Council of General Synod highlights: Nov. 15, 2008
COGS members began the day at 9:00 with a Eucharist, then spent time with their Bible study groups.
News Features
Council of General Synod highlights: Nov. 14, 2008
The Council of General Synod began its third meeting of the triennium by celebrating the Eucharist together. Members then spent time in Bible study groups before reconvening.
Playing on the word "grace" for Amazing Grace Sunday
The Amazing Grace team at General Synod has been sending out lots of ideas to keep the creative juices flowing for Nov. 23. On this special Sunday, all Canadian Anglicans are encouraged to sing “Amazing Grace,” film their rendition, and send it to the national office so it can be included in a compilation video, to be put online by Christmas.
Prayer investors’ report from South Africa
I have no idea how God manages the economy of prayer. How do well wishes and worries murmured in Canada translate into good things in other places?
An Anglican enveloped by Greek hospitality
He was the odd Anglican out, but he had a wonderful time. This past summer, the Rev. Craig Bowers of Ottawa, Ont. was the first Anglican to participate in a learning experience hosted by the Greek Orthodox Church. Set up in response to John Paul II’s 2001 visit to Greece, the program was designed for Roman Catholic clergy and laity to learn about being a Hellenic Christian. Traditionally the relationship between Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches has been strained.
Prisoners will sing "Amazing Grace" with gusto
When the Rev. Lon Towstego heard about the Amazing Grace Project, he knew it would be an easy sell at the Nanaimo Correctional Centre. The Rev. Towstego, a former motorcycle mechanic, is chaplain at the medium security prison, where he counsels, teaches, and leads services for the 240 residents.
Truth and reconciliation commissioner visits national office
On Oct. 28, Jane Brewin Morley, a commissioner with Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on residential schools, visited the Anglican Church of Canada’s national office in Toronto, Ont.
Willie Nelson, placemats, and Facebook for the Amazing Grace Project
The Rev. Rob Towler is not a fan of Willie Nelson. Yet this Kitchener, Ont. priest changed his cell phone ring tone to Willie Nelson’s twangy version of “Amazing Grace,” so that every time his phone goes off, he donates a toonie to the Council of the North, the 10 financially supported dioceses in Canada’s north.
Lutheran Bishops issue statement on joint meeting
Members of the Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, who met jointly with the Anglican House of Bishops in Niagara Falls Ont. this week, issued the following statement at the conclusion of the gathering:
A statement from the House of Bishops
The meeting of the Canadian House of Bishops which concluded today was our first time together since we were in England at the Lambeth Conference last summer. We spent considerable time — more than two days — sharing impressions of the conference, discussing events in the Canadian Church since Lambeth, and seeking agreement among ourselves on a way forward for our Church and its dioceses in the context of the proceedings at Lambeth.
New Canadian Anglican history book considers people in the pews
Just released by ABC Publishing, Seeds Scattered and Sown is a Canadian Anglican history that includes several overlooked perspectives: those of Aboriginals, women, and other minorities. Eight historians contributed essays to the book, which covers the colonial period to post-World War II, and in many ways, post-Christian, era in Canada.
Churches express confidence in Truth and Reconciliation Commissioners
The Anglican, Presbyterian, and United churches, and 51 Roman Catholic entities, who are all parties to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, today expressed regret over the resignation of Justice Harry LaForme while affirming their confidence in Truth and Reconciliation Commissioners Claudette Dumont-Smith and Jane Brewin Morley.
Covenant Design Group publishes Lambeth Commentary
The Covenant Design Group publish today the Lambeth Commentary, which sets out the responses of the bishops at the Lambeth Conference in their discussions of the St Andrew’s Draft for an Anglican Covenant.
An unusual road trip to former residential schools
For much of last year, archivist Ted Wickson was deep in residential schools research. He sorted through stacks of documents in the General Synod Archives and wrote up individual histories of all schools run by the Anglican Church of Canada. Full of these facts, Mr. Wickson was inspired to spend his summer vacation travelling to former school sites.
Amazing Grace project finds South African solidarity
Down a dusty dirt road, past a barbed wire fence, inside a simple brick building, a group of eight men and women sing the hymn “Amazing Grace.” They sing soulfully–slowly but loud, and with big smiles.