Supreme Court of Canada dismisses appeal, congregations to be evicted

Posted on June 17, 2011 
Filed under Global, News

David Short, Rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy:

“the way we respond is a God-given opportunity to bear witness to Christ. As those who are disciples of Jesus Christ, this is not just about ‘what’ we do but also ‘how’ we do it. In some ways nothing will change with the decision on Thursday. We are still God’s family, and he has placed us in Vancouver to spread his glory.”

News release from the Anglican Network in Canada:

“The trustees of four Vancouver-area Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) parishes are preparing to vacate their church buildings after the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed their case and awarded legal costs to the Anglican Church of Canada Diocese of New Westminster. The four churches are: St John’s (Shaughnessy), St Matthews (Abbotsford), Good Shepherd (Vancouver), and St Matthias & St Luke’s (Vancouver). 

The parishes had appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada requesting the court to overturn the decision of the BC courts in awarding their church properties to the Diocese.

‘Obviously, this decision is extremely disappointing and should be of great concern to all Christian denominations. While these congregations have remained steadfast in their faith, and have not changed the traditional teaching of the Christian church, they have now been called to sacrifice all their assets, including their church properties, for the sake of their faith’, said Cheryl Chang, a former Trustee of St. John’s (Shaughnessy) and Special Counsel to the Anglican Network in Canada.‘Clearly, we were hoping for a better result when we sought help from the courts. However, we always said that given a choice, we would choose our faith over our properties, and we have been willing to make that sacrifice if called upon by the courts to do so.’

The Supreme Court of Canada gave no reasons for their decision.”

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Before the decision was announced, David Short, Rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy (and Canon of St. Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney), released a pastoral letter to the congregation at St. John’s. The congregation at St. John’s is being called to prayer this afternoon, Sydney time.

“Friends,

I am writing to let you know that this Thursday we will receive the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision on our Leave to Appeal Application. We have been in this unprecedented process for nearly 10 years, and this is the next step toward clarity about our future. I thank God for you and for our unity together in the gospel, and ask you to pray that God would bring glory to his own name through the unfolding events.

If the Supreme Court of Canada does not grant us Leave to Appeal, we will meet at the Church at 7:30 PM Thursday evening to pray together. This will mark the end of the Legal process for us.

From a practical point of view, a number of parallel processes will then be initiated.

If we are granted Leave to Appeal, our Lawyers will begin working on the documents for the Trial. Currently the Supreme Court of Canada is scheduling hearings in the first quarter of 2012. It will then be another 6-8 months before we have a decision, likely late 2012 or early 2013.

Regardless of the decision on Thursday, the way we respond is a God-given opportunity to bear witness to Christ. As those who are disciples of Jesus Christ, this is not just about ‘what’ we do but also ‘how’ we do it. In some ways nothing will change with the decision on Thursday. We are still God’s family, and he has placed us in Vancouver to spread his glory. We are in an uncomfortable place and the words of Romans 12 encourage us to “rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

I thank God for sustaining and guiding us this far as a family, in partnership with our extended family of St. Matthews Abbotsford, the Church of the Good Shepherd, and St. Mathias & St. Luke. I do not know of many churches that have had the privilege of being so purposefully shaped and transformed by the Holy Spirit in such unusual circumstances; and I am constantly grateful to be a member of St. John’s, praying and expecting to see how God will use this for his own glory.

Warmly,
David Short
Rector St. John’s Vancouver

(from the St. John’s website – PDF.)

Related news note from The Globe and Mail. (Photo: Joy Gwaltney.)