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Firings, attempted lockout in Anglican New Westminster diocese
Remember New Westminster? That was the Anglican diocese that looked to be Ground Zero in the possible breakup of the Anglican Communion—before the Episcopal Church USA confirmed Gene Robinson to be the church's first openly gay bishop, that is. Regular visitors to our site and subscribers to our print magazine may remember "Why I Walked," by New Westminster member J.I. Packer, on his disapproval of the diocese's provision for blessing same-sex unions.

Sunday, notes The Province of Vancouver, "the rift within the Anglican church over same-sex unions escalated." New Westminster bishop Michael Ingham sent a diocesan employee and an archdeacon to services at the orthodox St. Martin's Anglican Church, where they announced that the diocese was removing the two elected parish trustees, three wardens, and church committee members.

One day earlier, while orthodox clergy and laity met in Vancouver with orthodox Anglican leaders from around the world, diocesan officials sent an employee and a locksmith over to change the locks on the church doors and offices.

"The locksmith was blocked in his actions when a group of concerned and angry parishioners, including the two trustees, arrived at the church and asked the locksmith to change the locks back," reports conservative Anglican journalist David Virtue.

The rector of St. Martin's resigned in protest after the same-sex blessings vote, and the parish has been one of ten (among 80 in the diocese) to refuse to pay their assessment to the diocese. In July, 59.79 percent of the parish members voted to move the congregation from Ingham's oversight to that of Bishop Terry Buckle. But the parish wardens said the vote did not meet a 60 percent criterion, and Ingham says he still has control over the church.

"It's basically a way of pressuring the church to toe the line with the diocese," Chris Hawley, spokesman for the orthodox Anglican Communion in New Westminster, told The Province. "It's a political move to try and make sure that the church does not accept Bishop Buckle."

Or other churches, says Virtue: "The action by Ingham yesterday sent alarm bells through the other nine parishes in conflict with the bishop, prompting one of the rectors to urge the other parishes to activate alarm systems and have parishioners ready to stand guard around the clock."

Canadian Broadcasting Company's The Early Edition has audio of an interview in which diocesan chancellor George Cadman does quite a bit of spinning … very … slowly.

Expect more news and links later today (and in the coming days) from Classical Anglican Net News, which is run by orthodox Anglicans in Canada.

More on the Anglican Church:

• African cleric breaks ranks on gay issue | 'Arrogant' leaders must focus on priorities: peace, hunger and HIV (The Guardian, London)
  
  
• Also: African divisions over gay bishop | A South African church leader has accused other African archbishops of arrogance over the issue of homosexuality (BBC, video)
  
  
• Anglican Divide Shows Signs of Deepening | Just how mad are Episcopalians over the ordination of a homosexual bishop? A meeting next month of the dissenters needs a bigger building (Family News in Focus)
  
  
• In sign of possible split, congregations cut Episcopal funds | The Rev. Canon Mike Malone of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina said that since last month's General Convention in Minneapolis, ten local churches have asked the diocese not to give any of their money to the Episcopal Church. Several other churches already had stopped supporting the denomination, so now 15 of the 76 churches and missions in the diocese are having the diocese redirect their money, Malone said (The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C.)
  
  

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September (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47