Anglicans to meet on same-sex issues
Posted on April 16, 2007
Filed Under Ontario | Leave a Comment
The archbishop of Canterbury broke weeks of silence in Toronto this morning, announcing that he will meet in September with the U.S. Episcopal Church on the eve of the American branch of Anglicanism being expelled from the international communion over gay rights.
Williams has been under pressure to meet with the American church since last month, when U.S. bishops voted to support same sex marriage blessings and gay clergy, despite a Sept. 30 deadline to reverse the policies or face expulsion from the international communion.
The bishops also issued an urgent plea to meet with them. They are to meet again in New Orleans from Sept 20 to 25.
Canadian Anglicans face the possibility of sanctions similar to those imposed on the U.S. church when it decides in June whether to allow same sex marriage blessings.
Williams urged Canadian church leaders to consider the future of the international communion when they cast their ballots.
The church has been pushed to the brink of schism over gay rights, with conservative bishops, mostly from Africa, pitted against the largely liberal church leadership in developed countries. Williams said it has been his job as head of the church to keep all sides at the table.
Source: Toronto Star
Canadian activist urges Nova Scotia churches to allow same-sex marriage
Posted on April 13, 2007
Filed Under Canada, Nova Scotia | Leave a Comment
Canadian gay rights activist Gerard Veldhoven is calling for churches in Amherst, Nova Scotia, to allow same-sex marriages. Veldhoven says that now that civil marriage is legal, religious institutions should follow suit, reports the Amherst Daily News.
“The fact civil marriage ceremonies have now been legal in the whole of Canada for some time now, I believe it to be fair and justified that same-sex couples are afforded the opportunity to marry in their churches,” Veldhoven told the local paper.
He added that it is ironic that the United Church of Canada was a driving force in allowing same-sex couples to marry but that Trinity-St. Stephen’s United in Amherst prohibits such ceremonies. Presently, no churches in the town allow same-sex marriages to take place on their grounds.
“It’s not something that’s within our control,” the Reverend Byron Corkum with Amherst First Baptist told the Daily News. “It’s a convention policy, and we have to follow it to remain as part of the convention.”
Veldhoven married his partner, Norman Carter, in 2004 in what was believed to be the first legal same-sex union in Nova Scotia.
Source: The Advocate
Apology for Canada’s same-sex marriage legislation
Posted on April 11, 2007
Filed Under Canada | Leave a Comment
We, the people of Canada who support marriage solely as the union of a man and a woman, apologize to the people of the world for harm done through Canada’s legalization of homosexual marriage.
We are grieved and troubled as we consider the impact this is having in weakening the fundamental institution of marriage in countries and cultures around the world. We understand that because Canada does not impose citizenship or residency requirements in order for same-sex individuals to be “married” here, couples are coming to Canada to seek legal sanction for their homosexual relationships with the intent of returning to their own countries to challenge those countries’ legal definition of marriage.
We understand that Canada is seen by people around the world as a country in which public policy is developed carefully and judiciously. It would, therefore, be a natural assumption that in legalizing homosexual marriage our government and courts thoroughly considered the implications of this action through proper and extensive study of social sciences and facts. But it is essential that the people of the world understand that this was not the case.
Our government and courts only considered adult “rights.” Among other things, the impact on children’s rights, children’s education, parental rights, religious rights, adoption, the economy and family law were never fully considered. Changes were implemented quickly and without a genuinely free vote in our federal parliament.
From REAL Women of Canada and Canada Family Action Coalition on behalf of the Canadian people.
Source: LifeSiteNews
Priest to lose licence over same-sex marriage stance
Posted on April 1, 2007
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Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck, an Anglican priest in the diocese of Saskatoon, was to lose his licence to minister after March 31 if he did not reconsider his declaration that he intends to marry gay couples, if asked, said diocesan bishop Rodney Andrews.
“Shawn has declared his intention to step outside the guidelines and requirements of our church at this time. I have encouraged him to reconsider,” Bishop Andrews said in a statement.
If Mr. Sanford Beck’s licence is not renewed, he will still be a priest, but may not perform such priestly duties as baptisms and communion services unless he receives special permission, said Bishop Andrews in an interview. “This is not a disciplinary action,” he added.
The action would mean Mr. Sanford Beck would lose his job as director of ministry at a Lutheran mission in downtown Saskatoon that serves aboriginal people, he said in an interview. “We do a weekly sacred circle (service), a weekly community meal, street ministry and advocacy and we’re getting funding for an aboriginal minister,” he said. Under the terms of a 2001 agreement between the Anglican Church of Canada and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, priests must be in good standing with their denomination to serve in the other’s church.
In February, Mr. Sanford Beck wrote an “open letter” which said that the church’s ban on same-sex marriages and blessing ceremonies “is theologically problematic and fundamentally unjust.” In the interview, he said his views had been forming for quite a while but were solidified when a gay couple in a long-term relationship came to him last November, asking for a blessing ceremony. Mr. Sanford Beck is chaplain to the Saskatoon chapter of Integrity, a support group for gay Anglicans.
“I would rather have waited (to express his views) until (the) General Synod (national convention),” he said, but the couple’s request caused him to act.
Source: Anglican Journal
Priest loses licence over gay marriage
Posted on March 10, 2007
Filed Under Canada, Saskatchewan | Leave a Comment
Saskatoon Anglican priest is losing his licence to minister because he refuses to abide by a church policy prohibiting priests from performing gay marriages. Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck said his conscience does not allow him to discriminate against same-sex couples who have asked him to bless their marriages.
Anglican church policy goes against priest’s morals “That goes against everything else I’m about in my ministry and everything else that the church stands for,” he said. “I’m feeling at peace. I’ve been wrestling with this for a long time and I feel that I’ve made a faithful decision and I’m willing to go with whatever comes.”
Bishop Rodney Andrews cancelled Sanford Beck’s licence in January and issued a temporary licence that expires at the end of March. In a statement, Andrews said he is unable to give Sanford Beck permission to perform same-sex marriages and has encouraged him to reconsider.
Source: The Star Phoenix
Priest fired over same-sex marriage
Posted on March 9, 2007
Filed Under Canada, Quebec | Leave a Comment
An Anglican priest has been told he’ll be dumped from his job by the end of the month for supporting same-sex marriage.
Source: Montreal Gazette
Canadian film on same-sex marriage causes deeper thinking on issue
Posted on March 8, 2007
Filed Under Canada, Alberta | Leave a Comment
When Bill C-38, Canada’s law that extended marriage to same-sex couples, was passed, pro-traditional marriage leaders were dismayed the public hearings process was cut short and its report never presented. Even before the bill was passed though, two Alberta film maker brothers were already producing a unique film that would fairly present the views of numerous ordinary citizens and experts on both sides of the marriage issue.
For information: http://www.c38themovie.com or
Contact: info@c38themovie.com
Phone: 780-989-5858
Source: CNTNewswire.com
The climb to power and influence by homosexuals in Canada through the liberal government
Posted on February 20, 2007
Filed Under Canada | Leave a Comment
Over the past ten years, Canadians have experienced a revolution in regard to the homosexual issue. This revolution, whereby homosexuals, who, according to the 2003 census, consist of approximately one per cent of the population, have acquired enormous power and influence in this country. These new-found rights of homosexuals have priority over other basic rights, such as freedom of religion, speech, belief etc.
This has not been accomplished by the will of the public, but rather by a number of other factors, such as the one-sided promotion of the homosexual issue in the secular media, judicial activism, and the decisions of human rights tribunals. However, even these significant institutions could not have brought about the homosexual revolution by themselves.
The real engine behind the success of the movement was the federal Liberal government, which undertook a cunning and calculated campaign to achieve recognition and rights for homosexuals during the past ten years. It was a long, insidious but successful campaign, achieved step by step, largely accomplished out of view of the Canadian public.
The Liberal Government’s Step by Step Campaign to Legitimize Homosexuality in Canada
The first step in the calculated campaign by the Liberal government actually began long ago, in 1969, by Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, when he amended the Criminal Code to decriminalize homosexual acts for those 21 years of age and over. In 1987, the Criminal Code was again amended, this time, to lower the age of consent for homosexual acts to 18 years of age.
Mr. Trudeau was famous (infamous) for his statement that “there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation”. He went on to state that “What’s done in private between adults doesn’t concern the Criminal Code”. However, the decriminalizing of homosexual acts for those over 21 years of age had the opposite effect of what he claimed he intended. The decriminalizing of homosexual acts for those 21 years and older, provided state approval, for the first time, for homosexual acts to take place, whether in the bedrooms, bathhouses, or even the parks of this nation.
Since then, a succession of Liberal Ministers of Justice have pulled the strings, privately and publicly, as well as financially, to further the homosexual cause. These actions commenced with Justice Minister Allan Rock (1993 – 1997); followed by Anne McLellan (1997 – 2002); Martin Cauchon (2002 – 2003) and Irwin Cotler (2003 – 2006).
The support for the homosexual agenda by this succession of Liberal Justice Ministers was carried out with the full approval of both Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Prime Minister Paul Martin. Read more….
Source: Life Site
American radio contest offers same-sex couples wedding in Toronto
Posted on February 14, 2007
Filed Under Canada, Ontario | Leave a Comment
Ontario’s same-sex marriage law is a great source of pride for many Canucks and it’s made Toronto a top destination for gay and lesbian couples around the world wanting to tie the knot.
And in the spirit of Valentine’s Day an American radio station is offering one lucky pair a two-night trip to T.O. for a wedding ceremony at City Hall. The prize includes round trip airfare, two nights hotel accommodation and tourist passes to the CN Tower, ROM, AGO, the Metro Zoo and Casa Loma. In order to qualify, contestants had to sum up why they and their partner should get married in Toronto in 100 words or less.
City Councillor Kyle Rae (Toronto Centre-Rosedale) was scheduled to appear on San Francisco’s Energy 927 FM Wednesday to promote the contest and to hopefully make Americans more tolerant to same-sex marriage.
Same-sex couples have been allowed to marry in Ontario since June 2003. “So people who have come from around the world to get married here, and for people in San Francisco in particular, it’s distressing that they began the program of marriage and then the Supreme Court in California struck it down.”
The deadline is Valentine’s Day. The top entries will be posted on the radio station’s website where readers can vote for their favourite admission.
Source: City News - Toronto
Posted on December 11, 2006
Filed Under Canada | Leave a Comment
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