Jeff Bell and Catherine Rolfsen, Victoria Times Colonist; Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, February 18, 2008
Eighty-six per cent of participating parishioners at Metchosin’s St. Mary the Incarnation Anglican Church voted yesterday to separate from their national body over the issue of same-sex marriage, part of a pattern that has developed across the country.
Meanwhile, St. Matthew’s Anglican parish in Abbotsford became the second Lower Mainland congregation in a week to split from the Vancouver-area diocese overseen by Bishop Michael Ingham.
The Abbotsford parish followed in the footsteps of Vancouver’s St. John’s Shaughnessy—the largest Anglican congregation in Canada—which voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to break with Ingham, primarily over the issue of same-sex blessings.
St. Mary will now align with the parallel Anglican Network in Canada, said Rev. Andrew Hewlett, the church’s assistant priest.
“It’s a parallel Anglican structure that wants to maintain traditional Anglican teaching and practice,” he said.
Both Hewlett and the Venerable Sharon Hayton, St. Mary’s rector, were unable to attend yesterday’s vote after being “inhibited” or restricted by their archdeacon from taking part in parish activities. At issue was whether parishioners should be allowed to meet and consider what they would do. St. Mary has about 200 people on its parish role.
“There was a strong will among the people of the congregation that they wanted to have a vote and discuss their future,” Hewlett said.
He said that while the “presenting issue” in the vote was same-sex blessings, there was more to the debate.
“The real issue underlying it is how we view the authority of the scriptures—and our concern about the Anglican Church of Canada’s changing of theology, which is putting it outside of the official teaching of the global Anglican community.”
Parishioner Bud Boomer said it has been a tough time for the Metchosin church.
“We’re not taking any joy in having to make this decision. We felt we needed episcopal oversight from a bishop that was true to the Christian and Anglican beliefs that we’ve held for a long time. The Canadian church appears to be changing.”