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My good friend The Bishop of Pisiquid was kind enough to send me the June 24th issue (#535) of Atlantic Canada Frank ("Frank by Name, Frank by Nature"). I can see I'll have to add that august periodical to my regular reading list after, God willing, I move to Nova Scotia.
One article in Frank 535 is of particular interest to Canadian Anglicans. Unfortunately, it's not available online, so I've taken the liberty of posting the text below. (I’ve removed the names of some diocesan employees.)
BOOK SALE! LAND SALE!
CHURCH BUSINESS IS BOOMING!
By Cella I. TaloffThe new era of Sue Moxley in a pointy hat is, I fear, beginning to look a lot like the corporate henchmen Fred Hiltz years.
Sue took over from Fred as the 15th Bishop of the N.S.-P.E.I. Anglican Diocese on Nov. 23, 2007. When Fred ascended to Toronto The Good last June as the Anglican Church of Canada's new Primate, he left behind him a legacy of church closings, parish amalgamations and "greater pastoral units" that served the Diocesan bottom line much more than they did the faithful in the pews.
In April, the Sue-led Diocese Council shockingly voted to axe both Diocesan Book Rooms, deeming it was "time to conclude the ministry of the Diocesan Book Room."
The North Sydney Book Room in St. John's Anglican Church, 28 King Street, is the first to lock its doors. Resident book clerk [name omitted]’s last day stocking the shelves will be June 20.
From now on, I guess, local parishioners will have to turn to Amazon.com when they feel like buying a religious gift, a prayer book, a hymn book, a church CD, or a brand spankin' new clergy shirt.
The Halifax Book Room, on College Street, located in the Diocese Centre, is staying open for the consumer-driven Christmas season, until December 31. Manager [name omitted] oversees a workforce of three, store clerks [names omitted].
I'm not entirely sure if the Diocese is cutting its employees loose or if a more charitable arrangement has been agreed on, as Diocese executive director Cannon [sic] Gordon Reddon did not return my call.
But don't be surprised to see the Diocese Centre property handed over to a developer for another monstrous concrete erection, like the Chapter House abomination that David Zareskie's Greenwood Lane slapped behind the Cathedral of All Saints, quite possibly the ugliest edifice built in Halifax in the last few years. (Which is really saying something! - ed.)
As I noted back in Frank 448, a church committee, led by the newly retired Cox Palmer probate guru and Diocesan Chancellor John Arnold, is tasked to unload every square inch of holy real estate to developers.
In other Anglican news, the Cathedral has a new rector, the Boston Red Sox-worshipping Paul Smith from Christ Church in Dartmouth.
And on May 23, Synod took a third ballot to elect Ron Cutler as Suffragan Bishop. Bishop Sue previously wore that smaller pointy hat. Rev. Ron was the St. John the Evangelist Church pastor when the Sackville parish sold over 100 acres of land to developer George Armoyan (Frank 396).
I can tell I'm going to love Atlantic Canada Frank.
A one-year (26-issue) subscription costs a mere $54.95. More info here.
By the by, Chapter House is a luxury apartment complex “nestled beside All Saints Cathedral” that the developer describes as “a sanctuary of gracious living in the heart of Halifax”. Some units are still available for rent, from $1589 per month (for a measly 970 square feet) to $3400. Photos of this hideous project are posted here and here.
The collect for today, the Feast Day of Saint Irenaeus (d. 202), Bishop of Lyon, Father of the Church (