June 1, 2009 CoGS won’t ask for change to marriage canon in 2010

Council of General Synod (CoGS) wrestled with the blessing of same-sex unions and marriage when it met here May 8 to 10 and in the end decided not to ask General Synod 2010 to amend the marriage canon to allow for the marriage of same-sex couples.

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June 1, 2009 Anglican parishes sponsored residential school students, house of bishops told

Anglican parishes across Canada may not be aware that, in the 1920s, some of them sponsored students at the Indian residential schools through a monthly cash donation that went towards the purchase of clothing and supplies, members of the Canadian house of bishops were told at their spring meeting.

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June 1, 2009 Native activist Gladys Cook dies

Gladys Cook, who helped many native people as a counsellor and touched the lives of many more people throughout Canada by courageously being among the first to speak publicly about the abuse she and other native people suffered as children in Indian Residential Schools, died on May 9 at the age of 79 in Portage la Prairie, Man.

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June 1, 2009 Fifty refugee families will receive aid from PWRDF, government

As celebrations of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund’s (PWRDF’s) 50th anniversary get under way, PWRDF representatives and Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, met with Jason Kenney, minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. They discussed the federal government’s support for one of PWRDF’s anniversary programs that will help parishes and dioceses across the country sponsor 50 refugee families.

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June 1, 2009 Amazing Grace funds will be used for suicide prevention

Council of the North receives $91,000 gift

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June 1, 2009 Bishops say rival group can’t represent churches

The Canadian house of bishops, at the end of its five-day spring meeting, issued a “Message to the Church,” reflecting on a range of topics including mission, the effects of the current economic crisis in their communities, residential schools, and, in the lead up to the 2010 General Synod, same-sex blessings.

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June 1, 2009 Election of APCI suffragan bishop moved up to June

The election of a new suffragan bishop for the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior (APCI) will take place in June. Archbishop Terence Buckle, Metropolitan (senior bishop) of the ecclesiastical province of British Columbia and Yukon, made the announcement at the house of bishops meeting here. He had earlier announced that the election would take place in September.

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June 1, 2009 PWRDF budget cut by $700,000

The Primate’s World Development and Relief Fund (PWRDF) has weathered the global economic storm so far but, preparing for tough times ahead, revised and cut its budget for 2009-2010 by about $700,000 when its board of directors met from April 30 to May 2 in Halifax.

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June 1, 2009 Kairos cuts staff and programs

Kairos, a Canadian ecumenical social justice organization, says it is dealing with major financial challenges by cutting five staff positions and restructuring its program areas.

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June 1, 2009 St. Jude’s construction begins

After more than three years of waiting for enough funds to come in, initial construction of the new St. Jude’s Cathedral in Iqaluit is scheduled to begin in June.

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