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New West Diocese moves against ANiC parishes

Aug 26th, 2008 by

From here. A response from ANiC will be forthcoming.

Diocese takes steps under Canon 15
Directed at clergy who have left the Anglican Church of Canada remain at diocesan parishes

The Diocese has taken steps under Canon 15 towards removing clergy who have left the Anglican Church of Canada rather than accepting the decisions of the Diocesan Synod and General Synod.

The Diocese has invoked the provision that returns control of the parishes to the Diocese, an action that was approved by Diocesan Council.

The parishes are St. Matthew’s Abbotsford and St. Matthias and St. Luke, Vancouver. Former diocesan clergy who have continued working in the parishes are Trevor Walters, Michael Stewart, and Don Gardner at St. Matthew’s, and Simon Chin at St. Matthias and St. Luke.

No steps have been taken at present at Good Shepherd, and at St. John’s Shaughnessy, Vancouver, two other parishes where former diocesan clergy remain who have left the Anglican Church of Canada.

In a memorandum to diocesan clergy, Commissary (Acting Bishop) Peter Elliott wrote that implementing this canon is a time consuming process, hence at this time the diocese was only proceeding with two parishes.

George Cadman, chancellor (chief legal officer) of the Diocese, said he hopes that the former clergy will now decide to leave voluntarily and that resort to the courts will be unnecessary, even though the possibility of litigation was raised in letters from the former officials at St. Matthew’s. No communications have been received from St. Matthias and St. Luke since its priest left the Anglican Church of Canada.

A media release is available by clicking here.

The memorandum to clergy is available by clicking here.

Posted in Anglican Church of Canada, Anglican Crisis, Anglican Network in Canada

20 Responses to “New West Diocese moves against ANiC parishes”

  1. 1
    Kate says:
    August 26, 2008 at 6:14 pm

    Interesting that they didn’t pick on St. John’s (arguably the parish most financially able to defend itself) first. The time consuming process thing doesn’t really hold water – it wouldn’t consume that much more time to tackle all four parishes at once.

  2. 2
    Gordon Arthur says:
    August 26, 2008 at 6:35 pm

    This is an action of the executive, not the legislature. For my sins, I’m a member of the New Westminster Diocesan Synod this year (for the first and last time). Synod was presented with a statement in May, to which I took strong exception, and there were four or five responses, all negative. These were ignored.

    It seems that Diocesan Executive has been looking for a way to take the parishes to court for months, but transferring the blame to them. Evidently it has found a way.

  3. 3
    Irena says:
    August 27, 2008 at 2:56 am

    Trevor Walters, Michael Stewart, Don Gardner and Simon Chin: You are all in our prayers, as well as Cheryl Chang and the legal team.
    Nahum 1:7:
    The Lord is good,
    a stronghold in the day of trouble;
    he knows those who take refuge in him.

  4. 4
    Frank Wirrell says:
    August 27, 2008 at 7:20 am

    Michael Ingham continues unabated in his apostate ways. He has clearly denounced his vows and his faith and willingly uses, might I say abuses, the civil courts in an attempt to force his poison down the throats of true believers. The statement of Peter Elliott drips with insincerity. This is precisely why I have stated many times that we are not dealing with liberalism but apostasy.

    (Slightly edited. –Admin)

  5. 5
    Don't Panic says:
    August 27, 2008 at 8:24 am

    Michael Ingham has been playing this game for a long time now. He knows how to play and how to play well. It is going to be up to ANiC to prove he he has been cheating and I suspect this will be a very hard case. Furthermore, another difficulty as I see it for the ANiC parishes is Jesus himself who went to court and a cross without a lawyer. At some point in all of this, and pardon the cliché, but the question will need to be, What would Jesus do?

  6. 6
    Paula Valentine says:
    August 27, 2008 at 10:35 am

    I thought Gen Synod also decided not to allow local option for SSB and called for a moratorium. So who is disobeying Gen Synod?

  7. 7
    Cathy says:
    August 27, 2008 at 11:00 am

    I thought Lambeth had just said no taking each other to court.

  8. 8
    Gerry O'Brien says:
    August 27, 2008 at 1:14 pm

    Sounds like regular run of the mill Anglican Church of Canada and Diocese of New Westminster ‘codswallop” to me. None of this is to be unexpected and they will wait to see what happens with these two parishes before tackling St. John’s Shaughnessey……

    Oh my, how long must this apostate bishop and his followers in New Westminster be allowed and be motivated by his Primate to carry on like this? The ACoC has so very many “good” people in it but they are being led down the yellow brick road to nowhere land by the pied piper of NW and the primate.

  9. 9
    Gordon Arthur says:
    August 27, 2008 at 1:28 pm

    Gerry (#8), if Michael Ingham goes, he’s likely to be succeeded by Peter Elliot, who is the cathedral dean. This may not improve things.

  10. 10
    Frank Wirrell says:
    August 27, 2008 at 2:45 pm

    For Gerry O’Brian and Gordon Arthur:-
    Yes, there is no doubt that Peter Elliot has been and continues to make his move to become the successor to Michael Ingham. The basic problem is that we have a weakkneed Primate, Fred Hiltz, who does not seem to stand for anything and the House of Bishops continues to be either oblivious (highly unlikely) or not concerned or interested in reigning in their apostate colleagues. The leadership at the National Church level is clearly flawed and nothing will be corrected until the bishops who claim to be orthodox stand up for the faith. The move to ANiC has been necessary due to the House of Bishops failure to do their duty.

  11. 11
    Toral says:
    August 27, 2008 at 3:05 pm

    I believe Kate has it basically down. Try to pick on the weakest and least able to defend themselves first. What I suspect the Diocese would most like is legal proceedings conducted against these ANiC parishes only, without their having the full-bodied legal representation that St. John’s Shaughnessy faithful would support and pay for. A loss would be binding on St. John’s anyway, neutralizing them without having to fight them directly.

    Only 6 out of 10 for cleverness, and I don’t believe for a second that Chancellor Cheryl and the other folks out there will let it work.

  12. 12
    Warren says:
    August 27, 2008 at 3:23 pm

    Although the Bishop and the Diocese officials are understandably the focal point for the current actions, and are the primary source of whatever “strategy” exists, priests and parishioners of the many parishes that are sitting by and watching aren’t innocent. I find it extremely difficult to rationalize the assertion on one hand that Anglicans tend to be more educated and politically savvy than most church goers, with the claim on the other hand that most parishioners are oblivious to what is going on in the ACoC and the larger Anglican communion. Do these intelligent people check their brains at the door when they enter the church? Is that the real purpose of the font?

    If I give people the benefit of the doubt, I have to assume that, if asked, most Canadian Anglicans will support legal actions taken by the ACoC against ANiC parishes.

  13. 13
    Jim Muirhead says:
    August 27, 2008 at 4:05 pm

    Unlike Ingham and his cohorts, we believe in sin and salvation from the risen God. We also believe in the judgement to come.
    I take comfort in the sure knowledge that justice will be done in the Kingdom.
    Peace,
    Jim

  14. 14
    Ellie M. says:
    August 27, 2008 at 4:41 pm

    Instead of taking expensive legal action against the reasserters, why doesn’t the diocese just “live into the tension”? They could set up an indabadabadaba group and listen to each other’s stories. After all, if the Anglican Church is diverse enough to hold all points of view, it can accommodate those who don’t want to be in the Anglican Church. Draw the Circle Wide!!

  15. 15
    Warren says:
    August 27, 2008 at 4:46 pm

    Ellie (#14), isn’t it indabadabadaba doo?

  16. 16
    Ellie M. says:
    August 27, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    Actually, according to Chris Johnson (MCN Blog), they’re the Johann- Gambolputty- de- von- Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher- von- Hautkopft- of- Ulm groups.

    (There’s been a fair bit of Monty Python stuff here lately, so I felt this would be appropriate. . . )

  17. 17
    siena says:
    August 27, 2008 at 6:45 pm

    In Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, good eventually overcomes the bad that the wicked sadly brought on themselves. God’s laws will triumph for the good of all and in building up His Church. Prayers for all. May God have mercy on the persecutors and grant pastoral care to the persecuted.

  18. 18
    Kate says:
    August 27, 2008 at 7:58 pm

    Thanks for the laugh, Ellie and Warren!

  19. 19
    Gerry O'Brien says:
    August 28, 2008 at 5:49 pm

    Ellie ~ So many words that are so much better than “codswallop”.
    Kate has it right…..thanks for the laugh, although Ingham, Elliot, Hiltz “et al” are no laughing matter……shame

  20. 20
    Ellie M. says:
    August 29, 2008 at 8:11 am

    Sometimes laughter’s the best medicine.

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