Question:
I thought about putting this in the Anglican forum, but thought it might be better to ask the entire Body of Christ to pray for this, even though it only applies to one Member.
As it is written (1 Cor 12:25-27) KJV
For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
Guys, as folks who visit my blog will know, I'm visiting Vancouver, BC, in exactly 9 days (10 if you count today). As anyone who keeps up with the politics of the Anglican Church will know, the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster (of which Vancouver is a part) contains some of the most liberal, with regards to things like same-sex marriages and clergy, (as well as, thankfully, some of the most conservative) elements of the Anglican Church in Canada - unfortunately, their Bishop just happens to be one of the liberal folks.
In addition, my friend Hugo is friends with the youth minister at St. Simon's Anglican Church in Deep Cove (a suburb of North Vancouver). They are a conservative, evangelical parish - so conservative, in fact, that Hugo tells me that the Bishop is actually trying to kick the congregation out of their building.
To this end, I have several prayer requests
- For the Bishop of New Westminster, Michael Ingham, that he would be shown the error of his ways in light of God's Holy Word, and repent of them, and also publicly correct the liberal elements of the diocese which the Lord Jesus, by the authority of His Church, has placed under his stewardship. That the Lord might show him mercy and bring his soul to everlasting Life. Let us pray to the Lord
- For all the clergy and faithful Christians who are part of the Diocese of New Westminster, that they may have the courage to stand for God's Truth, even in the face of a heretical Bishop. Let us pray to the Lord
- For St. Simon's Anglican Church, Deep Cove, that God, in His providence, would enable them to stand strong in the faith once delivered to the Saints, even with the threat of losing their place of worship looming over their heads. Let us pray to the Lord
Almighty God, we ask all these things through your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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Thanks for the notification; I will definitely pray.
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Originally Posted by +Donny Thanks for the notification; I will definitely pray. I agree, so be it.
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I'm not sure if you have been keeping up with Canadian Anglican news but that is the diocese that had a huge affect on the entire Candian Anglican church. For those of you that don't know what happened; a couple years ago that bishop decided to bless a same-sex union. Because of this, 8 parishes withdrew from the diocese and called in a new bishop who was presiding over the Yukon diocese to preside over their 8 churches. The thing is (for all you non-Anglican folk out there) that the bishop owns all the church buildings in his diocese so a parish can't just easily withdraw from the diocese. Also, it is illegal for a bishop from one diocese to enter the diocese of another bishop without the permission of that bishop. So, this caused a huge uproar. The head of the Canadian Anglican church restored everything to normal and put a stop to the blessing of same-sex unions until further thought has been put into it and there would be a voting on what to do in the General Synod in April of 2004.
At the General Synod, it was decided that the decision to bless same-sex unions would be put off for another 4 years so more research can be done. However, in another vote the Anglican Church passed a motion stating the sancity and holiness of homosexual unions. Basically saying that they are no different from heterosexual unions.
May God guide our Church.