Wigglesworth appeal denied
"Care and oversight" or power play?
By Doug Koop ChristianWeek staff
EDMONTON–A United Church of Canada appeal committee decision has left Ted Wigglesworth in limbo and accorded considerable power to presbyteries. The Alberta pastor has now taken his appeal to a higher church court.
Wigglesworth was pastor of the Bashaw-Mirror pastoral charge in rural Alberta until last January when the local presbytery removed him from office because of discontent within his congregation (CW, Apr1/97). He appealed the presbytery action and participated in hearings conducted last June by the UCC’s Alberta Northwest Conference.
In a report released on November 5, the four-member appeal committee unanimously maintained that Wigglesworth had been treated fairly and in good faith throughout the entire process. As the report put it, Wigglesworth had been experiencing problems with communication, leadership style and crisis management, and the presbytery stepped in to help him be more effective.
"Basically the conference has said this wasn’t discipline, but part of ‘care and oversight,’" says Wigglesworth. "Therefore, the rules that would apply in disciplinary hearing don’t apply here."
