Marites N. Sison

ARTICLES

The good news about bad news

(This article first appeared in the June 2018 issue of the Anglican Journal.) It’s a question that never gets old. Why do media, including the

What happens when a church closes?

By now it has sadly become a familiar story that we hear about or read in the news—a church is being closed, deconsecrated and put

The arrival of God’s love

(This editorial first appeared in the December issue of the Anglican Journal.) Christmas is upon us. For some, it hasn’t come soon enough—that time of

Canon (lay) Robert Falby, chair of the commission on the marriage canon, tells CoGS the report should be ready for release in September, two months ahead of schedule. Photo: Leigh Anne Williams

CoGS to convene special session for marriage canon report

Council of General Synod (CoGS) will convene a special session to receive the report of the commission on the marriage canon, which has been mandated to carry out a broad consultation about changing the marriage canon (church law) to allow same-sex marriage.

Window of opportunity

The newspaper’s website, anglicanjournal.com, has launched Eyewitness, Special Coverage of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The web page compiles the newspaper’s extensive and award-winning coverage of the TRC national events, beginning in 2010 in Winnipeg.

Make space for grace

Don’t do it. This was the message delivered in December by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) when the Canadian church sought its opinion about amending canon (church law) to allow the marriage of same-sex couples.

Take courage

Many of us will likely say 2014 turned out to be another annus horribilis. Indeed, it seemed as if we were trapped in an endless cycle of violence and misery.

Why is death shrouded in so much silence and fear when it used to be something so real and natural?

Let’s talk about death

We are, on a daily basis, confronted with images of death: we see it in the news and on social media, on TV shows, movies and video games. We routinely hear about life-threatening diseases, mass shootings, massacres and disasters, and we witness public displays of grief and despair even from faraway places.

A renowned Anglican theologian, Dr. Christopher Lind was passionate about the “intersection of Christian faith and economic justice.” Photo: Contributed

Renowned theologian and social activist dies

Dr. Christopher Lind, a renowned Anglican theologian, ethicist, educator, passionate social activist and most recently, executive director of the Sorrento Centre in British Columbia, died July 11 after a brief illness. He was 61.

Bishop Sue Moxley brings “great energy, determination and experience” to the role of Anglican Peace and Justice Network convenor, according to an announcement made by the Anglican Communion office. File photo: Art Babych

Moxley appointed to Communion network

Bishop Susan (“Sue”) Moxley, well known to Anglicans in Canada and overseas as a passionate advocate for social justice, has been appointed convenor of the Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN). The APJN assists the Anglican Communion in addressing peace and justice issues around the world.

Bishop Tom Collings felt a particular calling to native ministry. “Native people teach you how to be a priest. They expect priestcraft from you,” he once said in an interview. Photo: General Synod Archives

Bishop Collings dies at 75

(Ret.) Bishop Thomas William Ralph Collings, who was known for having devoted much of his ministry with Canada’s native people, died after a long battle with cancer on July 8 in Winnipeg. He was 76.

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (back turned), ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson, and Archbishop Fred Hiltz, at the recent "Four-Way" dialogue of Anglican and Lutheran church leaders held in Toronto. Photo: Jesse Dymond/General Synod Communications

‘Renewed energy’ in Anglican, Lutheran churches

When the heads of the Anglican and Lutheran Churches in North America met recently in Toronto, a common theme emerged when they shared developments in their respective churches: all felt a sense of “renewed energy” that they attributed to a “renewed focus on mission.”

The Ojibwa drum group Mino Ode Kwewak N'gamowak (Good Hearted Women Singers) took part in the ELCIC Eastern Synod event aimed at building "right relationships" between indigenous and non-indigenous people of Canada. Photo: Marites N. Sison

‘Reconciliation is about change’

Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) member Marie Wilson has commended the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) for taking an active role in forging reconciliation between Canada’s indigenous and non-indigenous people even though it is not one of the churches implicated in the Indian residential schools system.


National Consultation on Congregational Vitality participants share ideas about what makes churches succeed. Photo: Marites N. Sison

What makes churches grow?

When parishes are “elastic” and embrace different ways of being church, when their dioceses, clergy and parishioners are collaborative and have a “strong spiritual core” and when they reach out to communities beyond their walls, they become healthy and vital.

The Rev. Andrew Wesley, commission co-chair and a survivor of Indian residential schools, says he is eager to contribute to the work of reconciliation, in particular, the role of forgiveness. File photo: Brian Bukowski

Primate’s commission begins work

Members of the Primate’s Commission on Discovery, Reconciliation and Justice, met for the first time April 25 to 16 and acknowledged the need to deepen their understanding of the “theological and spiritual implications” of the Doctrine of Discovery in their different cultures.

The Israeli-Palestinian struggle remains one of the most complex and most enduring of all the world's conflicts. Photo: Mikhail/Shutterstock

Timeline of the Middle East conflict

The land between the Jordan River and the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, which both Palestinians and Israelis claim, has been settled, resettled, conquered and reconquered throughout history, as far back as biblical times.

(L to R) The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto, Cardinal Thomas Collins, at an ecumenical reception in St. James Cathedral Centre. Welby visited the Anglican Church of Canada April 7 to 8. Photo: Michael Hudson

Ecumenism must involve dialogue & social action, says Welby

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has underscored the value of continuing ecumenical dialogue at a “passionate theological level” while at the same time having “a closer relationship of action” that addresses the needs of the world in such areas as poverty and social justice.

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