"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. Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and National Indigenous Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald have issued a call to the whole church today to participate in #22days, a campaign that will stretch from the start of the closing of TRC event in Ottawa on May 31 [2015] to National Aboriginal Day on June 21 [2015]. 22days was first conceived of by a group of cathedral deans from cities in which a national TRC event was held and was 'heartily endorsed' by the House of Bishops" (p. 10). "The General Synod communications team has created a web page -- 22days.ca -- that will offer resources, including 22 videos featuring former residential school students and staff describing their experiences in the schools. The videos are not the typical 30-second sound bytes people are used to viewing on television, they are about 15 to 20 minutes each, in order to tell the stories in a more whole and sensitive way, said Anglican Video senior producer Lisa Barry. One video will be added daily to the website during the 22-day period and each will be accompanied by a prayer, written by various people in the church" (p. 11).
"'Both friendly and intense' is how the Rev. William Harrison describes the third dialogue between the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada, which wrapped up in Vancouver Jan. 16 [2014]. An interim report will be submitted for Council of General Synod's May [2014] meeting. The talks focused on the doctrinal identities of the two churches, including understandings of sacraments and orders of ministry with 'both side willing to engage and ask tough questions', according to Harrison, the Anglican co-chair. While previous dialogues focused on commonalities, this phase addressed differences. For the previous two dialogues, see 'Drawing from the Same Well: The St. Brigid Report' (anglican.ca/faith/eir/sbr/)". "Relations between the two denominations were strained after General Synod rejected a long-discussed formal merger in 1975, Dialogue resumed in 2003".
"Anita Bundy, who passed away on Oct. 23 [2012] at the age of 93, was a 'natural revolutionary', says the Rev. Clarke Raymond. Bundy worked as his executive assistant during her 30-year career with the church. 'She taught me a lot -- about confidentiality, the importance of letting people know, keeping people in the loop', Raymond says, praising her contribution to the General Board of Religious Education and the program departments of General Synod. Raymond also remarked on Bundy's support for women working at the Anglican Church of Canada's national office in Toronto". [Text of entire article.]
"Anglicans will now be able to see and hear singer-songwriter Jaylene Johnson perform her song 'Hope' in a video posted to the Anglican Church of Canada website at anglican.ca/hopesong. The song which won the 2011 'Living the Marks of Mission' song competition, was chosen from more than 70 entries that ranged from sacred to folk and rock genres. 'Hope' was produced by Randy Murray, communications director for the diocese of New Westminster, and filmed by Anglican Video. 'We love the song and working with Jaylene', says Anglican Video senior producer Lisa Barry. 'I think people are really going to like the song'. Johnson, who is also ministry co-ordinator at saint benedict's table, an Anglican missional church in Winnipeg, wrote the song in 2010 in collaboration with Jim Kimball, a Nashville-based guitar player who also works with country music stars such as Reba McEntire". [Text of entire article.]
"An Advent version of the 'Acts or Faith' gift catalogue is being readied for online shoppers who want to give something a bit different this Christmas. The Anglican Church of Canada's first alternative gift guide highlights ministries and suggests ways people can support them. It was first distributed in April [2010]. It is hoped that Anglicans choose to make it a big part of their Christmas gift-giving". "Those ministries that appear to resonate most strongly include The Primate's World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) and the suicide prevention project of the Council of the North. Although new to the Anglican Church of Canada, the fundraising vehicle has proved popular with World Vision, which pioneered the concept 10 years ago. Last year, donations to the World Vision gift catalogue totalled $18 million".
"On March 8 [2014], Toronto's Church of the Redeemer hosted a teach-in on missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls in Canada. Black signs ... bore the names and ages of murdered women. Keynote speaker Dr. Dawn Lavell-Harvard, vice-president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, outlined challenges faced by aboriginal females -- from poverty and predators to racism and systemic oppression. 'Our women experience greater rates of poverty, incarceration, child welfare apprehension, more violence' she said. 'They are more likely to go missing, more likely to be murdered and less likely to ever see justice'." The Native Women's Association of Canada has documented the cases of more than 600 missing or murdered women, and is tracking them at a rate of three to four new cases each month". Lavell-Harvard expressed anger at the federal government's refusal to call a national inquiry into murdered and missing women".
"'Thousands of Canadians wake up every day in a rundown apartment, a crowded hostel among strangers or even out in the cold', said Murray MacAdam, social justice and advocacy consultant for the diocese of Toronto, told the 'Anglican Journal' as people across Canada prepared to observe National Housing Day on Nov. 22 [2014]".
"The English explorer Sir John Franklin led two overland expeditions in search of the Northwest Passage through the Arctic in 1819 and and again in 1825, both of which brought him to The Pas (or Opasquia, as it was known then). According to information from Sam Waller Museum in the present-day town, Franklin was impressed by the small 'island of civilization' in the wilderness, and he and his wife, Lady Jane Franklin, later sent a sundial as a gift to the Church of England Mission at the site, which later became Christ Church" (p. 1). One of the first expeditions to search for Franklin "was led by Sir John Richardson, who had been a comrade of Franklin on some of his first voyages. It was during a time when the Rev. James Hunter was overseeing the construction of a church for the Devon Mission, as it was then called, and records indicate that carpenters from the Richardson company made some articles of furniture, such as chairs, chests of drawers, the font, communion rail and a reading desk" (p. 11). "The Rev. Rebecca Graham is now the priest at Christ Church, and her husband, Remi Rheault, has been researching the history of the Devon Mission ahead of its 175th anniversary, which will be celebrated in September 2015" (p. 11). "A chest of drawers in which church paraments are stored is stamped 1835, U.K., which leads [Rheault] to believe that it came from the captain's quarters of Richardson's ship" (p. 11).
"Council of the North members gathered in Edmonton from Feb. 9 to 11 to decide how best to use donations from Anglican parishes, groups and individuals that amounted to $160,000." "More than $80,000 came from the Amazing Grace project, in which parishes and groups, sang Amazing Grace and sent video to the General Synod office in Toronto ... About $80,000 also came from individuals and groups across the country". "The council settled on two spending priorities. The first is suicide prevention and intervention because suicide rates, particularly among young people, in the remote communities are among the highest in the world." "The other priority is training and leadership development." Bishop David Ashdown, Council chair, particularly mentioned "training in congregational development and stewardship. Each diocese will propose a leadership training program to be discussed when the council meets in April [2009]".
"Before being appointed in 2012 as the Anglican Church of Canada's special advisor for government relations, the Rev. Laurette Glasgow spent 37 years working for the federal government. She was a diplomat for 26 of those years, including as ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, and as Canada's Consult General in Monaco. During her discernment process, she was asked why she was giving up diplomacy to become a priest. 'I said, "Well, I'm an ambassador for my country, and I'm going to be an ambassador for Christ". They're different, but they draw from some very similar things'." In answer to the question "Why does the church need a special advisor for government relations ?", Glasgow replied: "You need to be able to have a voice that will articulate the voice of the church, particularly on behalf of those who don't have a voice themselves with people who have power, people who have influence, people who are shaping policies and laws that are going to affect the lives of Canadians and also of those beyond our borders".