Leigh Anne Williams

ARTICLES

Archbishop Fred Hiltz will travel with Bishop Larry Robertson to visit parishes, including St. Christopher in Haines Junction. Photo: Reinhard Tiburzy

Primate to visit diocese of Yukon

When Archbishop Fred Hiltz celebrates Canada Day the sun will rise in Whitehorse at 3:35 a.m. and won’t set until 10:33 p.m., but the primate of the Anglican Church of Canada may need those long hours of daylight to see and do all that his hosts have planned throughout the diocese of Yukon.

(L to R) The Rev. David Giffen and music director Kristen Hamilton, of Toronto's Church of the Transfiguration, with the Rev. Canon Rod BrantFrancis and the Rev. Lisa BrantFrancis of St. John the Baptist in Wemindji, Que. Photo: Heather Giffen

Getting to know one another

It took the Rev. Canon Rod BrantFrancis and the Rev. Lisa BrantFrancis 19 hours to drive from their parish in northern Quebec to their new companion parish in Toronto for the first time in April, but the story of these two parishes coming together actually has its beginnings much farther away.

Bishop David Torraville, diocese of Central Newfoundland, spends some time with children before the Sunday church service at St. Alban’s Cathedral, Dar es Salaam. Photo: Andrea Mann

Companion relationships tell a different story

Bishop David Torraville of the diocese of Central Newfoundland first met Bishop Francis Loyo of the diocese of Rokon, South Sudan, at Lambeth in 2008, and they established a companion relationship between their dioceses. The two bishops have also built a friendship …

Dixie Bird (right) with Archbishop Fred Hiltz at the 2012 Sacred Circle. Photo: Anglican Video

Listening will ‘open hearts’

Dixie Bird grew up and has worked with youth on the Montreal Lake reserve in northern Saskatchewan. She now lives in Prince Albert, Sask., and will be a delegate to General Synod 2016 as one of the representatives of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples.

Lutheran World Relief, a member of the ecumenical aid organization ACT Alliance, distributes emergency supplies to people in Nepal, but an LWF report says the need for tarpaulins to shelter people who have been displaced from their homes far exceeds the number distributed. Photo: Courtesy of ACT Allliance

New damage and disease threaten Nepal

Two weeks before the May 25 deadline set by the Canadian government for matching donations given to registered charities for earthquake relief in Nepal, the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) announced that Anglicans had so far donated $167, 937.

The Rev. Jay Koyle, congregational development officer from the diocese of Algoma, and The Rev. Eileen Scully, director of General Synod’s faith, worship and ministry department. Photo: Leigh Anne Williams

Church should focus on mission, not maintenance

Presenting a report from the Vital and Healthy Parishes project with Eileen Scully, director of Faith, Worship and Ministry for General Synod, the Rev. Jay Koyle told the Council of General Synod (CoGS) that the crisis of the church in decline has been misdiagnosed and requires a different approach for treatment.

Alex Starr, representing the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and the Yukon, looks at the numbers during a presentation of the General Synod budget at the spring meeting of CoGS. Photo: Marites N. Sison

Small surplus despite lower revenues

General Synod was able to transfer a surplus of $400,000 to its contingency fund, thanks largely to higher investment performance, according to the report from the financial management committee presented on May 2 to the Council of General Synod (CoGS) by committee chair Archbishop Colin Johnson.

The Rev. Andrew Wesley (left) and Archbishop Terence Finlay, co-convenors of the Primate's Commission on the Doctrine of Discovery, Reconciliation and Justice. Photo: Leigh Anne Williams.

Commission to produce theological reflection

The Primate’s Commission on the Doctrine of Discovery, Reconciliation and Justice has spent time “in thoughtful, political and theological reflection” on the nature of the doctrine of discovery and is currently working on developing a theological reflection on the doctrine that can be shared with the rest of the church.

Clickers-handheld electronic devices-have the effect of turning votes into secret ballots, says Deputy prolocutor Cynthia Haines-Turner, “which is not where we have been or the way we work.” Photo: Leigh Anne Williams

To click or not to click

“I think we’re on track, we’re on schedule and we’re on budget,” Dean Peter Wall, chair of the General Synod planning committee, told the Council of General Synod (CoGS), describing preparations for the next meeting of General Synod, to be held in Richmond Hill, Ont., from July 7 to 13, 2016.

General Synod chancellor Canon (lay) David Jones. Photo: Leigh Anne Williams

‘Governance follows mission’

Asked for his thoughts on how the structures of the Anglican Church of Canada might change in order to respond to the needs and goals for Indigenous ministry outlined by the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP), David Jones, chair of the governance working group, acknowledged that huge challenges are involved.

Members of the Council of General Synod - (L to R) the Rev. Canon Terry Leer, province of Rupert's Land; Tannis Webster, province of Rupert's Land and Haroldine Neil Burchert, province of Ontario- enjoyed a little fresh air during group discussions of proposals from the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples. Photo: Marites N. Sison

CoGS members consider ACIP proposals

The Anglican Council of Indigenous People (ACIP) presented proposed steps for creating self-determining Indigenous ministries within the Anglican Church of Canada, such as creating a fifth ecclesiastical province, to the Council of General Synod (CoGS) at its May 1 to 3 meeting.

"In the promised gift of the Spirit, the disciples are called to trust...I think it is the call to the followers of Jesus now," Archbishop Fred Hiltz said during his reflection at the spring meeting of Council of General Synod. Photo: L. Williams

Primate focuses on challenges of ‘work of the Spirit’

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, began the spring meeting of the Council of General Synod (CoGS) with a reflection on the theme of “trust in the coming of the Holy Spirit,” and what that means for Anglicans across Canada as they face challenges, including decisions about amending the marriage canon and standing with Indigenous people as they seek reconciliation and justice.

Jerusalem ministry transforms Ottawa priest

Three years ago, Major the Rev. Canon John Organ left behind his 20-year career as a military chaplain to serve as chaplain to Archbishop Suheil Dawani in the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.

Diocese of New Westminster Bishop Melissa Skelton snapped this photograph of Anglican Bishop Ordinary to the Canadian Forces Peter Coffin (left) and diocese of Ottawa Bishop John Chapman at a farewell dinner for retiring bishops during the House of Bishops meeting in April.

Bishops discuss changes to church structures, marriage canon

When the House of Bishops met in Niagara Falls, Ont., from April 13 to 17, they discussed some contentious issues, including possible amendments to the marriage canon and a call from the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples (ACIP) for significant changes to church structures.

22 days of healing and reconciliation

Anglicans across Canada are being called to demonstrate in the 22 days following the closing event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that this ending is only the beginning of healing and reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous people.

Lorie Lee-Knight wrote to her parents from Athens, Greece, where she was studying architecture: “I’m having the time of my life.” Photo: Contributed

Writing of love and loss

There are no measures of the depths of grief, but the death of a child is often said to be one of the most traumatic kinds of losses that people endure.

Diagnosed with primary progressive MS, Elizabeth MacDonald warned her husband that she could not live with complete paralysis. “I’m not sticking around. I’m not going to be trapped in my own body.” Photo: Contributed

Choosing the ‘escape clause’

The Rev. Eric MacDonald, a retired Anglican priest who lives in Windsor, N.S., said he was “overjoyed” by the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to legalize doctor-assisted suicide. “I think it was about time,” he said, but added, “For Elizabeth, it is 10 years too late.”

Mary Williams checks out her new Braille transcription of the Common Praise hymnal. Photo: Contributed

Hymnal transcribed into Braille

When Mary Williams attends services at St. John’s Anglican Church, South March in Kanata, Ont., she likes to sing all the hymns along with the rest of the congregation, but in recent years that has become increasingly difficult.

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