and diocesan boundaries. As I have repeatedly reaffirmed, maintaining good order is important for the work of the Gospel but it can never be used to silence those who are standing for the Faith and resisting doctrinal error. It was our common understanding in Newry that the extraordinary pastoral relationships and initiatives now underway would be maintained until this crisis is resolved. If, however, the measures proposed in our Communiqué to protect the legitimate needs of groups in serious theological disputes prove to be ineffectual, and if acts of oppression against those who seek to uphold our common faith persist, then we will have no choice but to offer safe harbour for those in distress.
These are challenging days for our common life and witness, they are also a glorious opportunity for us to demonstrate the truth that we serve the living God who can make all things new. May we all make every effort to submit our lives to His gracious will so that we may all be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
The Lord be with you.
Sincerely yours,
+Peter Abuja
-The Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola is Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa.
2c) http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2319 News : NIGERIA: Archbishop Akinola to Nigerian Anglicans in North America Posted by Robert Turner on 2005/4/8 8:30:00
Archbishop Peter Akinola: A Word to Nigerian Anglicans in North America
From the Primate of all Nigeria, Archbishop Peter J. Akinola:
Greetings in the name of our risen Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
It has been my privilege to meet Nigerian Anglicans in places across America including Washington D.C., New York City, Houston, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis and Chicago. I have witnessed your faithfulness and seen what a blessing you are, both to those who share our love for the Lord Jesus and also those who have yet to hear the good news of His love.
I have also become aware of the challenging circumstances in which many of you find yourselves because of the actions of ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada. By their recent decisions, they have torn the fabric of our common life and have jeopardized your lives and ministries. This is a tragic reality that cannot be ignored. While it remains my prayer that ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada will repent and embrace the teaching of the Communion, their actions have placed an obligation upon me to provide for the proper and continuing pastoral and episcopal oversight for Nigerian churches in North America.
It is well known that many Nigerian Anglicans who live in the North America are no longer able to worship in an Anglican church, some have drifted to other churches, and others have even given up the faith. I well remember one woman coming to me during one of my visits and, with tears, saying she could no longer worship in an ECUSA church and that her whole family no longer had a church home, yet they would prefer to remain faithful Anglicans. In saying this she spoke for many others.
Several of our Nigerian clergy in America have been informed they can no longer work in an Episcopal diocese or have had their funding cut. Finally, the unilateral dismissal by the Presiding Bishop of the Chaplain we had jointly appointed to minister to Nigerian congregations illustrates the extent of the brokenness of our relationship and underlines the need to provide alternative structures for episcopal and pastoral care.
After much prayer and careful discernment with appropriate colleagues and advisors over the last two years, and in full consultation with the Nigerian congregations in America, together with the enthusiastic endorsement of the Episcopal Synod and the Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), we announce the formation of the Convocation of Anglican Nigerian Churches in America.
This Convocation will function as a ministry of the Church of Nigeria in America. Our intention is not to challenge or intervene in the churches of ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada but rather to provide safe harbour for those who can no longer find their spiritual home in those churches. While it will initially operate under our Constitution and Canons, it will have its own legal and ecclesial structure and local suffragan episcopate. I will be asking the next General Synod of the Church of Nigeria, which will meet in September 2005, to make the necessary constitutional amendments.
During the intervening months, in cooperation with our friends in the Anglican Communion Network, I will be appointing episcopal visitors from among already consecrated bishops to provide pastoral and episcopal oversight for those congregations already in operation and in formation. I am excited by the possibilities before us and look forward to seeing this ministry grow.
We ask that all people will join us in prayer for the fullness of God's blessing upon the Convocation and the growth of its witness to all who would hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
+ Peter Abuja
The Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola is Primate of All Nigeria and Chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa.
2a) http://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/Portal/ Diocese of New Westminster Topic Newspaper, April 2005 Chancellor again asks for buildings back (...)Cadman said the church buildings have historically belonged to the Anglican Church of Canada, were intended for its use in ministry to Anglicans in the Diocese of New Westminster - not to become mission outposts of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, Africa, which is the church the two priests say they are now associated with(...)
North Shore News, Trevor Lautens, Contributing Writer p. 6 April 8th 2005 Friday (...)Whatever else he believes, I think that it seems Michael Ingham, Anglican Bishop of New Westminster, doesn't give a d...m about local democracy.
I think that Ingham's support for same-sex blessings by Anglican clergy has contributed to worldwide turmoil in the church. His bully-boy tactics against opponents who say that he's scripturally out to lunch culminated last month in his eviction from their church (buildings) of the congregations of St. Andrew's (Christ the Redeemer) Pender Harbour and St. Simon's in North Vancouver.
That's what it amounts to. Because, notwithstanding Ingham's legalism over who owns the church property - his spokesman says it belongs to the Anglican Church of Canada, but Rev. Ed Hird, rector of St. Simon's, says his congregation legally owns it - the facts are that in multiple motions at meetings back to November 2003, the congregation unanimously opposed Ingham's my-way-or-the-highway bullying.
Hird told me that St. Simon's rejected any legal challenge because the money is better spent elsewhere. The congregation is meeting at Lions Gate Christian Academy in the Maplewood area. By the way, another Christian leader who has been receiving surprisingly (to me) huge coverage in the media, whole sections of newspapers respectfully devoted to him, is quoted in the new Vancouver commuter paper Dose on same-sex marriage: "A new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden." His name is Pope John Paul II lautens@axionet.com
- WHEN LIBERALS RULE- former New Westminster Anglican congregation moving over court fight … (mytelus.com) http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=bc_home&articleID=1888460
Chipping away at freedom of religion National Post Mon 04 Apr 2005 Page: A18 Section: Editorials Byline: Lorne Gunter
Like everyone else, members of Canada's political establishment are making a great show of respect for the passing of Pope John Paul II. But even as they are doing so, the forced secularization of Canadian society is continuing apace.
Consider, for instance, the plight of Fred Henry, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary, who is being hauled before the Alberta Human Rights Commission for arguing against same-sex marriage in a letter he sent to his flock in January.
Bishop Henry's case is being pursued under Alberta's Human Rights Code. But it is not hard to imagine religious speech being chilled across the country.
Last year, when Parliament was debating former MP Svend Robinson's private member's bill -- C-250 -- to add sexual orientation to the list of traits protected against hate speech, many religious organizations warned such a law would limit the right of priests, rabbis and imams to recite their faiths' teachings that homosexuality is a sin.
They were scoffed at, and their concerns dismissed as paranoia - especially since the legislation was drafted in a way that appeared to protect religious speech.
Even though the law clearly makes it a criminal offence to "communicate statements in any public place" -- presumably including houses of worship -- that would "wilfully promote hatred against any identifiable group," the faithful were reassured the bill would never impinge their right to believe or pontificate as they wished.
Calgary Herald columnist Naomi Lakritz scoffed at the "Christian fundamentalists" she saw pushing opposition to the legislation. "Nobody will be prosecuted for expressing disapproval of homosexual behaviour," she wrote. "People are free to say that they find such behaviour repulsive. They are free to cite the Bible as much as they like."
More telling was her contradictory caveat in the next paragraph, warning that "one's right to freedom of speech ends where another person's right not to be treated as inferior and undesirable because of race, religion or sexual orientation begins."
Svend Robinson himself chimed in: "It has been suggested that this bill might in some way threaten freedom of speech or lead to the banning of the Bible or other religious texts. Nothing could be further from the truth."
His bill's purpose? Only to "save lives" threatened by gay-bashing attacks.
Similar assurances have been made to quiet concerns that the current same-sex marriage bill will compel churches to marry gay and lesbian couples.
At House of Commons justice committee hearings in February, John Fisher, executive director of the gay-rights group EGALE, insisted religious Canadians had nothing to fear. "The rules set by particular faiths are protected by freedom of religion."
More ominously, Ontario's Human Rights Commissioner told the committee "it would still be discrimination" for churches and other religious institutions to refuse to marry gays. "But it would be lawful discrimination."
How is that ominous?
Can you imagine a human rights commission or federal court tolerating for long even "lawful" discrimination? The prohibition against same-sex marriage itself has been lawful for 100 years. Has that stopped Mr. Norton or judges from persistently chipping away at it?
Admittedly, in its opinion on Ottawa's recent gay marriage reference, the Supreme Court ruled that "state compulsion on religious officials to perform same-sex marriages contrary to their religious beliefs would violate the guarantee of freedom of religion." But would that protect Bishop Henry in speaking out against homosexuality, or merely keep Ottawa from forcing him to perform gay marriages?
Besides, this was an opinion in a reference. The SCC might well decide differently when an actual case comes before it. And in any case, the court has been known to change its mind on gay rights. In the mid-1990s, it ruled that Parliament had the right to award benefits unevenly to different family groupings -- including heterosexual couples versus gay ones - depending on the legislative goals it was trying to achieve. Less than five years later, it ruled its own earlier distinction was anathema to an equal, democratic society.
Yes, I know, our very own Prime Minister, Paul Martin, has insisted that if a court were "going to force ... churches, synagogues, mosques or temples to redefine marriage in a way that that particular religion did not want to, then I would use the notwithstanding clause" to protect freedom of religion.
But does anyone really believe he has that kind of courage?
Besides, prime ministers change. The one who replaces Mr. Martin could well be less willing even to promise to protect freedom of conscience.
Nor is Bishop Henry the only religious figure who has been put upon for his stance against gay marriage.
St. Simon's Anglican parish, in the lush little North Shore community of Deep Cove, across Burrard Inlet from Vancouver, has been evicted from its church building by the Diocese of New Westminster for opposing the diocese's decree that Vancouver-area Anglican churches must bless same-sex unions.*
The Catholic service club, the Knights of Columbus, in Port Coquitlam, B.C., is being hauled before provincial human rights inquisitors for refusing to rent their hall to a lesbian wedding reception.
Nor does the list stop there.
I am not opposed to same-sex marriage. I am also not naive enough to believe official reassurances that those of faith who oppose same-sex marriage will have their right to dissent protected by lawmakers and the courts. ____________________ Lorne Gunter Columnist/Editorial Writer, National Post Columnist, Edmonton Journal Tele: (780) 916-0719 E-mail: lgunter@shaw.ca Fax: (780) 481-4735 Address: 132 Quesnell Cres NW Edmonton AB T5R 5P2
3a) http://www.fotf.ca/familyfacts/tfn/2005/040805.html CHRISTIAN TEACHER VOWS TO FIGHT SUSPENSION April 8, 2005, Today's Family News, Focus on the Family Canada British Columbia teacher and counsellor Chris Kempling says he will appeal to the province's human rights tribunal an immediate three-month suspension handed him this week by his local school board, The Province reported Wednesday.
Quesnel school trustees agreed to suspend him because of a letter published in the local newspaper in January in which he argued for marriage and against homosexuality.
"It is truly unfortunate that the Quesnel School Board believes that only those who support same-sex marriage are able to comment publicly on a matter of national importance," Kempling, who is a Christian, told the Province(...)
3b) http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=b7633e11-f9c0-4011-b707-41e2b7168b9e National Post, April 5th 2005 Tuesday Muslim, Christian groups oppose gay marriage MARKHAM, Ont. - A coalition of more than 80 mosques, Christian groups and other organizations have joined to fight the Liberal government's same-sex marriage bill, starting with a rally on Parliament Hill(...)
4) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1538412,00.html Analysis: Anglican disarray Times Online UK, March 23, 2005 Ruth Gledhill (left), Times religion editor, examines whether the Scottish church has hastened a schism in Anglicanism
"In their strong statement of support for lesbian and gay clergy, and regret for the actions taken against the liberal provinces of the West, the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church have firmly aligned themselves with Canada and the US.
"Whether this accelerates schism of the Anglican Communion depends on what they do now.
"The Scottish Episcopal Church is a small church, with just 45,000 members. Compared to the 17.5 million members of the orthodox evangelical province, Nigera, it has a small voice. In Scotland, the Presbyterian Church is the main Christian presence, the Roman Catholic Church second.
"But the episcopal church's status as neighbour to the Church of England and its already well-established reputation as a liberal province, thanks partly to the leadership of its former Primus, Bishop Richard Holloway, give its actions weight out of proportion to its size.
"The statement in support of gay and lesbian clergy and blessings of same-sex relationships was made by the College of Bishops in response to the Primates' Meeting in Newry, Northern Ireland last month.
"The US and Canada, who provoked the crisis two years ago by electing the openly-gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire and authorising same sex blessings in the New Westminster diocese, were asked to impose a moratorium on future similar actions and to voluntarily withdraw until 2008 from the Anglican Consultative Council, the British charity that is the management body at the centre of the Anglican Communion.
"The indications from Canada are that the church there remains defiant(...)
5) http://www.jameslunneymp.ca/speeches_detail.php?recordID=277 James Lunney's HoC Bill C-38 speech - Explicity Christian defenses House of Commons Hansard - April 5, 2005
Mr. James Lunney (Nanaimo-Alberni, CPC): Mr. Speaker, it is real pleasure to take part in this debate on marriage, which is a civil and religious issue.
Our office has received a great deal of input on this bill. I am sure that most of the people of Nanaimo-Alberni prefer to keep the traditional definition of marriage. On September 7, 2004, some 500 people congregated in front of my office to show their support of traditional marriage. There are some people among us who think their own ideas are more profound than those of the Supreme Being, but one million Canadians disagree.
This subject, whether we like it or not, has a very deep and profound religious significance. The judges in several provincial jurisdictions have ruled that the common law understanding of marriage discriminates against homosexual and lesbian couples who wish to marry.
The Supreme Court ruled that while Parliament had the authority to change the definition of marriage, it did not demand that Parliament do so. The Liberals have claimed that this issue is about charter rights. Indeed young Liberals at a recent convention sported badges declaring "It's the charter, stupid". Well let us talk about the charter.
In the opening statement the charter begins with a small but profound declaration: "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law".
Among the thousands of letters I have received on this subject, one writer stated, "I fear God, do you?". I want to state to the House that yes, I also fear God. I am a Christian. Half a lifetime ago I became convinced of the reality of God and I committed my life to Him. I accepted Jesus, the son of God as my saviour and determined at that time to follow Him.
I am glad that the charter lists as the very first of fundamental freedoms, the freedom of religion and conscience. Therefore, I feel welcome as a Christian in my country and in this House, but I fear that the bill is a direct assault not only on marriage and on the family but on freedom of religion itself.
The Liberal government declares that freedom of religion is protected because religious authorities will not be compelled to perform marriages contrary to their faith. These assurances are empty. The foreign affairs minister says to the church to stay out of it. Bishop Henry of Calgary is told by officials from Revenue Canada to desist from criticizing the government or the church's charitable status might be revoked. Or, as I read just today, a news release from my own province from Quesnel, B.C., Dr. Chris Kempling, a school psychologist, has been suspended for three months by the local school board because he wrote a letter criticizing the government's same sex legislation. What about the charter rights of Bishop Henry and Dr. Chris Kempling?
Already marriage officers in British Columbia and Saskatchewan have been advised that they must surrender their licences if they will not perform same sex marriages. What about their fundamental rights? What kind of Prime Minister postures about protecting charter rights while overruling the very charter rights of his own cabinet and half of his caucus? Similarly, the leaders of the Bloc and the NDP are denying the rights of some of their own members by pressuring them to support a party line on this issue. I hope that Canadians are taking note of this issue(...)
However, Christians have no confidence that this government or the politicized courts will act to protect their rights. We understand that the law without enforcement is of no effect.
The government failed the people when it failed to appeal lower court rulings. The court has failed the people by refusing to protect religious rights of Christians and other faiths to follow the teachings of their faith and their conscience when they contradict the new orthodoxy(...)
I assure members that I will not be supporting Bill C-38 because it is not wise legislation. It is contrary to the teachings of the Bible. It is contrary to the tradition and practice of Christians and other faiths. It will therefore lead to increasing conflict with those who adhere to religious beliefs and practices(...)
I urge all members to hear the voice of wisdom and stand for the traditional understanding and definition of marriage.
6) http://www.canada.com/national/index.html National Post, March 8th 2005 Friday Has the latest testimony before the Gomery Inquiry convinced you the Liberals have lost the moral authority to govern? 99.75 % Yes 0.25 % No
7) http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2317 Posted by David Virtue on 2005/4/8 5:30:00
BRAZIL: Orthodox diocese looks to Williams Panel of Reference for help Exclusive interview with Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti of the Diocese of Recife By David W. Virtue (...)VirtueOnline: You have said that one obstacle has been the lack of information about what is going on in Latin America by the Anglican press worldwide. Why is that so?
(...)Everybody pays attention to the orthodox oppressed by the revisionists in the USA and Canada, but we don't feel the same support toward oppressed diocese and parishes in Latin America.
(...)VirtueOnline: Did you receive any comments or feedback from what was discussed about Recife among the Primates and the Archbishop of Canterbury in Dromantine? Cavalcanti: I have not heard or received any comments from the Archbishop of Canterbury to whom we made our appeal. But the liberals are happy with the election of Primate Oliveira to the Primates Standing Committee and with the decision about not crossing boundaries and with the lack of any public reaction against my suspension, it has been very disappointing(...) What we have done is to send a formal appeal to the new Panel of Reference set up by the Archbishop of Canterbury. If the panel does not act we will have a solution from initiatives that will be put in place by the orthodox primates of the Anglican communion(...)
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