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By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent The Daily Telegraph 5/31/2004 The liberal Canadian Church has been told that worldwide Anglicanism could disintegrate if it paved the way to homosexual "marriages" this week. In unusually blunt language, Canon Gregory Cameron, a senior official close to the Archbishop of Canterbury, gave the warning to the Canadian General Synod in Niagara on Saturday. Canon Cameron said the decision it was about to make was "about as serious as it could get". His comments reflected the growing fears of Anglican leaders that their efforts to avert schism over homosexuality would be "holed below the waterline" if the Canadians permitted gay blessings. But the intervention by Canon Cameron, who was effectively acting as Dr Rowan Williams's envoy, angered many Canadians, who resented that they saw as outside interference. The Synod will be asked on Wednesday to affirm that there is no bar to any Canadian diocese authorising the blessing of "committed same sex unions". Observers believe that the vote is "on a knife edge". If it is passed, the Synod will have defied Dr Williams's pleas for restraint on all sides. The decision could provoke a profound split that would lead to millions of conservative Anglicans breaking their ties with the Church's liberal wing. The stakes are so high that Dr Williams backed the risky strategy of sending Canon Cameron to address the Synod despite fears that it might unleash a liberal backlash. Canada's acting Primate, Archbishop David Crawley, said the Church should have complete independence in its decision-making. Liberals privately complained about "English interference". Canon Cameron, the secretary to the Lambeth Commission, the body set up by Dr Williams to try to keep the Church together, told the Synod that though it had the right to hold the debate, it should know the consequences. While the idea of public rites for blessing same-sex unions might not be new, he said, it flew in the face of the Church's official policy and the views of the vast majority. The Synod needed to be aware of their "sisters and brothers" in Africa and Asia who were wondering whether the West was prepared to pay any attention to their beliefs. "Nor should we decry their motives," he said. "This is no game playing. On both sides people are acting out of profound convictions that this is what God calls them to." The Lambeth Commission feared that the worldwide Church was moving from "respect towards rivalry", he told the 300 delegates gathered at Brock University in St Catherine's. "If you say 'no' to the motions before you, you will be in danger of letting down the gay people in your midst, who are your Canadian family, as well as all those others who are looking towards the Anglican Church of Canada to set a new standard of dealing with this issue. "But if you say 'yes', the work of the Lambeth Commission becomes horribly complicated. We will be told that the Anglican Church of Canada refuses to hear the voice and to heed the concerns of your fellow Anglicans in the growing provinces of the Global South, who are your international family." Canon Cameron concluded by saying that "the implications of your decision for the unity of the Anglican Communion, perhaps even its very survival in its current form, are just about as serious as it could get". One Canadian diocese, New Westminster, has already approved a rite for same-sex blessing. END

News Analysis By David W. Virtue 5/31/2004 The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada has submitted a number of resolutions that it hopes this Synod will pass in the eventuality that the church dies if same sex blessings passes. The resolutions plan for the church's actual demise. The first resolution A071 concerns the duties of the Primate. "The Primate shall exercise pastoral and spiritual leadership throughout The Anglican Church of Canada." It formerly read, "To maintain a pastoral relationship to the whole of the Anglican Church of Canada." What that means is this. There will no longer be an obligation to maintain a pastoral relationship with the whole church. This is clearly designed to protect a Primate who cannot possibly maintain a pastoral relationship with the whole church that is splitting especially if the Primate is biased towards a liberal worldview that embraces pansexuality and liberal theological views. Resolution A179 concerns dialogue with the United Church of Canada. This church has seen a steep decline in church attendance since same-sex blessings were initiated in 1988. The question is this, is a renewal of dialogue with the United Church an effort to build a relationship with another church that blesses same-sex unions, with an eye to a later merger when the ACC has shrunk just like the United Church has done after it passed a same sex blessing motion? In the Episcopal Church USA a concordat now exists between the ECUSA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) with precisely the same idea in mind. Hundreds, possibly thousands of Episcopal parishes will go out of business unless they form mergers with ELCA parishes which are in equal danger of dying. Resolution A101 concerns the Anglican Journal and the Anglican Journal Terms of Reference. In the Explanatory note the resolution reads: "With uncertainty about the future of General Synod, and in order to preserve the existence of the journal, the decision was made to incorporate separately from General Synod. What that means is this. The Journal would preserve its assets when General Synod - the legislative governing body of the Council of General Synod (COGS) - folds. Resolution A080. This motion recognizes that the existence of the Church and the General Synod are in jeopardy by the passing of the motion on same sex blessings. The addition of Section 18: S. 18 (a) if at any date the General Synod ceases to exist . . . the following transition rules apply. . . These resolutions have been reviewed and revised to consider the implications of the passing of motion A134 - the blessing of same-sex unions. There is clear recognition by many in the Anglican Church of Canada that the General Synod may cease to exist. END

Jamie Doward, religious affairs correspondent The Observer May 30, 2004 Todd Grimshaw's confusion over his sexuality has kept millions of Coronation Street fans glued to the small screen in recent weeks. And Kat Moon's anguished decision to sleep with evil Andy Hunter so that he wouldn't call in husband Alfie's loan has sparked endless debate among EastEnders' addicts. But now it has emerged it may not just be soap fans who need their regular fix of what is happening in Weatherfield and Albert Square. The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on priests to watch soap operas as a way of helping them connect with parishioners in the real world. Rowan Williams used a lengthy speech on Friday, which drew on a diverse range of writers, from the atheist Frederick Nietzsche to the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk, to stress how important it was for the Church of England to listen to the world around them. Williams told trainee priests at Ripon College, Oxford, that 'along with instruction in theology and ethics, there must be active encouragement to nourish this seeing and listening, (through) the novel and the newspaper and the soap opera and the casual conversation - even when it looks like wasting time.' A priest who follows the plotlines of a soap opera or a novel, Williams suggests, is someone who 'has a fair bit of literacy about the world we're in - literacy about our culture, about the human heart.' Last year Williams likened tensions over homosexual priests within the Anglican Church to a 'soap opera'. In March he drew parallels between contemporary society and the plotlines of Footballers' Wives. END

By Cynthia A. Brust American Anglican Council Since General Convention 2003, the Episcopal Church (ECUSA) has faced an unprecedented crisis. The unilateral actions of confirming the election of an active homosexual as well as the equivalent of local option for same sex blessings have resulted in 21 provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion declaring either impaired or broken communion with ECUSA. The Lambeth Commission was charged with making recommendations to the Primates on how to deal with the fallout. Both Archbishop Rowan Williams and Archbishop Robin Eames have asked for restraint during this period. We are deeply saddened that two ECUSA bishops have defied this primatial plea for restraint. Bishop Jon Bruno, Diocese of Los Angeles, recently presided over the same sex ceremony of the Rev. Canon Malcolm Boyd, poet laureate of LA, and his long-time "partner". Bishop John Chane has announced plans to preside at the same sex blessing of former President of Integrity Michael Hopkins and his "partner" June 12, 2004. The fact that these bishops not only authorized, but also chose to preside at the "blessings," of such high profile individuals is particularly significant. Are the bishops sending a message to the Primates? These unilateral actions clearly signal a deplorable lack of respect for the request of the Anglican Communion Primates. These actions also demonstrate that the arrogance of revisionist ECUSA bishops knows no limits as they put the homosexual agenda before any hope of unity in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. While it is too late for Bishop Bruno, we call upon Bishop Chane to reconsider his decision. Cynthia P. Brust is Director of Communications, American Anglican Council http://www.americananglican.org

News Analysis By David W. Virtue ST. CATHERINES, ONT (5/31/2004)--Canadian Anglicans known more for their passivity and less for their sanguinity chose, on the fourth ballot, a bi-lingual liberal from the Diocese of Montreal, Archbishop Andrew S. Hutchison, 65, who failed to win a clear majority on the first three ballots. He won decisively on the fourth ballot, defeating the Evangelical Ronald C. Ferris, 58, Bishop of Algoma. 144 lay members and 117 clergy members voted. A majority in both houses was needed to declare a winner. On the fourth ballot Hutchison got 68 clergy votes and 97 laity. Ferris got 44 clergy votes and 41 laity. Ferris ran second in the voting, on all four ballots. A flip of eight votes would have had Ferris as the winner by clergy order. He could not summon the laity vote. The voting patterns followed much the same as in the American Episcopal Church. "They wanted a middle way to the right of Hutchison but couldn't find it", said a knowledgeable watcher. What it does say is that Victoria Matthews, Bishop of Edmonton would have won had she been available. She is in hospital facing surgery for breast cancer. Hoping to break the log jam after four ballots, the two houses moved quickly to choose Hutchison. On the first ballot Hutchison got 48 clergy and 72 laity with Ferris obtaining 24 clergy and 38 laity. Caleb Lawrence, 63, Bishop of Moosonee, got 25 clergy and 38 laity. On the second ballot Hutchison got 55 clergy and 78 laity, (a majority of laity but not clergy). Ferris got 39 clergy and 34 laity. Caleb got 20 and laity 28. The Bishop of Moosonee was forced out of the race following the second ballot. With no clear winner the chairman called for new nominees. Ninety minutes later in the Sean O'Sullivan theatre, Bishop D. Ralph Spence, 62, Diocese of Niagara was nominated. His resume, when publicly read prompted laughter when it was announced that he had one of the largest flag collections in Canada and is involved in a museum of flags. He was elected coadjutor bishop in 1997. The failure of Hutchison to win clearly and decisively was a set back; albeit temporary, for the more revisionist element in the church, and another gob smack at Michael Ingham the pro-gay Bishop of New Westminster, who saw in Hutchison a sleeper candidate for his views. It was a desperate maneuver to stop liberalism in its track and oust Hutchison. Clearly the synod was looking for a Victoria Matthews type to hold it together; someone less ideological than Hutchison. In Ralph Spence, the portly, moderately liberal Bishop of Niagara, the hope was that he would provide it. On the third ballot, Ferris got 38 clergy votes and 33 laity. Hutchison got 53 clergy and 70 laity votes, Spence got 25 clergy 40 laity. Spence was gone. A fourth ballot was called which saw Hutchison and Ferris duking it out for the top slot. Two moves from the floor for more nominations were quickly squelched. The stop Hutchison movement was running out of steam. When the fourth vote came in Hutchison was the clear winner. It was a vote for a continuation of, if not an acceleration of, the policies of former Primate Michael Peers. An insider with knowledge of the history of Canadian Anglicanism believes that within a few days Hutchison will reach out to the orthodox of the church in a gesture of good will. It will inevitably be seen as too little late. Few doubt that the new Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada will continue the liberal tradition of his predecessor Michael Peers, who resigned as Primate prior to General Synod. Mandatory retirement for a Primate is 70. In his acceptance speech, Hutchison said that he, as the Primate elect, accepted the job with a profound sense of accountability recognizing the complexity of Anglicanism from coast to coast with its multiplicity of cultures. With a nod to the orthodox in the church, Hutchison said he would strive for unity, citing our Lord's words that we all may be one so that the world may believe. "More energy needs to be directed but we must ask what our purpose is? I shall use my every ounce of energy to increase and build the unity of this church so that the world may believe, so that people across thisand look to us and see how these Christians love one another." Chris Hawley a spokesman for the orthodox movement Essentials Canada said he was disappointed by the result, but said that he believed that the job of the Primate is to bring both sides together. "We want to give him the opportunity to connect with orthodox people. The onus is on him to do so. We can't prejudge anyone, he needs a chance. The orthodox want to be heard in the councils of the church." Hawley said Hutchison would be seen as liberal. "It matters more that a Primate represents both sides of the church. The orthodox view is significant in the pews but less significant in the leadership. Essentials would have preferred to see Ferris win." Prior to the election, Acting Primate David Crawley said, "We stubbornly gather in General Synod believing that the Spirit will guide us." The days ahead will prove whether or not that is true. END

GENERAL SYNOD TO CHART COURSE OF CHURCH THIS WEEK Francine Dube National Post Friday, May 28, 2004 Anglican leaders from across Canada begin meeting in St. Catharines tomorrow to chart the course of the Church for the next three years and address an issue that is threatening to tear it apart -- the blessing of same-sex unions. Parishes in B.C. have begun breaking away from the national Church over the issue and a wider schism is feared. Debate on a motion affirming that each diocese can decide whether to bless same-sex unions begins at the meeting tomorrow. A vote on the motion takes place next week. "There's a good deal of anxiety within the Church," said Rev. Canon Eric Beresford, consultant for ethics and interfaith relations for the Anglican Church of Canada. "The emotional temperature of this debate seems very, very high." The Anglican Church in Canada has faced the threat of schism before. Numerous parishes broke away after the decision in the 1970s to ordain women. Although many parishioners subsequently returned, others remain estranged to this day. Veterans of those days say the climate over the blessing of same-sex unions is even more charged. In B.C., three churches have broken away from the Anglican Church of Canada and are instead under the direction of an Anglican Church leader in Southeast Asia. Holy Cross, in Abbotsford, B.C., was ordered closed by Bishop Michael Ingham, of the Diocese of New Westminster, after the parish refused to fall in line with his decision to allow blessings of same-sex unions. The church's funding, including the priest's salary, was withdrawn. Since then, parishioners have continued to meet weekly, supporting themselves financially with the help of sympathetic Anglicans from other parishes. "In some ways it's been freeing," said acting church warden Bill Glasgow. "We feel that we've stood up for what we believe in." Says Mr. Glasgow, 48, a graphic designer and father of six: "If we go along with all of this, then what's our sense of what's right; what do we use as an authority; what's the purpose of the Bible anyway; does it have any purpose in our life at all?" The closed church's priest, Reverend James Wagner, his wife, a part-time physician, and their three children, ages nine, five and 20 months, have had to cut back on household expenses to compensate for the loss of his salary. He used to receive $24,000 a year plus $1,000 a month in housing allowance. Mr. Wagner believes an important principle is at stake. "What I think we're doing is creating a right that we don't really have the permission to create, biblically or even traditionally," he says of same-sex unions. One priest has left the Church over the matter. Timothy Cooke, 44, was the rector of Saint Martin's Church in North Vancouver when the issue of blessing same-sex marriages emerged in New Westminster. He quit in 2002. "I don't doubt the sincerity or the compassion of the proponents of the same-sex blessings, but it seems to me unmistakable that the fabric of Anglicanism in Canada and globally has been torn apart over this issue. Mediators, legal panels and synods will not weave it back together because the underlying issues of scriptural authority and the moral tradition of the Church cannot be brokered," he wrote in an e-mail to the National Post. Mr. Cooke decided to follow his Swiss-born wife back to her country, where he is now a pastor in the Swiss Reformed Church. Bishop Ingham did not respond to a request for an interview from the National Post. But he has described opposition to homosexuals as "irrational" and "based on a history of discrimination." The motion to be debated at the general synod -- the Church's chief governing and legislative body -- this week and next, will not create any new powers. There is nothing to prevent any diocese from allowing same-sex blessings now -- but if the motion passes at the meeting, the feeling is that dioceses that may have been waiting for some kind of official word on the issue may follow in the footsteps of New Westminster. The diocese of Toronto has a motion coming up at a special synod in November, and the dioceses of Niagara and Ottawa are considering similar actions, Mr. Beresford said. Meanwhile, at least 13 bishops of the 30 dioceses in Canada have repeatedly expressed opposition to the idea of blessing same-sex unions. "In a time of tension and division, we ask all Anglicans to stay loyal to the truth of the Scripture and to the Church," they wrote together in a letter, bearing the names of the bishops of Caledonia, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, and Fredericton, among others. Representatives from each of the 30 dioceses across the country are taking part in the general synod, including lay people, priests and bishops. The synod runs to June 4. © National Post 2004

By Peter Mitham "To see the changes that happened in me and some of my friends happen to others" – it's a phrase the Rev. Duke Vipperman says with all the seriousness of a mission statement. But a warm voice indicates that it's a genuine expression of what motivates Vipperman, who at 21 left behind the mysticism of the hippie movement for a new freedom in Christ. Thirty-three years later, he continues to see changes, not just in people but entire congregations. The rector of Toronto's Church of the Resurrection, Vipperman has assisted in reviving a parish that had just 57 regular worshippers a week four years ago into one with 215 on any given Sunday. "I can't put my finger on precisely what the attraction is," he said. "Our intent was not really to grow, it was to be healthy. And in God's world, healthy things grow." Vipperman's career in ministry had far more humble origins. Following his conversion, he embarked on a series of jobs with telephone and construction firms as a way of earning enough to pursue youth ministries in and around Fairfax, Virginia. But juggling multiple jobs while engaged in ministry didn't make long-term sense. Following his marriage in 1981, he and his wife Debbie took courses at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry with the aim of launching into full-time ordained ministry. But on graduating in 1983, Vipperman found there were only two positions available in Virginia for 14 candidates so he moved to London, Ontario. "I guess I fit better up here than down there," he says, with a warm laugh. Vipperman initially served as an assistant at St. George's Anglican Church in London, afterwards becoming rector of Exeter and Grand Bend, a two-point parish also in southwestern Ontario. Shortly after his arrival in Canada, he also became involved in the work of Barnabas Anglican Ministries, a network formed in 1984 to draw together Anglican evangelicals across Canada. Soon enough, in 1991, Vipperman became associate rector of Little Trinity in Toronto. The church was growing, and by 2000 had 600 regular worshippers. Meanwhile, attendance at Church of the Resurrection was dwindling. Five other churches in the neighbourhood had closed in the previous decade, and the Resurrection knew it had to attract members or face hard decisions about its future. Vipperman accepted the challenge of fostering a revival and, taking about 60 members of Little Trinity, he left for the Resurrection. He also took with him a respect for what he calls the Anglican church's "high theology of place" and the structure of parishes that shows people where they should focus their efforts. Looking at the kinds of people who were in the neighbourhood surrounding the Resurrection, Vipperman found that as seniors in the area moved on — either to nursing homes or beyond — young professionals just starting families were moving in. Cornerstones of the revival became an active children's ministry and multimedia presentations that used the traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer but complemented it with contemporary graphics and music. This drew in both Anglicans and people unfamiliar with Anglican practices. But the congregation wasn't content to simply minister within its building. It distributed flyers, letting people know they were welcome to drop by the church, and undertook coffee houses in local pubs. Members talked with people on the streets and engaged with the community. A summer day camp using materials from Montreal-based Crosstalk Ministries also drew in a family or two as word got around that the Rez (as it's known) was a good place for kids. Today, kids — mostly preschoolers and primary school students — dominate the Sunday school, which has grown to about 60 kids. That's well over a quarter of the congregation size. Vipperman acknowledges that the growth hasn't been easy. "We had to learn, as a parish, how to readjust our life," he said, but notes that the readjustment in practice wouldn't have worked if Jesus hadn't been at the heart of the change and what the Resurrection was about. "Jesus' name is being honoured, and people need to take it seriously," he said. Looking to the future, Vipperman hopes to ultimately send a tenth of the Resurrection's members to revive another church just as members of Little Trinity helped revive the Resurrection. "Only God can do a resurrection," he says, repeating a line he told the congregation on his arrival in 2000. "God has brought us back from the brink. If God can do it for us, he can do it for other people." Doug LeBlanc is a contributing editor of Christianity Today and is working for ESSENTIALS Canada and orthodox group at Canadian Synod.

On June 2, when General Synod will be in its sixth day of difficult deliberations, Bishop Victoria Matthews of Edmonton will be undergoing surgery for breast cancer. She will be in recovery when the new primate is installed at Christ Church Cathedral in Hamilton. Prior to her sudden diagnosis, Bishop Matthews was a strong contender for the primacy and her withdrawal from the election shocked everyone. If elected, Bishop Matthews would have been the first female primate in the worldwide Anglican Communion. In a letter to her diocese sent May 19, Bishop Matthews said the diagnosis was "a surprise." But she added, "I am at peace with what must be done. The love of God is everlasting and I am strong in my faith in Jesus Christ, the great physician, and the healing power of the Holy Spirit. "Of course I ask and welcome your prayers, and I'll make sure you are informed, on a timely basis, about my progress," she said. "There is the expectation of full recovery. As far as I'm concerned I have lots more ministry ahead of me." Chemotherapy and probably radiation treatment will follow. She is expected to be on medical disability leave for up to one year. She also withdrew her name as a nominee for the office of the diocesan bishop of Toronto. And her own diocesan synod might be postponed until May, 2005. "Victoria is a person who faces adversity with steadiness and grace," said Ron Ferris, Bishop of Algoma and one of the remaining candidates. "She is deeply rooted in the life of prayer, radiating serenity, and pointing us to Christ." In her "Vision of the Primacy" Matthews wrote, "At this time relationships within the [worldwide Anglican] Communion are threatened. Recognizing that every province has something to teach and much to learn, I believe we need to strengthen our commitment to the Communion and our common faith." She wrote of the dioceses and parishes of the ACC, "There is a distressing tendency to think that we don't need each other…. Moral and prophetic leadership are especially important in times of crisis. "Canada is not a Christian country," Matthews continued, but that doesn't mean there is no place for the prophetic call to peace and justice. It is the Church's vocation in Christ to waken the conscience of Canada." A native of Toronto, Matthews was the first female bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada and is the country's only female diocesan bishop. Her manner with her episcopal colleagues is firm but gracious. Blessed with a fine intellect, Matthews received her Masters of Divinity from Yale and her Masters of Theology from Trinity College, Toronto. But she has also taught twice in an inner city school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As a single woman she enjoys reading, swimming and hiking. She has led young people in various pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostelo, Spain, Taize, France, and Iona, Scotland. When the youth were weary and ready to drop, Matthews would urge them on, setting the pace. Now is the time to encourage the Bishop in her personal pilgrimage, when the journey is particularly rough. Please pray for Bishop Matthews: Almighty God, giver of all health and healing: Grant to this thy servant Victoria, such a sense of thy presence that she may have perfect trust in thee. In all her suffering may she cast her care upon thee, so that, enfolded in thy love and power, she may receive from thee health and salvation according to thy gracious will; though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p. 580)

By Douglas LeBlanc Of the many legislative decisions to be made by members of the 37th General Synod, blessings of gay couples will attract the most intense media scrutiny. Amid such media attention, Synod members need to see the highest degree of clarity from those who propose such blessings. The Rev. Canon Eric Beresford, General Synod's consultant on ethics and interfaith relations, has written a background paper on what Resolution A134 seeks. If Canon Beresford's paper is any indication, the resolution shrouds a radical proposal in the vocabulary of process, charitable dialogue, and changes of only slight increments. Canon Beresford begins by making a distinction between same-sex blessings and same-sex marriage: "A same sex blessing would be a pastoral act that would publicly recognize a same sex couple and bless God for all the ways in which the life of the couple reflects love and faithfulness, companionship, care and concern in good times and in bad. . . . For many Anglicans, marriage also has a sacramental quality that goes beyond this[;] it teaches us something about the relationship of Christ and the Church. Some Anglicans who support 'blessing' would be uncomfortable talking about same sex marriage". Compare this with A134's companion, Resolution A135, prepared by the Faith, Worship and Ministry Committee, which would authorize "resources for the church to use in addressing issues relating to human sexuality, including the blessing of same sex unions and the changing definition of marriage in society". Resolution A135 states the matter with a greater candor: the discussion about blessing gay couples is related to a "changing definition of marriage in society". The civil culture, as reflected in certain courts and the mass media, often depicts gay couples as another form of family, which are now suffering the same opposition once faced by interracial couples. Some Canadian Anglicans, most notably in the Diocese of New Westminster, believe the church should endorse, with its pastoral blessings, this redefinition of marriage. That some advocates of gay blessings are "uncomfortable talking about same sex marriage" is a matter of feelings, not of determining facts. The discussion always has been about marriage, and that reality would become more explicit if General Synod were to approve A134. Canon Beresford writes that A134 "does not address the substantive issues" of blessing gay couples, but instead is "the starting point of what is essentially a procedural motion which sets forward ways of living with disagreement and calls for further study". This understates the effect of authorizing dioceses to bless gay relationships as each sees fit. A134, despite Canon Beresford's belief to the contrary, codifies local option. Beresford favorably cites—as precedent—the vote of the Episcopal Church's General Convention, which said last summer that "local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same sex unions". In other words, the Episcopal Church already has endorsed local option regarding gay blessings. To understand the effect of local option on gay blessings, consider the effect of local option on gay ordination. Although the Episcopal Church never formally endorsed local option regarding the ordination of noncelibate gay clergy, it allowed a de facto local option by never banning such ordinations in its canon law. The results of this double-mindedness are now clear: noncelibate gay clergy have become rectors, reshaped hundreds of congregations, ascended in diocesan and national bureaucracies, and—in the case of Gene Robinson—joined the House of Bishops. In short, local option on gay ordination achieved what gay activists could not achieve through nearly 30 years of General Convention deliberations and votes. Local option established facts on the ground, and those new facts shaped the discussions of each successive General Convention. Local option was not merely a holding pattern. It was an active revision of church order and theology. So, then, let the advocates on both sides of this debate address one another with loving clarity. General Synod faces a resolution that would affect the church's definition of marriage. Synod will vote to remain faithful to the church's historic, orthodox understanding or it will not. General Synod is asked, during this session in St. Catherines, to endorse local option on gay blessings. Accepting local option would increase the number of congregations willing to defy the consensus of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It would hasten the day when another resolution says, in effect, "Since various dioceses have approved local option on gay blessings, now is the time to prepare a formal rite for authorized blessings throughout the Anglican Church of Canada". This is not a merely procedural vote to enable better study and dialogue. It is a vote for the best that gay advocates in the ACC can hope for in 2004. It is a resolution of despair, which assumes that local option is the most honorable way for a divided Anglican province to live in an ersatz peace. The best pastoral response to Resolution A134 is to give it a dignified burial in St. Catherines. Douglas LeBlanc is a contributing editor for Christianity Today.

The Spectator Hamilton, Ont. Anglican Bishop Ralph Spence predicts the fiery debate over same-sex blessings won't be decided at the church's general synod this week. Instead, he thinks the 300 bishops, clergy and lay church members who will meet in St. Catharines starting Friday for the Canadian church's triennial synod will vote against handing the issue to the country's 30 dioceses. That would effectively postpone a decision on the issue many predict will fracture the 77-million-strong world-wide Anglican communion. "My gut hunch feeling as an old hand at watching this kind of stuff is I'm not sure there are enough votes for the local option to pass at this time," Spence told The Spectator. The local option would enable each diocese, with the agreement of its bishop, to bless "committed same-sex unions." The five-part motion to be voted on June 2 would also allow for so called "flying bishops" to minister to dissenting parishes within dioceses that approve same-sex blessings. An independent study for the church's national executive last March concluded the issue shouldn't be dealt with now because so many Canadian Anglicans are at odds with it. "I personally don't have a problem with this. I feel that God created all of us," said Spence, who will vote in favour of the local option. "If, as a church, we move to the blessing of same-sex unions, I can accept this. But my role as bishop is to be pastor to all the people in the diocese." In the larger debate surrounding same-sex marriage, Anglican churches possibly blessing committed gay and lesbian relationships may seem tame. Courts in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and now Massachusetts have recognized gay marriage as a matter of equal rights. But Anglicans are agonizing over whether to allow clergy to bestow blessings on such couples and for congregations to embrace them. Even if the motion passes, same-sex couples could still not be married in the Anglican Church. Although several European countries and the state of California have introduced what are called registered domestic partnerships for same-sex couples, only Belgium, the Netherlands, three Canadian provinces and one American state permit gay and lesbian couples to marry. The Supreme Court of Canada is reviewing federal marriage law after the Ontario Appeal Court ruled it unconstitutional by discriminating against same-sex couples. In 1995, the Canadian church moved to accept celibate gays and lesbians in the life of the church. But that changed in 1998 at the Lambeth Conference, the once-per-decade meeting of Anglican bishops from around the globe that sets policy for the church's 38 self-governing branches. A majority at Lambeth upheld marriage as being between a man and a woman, ruled homosexual activity incompatible with scripture and closed the door on gay clergy and same-sex blessings. But there is dissent within the church: In 2002, Anglicans in the Diocese of New Westminster voted to allow their clergy to bless same-sex unions; Last summer, The Very Rev. Peter Wall, dean of Niagara diocese and second-in-command to Spence, was disciplined for marrying a lesbian couple; Last fall, the Episcopal Church in the United States consecrated the first openly gay bishop, Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson. Chris Ambidge, the spokesman for Integrity Toronto, part of a 3,000-member international group of Anglican gays, lesbians and their supporters, says the Canadian church has been talking about gay issues since 1979 when the House of Bishops decided it would not call into question the ordination of a celibate homosexual. "The rest of the church can't say we haven't had long enough to discuss it," said Ambidge. "It's been a generation." Having visited dozens of parishes in and around Toronto, Ambidge said the "yes" camp inevitably includes gays, lesbians and their friends and families, while the "no" camp is populated by those who maintain scripture denounces homosexuality. Ambidge calls the scriptural argument "selective literalism" because those who uphold it are simply refusing to change their minds. Meanwhile, the debate may gather steam if the issue isn't tackled at general synod, said Rev. Daniel Brereton, vicar at Christ's Church Cathedral and co-founder of the local Integrity chapter. END

Special Report By David W. Virtue ST. CATHARINE'S, ON (5/26/2004)--The Archdeacon of Lincoln in the Diocese of Niagara, the Venerable Bruce A. McPetrie, has written a letter to the Brock University Campus Police and the Niagara Regional Police in what appears to be an indirect attempt to undermine the orthodox movement called Essentials Canada from being present at the upcoming Synod. In a letter to the university campus police, McPetrie charged that the group tried to get accommodation at the Brock University residences and failed but was able to get into nearby Concordia Lutheran Seminary. McPetrie also charged that another unnamed group from Texas might also appear at the General synod to cause a disturbance during debates over same-sex issues which will dominate General Synod. In his letter the archdeacon said, "Although we do not anticipate any difficulties from this particular group, their presence represents an indication that we should expect more than a passing interest in such a controversial issue." General Synod is being held at Brock University campus in St. Catherine's, Ontario. "We didn't know whether to laugh or cry. We were very surprised to have been referenced in a letter to police that seemed to imply that Essentials is disruptive or would not act in a decent and dignified manner," said Chris Hawley, an Essentials spokesman. "We rented Concordia Lutheran Seminary (a seminary on the campus of Brock) to provide lunches and prayer space for delegates, as well as a meeting space for Essentials." "Essentials have an authorized booth at General Synod, as we have had at the last two General Synods. Essentials' member groups have been at General Synod for many years prior to that. Essentials had been told there was not enough additional space for them outside of the booth, so we rented Concordia," Hawley told Virtuosity. Essentials, as an orthodox and loyal ministry within the Anglican Church of Canada plays a similar role at General Synod as the American Anglican Council did at the last General Convention in the American Episcopal Church. Hawley said that he had received a call from a reporter asking if Essentials was intending to fly in Southern Baptists to General Synod to support our protest against same-sex rites. "I said of course not." Neither the archdeacon nor Essentials could identify the Texas group. Following the archdeacon's letter, a leader in Essentials was called in by Brock University for an urgent meeting with the organization and Concordia Seminary. "At that time meeting we were told that there had been a letter to both Brock Campus Police and Niagara Regional Police and without directly naming Essentials, referred mysteriously to a group that was coming to General Synod. "The Brock and Concordia people were very concerned about what might happen in open debate, but we assured them that the Essentials people were harmless." Essentials have never been a part of any protest or incident in the past that would even raise eyebrows, said Hawley. "The fact that Essentials was isolated in this letter to police raises concerns about possible protests and alleged disturbances are both alarming and highly inappropriate. It amounts to a whisper campaign. There is no reason at all why anyone would expect Essentials to be the cause of a problem any more any other group at general synod." "The letter states our presence is linked to the debate over the blessings of same-sex unions, but Essentials attends every General Synod, same-sex blessings or not, always without incident. We're the largest orthodox group in Canada, and here we are the subject of a thinly veiled letter to police." "Everyone in the Anglican Church of Canada knows Essentials is a peaceful group. I am certain this incident will deepen the impression that there are people trying to marginalize and minimize the orthodox voice in Canada. We want the same thing as any other group, to make our voices heard. That's what General Synod is supposed to be for," said Hawley END

Helpless children have been Obergefell’s silent victims for years. But now, conservatives are coming together with a new campaign to push the Supreme Court to reverse the decision.   The United States Supreme Court in Washington D.C.   By Doug Mainwaring LIFESITENEWS Jan 28, 2026   (LifeSiteNews) — On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court took a sledgehammer to the bedrock of Western civilization when it instituted homosexual “marriage” across the land.   Through its Obergefell ruling, the immutable definition of marriage – which had been revered by every religion and society around the world for millennia – was undone, doing untold damage.   Long before the court delivered its disastrous anti-science, anti-nature decision denying the plain truth about the complementarity of man and woman, it was clear to me as a then-homosexual man that in handing over a constellation of new “rights” to homosexual adults, rights would be unfairly stolen away from kids, and their very most basic needs denied.   And that’s precisely what has happened. Children – who have no voice in political, legislative, and judicial matters – have been Obergefell’s silent victims with only a few adult voices “crying out in the wilderness” on their behalf.     TODAY, THAT CHANGES.   A massive coalition of conservative leaders and organizations has now banded together under the banner of “Greater Than,” a not-so-thinly veiled swipe at the chief proponent of homosexual “marriage,” the LGBTQ+ Washington powerhouse lobbying organization, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), whose logo is an equal sign.    The message is clear: Children’ s rights must be greater than those of adults. It’s hard to imagine anyone not getting behind this movement.   While having a deep desire to have and raise children is completely natural for any adult, to do so while purposefully, willfully denying a parent of the opposite sex to children is an appalling outrage.     In the summer of 2003, five years after my wife and I had separated and divorced, I bought an engagement ring and was ready to “propose” to a man I had been dating.     But before I could do so, I got smacked in the face by reality: My sons didn’t need another Dad in their life; They needed one thing and one thing only: For their Mom and I to get back together and love each other “‘til death do us part.”   It took nearly a decade, but my wife and I put our marriage back together again. That was 15 years ago. Last July, we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary.    Over the years, I became a marriage and children’s rights activist, defending the definition of marriage before state legislatures, writing numerous articles on the topic for national newspapers and journals, and even originating and co-authoring an amicus brief – known as “Same-Sex Attracted Men and Their Wives“ – for the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of marriage. It urged the justices to allow states to maintain the immutable definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.     For nearly nine years now, I’ve been a journalist for LifeSiteNews, where I’ve been able to continue to battle against the LGBT juggernaut, especially regarding its infiltration of the Church and within conservative circles; against government overreach; medical tyranny; and most importantly, to defend the lives of the most vulnerable.    I’ve prayed to God many times to not let me die until I see Obergefell overturned and marriage restored to what it has always been: A foreshadowing of and participation in the reality of Christ and His Bride, the Church.    In March 2013, Rush Limbaugh quoted my speech at the National March for Marriage in Washington, D.C., when I pleaded with government forces to cut off attempts to change the definition of marriage, as if that were even possible.   The Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision was a colossal mistake, inflicted on our country and our country’s children by just five men and women robed in black.    Like Roe v. Wade, which was similarly disastrous for children, resulting in the killing of upwards of 60 million in their mother’s wombs in the U.S. since 1973, Obergefell must be overturned. Otherwise, shame on us, and may God have mercy on our nation.   Doug Mainwaring is a journalist for LifeSiteNews, an author, and a marriage, family and children's rights activist.  He has testified before the United States Congress and state legislative bodies, originated and co-authored amicus briefs for the United States Supreme Court, and has been a guest on numerous TV and radio programs.  Doug and his family live in the Washington, DC suburbs.