During February and March 2008 ANiC bishops Donald Harvey and Malcolm Harding, and board members Rev Charlie Masters and lawyer Cheryl Chang visited various cities at around the time of parish vestry meetings. The timing was tactical for those parish congregations calling special vestries to vote to join the Anglican Network in Canada, which enjoys adequate Episcopal oversight from Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Province of the Southern Cone in South America.

The Anglican Gathering of Ottawa had requested that the Tour come to Ottawa, and the dates were set for Bishop Don and Cheryl Chang to come to Ottawa.

Although a public meeting was arranged and advertized in the Ottawa Citizen for the Sunday night, this was not the main purpose of the visit. There are several church bodies in this region totally committed to the authority of scripture and dismayed by the gradual decline into 'cultural Christianity" of the majority within the North American churches - not just Anglicans / Epicopalians. Our ANiC visitors were able to meet with five such groups to help them understand far better the processes that must be undertaken in the transition to affiliation with ANiC. Some of these discussions were oriented to spiritual matters, but Cheryl's presence allowed a clarification of the legal challenges that must be overcome. Why are such meetings so important to discuss? Because very few priests have been forthright with their congregations, preferring an under-rug-swept approach, so pews are populated with ignorance through no fault of most of those suffering from it.

Meeting at Sandy Hill Community Centre

There are two broad groupings of concerned Anglicans: 1 - where almost complete congregations want to find a way to come under more traditional priests and bishops, and remain in communion with the worldwide church, and 2 - invididuals who have become unhappy at their present place of worship and are banding together in brand new congregations of which Kanata lakes Fellowship is an example. The legal (both canon law and provincial law) issues facing the latter are significantly less than the former, but everything must be done rightly if the end result is to be pleasing to God, so there are no shortcuts.

During the visit a number of individuals met 1-on-1 with the Bishop; people feeling they have a call for ordination under ANiC; some of these having been refused ordination in the Diocese of Ottawa because their beliefs were too strong!

It is hard to understand how Bishop Don, 68, can fulfill the grualling schedule that I am afraid we continued to give him during this visit, without perhaps full recognition of the power of God in such situations as promised in Isaiah 40:31 ..

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

12 February 2008

Anglican Gathering of Ottawa
Anglican Network in Canada