From St John’s Website

legal update > basic background

What is this trial about?
In the last year, when Anglican churches voted to seek temporary Episcopal oversight under ANiC (The Anglican Network in Canada) various dioceses of the Anglican Church of Canada responded by seeking to seize properties and replace elected trustees. The purpose of joining ANiC was to remain in communion with the worldwide Anglican Church and receive leadership from an orthodox bishop. St. John’s and three other local ANiC churches have asked the Supreme Court of B.C. to clarify who are the proper trustees of our congregations (the ones we elected or the ones appointed by the diocese) and for what purposes the buildings are held in trust. We are asking the court to recognize we are committed to remaining Anglican and for continuing to worship in our churches. We are the first churches asking the court to rule on these issues. Previous cases have only involved rulings on interim use of buildings.

Isn’t it about blessing same-sex relationships?
The blessing of same-sex unions is the presenting issue. The core issue is a deeply profound theological difference in the understanding and interpretation of scripture and what it means to be “Anglican”. It is clear that the Diocesan leadership no longer believes, adheres to and or seeks to preserve the core doctrines of the Anglican Christian faith, such as the uniqueness of Jesus, the physical resurrection, and the authority of Scripture, or the accepted teachings of the Anglican Communion.

A court hearing about church seems extreme. How did we get here?
Over the last ten years, the leadership of St. John’s has been working through local, national and international processes to resolve this issue. There has been no resolution that would keep St. John’s in communion with the world wide Anglican Church for this generation and the next. We have sought mediated solutions but none has proved successful. In August 2008, after the Diocese of New Westminster sought to seize the property and replace the clergy and trustees at St. Matthew’s Abbotsford and St. Matthias & St. Luke, the trustees of these churches, along with St. John’s Shaughnessy and Church of the Good Shepherd, were forced to go to the courts for clarification. This decision, as with all the decisions related to this matter in the last 10 years, was done after much prayer and the reviewing of alternatives. It was not done in haste.

How can I help or participate?
There are a number of ways in which you can participate and help as individuals, families, and within your small groups.

PRAY: Please include in your individual, family, and Bible study prayer times, prayers for the trial process, God’s protection, His will to be done and growth in His kingdom in Vancouver.

GIVE: You can give to the legal fund through the church offering or by dropping off your gift to the church office. Please make cheques out to ANiC – St. John’s Project and designate it to the legal fund.

ENGAGE: Be prepared to speak about your faith when the opportunity arises and seek to explain the Gospel.

By Charles Raven, SPREAD

Court cases between orthodox parishes and revisionist dioceses have, sadly, become something of a commonplace in North America, but the current court battle in the Supreme Court of British Columbia between four Anglican Network in Canada parishes, including St John’s Shaughnessy, and the Anglican Church of Canada’s Diocese of New Westminster led by Bishop Michael Ingham is proving to be very revealing.

This is the first time a Canadian court has been asked to rule on the question of overall control of Anglican church property. The trial itself began on 25th May and has some time to go, with judgement not expected until late summer, but whether they win or lose, the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) has already done orthodox Anglicans – if they take notice – a great service by this bold decision to take a legal stand.

The ANiC parishes’ case is essentially very simple; that the Diocese of New Westminster under Bishop Michael Ingham no longer holds to the central doctrines of the Christian faith; it has reinvented the gospel and the presenting issue, the blessing of same sex unions, is simply a symptom of this deeper malaise. In evidence at the trial on day three , a member of one of the ANiC congregations spoke of her shock as far back as 1994 when Bishop Michael Ingham denied the uniqueness of Jesus as the only saviour and in 1997 he subsequently enlarged on this theme in his book ‘Mansions of the Spirit’. As members of the ANiC, they are aligned with the orthodox majority in the Anglican Communion through the GAFCON movement and see that they have a duty to ensure that historic assets are protected and held in trust for orthodox Anglican ministry. In essence, their argument turns on a confessional understanding of the church – that a valid Anglican Church is one which is faithful to historic and orthodox Anglican doctrine and practice.  

Read here. 

Chris Sugden,  New Directions June 2009

A case is being heard this week in the Vancouver courts to settle whether St John’s Church Shaughnessy, the largest congregation in the Anglican Church of Canada, is an authentic Anglican church and therefore entitled to retain its property, or whether it has to cede it to the Diocese of New Westminster and its Bishop, Michael Ingham. Bishop Ingham’s authorization of same-sex blessings in 2003 was the earliest expression in the Anglican Communion of the current wave of heterodox practices causing the current crisis.

In the USA, members of the church vestry at Grace Church and St Stephen’s Parish Colorado Springs are being personally sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Their rector was turned out of the rectory by The Episcopal Church in March. 

These realities seem to be little known in the Church of England.

The strategy of the senior leadership in the Anglican Communion would appear to be to keep both those promoting the liberal agenda through suing faithful Anglicans and those being persecuted while maintaining traditional Anglican faith and practice talking.   This was clear at the Anglican Consultative Council in Jamaica (May 1-13).

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From ANiC

Ms Ludmila Herbst, Associate Counsel for the bishop and diocese, called three witnesses today. 

Rev Kevin Dixon was the first witness. He came to St Mary’s in 1997, and was an associate priest at St Mary’s from 1997-1999 when he became rector.

Born and raised in the Huron diocese, he attended his first diocesan synod as a youth delegate in the 1970s. He was theologically trained in the diocese of Huron and has a long history of Huron diocese clergy in his family.

There was discussion at the diocesan synod in 1979, just after the 1979 House of Bishops (HOB) statement came out. In response, he attended two dialogue processes in the diocese using resources developed by the national church. He said there had been a number of resolutions in the Huron Synod over the years, including a motion to endorse the ordination of celibate homosexuals.

St Mary’s incorporated in 1911 and has 1800 names on parish list with approximately 300-350 on a Sunday morning over three services, including one which uses the BCP. He said it is an active parish, with a diversity of ages, Sunday school and outreach. He said “The perspectives held within the parish are quite diverse.”

His international involvement includes being on the Board of Directors of the Cristosal Foundation; as well St Mary’s is a member of the Compass Rose Society. He said that when he attends international meetings, he identifies himself as from the diocese of New Westminster and he is “always welcome”.

He said that he had no recollection of learning about the Solemn Declaration of 1893 while in seminary and his first recollection of hearing about it “as having any significance was at an event at Trinity Western University in 2001. I heard Dr. J I Packer making reference to the Solemn Declaration.” Otherwise, he said, he only heard about it in the context of this litigation.

He said that St Mary’s was twinned with St John’s for the Dialogue process. He thought that the “materials were balanced, but I thought that Edith Humphrey was not as cogent as others. It seemed the author was more focused on ‘you can’ t bless that’ – it was more polemic.” (Note: Edith Humphrey has given affidavit evidence as one of the parishes’ expert witnesses.)

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June 1, 2009

Today was another “standing room only” day in the Vancouver Courtroom to hear the opening statement of the Diocese’s counsel, George Macintosh, QC in the morning and the beginning of Bishop Ingham’s testimony in the afternoon.

Mr Macintosh advised the court that he would be calling four witnesses, Bishop Ingham, Rev Kevin Dixon, Doug McAdams and Rev Christine Rowe, although “there may be some slight adjustment among the latter three” he said. He also advised that he may end before Friday afternoon and that counsel agreed argument would still commence next Monday.

He began his opening statement by saying that “the Plaintiff’s (ie ANiC parishes’) case rests on the assertion that church properties… are held on trust for the congregations for the purpose of ministry consistent with historic, orthodox, Anglican doctrine and practice.” He then declared that the four ANiC parishes have “quit the diocese and the Anglican Church of Canada over the blessing of same-sex unions” and they have sought to maintain control of the church properties.

The diocese’s case relies heavily upon the assertion that the ACoC is an episcopal and hierarchical institution with sophisticated structures of governance, legislative and governing bodies at all levels, and internal ecclesiastical courts to resolve disputes. The constitution and canons set out the process for disputes and Mr Macintosh said they should have been used in this case. Read the rest of this entry »

The first week of the court case was devoted to the opening statement and witnesses for the four ANiC parishes. In his opening statement, parish counsel, Mr Geoff Cowper, Q.C., indicated he intends to establish that:

* This is a case of division in the church – locally, nationally and internationally – rather than just a number of congregations "departing" from the church.– part of the DNA

* The Solemn Declaration is foundational to Anglicanism in Canada

both as a declaration of faith and as a binding commitment to interdependence with the Communion.

* That the original founders of the Anglican Church of Canada did not anticipate such division and the Canons and Constitution are not capable of addressing it appropriately.

* That the current division and its causes are unprecedented in the history of the Communion.

Witnesses for the ANiC parishes included: Dr John G Stackhouse, Jr (professor of theology and culture, Regent College), Bishop Don Harvey, Bishop Ron Ferris, Linda Seale (churchwarden, St Matthew’s, Abbotsford), Error! Reference source not found. (long-time parishioner, St John’s Shaughnessy), Peter Pang (Church of the Good Shepherd), and the Rev David Short.

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From ANiC

Today was a short day in court, ending just after noon, which although surprising, was a great relief. The Rev David Short, rector of St John’s Shaughnessy since 1993, was on the stand for only a couple of hours when many of us were expecting more than a full day.

David was born in Africa, where his father was serving as an Anglican priest and where his grandfather had also served as an Anglican priest. His father later became a bishop in the Diocese of Sydney so David was raised in Africa and Australia. He grew up knowing that he belonged to a global group of churches that no matter where you were in the world, you believed the same faith.

He described the difference between “communion” – the spiritual and personal reality that exists when we put our faith in Christ and are united with God and with all those who believe the same faith – and “Communion” – which relates to the structures that have evolved to promote and protect our faith. He discussed how the Solemn Declaration of 1893 and the Windsor Report reflect that understanding.

He explained how, when he arrived in Vancouver to attend Regent College in 1991, he found St John’s to be of the same character as Anglican churches in Sydney, “liturgically centrist, broadly speaking… evangelical” and with a number of ministries both in and outside the parish.

He discussed his involvement with the synods, clergy conferences and as regional dean for several years, as well as reaction to Bishop Ingham’s book, Mansions of the Spirit and the pastoral issues it raised in the congregation. He said the vote of the diocesan Synod in 2001 “shocked” him after the clear position taken by the House of Bishops in 1997 and the Lambeth Conference in1998. After the 2001 vote, a number of conservative clergy in the diocese met with Bishop Ingham to indicate the depth of their concern and that this was a “no go area” for them. Just before the 2002 Synod, he delivered a legal opinion to Bishop Ingham that said because the issue of same-sex blessings is an issue of doctrine, it was only within the jurisdiction of the General Synod and any motion would be ultra vires (beyond the authority of the diocesan synod).

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From ANiC

Bishop Ron Ferris

Today, Bishop Ron Ferris continued his cross-examination in the morning. Mr Macintosh began sparring once again on whether or not certain canons could have been used in a certain way to challenge Bishop Ingham’s “decision” to implement the blessing of same sex unions. Mr Justice Kelleher objected to Mr Macintosh’s approach of asking Bishop Ferris to agree with his statement or opinion, and when Bishop Ferris disagreed, then saying “Well, you’re not a canon lawyer”. That ended that line of questioning and Mr Macintosh then went on to see if Bishop Ron was aware of any “strategy” of ANiC to “take other parishes out of the Anglican Church of Canada”. Bishop Ron advised he is not aware of any such strategy and that ANiC has always made clear in public statements and on their website that we only assist parishes that approach us or invite us to come and speak.

In answer to a question about the tension between faith and teaching vs “social relevance”, Bishop Ron responded “A priest or bishop has to serve his faith and God, and if relevance results from that faithfulness, that is good”. When questioning Bishop Ron about a statement in his affidavit referring to the diocese’s attempts “to evict faithful Anglican congregations from their buildings, (most especially the Chinese Anglican congregations)”, Mr Macintosh tried to get Bishop Ron to say that, “clergy aside”, Bishop Ingham had never actually evicted any congregation and that the congregations were welcome to stay. Bishop Ron responded that clergy are part of the congregation, and just as there is “constructive dismissal”, so he saw there could be “constructive eviction”, and pointed out that if the diocese had simply consented, there could be two groups functioning in the diocese. Mr Macintosh ended his cross-examination by pointing out that none of the congregations or priests were ever asked to do same sex blessings.

Mrs Linda Seale

Linda Seale, a churchwarden from St Matthew’s was next on the stand. She has attended St Matthew’s continuously since 1979, having been baptized in the United Church but was “largely unchurched” until she met her husband and began attending an Anglican church. She was married in the Anglican Church and her sons were baptized in Anglican churches as well. She has been active in the parish of St Matthew’s and was involved in researching and assisted with the writing of the church history for its centennial in 2000. In addition, she has held various leadership roles over the years.

Linda said her reaction to being “out of communion” as a result of the diocese’s actions in 2002 and 2003, was “grief”, saying it was troubling at a deep spiritual level and raised “concerns about our theology and what we commonly believe”.

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From Diocese of New Westminster

Bishop Michael Ingham asked the retiring bishop of Algoma, Ronald Ferris, to consider assisting him last year by serving as a pastoral bishop to conservative parishes in his diocese under the shared episcopal ministry plan set out by Canadian House of Bishops.

However, in BC Supreme Court Tuesday, May 26, the former Canadian bishop said he felt strongly that he couldn’t serve as a bishop within a diocese that, in his opinion, had departed from biblical teaching and blessed same sex unions.

Bishop Ingham, according to a letter entered in evidence, suggested that Ferris—for 27 years a bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada—submit his name to Archbishop Terrance Buckle. He was retiring to Langley, BC, which is within the Diocese of New Westminster which Bishop Ingham heads. If he accepted the offer, he would have been included on a list of possible alternative bishops from which conservative parishes having difficulties with Bishop Ingham or the diocese could pick.

“I knew I couldn’t work in a system which had broken with the Anglican Communion,” Ferris told the court. But who exactly had broken from the Communion was at issue during the second day of testimony before Mr. Justice Stephen Kelleher.

Some 22 leaders in four congregations, including three former diocesan priests, who have left the Anglican Church of Canada, want to keep their parish buildings, and have sued the diocese and Bishop Ingham, asking the court to rule they can. The diocese says it owns the buildings.

Ferris decided not to work as a retired bishop within the Diocese of New Westminster. Instead he left Anglican Church of Canada and joined the Anglican Network in Canada, a group of congregations that currently say they are connected to the Anglican Communion through the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone in South America.

During much of the day’s testimony, Ferris recounted events in the Anglican Church of Canada, after he became Bishop of Yukon in 1981. While he let his name stand for that and other episcopal positions 12 times, including in 1993 when he came in second in the Diocese of New Westminster to Michael Ingham, he said he had never sought nomination, but felt that if asked, he should run. In 1995 he left the Yukon to become Bishop of Algoma based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Recounting three Lambeth Conferences and several General Synods, he traced the evolution of, and reaction to, the blessing of same sex unions requested by the New Westminster Synod in 2002, and implemented by Bishop Ingham in 2003. Read the rest of this entry »

From ANiC

Bishop Don Harvey was under cross-examination for the first half of the morning session. Mr George Macintosh, counsel for the diocese, asked questions focused on the “legitimacy” of Archbishop Venables’ intervention in Canada, the response of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) and the Archbishop of Canterbury to this intervention, and whether Bishop Harvey had been invited to the 2008 Lambeth Conference – to which Bishop Don replied, “no, but nor was Bishop Gene Robinson”. Another line of questioning revolved around how Bishop Don has changed his mind on the issue of women’s ordination over the last 30 years; previously against it, he is now for it. There were also extensive questions about the conscience clause in respect of women’s ordination and the one offered by Bishop Ingham to the parishes in New Westminster as well as discussion of Shared Episcopal Ministry.

Bishop Ron Ferris then took the stand for the rest of the day, although his cross-examination will continue tomorrow morning. He is another cradle Anglican who was baptized, confirmed, married, ordained and consecrated in the church. He was Bishop of the Yukon from 1981-1994 and Bishop of Algoma from 1995 until he retired in 2008 and moved to Langley, BC for family reasons. He joined ANiC in 2009 and is currently planting a church in the Langley area.

There was much discussion about the importance of the Solemn Declaration and the significance of the worldwide Anglican Communion and of “communion” for Canadian Anglicans. Having attended three Lambeth conferences (1988, 1998 and 2008), he was able to share much history about how the Lambeth conferences, the Canadian House of Bishops and General Synod meetings have addressed the issues of women’s ordination and human sexuality, particularly the issue of same-sex blessings. The unprecedented divisive nature of the controversy around same-sex blessings was highlighted during his examination.

He confirmed that the ACoC has not published membership statistics since 2001 and that there was major denial on the liberal side of the church, saying they ignore declining statistics, statements from around the world and international distress, and assume things will eventually settle down.

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By Nick Mackenzie, Religious Intelligence

The dispute between the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada and breakaway parishes is to go to court after a failed mediation attempt.

After one and a half days of mediation with Chief Justice Donald Brenner acting as the mediator, the Diocese of New Westminster and four Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) parishes – St John’s (Shaughnessy), St Matthias and St Luke, and Church of the Good Shepherd in Vancouver, and St. Matthews in Abbotsford – failed to reach an agreement. The dispute over church properties will now proceed to trial in the BC Supreme Court commencing May 25.

On January 6, 2009, the parties appeared before Chief Justice Brenner requesting an expedited trial process and permission was granted. To reduce the time for trial and pre-trial procedures, they agreed to exchange most of their evidence by affidavits and cross-examine a number of witnesses before the trial. The trial begins May 25 and is set for three weeks.

Earlier this year, the ANiC parishes served a “Notice to Mediate” on the Diocese of New Westminster. The mediation was scheduled for two full days (May 14 and 15) but by noon today, an impasse was reached.

“We are very disappointed a settlement could not be reached”, said Cheryl Chang, Chancellor of ANiC. “We were really hoping we could achieve a peaceful, mutually beneficial resolution of the matters in dispute.”

This dispute arises from the current divide in the global Anglican Communion over profound theological differences. The Anglican Church of Canada’s (ACoC) Primates’ Theological Commission, in its recent “Galilee Report” acknowledged the division among the ACoC’s own theologians, reflecting the division in the broader Anglican Church. The report said, “We are not of one mind among ourselves”.

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By George Conger

Two British Columbia parishes have quit the Anglican Church of Canada and have affiliated with the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). The votes by St Matthias in Victoria and St Mary’s Nanoose Bay increase the breakaway group’s ranks to 28 parishes served by three former Anglican Church of Canada bishops and 73 priests and deacons.

By a vote of 170 in favor and 10 opposed, St Matthias withdrew from the diocese on March 8 and joined the traditionalist breakaway group led by Bishop Don Harvey, the former Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. The congregation has left its property to the diocese and a remnant group and on March 15 began worshipping at a local community center.

The 200 members of St Mary’s Church on Feb 8 also voted to quit the diocese. However the rural congregation has stayed in its building and is engaged in litigation with the diocese over its ownership.

On March 12, Bishop James Cowan of British Columbia accused the breakaway group of being dishonest and divisive. Those who had quit had given “us assurances” that “they would never do what they have just done.” ANiC had also been dishonest in its “presentation of the facts” which had “allowed them to lead others to leave the diocese. I am shocked by this and see, under the guise of lofty intent and purity of motive, instead the subversion of the mission of the Church,” he said.

Read here. 

by Chris Sugden in Evangelicals Now  April 2009

Canadians are not to be confused with citizens of the USA. Many are descended from those British colonists, and their church descends from the many clergy, who wished to remain loyal to the British crown after 1776 and fled north to put the protection of the great lakes between them and the rebels.  Citizens of the USA were “patriots”, Canadians were “loyalists”.  Their “Britishness” is perhaps revealed in continuance of a sense of deference to the established order.

One Canadian Anglican clergyman has suggested to me that this meant that therefore the direction of the leadership of the Anglican Church of Canada in taking forward same-sex blessings and related issues was more readily accepted and followed by the rank and file in the church than it would be south of the border.

The Anglican Network in Canada (www.anglicannetwork.ca) numbers 3 bishops, 28 parishes, 62 priests, 11 deacons and a Sunday attendance of around 3500, larger than 13 of the 31 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Canada.  The Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) on a good day claims 70,000 in its pews.

Most of the population of Canada lives within 100 miles of the US border.  Canada stretches 3170 miles from Vancouver in the west to St John’s in the East and takes 11 days to cover driving at 8 hours a day. In between are the vast prairies, where winter temperatures fall to minus 40 degrees centigrade, where clergy will drive for two or three hours in each direction to take a service or a home fellowship.   Yet many of these small communities have a church.  And it has a church because early on the Anglican Church selected people from local communities to be ordained as clergy.

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On February 12, Bishop Donald Harvey, Moderator, Anglican Network in Canada, spoke at the Anglican Mainstream gathering, Church of England General Synod.  Today the Church Times publishes a short article by him on the situation of the Church in Canada.  This speech serves as further resource and information about what is taking place.

"To me, the turning point in Canada came at General Synod two years ago in Winnipeg when a motion was passed that indicated that same sex blessings are not in conflict with the core creedal doctrines of the Anglican Church of Canada.  When that was passed, for me it was game over – as far as being able to stay in the Anglican Church of Canada was concerned. 

The Anglican Church of Canada has now made up its mind, has now decided what its theology is going to be and all they are hanging back on is timing. When will be the best time to do this with the least fallout?  At the end of the synod, it was agreed that they would spend an extra three years studying this, with no diocese taking action. Despite this talk of restraint, since that time, six separate dioceses have voted to ask their bishop for permission to proceed with same sex blessings. 

And two weeks ago the Diocese of Toronto, with its four bishops, decided they were going to authorize certain parishes within the diocese to perform same sex blessings without taking it to synod at all.  They rationalized that, since it was only going to be allowed in a small number of parishes, there was no real harm in it.  This sort of reasoning makes no sense at all.

This past year, we have gone through a series of struggles on both sides of the border.  Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburgh has been a great champion in the United States as have a number of other diocesan bishops.  And they have been a great help to us, because it is very difficult to stand alone. Together with them we are planning to see if we can form a new province in North America."

Read the whole speech below: Read the rest of this entry »

From ANiC

The congregation of St Matthias Anglican Church, in Victoria, British Columbia voted decisively on Sunday, March 8, to come under the episcopal oversight of Bishop Donald Harvey, Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), and under the Primatial authority of Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.

St Matthias, which is one of the largest Anglican parishes on Vancouver Island, is the 16th former Anglican Church of Canada parish and the third on Vancouver Island to join ANiC in the past 13 months. The official vote taken in the special vestry meeting today – which was called in careful compliance with diocesan canons (bylaws) – was 94.4 per cent in favour of realigning with ANiC, excluding spoiled ballots. Of the ballots cast, 170 were in favour and ten opposed. Seven ballots were spoilt.

In addition, a declaration with 32 signatures was received which expressed opposition to the meeting and the vote. Letters of support were received from 20 members who were unable to attend, but affirmed their support for realigning with ANiC.

“I am delighted to welcome this parish which is so well known for its solid Bible teaching and prayer ministries,” said Bishop Harvey. “By aligning with the Anglican Network in Canada, they join a growing movement of Anglicans throughout North America seeking to remain in the mainstream of global and historic Anglicanism.”

St Matthias Anglican Church is an evangelical parish with deep roots in the community. Founded in 1911, this alive, growing parish numbers 375 members – ranging from young families to retirees – and has an average attendance of over 200 at its two Sunday morning services. In addition, St Matthias offers a mid-week service, 12 home Bible fellowship groups, active youth and seniors programs, and outreach and mission work locally, provincially and internationally. It is well known for its vibrant Biblical teaching and prayer ministries, with a focus on healing.

The people of St Matthias acted because they are determined to remain Biblically faithful and true to historic Christian and Anglican doctrine. It was a decision they took after months of systematically examining all sides of the issues, searching Scripture for direction, and seeking God’s leading.

St Matthias’ rector of 15 years, the Rev Ronald Corcoran together with the three other clergy in the parish – the Rev Rodney May, associate priest, and the Rev Glenn Sim and the Rev Dr Michael Pountney, both honourary associate priests – had earlier offered their resignations to the Anglican Church of Canada, asking for an effective date of March 8. However, the Bishop’s Commissary of the diocese chose to make the resignations effective February 26th and ordered the clergy to leave the church premises immediately. All four clergy members have applied to Bishop Harvey for ANiC licences and will receive these tomorrow.

The congregation of St Matthias will meet in the Fairfield Community Centre beginning March 15. During March, Sunday worship will be held at 1pm. Beginning April 5, worship services will be held at 8am and 10am.

The Primates recently acknowledged that members of ANiC are fully Anglican, and that the global Anglican Communion is clearly divided over these serious theological differences, particularly in relation to the authority and interpretation of the Bible. While orthodox Anglicans may be in the minority in Canada, they are the overwhelming majority worldwide.

The decision to join ANiC demonstrates the deep faith, conviction and courage of the people of St Matthias. Parishes that earlier made this decision have faced hostile court proceedings, eviction and other punitive action by Anglican Church of Canada bishops simply because they seek to continue worshipping in their buildings – which they paid for and maintained through the years – while the Anglican Communion addresses the theological divide in the global Church.

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By Katie Derosa, Times Colonist

Four clergy members at an Anglican church in Victoria say they have been forced to quit because they want to break away from the Anglican Church of Canada.

Priests and parishioners at St. Matthias Anglican Church in Fairfield want to leave the national Anglican body for the Anglican Network in Canada, which opposes same-sex blessings and other modernized church doctrines and upholds the supremacy of scripture.

Rev. Canon Ronald Corcoran, the parish’s priest for the last 15 years, along with Rev. Rodney May, Rev. Glen Sim and retired priest Rev. Michael Pountney, were ousted suddenly Thursday, Corcoran said.

"To take away the keys from somebody who was a pastor of a church for 15 years … I’m disappointed that it has come down to this," he said.

The Venerable Bruce Bryant-Scott, commissary to the Bishop of British Columbia, could not be reached for comment yesterday. In a letter to parishioners, he wrote: "All four [clergy members] have indicated that they could no longer give their obedience to the authority over them, namely the Bishop of British Columbia."

Members of the church have undergone an 18-month "discernment" process, in which they hold meetings and prayer services to inform parishioners before a vote that will decide the fate of the church.

Although the Diocese tried to block the vote, the congregation, about 200 people, will decide next Sunday on secession, Corcoran said. "The Anglican Church of Canada is going through a crisis and they will do everything in their power to stop the congregation from making a choice."

The usual Sunday service was held yesterday with replacement priests, followed by a question and answer period with about 40 parishioners and Bryant-Scott, visiting from Vancouver. Illustrating the division, there was also a meeting in another location yesterday where members asked questions about the upcoming vote, said Robbie May, a member of St. Matthias for 37 years, and a representative of the congregation.

May said she was sad to see Corcoran ushered out so abruptly. "He has been a faithful, pastoral, loving, caring shepherd and it was sad that he would have been treated in this manner."

If the vote Sunday is in favour of separation, the church would be following the path of 18 Anglican churches across Canada. St. Mary of the Incarnation Church in Metchosin made international news last February when it voted to break away from the Anglican Church. Three Vancouver-area break-away congregations have gone to court to avoid being kicked off church property.

By Charles Lewis, National Post

Diocese of Ottawa has said it will perform same-sex blessings, becoming the first Canadian Anglican diocese to make such a move since a ban was imposed on the practice by the international church.

The diocese said it is developing a liturgy and protocol for the rite and once they are created it will start performing the ceremonies for gay couples on a limited basis. But critics of same-sex blessings say those steps will widen the schism in the Canadian church.

In 2004, the worldwide church called for a moratorium on the rite after the Diocese of New Westminster in British Columbia struck out on its own and began performing same-sex blessings. That move was considered a seminal event that led to the Canadian split.

But Archdeacon Ross Moulton of Ottawa said what his diocese is doing does not violate the moratorium because performing the ceremonies will help the diocese understand whether it is the right path to take.

"There is nothing in the moratorium that says we cannot continue to discern," he said.

In a press release issued on Monday night, the diocese said: "Just as the Church was not able to come to a clear mind regarding the benefits of the ordination of women to the priesthood until it experienced the priestly ministry of women, Bishop [John H.] Chapman has taken the process of discernment with regards to same-sex blessings to a place beyond discussion."

In 2007 the Anglican Church of Canada said it interpreted the moratorium to mean that New Westminster could continue with the rite but no Canadian bishop could authorize new parishes to take part in same-sex blessings.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for the Anglican Church of Canada said what the Diocese of Ottawa is doing is not a breaking the ban but rather a continuation of their "discernment process."

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By Marites N Sison, Anglican Journal

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said he was “encouraged” by the proposal for a “professionally mediated conversation” involving North American churches at odds over the issue of sexuality and said he was prepared to be a part of it.

In a telephone interview at the end of the primates’ meeting, held Feb. 1 to 5 in Alexandria, Egypt, Archbishop Hiltz also said that it appeared relationships among church leaders, which had been ruptured because of bitter divisions over the issue, were being repaired. “I think we’re on the way toward healing within the communion,” he said, describing the mood at the meeting as “generous and gracious.”

Archbishop Hiltz said that, although he was disappointed that there had not been a “focused conversation” among primates involved in cross-border interventions right at the meeting, he was nonetheless “encouraged” that the primates chose to adopt a recommendation made by the Windsor Continuation Group for a mediated dialogue.

The primates agreed that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams should initiate a dialogue “which engages all parties at the earliest opportunity.”

Archbishop Hiltz said he was “realistic enough to know that a mediated conversation will only be successfully initiated if everyone is committed to coming to the table at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

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By TexAnglican

The following statistics have been put together by the Common Cause Partnership and are posted on the diocese of Fort Worth’s web site:

[Image: P Hughes, here] 

On every Sunday morning, some 81,311 people worship at the 693 congregations of the Anglican Church in North America. These people and parishes are already outside of The Episcopal Church and The Anglican Church in Canada. The large majority are temporarily under the oversight of six separate Anglican provinces.

The Anglican Church in North America will unify the parishes and membership of a number of jurisdictions:

• The Anglican Mission in the Americas (Rwanda) reports an average Sunday attendance of 21,600 in 180 congregations (40 of which are churches in formation called “networks”).

• The Convocation of Anglicans in North America (Nigeria) has 69 congregations with an average Sunday attendance of 9,828.

• The Reformed Episcopal Church has 150 parishes and an average Sunday attendance of 13,000.

• There are 51 parishes under the temporary oversight of Uganda with an average Sunday attendance of 7,000.

• There are 55 parishes in The United States under the temporary oversight of the provinces of Kenya and the Southern Cone with an average Sunday attendance of 10,000.

• Four entire dioceses separating from The Episcopal Church, with a combined 163 parishes and an average Sunday attendance of 16,483 (The Episcopal Church congregations and members having been excluded from this count) are temporarily dioceses of the province of the Southern Cone.

• The Anglican Network in Canada (Southern Cone) is composed of 24 congregations with an average Sunday attendance of 3,400.

• One congregation is under the temporary oversight of West Africa.

Based on a firm Sunday attendance average of 81,311 people, it is reasonable to very conservatively project that more than 100,000 Anglicans in North America are active members of a congregation of the proposed province (In many cases, total membership often runs at two to three times average Sunday attendance. For instance, The Episcopal Church reports an average Sunday attendance of 768,476 in 2007 and an active baptized membership of 2,116,749.)

While each individual group is small, as a united body, the Anglican Church in North America stretches from one end of North America to the other and has as many or more (in some cases, significantly more) members than 12 of the Anglican Communion’s 38 provinces (Bangladesh, Brazil, Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, Indian Ocean, Japan, Jerusalem & Middle East, Korea, Mexico, Myanmar, Scotland, Southern Cone, Wales)