Vancouver-area parishes’ case to be heard on May 25
Press release from the Anglican Network in Canada: 7 January 2009
The trial involving four Vancouver-area Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) churches and the Anglican Church of Canada’s (ACoC) Diocese of New Westminster will begin on May 25 in British Columbia Supreme Court. Three weeks have been set aside to hear the case.
The four parishes – St. Matthew’s (Abbotsford), St Matthias and St Luke’s (Vancouver), St John’s Shaughnessy (Vancouver) and Church of the Good Shepherd (Vancouver) – had asked the courts in early September 2008 to clarify their trustees’ responsibilities in light of hostile action taken by the ACoC diocese. Read more
Short and Packer honoured
Distinguished Anglican theologian JI Packer and the Rev David Short have been appointed honorary clerical canons of Sydney’s St Andrew’s Cathedral.
Both Dr Packer and Mr Short had their licenses removed by the Canadian Anglican leadership when their church, St. John’s Shaughnessy in Vancouver, voted to realign with the Province of the Southern Cone. …
– Russell Powell reports at SydneyAnglicans.net
Invitation to members of all Anglican Churches globally to sign Vancouver petition
Ahead of expected action by the Diocese of New Westminster against the churches of Good Shepherd and St. John’s Shaughnessy, a new petition has been made avialable, so that members of the Anglican Communion worldwide (and not just C of E members as on the previous petition) can express their support.
This new petition reads,
We, the undersigned, as active clergy and lay members of the Anglican Communion, stand with those parishes in Vancouver that are part of the Anglican Network on Canada, affirming that they are authentically Anglican.
Please consider adding your support. Helpful background here.
Invitation to CofE members to support Vancouver churches
Members of the Church of England have been invited to express their support for the Anglican Network in Canada parishes, including St. John’s Shaughnessy, where David Short is Rector.
The petition, and background information, is available at this link. The actual petition reads:
We, the undersigned, as active clergy and lay members of the Church of England, stand with those parishes in Vancouver that are part of the Anglican Network in Canada, affirming that they are authentically Anglican.
Australian readers (who therefore cannot sign this petition) are urged to continue in prayer. Formore information, please see the St. John’s website.
(Photo: David Short and James Packer at St. John’s Shaughnessy.)
Letter from the Trustees of 4 Vancouver churches
“As Trustees and members of ANiC, we have repeatedly invited the diocese and its representatives to sit down and negotiate a resolution with us on the matters in dispute. We have sought alternative resolution methods through the House of Bishops in Canada and again with all the dioceses involved. Every attempt has been refused…”
– The trustees of St. John’s Shaughnessy, Good Shepherd Vancouver, St. Matthew’s Abbotsford, and St. Matthias & St. Luke’s Vancouver write to their Congregations. Read it all at the St. John’s Shaughnessy website.
Anglican Network in Canada: Open letter to Primates
5 September 2008
Open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates of the Anglican Communion
After consulting with my Primate, Archbishop Gregory Venables, I report with great sadness that two Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) churches under my jurisdiction – St Matthews (Abbotsford, BC) and St Matthias and St Luke’s (Vancouver, BC) – received letters on 26 August 2008, informing them that the Bishop of New Westminster had taken action on 10 July 2008 to seize control of those parish properties. The letters also notified the wardens, trustees and parish councils that Bishop Michael Ingham had dismissed and replaced them and ordered the clergy to vacate the church buildings by mid-September. It is clear that our other two ANiC parishes in Vancouver, St. John’s Shaughnessy and Church of the Good Shepherd, will receive the same action in the near future.
This is the fourth Canadian diocese to act in this way against ANiC churches which have come under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. …
– Read the full letter from Bishop Don Harvey, Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada as a 48kb PDF file (direct link).
See also our earlier stories –
New Westminster takes steps against Southern Cone clergy.
New Westminster moves to seize control of ANiC parishes.
St. John’s Shaughnessy responds to New Westminster.
New Westminister letters to parishioners.
New Westminster moves to seize control of ANiC parishes
From the Anglican Network in Canada
On August 26, 2008, the Anglican diocese of New Westminster informed St. Matthew’s in Abbotsford and St Matthias and St Luke’s in Vancouver that the bishop had dismissed the parish Wardens and other officers (Trustees) that were duly elected by the congregation and appointed new Wardens who are more “loyal” to the bishop. According to their press release, these actions were taken to regain “control of the parishes”, which includes control of the properties and buildings. Read more
New Westminster takes steps against Southern Cone clergy
“The Diocese [of New Westminster] 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…
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…”
– from the Diocese of New Westminster. A press release (pdf format) may be found here.
Short on the Word of God
David Short, Rector of St John’s Shaughnessy, gave the GAFCON Bible exposition from the book of Exodus on Wednesday. He reaffirmed the centrality of the Word of God for the people of God – from the time of Exodus to now.
Listen to an excerpt (90 sec / 750kb mp3 direct link) courtesy GAFCON. (Photo: Joy Gwaltney)
Update: Cheryl M. Wetzel, Editor of The Anglican Voice, has posted her notes from David’s talk.
From the Files: A Crisis in Koinonia
Newspaper articles, prophecies of doom, and synod resolutions aside, Jesus is still building his church.
For Anglicans, in a denomination that now sanctions same sex unions, this now means changes in the shape of our relationships so they might help rather than hinder the mission of Christ. The new oppressive liberal orthodoxy in North America must choose between using the current denominational structures as instruments of coercion, or through an act of love, allow a realignment of relationships within different structural patterns. If those in power choose the first course of action, biblically orthodox Anglicans will be forced to choose between the gospel and Anglican structures. Either way the Anglican communion as we know it will cease to exist. …
– We published this very helpful paper by David Short, Rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy in Vancouver, back in 2004. With GAFCON just around the corner, and Lambeth close behind, it’s worth re-reading “A Crisis in Koinonia: Biblical Perspectives for Anglicans”.
Short and Packer threatened by Bishop Ingham with charges of trespassing
Former Sydney Anglican, the Rev David Short, who has been charged with abandoning Anglican doctrine, has now been threatened with charges of trespassing if he sets foot on the property of St John’s Shaughnessy, in moves which could see more Canadian churches forced from their properties.
Mr Short, who is the rector at St John’s, and all other clergy belonging to the Anglican Network in Canada in the Diocese of New Westminster received letters outlining the charges from Bishop Michael Ingham on Monday.
The letters also advised that the clergy were forbidden to ‘trespass’ on the church properties, exercise any ministry and remove anything from the properties, including books. …
– Read the full report from SydneyAnglicans.net. Emphasis added.
(Photo: David Short and James Packer.)
Up, Down and Out in Canada: J I Packer
My wife and I moved from England to Canada in 1979. Principal James Houston has recruited me to teach theology at Regent College, which, though over age, I still do. God’s call was clear, and our only uncertainty was where we might find a spiritual home. New Westminster Diocese, of which Vancouver is the see city, was decidedly liberal, and its few evangelical clergy seemed to be keeping their heads down lest they be noticed.
But in 1978 my oldest friend among Canadian clergy, Harry Robinson, became rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy, only a mile and a half from where God, by a happy providence, gave us a place to live, so that problem was solved. Called as I am to be a pastor, I had found fulfillment before in an honorary parish appointment alongside teaching duties, and I became Harry’s honorary assistant the moment we arrived. …
– Dr Jim Packer tells his story – at VirtueOnline. (Photo: Ed Hird.)
Apostolic gospel must be at the core, says David Short
The priest of the largest Anglican parish in Canada, who is under ecclesiastical siege from revisionist New Westminster Bishop Michael Ingham, says his denomination has lost faith in the gospel. This is evidently revealed in the diocesan newspaper, which gives the impression that the gospel is about being nice, being compassionate, recycling, “and we will even bless your pets”.
“The eternal gospel of redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus’ death and the power of his resurrection has been replaced with a gospel which is about approval, affirmation and acceptance. The apostolic gospel of sins forgiven, of rescue from eternal punishment has been smoothed and soothed to be more acceptable and relevant,” said the Rev. Dr. David Short, pastor of St. John’s, Shaughnessy in Vancouver. …
Report from VirtueOnline.
See also the St. John’s website. (Photo of David Short at the Anglican Network in Canada national conference last weekend: Ed Hird.)
Archbishop of Canterbury: Lambeth is for making ‘better bishops’
The Archbishop of Canterbury has set out his hopes for this year’s Lambeth Conference in a video message addressed to Bishops and Dioceses across the Anglican Communion –
“We want to see this year’s conference as an occasion when Bishops learn how to be better Bishops… where people will we hope feel safe enough to share some of the most intimate things about their faith and their situation…”
Read the transcript or watch the Archbishop on YouTube via the Anglican Communion News Service.
Perhaps this would be a very good time to read again any of these –
- The Limits of Fellowship – by Phillip Jensen, Dean of Sydney
- A Crisis in Koinonia – by David Short, Rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy, Vancouver
- The Anglican Debacle: Roots and Patterns – by Dr Mark Thompson, ACL President
- Communion in Crisis: the Way Forward for Evangelicals part 1 part 2 – by Archbishop Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney
Archbishop of Canterbury ‘recognises only Anglican Church of Canada’
The propaganda war hots up prior to tomorrow’s deadline for former New Westminster clergy who have aligned with the Anglican Network of Canada. From the Diocese of New Westminster website:
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said the only church body in Canada that belongs to the Anglican Communion is the Anglican Church in Canada. …
The letter from the Archbishop, who heads the Anglican Communion… was in reply to a letter of concern from the Brandon bishop about the activities of the Anglican Network in Canada.
From the New Westminster website.
See also this story from three months ago and another from last weekend.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…