Judge rules Anglican properties remain "with the Diocese"

By Frank Stirk  |  Tuesday, December 8, 2009

VANCOUVER, BC—If Anglican Bishop Michael Ingham is eventually given the keys to St. John's Shaughnessy Church in south Vancouver, he will be walking into an "empty building," says people's warden and spokesperson Lesley Bentley.

St. John's and three other parishes—two in Vancouver and one in Abbotsford—left the Anglican Church of Canada in 2008 and joined the theologically conservative Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) in response to what they saw as the Church's abandonment of core Anglican beliefs.

That prompted a court battle over who is now the rightful owner of their properties, the four churches or Ingham and the Diocese of New Westminster.

On November 25, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Kelleher ruled that the properties "are held on trust for Anglican ministry as defined by the Anglican Church of Canada" and thus "remain with the Diocese." But he did not order the churches to vacate their buildings. Instead, Kelleher left it to both sides to hammer out "a workable solution."

But Cheryl Chang, ANiC's chancellor or chief legal officer, sees no point in even trying to negotiate a settlement. "We tried that for many years without success," she says, "and I don't think this judgment will move us in that direction."

That leaves the congregations with having to decide whether to appeal the ruling. "The underlying question everybody is asking," says Bentley, "is what's best for the gospel?"

"If it was just legal considerations, I believe it should be appealed," Chang says. "But that decision needs to be made by the congregations. They have to discern whether or not this is worth appealing or something that they should just walk away from."

The four parishes have only 30 days from when the ruling was handed down to decide if they will appeal.

In a pastoral letter, Ingham said his prayer was that this ruling, which was "clearly in favour of the Diocese," would be the end of the matter. He urged the congregations "to remain in the buildings where they worship" and promised "to appoint new clergy who will respect and continue the worshipping style of the congregations, who will also work cooperatively with me and the Diocese."

But at least as far as St. John's is concerned, Bentley is convinced that few if any of their 1,000 members are prepared to heed Ingham's appeal. "There's a very, very solid commitment that if we go, we all go together," she says. "I mean, they can have an empty building, if they want."

St. John's is the largest Anglican parish in Canada with up to 1,500 Sunday worshippers and a building the size of a city block that is valued at over $10 million.

Chang says Kelleher in his ruling mostly accepts the Anglican Church's position that doctrinal issues are not fixed but can be changed by a majority vote at General Synod.

"It sounds like doctrine by democracy," she says. "But the Church is not like other organizations. Doctrine, in the traditional view, comes from Scripture, from the unchangeable Word of God—and you can't amend that by a democratic vote."

Respond to Article  |  E-mail Article  |  Print Article