By Jim Coggins

FIFTEEN conservative parishes have now voted to leave the jurisdiction of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and join the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), under the jurisdiction of the Province of the Southern Cone (South America).

Seven of the churches are from the Diocese of New Westminster, which precipitated the crisis when Bishop Michael Ingham authorized eight parishes to bless same-sex unions in 2002.

No more parishes are expected to hold votes in the near future, but many conservatives remain in the ACC.

Global context

The ACC insists that the 15 parishes are “less than one percent” of the 2,300 Anglican parishes in Canada. However, the Anglican Coalition in Canada (ACiC) has also left the ACC and now has a dozen congregations under the authority of an African bishop.

The ACiC and ANiC have declared themselves in “common cause,” and on March 2 held a joint ‘Pacific Coast Anglican Awakening’ in Richmond.

The ACiC churches lost their buildings when they left the ACC. However, ACiC spokesman Ed Hird said this was because the cost of a court battle was more than the buildings were worth.

The same may not be true for St. John’s Shaughnessy, which has a facility worth several million dollars.

The ANiC has the support of about two-thirds of the worldwide Anglican communion, which has demanded that the ACC and the Episcopal Church in the U.S. repent of their support for homosexual practice.

At least five national Anglican churches around the world are threatening to boycott the next Lambeth meeting (a gathering of all Anglican bishops every 10 years) scheduled for July and instead hold their own Global Anglican Futures Conference during  June in Jordan and Israel.

Ontario test cases

The ACC’s position is that individuals can leave the church, but cannot take property with them. The ANiC counters that the buildings were paid for by the parishes. In some cases, the diocese holds legal title to the parish buildings. In other cases, the parishes are legally incorporated and hold title to their buildings.

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When St. George’s and St. Hilda’s voted February 17 to join the ANiC, the Diocese of Niagara took legal action to gain control of their buildings.

The parishes gave the diocese access to the buildings in order to offer services to members of the parishes who voted against leaving the ACC (the votes were 128 – 3 and 86 – 0).

However, the diocese encouraged members from other parishes to attend its services February 24, to the point that the St. George’s parking lot was jammed and the regular service had to be moved.

The two sides met February 26 and 27, but failed to reach an agreement. On February 29, the court gave an interim ruling leaving control of the buildings with the parishes.

St. Chad’s in Toronto voted 12 – 10 to join the ANiC February 17, but the Diocese of Toronto changed the locks on February 29 and took control of the building.

B.C. update

Bishop Michael Ingham of the Diocese of New Westminster has starting a process to remove the ministry credentials of the priests of the parishes leaving his diocese.

Among them is James I. Packer, a volunteer associate at St. James Shaughnessy ­– and a world renowned theologian and author. Packer’s dismissal created an international stir, prompting an online commentary by Christianity Today.  

Two additional parishes in the diocese have asked for permission to bless same-sex unions: St. Mary’s Kerrisdale in Vancouver and the Church of the Holy Spirit in Maple Ridge.

On February 14, the Diocese of British Columbia suspended the ministry of rector Sharon Hayton and assistant Andrew Hewlett at St. Mary’s of the Incarnation Church in Metchosin near Victoria.

The priests were forbidden to talk to parishioners or be on church property, but the parish voted 105 – 14 February 17 to join the ANiC.

After a cooling-off period, the priests relinquished their ministry credentials March 3. However, the building remains in the hands of the parish, pending a mediation process led by Archbishop Terry Buckle.

April 2008