December 13, 2000
December 2000 NACC News Briefs
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Distribution
This is our second ``electronic'' circulation of News Briefs, and once again it is going out by e-mail to the NACC congregations for which I have online contact people. It is also being posted at http://www.unitedrenewal.org, our NACC website. This last means that the content is decidedly public, and you can therefore feel free to pass this material along to anyone who is interested, whether or not they are sympathetic to our concerns. The main target audience, though, continues to be people in our own pews.
God bless -- Geoff
Fishing in the Dark?
We've heard from several people that NBs' coverage of General Council was pretty disheartening. As they see it, the renewal movement seems to have bitten off more than it can chew, and the forces of the ``new theology'' in the church have won the day. After all, they say, ten years of effort have produced little apparent success, so isn't it time to cut our losses and move on? Such feelings are understandable, but Scripture has quite a bit to say about how to act when things are looking hopeless. Here's just one example:
When [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ``Put out into deep water, and let down the net for a catch.'' Simon answered, ``Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But
because you say so, I will let down the nets.'' When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.''
(Luke 5:4-6 NIV)
Our ``night'', like Peter's, may seem to be a long, hard and unproductive one, . . . But (1) Jesus calls us to be faithful, not ``successful'', (2) we know His harvest will surely come, and (3) when the catch does come in, it'll be His catch, not ours!
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Ted Wigglesworth!
We have been holding this edition of NBs so that we could pass along the latest news on Ted.
You may remember that, while waiting for his main suit to be heard in the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, Ted decided to apply for an injunction, asking that the United Church's actions against him be set aside until the full case is eventually heard. That hearing is probably still two years away, and it is now three years since Ted was summarily removed from his charge (and now the order of ministry). In all, that's five years out of the pulpit.
After considerable delay at the request of the United Church, the injunction application has just been argued before a judge in Alberta. The lawyers concluded their presentations earlier this week, and the judge has retired to ponder the pros and cons of the case. Her ruling is probably at least six weeks away.
This has been a long and wearing process for Ted, who, among other things, has had to hear a lot of unpleasant things said about himself, including at this latest hearing. However, he says he is determined to stick it out to the end. For him this is not primarily a personal issue - ``I could have walked away a long time ago''. Quite apart from the rights and wrongs of how he has been treated, what sustains him is his resolve to force the Church to follow its own procedural requirements and the rules of natural justice when disciplining its ministers. Clearly, how this all plays out will have profound implications for ministers and pastoral charges all across the United Church.
The NACC supports Ted in his stand, and we have from early on been able to provide him with financial support through the Legal Defence Fund. A very large number of donations, some small, some large, have now contributed over $100,000 toward Ted's mountain of legal fees. However, the Fund is presently sadly depleted, and this is another plea for your continued, concerned support. If you or your congregation can help (no amount is too small, and all are tax deductible) please send what you can to:
Jack Scott, NACC Financial Officer Cheques should be made out to
``NACC Legal Defence Fund''. Would you also please be sure to
ask God to bring this sad matter to a fair and just conclusion. Thank you and God bless you. General Council and Same Sex Unions For some reason, a number of
people seem to be persuaded the NACC is interested in nothing but homosexual
issues, so it is unfortunate that decisions at the recent meeting of General
Council force us back again into that particular arena. Still, GC's decision
to ``Affirm Lesbian and Gay partnerships, actively work for their civil
recognition, and recognize them in Church Documentation and Services of
Blessing'' has serious implications for every congregation and minister, and
we feel the NACC has a helpful role to play here. First some background. When GC
adopted the above resolution, the NACC, through a commissioner, asked how the
UCC would react if a minister felt unable to perform such ceremonies for
reasons of faith or conscience. A ruling has now come from the General
Secretary of GC, saying that, while a minister will indeed be allowed to
decline, he/she will still be expected to assist the applicants ``by arranging
for another United Church minister to perform this function.'' That ruling
may offer some relief, but it leaves unanswered a related question: Where
would the substitute minister perform the ceremony? In the church of the
reluctant minister? To assist congregations to make
their positions clear on this point, the NACC has therefore drafted a
resolution to help a local Session, Church Board, or Council to clarify what
the congregation expects from its minister or will countenance on its
premises. It reads: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that, in
its determination to maintain the sanctity of the family and the inviolability
of marriage as a pledge and relationship between a man and a woman, the
Session/Church Board/Council of XXXX United Church does not and will not
permit its minister or any other member of the staff of XXXX United Church to
arrange for, play a role in, officiate at, or take any part in any service of
wedding, blessing, covenant, affirmation, or other recognition of any kind,
including documentation, of a union between persons of the same gender, nor
does it nor will it permit its premises to be used for such purpose or for any
recognition thereof, nor will it condone such participation or use. Several NACC charges now have
something like that in place. As the first few words of the
resolution suggest, there is an accompanying preamble, but this is fairly
lengthy and we have omitted it here for reasons of space. However, we have
legal advice that the preamble's introductory ``whereases'' will provide a
critical protective reference if the resolution is ever challenged in the
courts. The full text is being forwarded directly to Secretaries of our
Sessions, Church Boards, or Councils for consideration. The full text is also
at our website, http://www.unitedrenewal.org ,
and it can also be requested from NBs. Finally, it is important to point
out that the Basis of Union (5.8.4) makes it clear that it is a Session,
Church Board, or Council which has to undertake an action like this on behalf
of a congregation. (Even a properly constituted congregational meeting does
not of itself satisfy the Manual requirements, although such a meeting
could certainly ask the responsible body to take such action or could provide
endorsation after the fact.) General Council and the Fishery Despite the volume of business it
had to handle, General Council also found time to speak about last summer's
well publicized difficulties in the East Coast Native Fishery. The NACC's
regional association in the Maritimes (MACC) feels the most publicized of
Council's actions was ill-judged interference in a charged and complex
situation. The NACC concurs, and at MACC's request it has agreed to so advise
the church at large. The letter below and the accompanying Statement from St.
Andrew's UC, Tabusintac (an NACC/MACC member) are intended address what has is
a major ongoing concern in the East Coast Fishery. **************************************************************
2000-12-05 Rev. Virginia K. Coleman Dear Ms. Coleman: The 37th General
Council adopted two resolutions which addressed last summer's conflict in the
East Coast fishery. These resolutions touched directly on matters of
immediate and grave concern to one of our NACC congregations, St. Andrews,
Tabusintac, part of a three-point charge that includes Burnt Church. The NACC
has been asked to pass along the charge's concerns to the Executive of General
Council and, since the dispute captured national attention, to the various
Conferences and Presbyteries of the United Church. The concerns are expressed
in the ``Statement of Support'' from St. Andrews UC (below). One of the two resolutions was
presented and adopted by the GC on August 17, the other on August 18. There
is a marked difference in the language used by the two resolutions, with the
second being much more measured in its tone. Significantly, the second also
explicitly recognized that non-Natives have a major stake in the fishery.
Unfortunately, media coverage at General Council focused on the first
resolution, leading many local non-Native fishermen to feel a significant
measure of rejection by the United Church. Although there have been local
attempts to right the misunderstanding, we are not aware that to date any
officer of the General Council has attempted to deal with the non-Native
fishing community's deep feelings of hurt and betrayal. As a first step in
rectifying this oversight, the NACC urges the Executive Committee, acting on
behalf of the General Council, to make public its regret for the impression
left by the GC 37 resolution in question. Finally, we have been informed
that the winter season is a time of severely reduced activity in the affected
fishery, thus providing a window for measured dialogue between the two fishing
communities and an important opportunity for healing. Once the weather
improves, however, we can expect last year's confrontations to recommence
since the situation appears to be stalemated. Given that the actions of the
General Council may have exacerbated matters to some degree, the NACC urges
the General Council Executive to exert its good offices to head off what
promises to become an ugly and divisive national issue once again in the
coming year. Yours in Christ, **************************************************************
STATEMENT OF SUPPORT (OCT. 15, 2000) In this Statement of Support, we,
as Session Members of St. Andrews United Church, a Maritime and National
Alliance of Covenanting Congregations member, wish to respond to our United
Church General Council's reaction to a very volatile situation in our Maritime
Fishing Industry. Instead of a well thought out
Biblical response to the Fishery Issues at Burnt church, N.B., that would be
instructive rather than reactive, the General Council chose to issue a ``quick
fix'' resolution that the Press promptly communicated August 17th/00. The United Church's own
communications network has still not issued anything official, as far as we
know. The `Record of Proceedings' for the 37th General Council
meeting will not appear until some time in the New Year 2001. Our Non Aboriginal Fishermen
interpreted what they heard and read as a stand against them. The local
churches in the fishing communities were not able to interpret, explain or
support the Resolution, as the press release was a complete surprise to them.
No consultation with local churches was carried out before the resolution and
press release. After obtaining drafts of the
resolutions passed (there were two of them!) St. Andrew's United Church
Session members were not comfortable with the intent. Our `Statement of Support' in St.
Andrew's United Church is given in order to reassure our Non Aboriginal
Fishermen that we stand with them and the stance they have taken in the
dispute. We understand that! For us, it seems fair to all parties involved
to facilitate good management of the fishery, and in the long term, to serve
to strengthen the fabric of our Nation (Canada). The `Statement' received strong
support from our St. Andrew's members and adherents, and has been passed to
our local fishermen for their information and future reference. The `Statement of Support' is as follows: IT IS THE WISH OF ST. ANDREW'S
UNITED CHURCH, TABUSINTAC, NB. TO SUPPORT THE FISHERMEN OF THE MARITIMES IN
THEIR EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN ``EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUAL RESPONSIBILITIES, AND ONE LAW
FOR ALL'' IN THE CANADIAN FISHERY. ______________________________________________________________
Finally: The NACC's new Financial
Officer is Jack Scott, and he is now handling all our banking, etc. Would
Treasurers and others please note that donations to the Operating Fund, Legal
Defence Fund, etc., should now go directly to him at, 792 Headley Dr Extra copies of the 2001
Prayer Calendar went out to our congregations last week. These are intended
for outreach -
e.g. as gifts to people in non-NACC congregations. If you have suggestions
for local use, make them known in your own church.
792 Headley Dr.
London ON N6H 3V8.
Secretary,
Executive of General Council,
300 - 3250 Bloor Street West,
Etobicoke ON
M8X 2Y4
Geoff Wilkins,
Secretary-Treasurer
Encl.
Cc All Conference Offices and Presbyteries
London ON N6H 3V8
Phone: (519) 472-2303
Email: jasscott@home.com
The NACC's 2001 Annual Meeting is planned for London, ON, April 20, 21. The associated rally evenings will feature highly regarded speakers Mike and Harriet McManus of ``Marriage Savers''.
National chairman Bob Blackburn represented us in the planning of November's very successful ``Christ Our Hope'' conference at Wellington Square UC, Burlington. Drawing 335 participants, this was a cooperative ecumenical venture of renewal groups in the Presbyterian, Anglican, and United Churches. The hope is that it will become an annual event. Bob reports he has several excellent tapes of conference speakers: two of Dale Lang, the well known Anglican pastor and priest from Taber, AB, and one of Gary Walsh, author and President of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. To borrow the tapes, write Bob at 5300 Drenkelly Ct, Mississauga, ON L5M 2H4.
When a minister moves, finding the right replacement can be challenging. For some years the NACC has offered a Pastoral Relations Service, helping NACC congregations and theologically orthodox ministers to find out about each other. More recently, a number of non-NACC charges have also asked to be included in the service, and these are now included if prepared to endorse the sort of theology to which the NACC subscribes (e.g. the 20 Articles of Faith of the Basis of Union). Four times a year, ministers and charges receive lists of the possibilities. (Ministers wishing to participate in confidence can do so.) For more information, contact the NACC Sec. -Treas. at the News Briefs address, etc. (see p. 1).
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A CHRISTMAS REMINDER:
CHRIST CAME HERE!
CHRIST IS HERE!
CHRIST WILL ALWAYS BE HERE!
WHAT A CHRISTMAS PRESENT!
Posted at December 13, 2000 10:59 PM