Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby: man of steel?
December 3, 2012
By Rev Ed Hird
The excitement about +Justin Welby’s appointment has been remarkable. Biblical Anglicans around the world have welcomed his appointment with open arms. Perhaps the fact that Bishop Welby has visited Africa sixty times has helped endear the Global South Anglicans who have often felt left out in the cold. It has been said that in the Anglican world, the Africans pray, the Americans pay and the British set the rules. Because of the enormous financial clout of the American Episcopalians, they have openly flaunted the global Anglican standards on biblical marriage. Will Welby have what it takes to bring the errant Episcopalians back into biblical Anglicanism?
John McManus writing for BBC News said, “Justin Welby’s appearance was characterized by one very important quality – his steeliness.” It will take a man of steel to bring North American Anglicans to biblical transformation. Welby has the reputation of being a consummate negotiator, who deeply listens while holding clear principles. Charles Moore of The Telegraph says that Justin Welby can provide the tough love that has been so sadly lacking.
Perhaps Welby’s time as an oil industry executive will prove useful in his bringing order out of the Anglican moral chaos. Perhaps Welby’s involvement in Holy Trinity Brompton with its world-famous Alpha Course will help him birth an Anglican Church that is both vibrant and faithful. Anglican leaders that I trust are telling me that we need to give Welby the benefit of the doubt. My prayer is that Archbishop (designate) Justin Welby will prove to be a spiritual man of steel who can give new hope to the Anglican Communion.
Rev Ed Hird, Rector
St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)
http://stsimonschurch.ca
-an article for the Light Magazine
-award-winning author of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’
http://www.battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com
p.s. In order to obtain a copy of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD. This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail ed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.
-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide : Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
You can also download the complimentary Leader’s Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide
John A Macdonald: Nation-Builder
September 13, 2010
By Rev Ed Hird 
Every time I spend ten dollars, I come face-to-face with Sir John A Macdonald, our first Prime Minister. As “the most famous of all Canadian leaders”, Sir John A. was a nation-builder, a man with many flaws who looked beyond himself and saw a great dream.
Recently we celebrated BC’s 150th Anniversary. Without Sir John A, there is no doubt in my mind that BC would have been lost to Canada. The vast majority of BC settlers were Americans drawn from San Francisco by the 1858 Gold Rush. John A’s promise of the Canadian Pacific Railway won over the hearts and mind of ambivalent BCers. This extravagant promise almost bankrupted Canada and nearly destroyed Sir John’s A. Macdonald’s political career. Imagine if the Federal Government in 2010 promised to send Canadian Astronauts to Jupiter by 2020! A railway all the way to BC was just as unthinkable in 1870. Some cynics joked that Canada was not a nation, but a railroad in search of a nation
John A was not only a nation-builder but also a bridge-builder. He commented: “We should accept as men and brothers all those who think alike of the future of the country, and wish to act alike for the good of the country, no matter what their antecedents may have been.” He saw Canadian Confederation as a spiritual marriage between francophones and anglophones. Unlike many of his fellow party members, John A could read French, understand it, and speak it reasonably well.” Sir John A commented: “God and nature have made the two Canadas one – let no factious men be allowed to put them asunder.”
After the tragic death of his first wife Isabella, he married Agnes Bernard, just before the national ‘marriage’ of the Dominion of Canada on July 1st, 1867. Agnes wrote in her diary: “I have found something worth living for – living in – my husband’s heart and love.” As a devout Anglican, Agnes had a significant impact on her husband’s life, causing him to cut back on his drinking and start attending church on Sunday. John A was deeply impressed by the Beatitudes, and made a practice of reading his bible every night before bedtime.
In 1888, during six weeks of Hunter-Crossley renewal meetings in Ottawa, Prime Minister Macdonald had a deep encounter with Jesus Christ. As one journalist put it, “When the well-known form of the Honorable Prime Minister arose in the centre of the church, many strong men bowed their heads and wept for joy.” After dining at the prime minister’s home several days later, Rev John Hunter confirmed that “Sir John is a changed man.”
edhird
