Witchcraft is from Satan’s world
I was appalled at the article that promoted witchcraft (“Three things witchcraft taught me about God,” November, p.4). The Bible is clear that witchcraft is not of God. Acts, Galatians and Revelation warn against it. Th at means Luke, Paul and John all wrote against it and so it is beyond reasoning why you thought this would be appropriate.
This is promoting Satan’s world and is drastically offensive to those of us who look to God and our leaders in God for hope. The light of the lamp will never dwell in a body that allows this because it is far removed from anything Christian let alone Anglican. I can read about witchcraft anywhere, so why, when I look to this newspaper that should deliver us truthful and inspirational as well as difficult news, do I fi nd such an article?
Suzanne Jackson
Louis Creek, B.C.
Seeking the truth about God from neopaganism is schismatic
It is as absurd for Christians to seek revelation about God through witchcraft and neopaganism as it would be for the Church to sever one of its own limbs and call it union. The Body of Christ is not meant to be dissected and reassembled through the lens of other gods. It is the living witness of the risen Lord—whole, incarnate, and indivisible.
Let us name this moment truthfully: this is schism. Not the kind that divides parishes, but the deeper fracture that separates truth from confusion, creed from convenience, Christ from culture. Editors are not neutral observers in such matters. To publish confusion is to participate in it. To platform apostasy is to promote it. The Anglican Journal does not stand above the faith it reports on— it stands accountable to it.
There is one Body and one Spirit,
One hope in God’s call to us,
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all.
David Ian Giffen
Toronto, Ont.
Tunggal article conveyed ‘heartbeat of Franciscan spirituality’
Reading Jess Tunggal’s article stirred something deeply familiar in me. I, too, wandered through paths outside the Church in my search for the Divine—not out of rebellion, but out of hunger. Like Jess, I sought God in nature, in silence, and in the small rituals that made the world feel alive again. What I found in that journey was not opposition to Christ, but preparation for rediscovering Him.
When I eventually returned to Christianity, I found St. Francis of Assisi waiting for me at the crossroads—the bridge between the mysticism I had embraced in Wicca and the sacramental life of the Church. Francis, who preached to birds and called the sun his brother and the moon his sister, taught me that the language of creation is already a prayer. In him I discovered that love of the Earth and love of Christ were never meant to be separate devotions.
What Jess describes as seeing “the mark of God … present in creation” is precisely the heartbeat of Franciscan spirituality. The natural world is not an ornament to faith—it is one of God’s oldest testaments. When we walk gently among the trees, tend a garden, or share bread with those in need, we participate in the same sacred reciprocity that Jess described so well: love given, love received, love returned.
The Church, in its best moments, has always known this truth— from the psalmist who sang of the heavens declaring God’s glory, to the Eucharist that joins heaven and earth in a single act of grace. I am grateful for voices like Jess’s that remind us to listen again to the wind, the water, and the whisper of the Spirit moving through all creation.
Thank you, Jess, for writing with courage and tenderness. And thank you, editor, for giving space to stories that bridge old wounds and invite holy conversation. These are the dialogues that keep our Anglican faith alive, humble, and ever more inclusive.
Stephen I. Weiss
Order of Ecumenical Franciscans
St. James Anglican Church
Kentville, N.S.
Quebeckers may have to act to protect religious freedom
The political analysis of Bishop Bruce Myers, of the diocese of Quebec, and that of Bishop Victor David Mbuyi Bipungo, of the diocese of Montreal (“Quebec bishops slam proposed public prayer ban” November, p.1), is relevant to the intentions of Premier François Legault’s government. Why target all religious traditions when the objective is to target public prayers organized by radical Islamists? In addition, the issues related to the legal definition of public prayer are well explained. Will Good Friday interfaith marches, blessings of motorcycles, fishing boats, their crews and equipment and the like be targeted by this new law? These are public religious activities that are well established in many communities in Quebec.
In short, if the Legault government intends to use the notwithstanding clause to limit the provisions of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, I hope that there will be significant mobilization to defend the right to freedom of religion in Quebec.
Johanne Jutras
Anglican Parish of Quebec City
The John Organ we knew was caring, understanding
I, together with my wife and a number of other former parishioners of Bishop John Organ when he was a priest at the Church of Epiphany in Gloucester, Ont, have been following the events concerning him as they have been unfolding in Corner Brook, Nfld. The Rev. Organ during his time at the Church of the Epiphany was nothing but highly sociable, caring and understanding of the needs of his congregation. We therefore find accusations of “discriminatory practices,” “emotional abuse” and especially “bullying” on his part to be so far removed from the priest that we knew that they’re hard to understand and harder to accept.
We are not privy to what went on between the Rev. Short and him but, what we have read about in the news is totally out of character with the John Organ we knew and loved.
Roy Moffett
Church of the Epiphany
Gloucester, Ont.
