The Rocky Mountain Center for Progressive Faith and Works Ltd: When Clergy are Bullied

Friday, June 6, 2008

When Clergy are Bullied

As difficult as it is for us to admit the abuse of clergy by senior officials in the church and by some laity is more common than we would care to admit. Many would rather bury their heads in the sand than admit that such at terrible situation could exist in our Church.

Bullying can take many forms:

Threats

Gossip

Failure to enforce church canons that may be helpful to clergy

Not providing fair and reasonable priced access to church courts when clergy have a grievance

Accurate and public record keeping of instances when bishops may be using their power unfairly

Financial arrangements made with clergy but then not kept

Giving clergy inaccurate profiles when trying to attract them to ministry in a parish.

The following two articles were recently published by the Church Times and I bring them before you for your attention:

- Report Urges Church to Face Up to Its Bullies
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=57406

and

- Parish Guidlines Aim to End Bullying
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=55281

Please feel free to share this communication with others who may find it helpful.

Help End Homelessness

Congratulations to the Diocese of Calgary for establishing an Affordable Housing Task Force and encouraging Anglicans to learn about homelessness. Susan Scott a key leader in the plight of women and homelessness in Calgary will launcher her new book, All Our Sisters, on Friday May 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the John Dutton Theatre, W.R. Castell Central Library at 616 Macleod Trail SE. Wayne Stewart, President and CEO of the Calgary Homeless Foundation will host the evening. Plan to attend, learn and become part of the solution to this critical problem.

An Evening with Stephen Lewis

St. Thomas United Church Calgary is sponsoring an evening with Stephen Lewis. Stephen is Chair of the Stephen Lewis Foundation and author of “Race against Time”; he also served as the United Nations Secretary General’s special envoy on HIV/AIDS. I have heard Stephen speak many times and can assure you that he is a knowledgeable, dynamic and passionate orator. He will be speaking on the evening of May 24th at Knox United Church (506 – 4th Street SW, Calgary). Further details may be obtained at either of the following web sites: http://www.stthomasunited.ca/stephenlewis/index.html Or http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/news_event_item.cfm?event=1768&year=2007&month=5

From Integrity Canada

The cost of discipleship! The Anglican Journal - "Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck, an Anglican priest in the diocese of Saskatoon, will lose his licence to minister after March 31 if he does not reconsider his declaration that he intends to marry gay couples, if asked, said diocesan bishop Rodney Andrews." Is Shawn leading us out of the wildnerness? Please hold this friend in your prayers, and the Bishop and people of Saskatoon. On the diocese' website is a banner calling us to "Be the Salt of the Earth".

CORRELATION BETWEEN POVERTY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND SECURITY

Is terrorism the only threat to our security? Many people believe that poverty, climate change and environmental degradation pose even greater threats. Paul Carrick, founder of CAUSE Canada will speak on these issues as well as our Federal Governments failure to meet its commitment to increase our commitment to foreign aid. Be informed. Be active. Be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Mark your calendar for May 5, 7pm, Canmore Collegiate High School. Plan to attend this informative evening with Paul Carrick.

Earth Day - Where are the Bow Valley Faith Communities?

With Earth Day almost upon us I am disappointed that there is no indication that any of the faith communities in Canmore or Banff have planned any activities to promote Earth Day and to use it as a stewardship teaching opportunity. I am particularly disappointed that my former parish of St. Michael's Anglican Canmore is one of those communities which appears to have nothing planned. In the 2002 - 2003 period I made the parish board aware of the Environmental Covenanting Program of the National Council of Churches. I asked board members to carefully study the program and decide if they wanted St. Michael's to participate and sign the covenant. Just before the board voted on a motion to sign the covenant I asked them not to vote in favour of signing the covenant if they had no intention of carrying it out. The Board voted unanimously to sign the covenant. To date I am unaware that they have taken any follow up action to live up to the commitments which they made. Perhaps the current St. Michael's board should hold a vote withdrawing their support for the environmental covenant. At least that position would be honest and in keeping with their lack of action. Let's get going Bow Valley faith communities; live up to your call to be stewards of that which God has entrusted to your care!

Earth Day Yogathon

April 22, 2007 - Canmore Earth Day Celebration with Pink & Green Ribbon Annual Fundraising Yogathon at the Seniors Centre, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. $25 minimum donation to enter. Registration at 9:30 a.m. The Biosphere will have some activities for the whole family. During the Earth Day Yogathon there will be: Tea from Communitea. Fruit, nuts and water from Nutters. Free massages from Back At It Mobile Massage. Leanne Allison (Being Caribou) is leading the yoga with visualization and earth poses, etc (90 minutes of yoga). A closing meditation by Karen Barker. There will be great prizes for the participants and volunteers. Environmental Awareness Activities such as Earth Hug, Yoga for fun and Recycling Relays for children. An education booth by the Biosphere Institute. And more, the Bow Valley is being very generous and is keen to be a part of the event. See you there..... The Pink & Green Ribbon Campaign Contact: mherwig@telus.net To directly donate on-line go to Go to: http://www.canadahelps.org write "Tidlund" in the charity spot - then click on Mary Tidlund Charitable Foundation and select "Medical - Pink and Green Health Program" in the Fund/Destination selection. THANKS!

Public Rally

April 13, 2007 - 12:00 Noon - McDougall Centre (455 - 6th St. S.W. Calgary -- The Balzac-Red Deer River water transfer, the clear cut logging of East Kananaskis, the pine beetle strategy and the construction of the Horse Shoe Lands Development and developments near Nanton are all jeopardizing ecosystems and water resources. The purpose of the rally is to stress to the Alberta Government the need for a comprehensive provinical land use strategy. Spred the word and be present to support your environment. Contact Dr. David Swann MLA at 403-216-5445 with any questions.

Our Journey for Peace

Radiant City - A Film by Gary Burns and Jim Brown

Odeon Films and the Sierra Club of Canada present a benefit screening of Radiant City on March 29, 7 pm at the Uptown Stage and Screen 612 8th Ave. SW. Calgary with a post screening discussion with filmakers and guests. Sprawl is eating the planet. Across the continent the landscape is being levelled - blasted clean of distinctive features and overlaid with zombie-like monoculture. Politicians call it growth. Developers call it business. The Moss family calls it home. View this advance benefit screening of Radiant City which opens in theatres across Canada on March 30th. Tickets to this advance presentation and discussion are $10 with the proceeds going to the Sierra Club of Calgary. For ticket purchase and other details contact: info@sierraclubchinoook.org

Ostrich Award

The Rocky Mountain Center for Progressive Faith and Works Ltd. is getting ready to start awarding our not so prestigious Ostrich awards. These awards go to faith groups or those in positions of influence in faith communities that in your opinion are not doing enough to strive for equality and justice for all, sustainability and environmental stewardship, or spend too much time in prayer or courses on spirituality and avoid getting on with being God's change agents for good in the world. Send us your nominations along with the reasons why you feel they are so deserving of the Ostrich Award to faithtowork@yahoo.com

"WITH JUSTICE FOR ALL"

"The only purpose of the gospel is to reconcile people to God and to each other. A gospel that doesn't reconcile is not a Christian gospel at all. But in America, it seems as if we don't believe that. We don't really believe that the proof of our discipleship is that we love one another (John 13:35). No, we think the proof is in numbers ... Even if our "converts" continue to hate each other, even if they will not worship with their brothers and sisters in Christ, we point to their "conversion" as evidence of the gospel's success. We have substituted a gospel of church growth for a gospel of reconciliation." - John Perkins from "With Justice for All"

Congratulations to Peggy Nash, the MP for Parkdale-High Park (Toronto)

Ms. Nash introduced a motion in the House of Commons calling on the government to establish a national water policy. Ms. Nash's motion states: “That, in the opinion of the House, the government should develop and present a comprehensive water policy based on public trust, which would specifically: (a) recognize that access to water is a fundamental right; (b) recognize the UN Economic and Social Council finding, in General Comment 15 on the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural, and Social Rights (2002), that access to clean water is a human right; (c) prohibit bulk water exports and implement strict restrictions on new diversions; (d) introduce legislation on national standards for safe, clean drinking water; (e) implement a national investment strategy to enable municipalities and aboriginal communities to upgrade desperately needed infrastructure without resorting to privatization through public-private partnerships; (f) oppose measures in international agreements that promote the privatization of water services; and (g) commit to ensure water does not become a tradable commodity in current and future trade deals.”

Congratulations to Parkdale United - Calgary

Parkdale United Church in Calgary has joined the Greening Sacred Spaces program. They are encouraging other United Churches to join them. The Parkdale Green Team has done some homework and discovered the following: If every Calgary household put in one compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), which can last for seven years, each bulb would eliminate 60 kg of greenhouse gases (GHG) per year. Mid-sized cars produce approx. 4 tonnes of GHG a year, SUVs 6 tonnes. So, if 300,000 Calgary houses put in one bulb, it would be equivalent to taking 15,750 mid-sized cars or 10,500 SUV's off the road for one year Why not plan to worship with the good people at Parkdale United. They are putting their faith into concrete action and not just engaging in feel good spirituality about the environment.

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Church had been at fault, he said. “We should have done more on what it means to be a Catholic Church; we should have done more on the use of scripture.” In particular, mindful of the text of Lambeth 1.10, more should have been done to “offer a safe space” for homosexual people. “Again and again, we have used the language of respect for their human dignity; again and again, we have failed to show it effectively. - Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury Friday, March 2, 2007

Here is How You Can Help

The Rocky Mountain Center for Progressive Faith and Works Ltd is an advocacy center concerned with individuals, societies and all God's creation. Because of our advocacy work we have not applied for charitable status and do not issue charitable tax receipts. Our work is made possible only through the generousity of donors like you. Please consider making a one time donation or becoming a regular donor. You can make a very big difference. Donations can be sent to The Rocky Mountain Center for Progressive Faith and Works Ltd., 340 Hoodoo Crescent, Canmore, Alberta T1W 1A9 Please include your name and address in order that we might send you a thank you letter. From time to time we will be sending out an email newsletter and we would be pleased to send it to you as a donor. If you would like to receive our e-newsletter please also send your email address. Thank you for making a difference. Rev. Frank Doe, Director for the Rocky Mountain Center for Progressive Faith and Works Ltd.