Diana Swift, Author at Anglican Journal

The Rev. Canon Reginald Stackhouse served two terms as a Conservative MP. Photo: General Synod Archives

Parliamentarian and priest

Diana Swift May 6, 2013

For the Rev. Canon Reginald Stackhouse,public service is part of the Christian vocation. A former priest in twowest-end Toronto parishes and former principal of Wycliffe College,Stackhouse has a long list of elected and appointed public offices onhis resumé: two terms as a Conservative MP, a commissioneron both the Canadian and the Ontario Human Rights commissions, memberof the board of regents of Toronto’s Centennial College and a member ofpublic library and school boards.

The Great Hall at Lambeth Palace is home to 120,000 books. Photo: Lambeth Palace

Lambeth Palace Library regains stolen books

Diana Swift May 1, 2013

From the standpoint of the Church of England’s intellectual heritage, Justin Welby’s new archiepiscopy is off to a very positive start.

The Rev. Cláudio Carvalhaes (centre) says the liturgical calendar means less to marginalized people. Photo: Diana Swift

Liturgy should serve life

Diana Swift April 30, 2013

The Consultation on Common Texts-an ecumenical roundtable of U.S. and Canadian churches that seeks interdenominational agreement on the language of worship and the cycle of prescribed scripture readings at services-held its annual meeting in Toronto on April 15.

The youth planning team experiments with a waterfall effect on Parliament Hill. Photo: Zack Ingles

Clean-water waterfall on the Hill

Diana Swift April 26, 2013

More than 800 out-of-town delegates to Joint Assembly and local people are expected to gather for prayers and readings on the main walkway of Parliament Hill on the morning of July 6.

A blood-soaked Syrian flag: symbol of conflict. Photo: Ewa Studio

Abduction of Syrian archbishops condemned

Diana Swift April 26, 2013

Dr. Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador of Religious Freedom, has issued a statement condemning the abduction of Metropolitan Paul Yazigi of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese and Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syriac Archdiocese. Based in Aleppo, Syria, the prelates were returning to Syria from a humanitarian mission in Antioch, Turkey.

The Rev. Dr. Michael Lloyd made the Anglican Book Centre both a profit centre and a meeting centre. Photo: Anglican Journal

Michael Lloyd, accountant and priest, 1935-2013

Diana Swift April 25, 2013

The Rev. Dr. Michael John Lloyd, CA, passed away on April 21, 2013, at the Toronto Grace Hospital.

Cross Canada Checkup

Diana Swift April 16, 2013

The Anglican Church of Canada and its full communion partner, theEvangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), will gather at the OttawaConvention Centre from July 3 to 7.

As a young woman, Mildred Richardson, who just turned 100, drove a van that brought religious education to rural England and Canada from 1920 to the 1970s. Photo: Contributed

Teacher well schooled to bring gospel to rural Canada

Diana Swift April 8, 2013

On March 19, another Anglican centenarian came of age and received a congratulatory certificate from the primate. ArchbishopFred Hiltz sent congratulations to Mildred Richardson, who has spent alifetime serving the Anglican Church of Canada and is still a member ofher parish in Woodstock, Ont.

The newly elected Pope Francis I waves to the crowd from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Photo: Vatican News

Argentine elected Pope Francis I

Diana Swift March 13, 2013

The next successor of Saint Peter to the papal throne is an Argentinecardinal, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Copies of Rupert’s Land News were hand-delivered to members of the 39 Lutheran congregations within Rupert’s Land.

Sharing the good news in Rupert’s Land

Diana Swift March 11, 2013

As anticipation of July’s joint Anglican-Lutheran assembly intensifies, an experimental issue of Rupert’s Land News (RLN) features contributors from both churches (rupertsland.ca/wp-content/uploads/RLN-January-2013.pdf).

Ottawa Convention Centre, venue for the Joint Assembly, July 3 to 7, 2013. Photo: courtesy of the Ottawa Convention Centre

Joint Assembly to gather

Diana Swift March 1, 2013

In 2001, after many years of discussion, the Anglican Church of Canada(ACC) broke new ecumenical ground by entering into full communion withthe Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Called the WaterlooDeclaration, the agreement was signed during the two churches’respective national meetings in Waterloo, Ont.

This article was first published in the Feb. 2013 issue of Anglican Journal.

Out of harm’s way

Diana Swift February 19, 2013

Today, a glance at a newspaper or a quick tune-in to TV news will affirm the reality of abuse, sexual and otherwise, within religious and educational institutions. Like many other large organizations where imbalances of power can lead to exploitation, the Anglican Church of Canada is committed to ensuring a healthy environment for vulnerable people who seek sanctuary within its walls.