Grand Chief Stan Beardy brings ideas, proposal to Church House
ALI SYMONS
GENERAL SYNOD WEB WRITER

JANUARY 24, 2008 -- When Grand Chief Stan Beardy of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) visited the General Synod offices on Jan. 21, he had two main messages for the Anglican Church of Canada: help advocate for Aboriginal rights, and allow Aboriginals to take greater responsibility for their own leadership within the church.

A proposal for a new Anglican structure within NAN was presented to the Primate, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, in a personal meeting.

"We want to set up our own diocese that is managed by First Nations people, and that follows the doctrines of the Anglican Church of Canada and its teachings," said the Grand Chief in a later interview. "We're not talking about a breakaway group here. We like the teachings of the Anglican Church of Canada. We understand its functions and the sacraments. We believe in those and we believe in the core teachings of the gospel itself." the rest