Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, says that although he is saddened by the unnecessary decision made by a small number of parishes to leave the Anglican Church of Canada, the Canadian Church as a whole remains vibrant and united in its witness to the Gospel message.
The Canadian federal government has issued the Anglican Church of Canada a cheque for $9.7 million to refund a portion of the church’s contribution to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Fund, which had been set up in 2003 under an old native schools agreement.
Saying that he hoped to “dispel rumour or misunderstanding,” Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has written to his fellow leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion explaining the developments around the blessing of same-sex unions, which has embroiled Canadian Anglicans in conflict.
It was something most had not experienced before, nor would they have such an opportunity again. They described it as breath taking, awe inspiring, spiritually moving and the list of superlatives went on. It was the 150th anniversary celebration of the Diocese of Huron, Anglican Church of Canada, which crowded a mere 9100 people inside the John Labatt Centre, known mostly as home to hockey's London Knights.
Bishop Susan Moxley, the suffragan, or assistant, bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, was elected diocesan bishop on Oct. 20 in an episcopal election at All Saints Cathedral, Halifax.
The Bible’s New Testament is now available in the Naskapi language, the fruit of 25 years of translation work by Silas Nabinicaboo, a lay reader of the aboriginal church in Kawawachikamach, diocese of Quebec, and Bill Jancewicz, an American translator associated with the Wycliffe Bible Translation Society.
Conflicting interpretations of the ramifications of General Synod’s recent decisions around same-sex blessings have led the bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada to consult with their chancellors.
Among the questions that have arisen: What does the approved motion stating that ‘the blessing of same-sex unions is not in conflict with the doctrine of the Anglican Church of Canada’ mean? Can clergy and dioceses now conduct same-sex blessings? Some bishops have issued pastoral letters asking clergy not to conduct same-sex blessings – can priests be disciplined if they ignore this directive? How can clergy be disciplined if General Synod already declared that same-sex blessings are ‘not in conflict’ with the core doctrine of the church? What does the defeat of the motion affirming the authority of dioceses to offer same-sex blessings mean?
Bishop Victoria Matthews, who broke new ground for women in episcopal ministry and was twice a candidate for primate, or national archbishop, announced on August 2 that she will resign as leader of the diocese of Edmonton, citing that she believes 'God is now calling me in a different direction.'
Bishop Matthews, who was elected in 1993 the first female bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada, said in a pastoral letter that her resignation is effective Nov. 30. The announcement was to have been made first in all parishes during Sunday services on August 5, but the letter was published earlier on the Internet, catching many Anglicans by surprise.
In a crowded Winnipeg hall last month, the Anglican Church of Canada and 10 other faith groups recommitted themselves to work for Aboriginal justice. This event, initiated by the ecumenical justice coalition KAIROS, renewed the 1987 agreement, A New Covenant: Towards the Constitutional Recognition and Protection of Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada, which upheld Aboriginals’ rights to self-determination, to be distinct peoples, and to have an adequate land base. Anglican Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, left, Evangelical Lutheran Bishop Raymond Schultz and Archbishop James Weisgerber, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Winnipeg, at the June 21 ceremony.
Representatives of about 10 Canadian churches and church-affiliated organizations will gather in Winnipeg on June 21 - National Aboriginal Day - to renew a landmark covenant with Indigenous peoples that pledges the churches to continue working on human rights and justice issues for native peoples.
The ceremony and news conference will mark the 20th anniversary of the signing in 1987 of the document entitled A New Covenant: Towards the Constitutional Recognition and Protection of Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada.
A groundbreaking service for St. Jude’s Cathedral in Iqaluit took place June 3, Trinity Sunday, to mark the rebuilding of the igloo-shaped church, which was damaged by arson in November 2005. It was later demolished in June 2006.
Hundreds of people - Inuit and non-Inuit - attended the service, where English and Inuktitut hymns were sung and prayers recited, according to media reports.
The Anglican Indigenous Network has put itself on a new and firm bureaucratic footing in order to push forward on its number one concern – the faster ordination of more native priests.
At its biennial meeting, which was held May 17-22 in Vancouver, 25 delegates from five regions around the Pacific chose a five-member executive to back up the long-time secretary-general, Malcolm Naea Chun of Hawaii.
Canadian Anglican bishops have nominated four from among their number to be candidates in the election of a successor to Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.
At its meeting last month, the House of Bishops considered a draft pastoral statement on same-sex blessings that could be sent to all delegates to General Synod as part of the Convening Circular.
The bishops did not have the time to complete their work on this statement, but a revised draft was sent to them for a vote by email shortly after the conclusion of the meeting. With the email vote now completed, the following pastoral statement will be sent to delegates of General Synod.
Canadian Anglican bishops have nominated four from among their number to be candidates in the election of a successor to Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.
Archbishop Hutchison, who was elected 12th Primate in 2004, has announced that he will retire after the Anglican General Synod in June. The synod, the Anglican church’s chief governing body, will chose the next primate on June 22 in Winnipeg.
The procedure to elect a Primate, or national leader, is that bishops nominate no more than five candidates at their last meeting before a General Synod. The bishops, however, do not vote in the actual election. Primates are elected by clergy and lay members of the synod.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, considered cancelling the 2008 Lambeth Conference of the world's Anglican bishops due to the sexuality debates roiling the church, but decided against it.
‘Yes, we've already been considering that and the answer is no. We've been looking at whether the timing is right, but if we wait for the ideal time, we will wait more than just 18 months,’ he told the Anglican Journal in an exclusive interview.
Archbishop Williams spoke during a break on April 17 at a day-long retreat for the Anglican Church of Canada's bishops at the Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario. On April 18, the bishops move into a business session and on April 19, they will vote in a closed session to choose candidates for the next primate, or national archbishop, of the Canadian church. The primate, who will succeed the retiring Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, will be elected at the church's General Synod convention in June.
An earthquake measuring 8.1 struck 345km northwest of the Solomon Islands' capital Honiara at 07:40 local time Monday (20:40 GMT Sunday). The powerful earthquake caused a tsunami and there have been reports of damage and death in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
Media reports put the number of death in the Solomon Islands at 12, though numbers are expected to increase. Others are reporting of serious devastation that some villages have been ‘completely wiped out.’
Archbishop Hutchison said that he had been ‘profoundly discouraged’ by the communiqué issued by Anglican leaders warning the U.S. church of consequences if it did not abandon its liberal stance on sexuality, and had found it ‘tempting’ not to sign it.
The communiqué had ‘virtually not one encouraging word for gay and lesbian people who have felt so far on the margins,’ Archbishop Hutchison told a staff briefing at the national church office in Toronto shortly after his return from the primates’ meeting held Feb. 15-19 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The communiqué demonstrated ‘a great struggle to try and preserve some kind of unity within the Anglican family, but the question is, at what price?’ said Archbishop Hutchison. He said this was something that Anglicans in Canada would have to consider when they decide on issues around sexuality in their General Synod in Winnipeg this June.
The way that the Primates' Meetings had been proceeding took a turn on Saturday. Archbishop Phillip Aspinall of Australia the spokesperson for the Primates was unable to attend the media briefing. He is part of the team producing the final statement and was needed for the meeting that had begun to work on the statement.
Canon James Rosenthal, communications director for the Anglican Communion, took the podium to report that the conversations about the Episcopal Church's response to the Windsor Report continued but had not reached a final conclusion.
For the continuation of Anglican bookstore
General Synod's Communications and Information Resources Committee has unanimously endorsed negotiations with Augsburg Fortress Canada that would see the continuation of a bookstore at the site presently occupied by the Anglican Book Centre.
The committee gave its approval after hearing Augsburg Fortress Canada's Director, Andy Seal, describe a plan through which the Lutheran company would assume responsibility for running the Anglican bookstore, as well as the mail order and web operations. The bookstore could therefore continue without any cost to the Anglican Church.
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