St. John’s Shaughnessy stays focussed

Posted on April 19, 2008 
Filed under News

David ShortDavid Short, the Rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy in Vancouver, writes –

A number of people have asked me what has happened since our Vestry vote of February 13th to join the Anglican Network in Canada and receive the Episcopal oversight of Bishop Don Harvey under the jurisdiction of the Southern Cone. Across the country, 14 other congregations have voted to join the Network and the response of the different dioceses has been varied. …  

As you may know, Dr. Packer, Dan Gifford and I (along with the clergy from other Vancouver parishes which have joined the Network) have been charged by the bishop of New Westminster with abandoning the exercise of the ministry to which we were ordained. We have until April 22nd to answer these charges. … We are preparing to respond to the charges by the due date but we anticipate the diocese will not agree with our position. Our lawyers are prepared for a number of possible responses from the diocese.

Although this is distracting, I want you to know that there are much more important things happening.… It is true that we face some turbulence in the coming weeks, but we must not take our eyes off why we are here and Who we are serving, so that the main thing remains the main thing.

– from the St. John’s Parish Life Notes for April 13th 2008. (See earlier stories, Bishop Ingham sends ‘notice of presumption of abandonment’ and Man the Lifeboats.)