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Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. II Timothy 3:5
The Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles initially targeted Jews--almost exclusively--for evangelism. The following is more evidence that the Anglican Church of Canada isn't a Christian church at all; as reported by Ron Csillag of Canadian Jewish News, July 26, 2019:
The Anglican Church of Canada’s move to expunge a prayer for the conversion of the Jews from its liturgy is being hailed as a milestone.August 26, 2023 update: As reported, with his usual liberal bias, by John Longurst in the Winnipeg Free Press, August 12, 2023:
Meeting in Vancouver, the church’s General Synod – its governing body – approved a measure on July 16 to delete an invocation calling for the conversion of Jews from the Book of Common Prayer, and replace it with a prayer entitled “For Reconciliation with the Jews.”
Successful resolutions before a synod must pass in all three of the church’s “houses.” This one was approved with near unanimous support: Among the laity, it passed by a 99 per cent plurality, and by 100 per cent among both clergy and bishops.
The amendment will require ratification at the next General Synod in 2022. But Edward Simonton, the church’s Vicar General of Quebec, told The CJN the resolution’s passage at the next synod will be “just a formality,” given its overwhelming support this time.
Besides, he added, only 230 of nearly 2,800 Anglican churches in Canada still use the Book of Common Prayer. The rest use the Book of Alternative Services, introduced in 1985.
A similar resolution failed at the church’s 2016 General Synod. The following year, Right Rev. Bruce Myers, the Anglican bishop of Quebec, spearheaded a formal consultation to remove the old prayer and replace it with a new one.
Addressing the 2019 synod, Rev. Myers said persecution of Jews “is not a thing of the past, nor is it restricted to other parts of the world,” citing last year’s mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, which left 11 people dead.
Changing the prayer exhorts Anglicans “to acknowledge and repent of the church’s participation in anti-Semitism, to stop singling out Jews as a target for our evangelistic efforts, and to assume a humble and reconciliatory stance with our Jewish elders in the faith,” Rev. Myers said in a statement. “It also invites Anglicans to be ever mindful of Christianity’s deep Jewish roots.”
The “Prayer for the Conversion of the Jews,” among some 50 prayers in the Book of Common Prayer that are recited discretionally, beseeches God to “hasten the time when all Israel shall be saved,” and that his “ancient people…open their hearts that they may see and confess the Lord Jesus to be thy Son and their true Messiah.”
The prayer “For reconciliation with the Jews” was a joint effort between the Anglican Church, the Prayer Book Society of Canada, and the Canadian Rabbinic Caucus, an affiliate of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
It reads: “O God, who didst choose Israel to be thine inheritance: Have mercy upon us and forgive us for violence and wickedness against our brother Jacob; the arrogance of our hearts and minds hath deceived us, and shame hath covered our face. Take away all pride and prejudice in us, and grant that we, together with the people whom thou didst first make thine own, may attain to the fulness of redemption which thou hast promised; to the honour and glory of thy most holy Name.”
Rabbi Adam Stein of Congregation Beth Israel in Vancouver, who addressed the synod on behalf of the Canadian Rabbinic Caucus, praised the new prayer and the hope and friendship it offers to Jews, reported the Anglican Journal.
“I think it’s just such a wonderful thing, and a really wonderful feeling for us, that a prayer that certainly made the Jewish community quite uncomfortable might soon be replaced with one that’s so beautiful and so positive,” Rabbi Stein said.
Rabbi Reuben Poupko of Montreal, speaking on behalf of the Canadian Rabbinic Caucus, commended the synod for its “principled decision, which represents a milestone in Anglican-Jewish relations.”
The church “has sent a strong signal to the Jewish community that it stands with us against anti-Semitism – both past and present.”
In 1992, the Anglican Church of Canada deleted a prayer recited on Good Friday that asked for God’s mercy on Jews for wilfully rejecting and denying Jesus.
This summer, the Anglican Church of Canada voted to remove a prayer calling for the conversion of Jews from its Book of Common Prayer.
The vote, which took place at its synod in Calgary in late June and early July, was actually the second vote, or confirmation vote, about its removal. The first vote to expunge it took place at the previous Synod in 2019.
Practically speaking, that makes it old news. And few, if any, Anglicans today were actually using the prayer, titled “For the conversion of the Jews.” But given the rising tide of anti-Semitism in the world today, it’s no surprise its removal was greeted enthusiastically by Jewish media and community leaders — even if this year’s vote was just a formality.
Among those praising the move was the Canadian Rabbinic Caucus and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which released a statement about the vote.
“We commend the General Synod for this important decision,” said Rabbi Adam Stein of Congregation Beth Israel in Vancouver, on behalf of the two groups.
“Authentic interfaith dialogue requires respect. Any attempt by one to convert the other is the antithesis of respect. Changing this prayer represents a milestone in Anglican-Jewish relations and invites Anglicans to assume a reconciliatory stance with the Jewish community.”
In place of the old prayer is a new one, called “For reconciliation with the Jews.” Written in consultation with the Canadian Rabbinic Caucus, among other things it calls on Anglicans to pray for forgiveness for how the Church has treated Jews over the centuries.
I reached out to Primate Linda Nicholls, head of the Anglican Church of Canada, to hear her thoughts about the removal of the prayer and current relations with the Jewish community.
The removal of the prayer, and its replacement with a prayer for reconciliation, reflects “our inheritance as Christians” from the Jewish faith, she said, noting the two religions share the Hebrew scriptures.
While not abrogating the church’s traditional view of Jesus as saviour of the world, Anglicans want to “honour” the special relationship Jews have to God, she added.
Nicholls also emphasized the change is a way to address anti-Semitism, and any contribution the church might make to it through its official prayers and liturgies.
“We want to look out for any role we might play in it,” she stated, adding the church for too long has contributed to the persecution of Jews by blaming them for the death of Jesus. In that regard, “we have much to redress,” she said.
Nicholls went on to say she condemns anything that denies the right of Jews to exist as a people, or to practise their faith. “I stand strongly with them,” she said.
There are no specific Jewish-Anglican actions or dialogues planned now that the prayer has been removed, she said.
In fact, any followup has been made more difficult over tensions between the Canadian Jewish community and the Anglican Church over the church’s support for human rights in Palestine, Nicholls said.
This included a letter sent in by her and Bishop Susan Johnson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada to the Canadian government in July about the situation in Palestine and Israel.
In the letter, the two voiced concern about settler violence against Palestinian communities and people, which “is increasing daily.” They also described how Christians in the Holy Land “are increasingly targeted for abuse and violence including their places of worship.”
While recognizing the right of the state of Israel to exist, and opposing violence by both sides in this conflict, the two church leaders urged the Canadian government to call to take a “just, constructive and human rights-based approach on Palestine-Israel issues, taking into account the extreme imbalance of power between Palestine and Israel and in line with international law and official Canadian foreign policy.”
The letter concluded by acknowledging “this is a complex conflict and believe Canada has an important role to play in advocating for peace and setting policies that will guide our voice and actions.”
For Nicholls, it’s important for the Anglican Church to “find a path that allows legitimate critique of Israel,” while advocating for Palestinian rights. She admitted it’s “not an easy line to hold,” and that some members of the Jewish community in Canada have been critical of the church’s stance.
No doubt, that Middle Eastern conflict will continue to make dialogue difficult. But maybe the formal removal of the prayer to convert Jews can be seen as a positive step. That’s how the Jewish Independent of Vancouver saw it. It called the decision a “monumental” move in the context of Jewish-Christian relations.
“The idea that Christianity is a replacement theology to Judaism — and that Jews should convert or disappear, with all that implies — prevailed for nearly 2,000 years,” it stated.
The “generosity of spirit evidenced by Canadian Anglicans (in expunging the prayer) are a welcome ray of light and warmth in a world that too often seems lacking in these elements.”
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