FROM THE EDITOR
On behalf of the Diocesan Council of The Brotherhood of Anglican
Churchmen I extend a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and success and
good health to one and all in the coming year.
May
God Bless.
Paul
White
When
I am tired, the Bible is my bed;
Or
in the dark, the Bible is my light;
When
I am hungry, it is vital bread;
Or
fearful, it is armour for the fight;
When
I am sick, 'tis healing medicine;
Or
lonely, thronging friends I find therein.
If
I would work, the Bible is my tool;
Or
play, it is a harp of happy sound.
If
I am ignorant, it is my school;
If
I am sinking, it is solid ground.
If
I am cold, the Bible is my fire;
And
wings, if boldly I aspire.
Should
I be lost, the Bible is my guide;
Or
naked, it is raiment, rich and warm.
Am
I imprisoned, it is ranges wide;
Or
tempest-tossed, a shelter from the storm.
Would
I adventure, 'tis a gallant sea;
Or
would I rest, it is a flowery lea.
- Amos R. Wells
Following is the text of a letter
from the Chaplain to Arch Parsons, Diocese of Central Newfoundland)
Hello,
Arch:
Paul White has forwarded to me extensive
communications between himself, you, and Lorne Bowerman of Ottawa. My
understanding is that Paul wanted me to comment on your request for
information on the Aims and Objects of the Brotherhood, their origin, and
"to what extent other B. A. C. groups in Canada were expected to embrace
them." For openers, let me review a little history for you.
The Brotherhood of Anglican Churchmen was first
formed in the Diocese of Huron in 1951 in response to the need felt by the
Bishop of Huron and some laymen in the diocese to revitalize the Huron
Laymen's Association which had been in existence since 1920. The
organizational meeting was held at St. Mary's (Walkerville), Windsor, and the
decision was made to form the new organization with Aims and Objects
essentially the same as they are today. The five Aims and Objects (Witness,
Unite, Grow, Lead, and Extend) were reworded in 1959 without any real change
in intent, and the preamble "To build a growing Christian Community in
which the men of the diocese may receive spiritual refreshment, share
Christian fellowship and concerns with one another, and be encouraged
to:" was added in 1980 and reflects a growth in concern for spirituality.
I have no idea where or how Lorne Bowerman came
up with that bit of folklore about the objectives coming from a Monk or
Brother in Alberta.
The B. A. C. attracted the attention of laymen
beyond our diocesan borders, and Chapters were formed in neighbouring
dioceses. Some of these dioceses followed the lead of Huron and structured
themselves along the same lines with a Diocesan Executive Council and,
perhaps, a deanery structure as well. For the most part, these dioceses simply
used Huron's B. A. C. Handbook, our Aims and Objects, and our Constitution and
By-Laws as a framework. Eventually, a similar scene was re-enacted in such
places as Vancouver, Calgary, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
In 1967, an organizational meeting was held in
Toronto with a view to forming a Provincial Council of the Brotherhood of
Anglican Churchmen in the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario. An Executive was
elected and an effort was made to hold Provincial Conferences: Timmins,
Diocese of Moosonee, in 1968; Cobourg, Diocese of Toronto, in 1969
(representatives from all seven dioceses is the Province - Toronto, Ottawa,
Huron, Ontario, Niagara, Algoma, and Moosonee - attended this one). To my
knowledge, the last of these was held in Parry Sound, Diocese of Algoma, in
1973.
The Brotherhood of Anglican Churchmen was
officially recognized by the Provincial Synod of Ontario in 1968, and by the
General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada in 1971.
As you are already aware, most of this activity
has now ceased to exist with the exception of the Dioceses of Huron and
Ottawa. There are still a few chapters scattered around the country but there
is little in the way of diocesan structure.
I think what you refer to as "national
objectives" are simply those which originated in Huron and have found
favour with men in other dioceses over the years. A few years ago there was
some interest in the Diocese of Rupert's Land, but I am not aware of what they
have done recently.
Your own diocese is another where there has
been some good B. A. C. activity over the years. In 1992, I had the pleasure
of attending a Diocesan Men's Conference at Mint Brook. The men in attendance
at that conference represented chapters which had a total of approximately 100
members, plus a Burin chapter and Bonavista men's groups. They decided to form
a Diocesan Council to organize conferences and workships, produce a newsletter
for communication, and to encourage new groups. Norm Purchase of Eastport was
elected President; Bruce Collett of Grand Falls, Vice-President; John Freak of
Lewisporte, Secretary; Harry Reid of Grand Falls, Treasurer; and a Chaplain to
be appointed by the Bishop. Your present bishop, Don Young, was the
facilitator for the conference. Your own Chapter from Bishop's Falls checked
in as the newest chapter at that time with, I think, thirteen members and, if
I remember correctly, your chapter was represented by Douglas Tucker. At that
time, there appeared to be a lot of good things happening insofar as B. A. C.
activity was concerned, one of them being inter-chapter activity.
I trust this has been helpful.
In Christ,
Dennis
Diocese
of Huron
Brother
of Anglican Churchmen
Christ
Church, Meaford Chapter
Christ Church Chapter
spent the summer resting after co-hosting a successful conference with St.
George’s, St. Thomas’ and our Lutheran Brethren.
We were delighted to have so many of our diocesan members and guests in
our parish and deanery. We wish
Lambton well as they plan for Conference 2004.
Our chapter made a pancake
breakfast for fairgoers and exhibitors at the Meaford & St. Vincent
Agricultural Fair on August 30th.
This is our third year of participating in our local fair.
The profit we make is given to the operating expenses of Christ Church.
On Sunday, October 19th,
the BAC conducted a lay service of Morning Prayer. We do this in October or November each year.
Also in November we forgo our regular breakfast and business meeting in
favour of taking our spouses and guests to brunch at the Meaford Branch of the
Canadian Legion.
We have been fortunate
this year to gain several new members and have others that we will approach in
2004. This is critical for our
chapter. We have had a very
active chapter since our charter was granted in the early 1950s but we have
sadly been losing faithful members over the past years.
We know that we are not alone!
Respectfully submitted,
Francis Richardson
Secretary – Christ
Church, Meaford Chapter
DIOCESE OF CENTRAL NEWFOUNDLAND = THE
ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
The Rt Rev. Donald A. Young, L. Th
OFFICE: 34 Fraser Road
Bishop of Central Newfoundland
Gander, Newfoundland, A1V 2E8
Telephone: Office (709) 256‑2372
Residence:
(709) 256‑7214
Fax: (709) 256‑2396
E-Mail:
bishopcentral@nfld.net
26
August 2003
Brotherhood
of Anglican Churchmen
c/o
L. Paul White
2272
Hall Avenue
Windsor,
ON
N8W
2L
Dear
Friends,
I do want on behalf of our Diocese and the People of Badger to thank
you for your recent gift to the Badger Disaster Relief Fund. I am sorry for
the delay in responding, however, I have been away for the past few weeks.
I am enclosing a receipt for your donation. I want to assure you that
we continue to meet with officials from Badger and will continue to monitor
how best these funds can be distributed. We know that there will be those who
will not be eligible for government funding or any other funding simply
because of extenuating circumstances. It would be our hope that in
consultation with the Town, we might be able to help those who find themselves
in these particular situations, As well, there will be others who have been
greatly affected and we will monitor their situation. We have just this month
made our first contribution to the community to help in a specific situation.
Again many thanks for your gift. Every
Blessing!
p.s. Our
thanks to those involved in this endeavour. Please pass along our gratitude
for this generous gift.
ANOTHER MEMBER’S OPINION
In response to Walter Cook’s “WHAT DO YOU THINK?”,
I think it is sad that the search for new members to join the BAC is
described as an old chestnut with an ugly head!
Any organization is always searching for new members – sometimes more
successfully than others.
The BAC has a great deal to offer to a male who belongs to the Anglican
Church. Walter lists a good
number of them at the end of his letter.
With reference to the $5.00 fee and the conference, I assume he was
referring to the Diocesan Executive Council.
I don’t see it as a “mystic” group.
I see it as a group that is struggling to fulfill the mandate laid down
by the Constitution and By-Laws of the BAC in the Diocese of Huron. This mandate is just as worthy as the one described for the
AYPA (I, too, was a member of the
happy-go-lucky group a number of years ago!)
The BAC Aims and Objectives are: WITNESS, UNITE, GROW, LEAD, EXTEND.
This is the mysterious W.U.G.L.E. I add to my signature at the end of
any email I send!
Walter Cook was an active member of the Diocesan Executive Council for a
number of years and was its president. He,
and they, struggled to fulfil these Aims and Objectives.
They are not NOTHING! If
anyone understands the need for structure it should be an active member of the
Anglican Church!! Structure, in
and of itself, is not good or bad. It is what it accomplishes that counts.
I agree that a rigid structure CAN be stifling but it doesn’t have to
be.
The Diocesan Executive Council had provided inspiring conferences over
many years. It provides much
needed funds for Huron Church Camp, Huron College and St. Monica House.
It actively encourages parishes to create new chapters – We are
granting a new charter to All Saints’, Waterloo on November 15th.
We have created a BAC Web site which lists Aims, Chapters and Upcoming
Events. All are encouraged to
visit it and use it. The web site is:
Chapters
can exist by themselves but they can be so much more if they are part of a
larger vibrant group. The
Diocesan Executive Council is your council!
Tell is what you want it to do and we will all be successful because,
as Walter says at the end of his opinion, “Times are changing and new ideas
have to be brought forward if we want to expand our membership.”
To this I say, AMEN
St.
George’s BAC Owen Sound
St.
George's BAC has had a busy fall season.
We have held our regular
monthly
meetings where we continue to enjoy the bacon and eggs prepared by
our
Kitchen Committee. We have also helped at 2 of the Parish's fundraising
dinners.
What would our Parish do without the assistance of our BAC
members?
We also packed 3 Boxes for the Operation Christmas Child,
donated
several
bed kits for Sleeping Children Around The World and made a donation
to
our Sunday School. Several
members of our BAC Chapter are active in the
"Work
Crew" who have been doing at lot of carpentry around out Parish
buildings.
Under the leadership of Bob Wilson and Dudley Gill they have
been
really helping to "fix things up."
In December we will host the
Saugeen
Deanery BACs at which time Archdeacon Christopher Pratt will speak
on
his recent trip to England where he participated in the Compass Rose
Society.
(He met with the Archbishop of Canterbury--we're not sure
what advice
he
gave Archbishop Williams but we're sure it was pertinent!!) We are
looking forward
to
our annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper in February.
TRINITY CHURCH BAC ST. THOMAS
Once again our brother in St. Thomas are having there coats
for kids campaign. A
photo shown in the local paper of Bill Townson and Pat Buckland
loading coats. This is
the 10th anniversary of Christ Church BAC helping supply
coats for the needy
FEATURED
POEMS:
You
ask me where I get the joy,
That
makes my heart so light,
Which
all the gloom of day destroys,
And
gives me songs at night.
It
is not wealth of land or gold,
Nor
health or honored fame,
But
joys of heaven in my soul,
A
heaven in Jesus' name!
Charles A. Tindley
God
makes a path, provides a guide,
And feeds a wilderness;
His
glorious name, while breath remains,
O that I may confess.
Lost
many a time, I have had no guide,
No house but a hollow tree!
In
stormy winter night no fire,
No food, no company;
In
Him I found a house, a bed,
A table, company;
No
cup so bitter but is made sweet,
Where God shall sweetening be.
Roger
Williams (1603-1683)
Roger
Williams, a preacher of equal rights for all,
established
Providence, Rhode Island, naming it such
because
of his gratitude for God's care and provision.
SOMETHING
TO THINK ABOUT
Billy
Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson
asked her "How could God let something like this happen?"
(regarding the attacks on Sept. 11).
Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.
She said "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we
are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools,
to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.
And being the gentleman He is,
I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us
His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us
alone?"
In light of recent
events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it
started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body
found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools,
and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school ... the
Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your
neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we
shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their
little personalities would be warped and we might damage their
self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert
should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no
conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't
bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can
figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP
WHAT WE SOW."
Funny how simple it is for
people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.
Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the
Bible says.
Funny how you can send 'jokes'
through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start
sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about
sharing.
Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar
and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public
discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing?
Funny how when you forward this
message, you will not send it to many on your address list because
you're not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think of you
for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other
people think of us than what God thinks of us.
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