B.C. Judge Orders Congregation to Leave their Church Building (Canadian Anglican)

A B.C. Supreme Court judge, Madam Justice Allan, has ordered the congregation of St. Mary of the Incarnation in Metchosin (St. Mary's), to hand over their church building to the diocese of B.C. in the Anglican Church of Canada, pending the resolution of a trial over who is entitled to ownership of the building.

Like the two judges in the previous Niagara diocese's hearings, Mdm Justice Allan found that “the beneficial ownership of Church property is indeed an issue for future determination”, and she was only deciding the issue of who should have interim use of the property while that process was ongoing.

Although there are two church buildings in the parish of St. Mary's, the larger building which houses up to 230 people and the smaller heritage building that houses 90 people and has a parish hall, Mdm Justice Allan decided that the diocese should have exclusive possession of both properties. St. Mary's congregation, which has a membership roll of 225 people, voted overwhelmingly (105 for / 14 against) to realign with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, something the judge acknowledged was “unprecedented in the history of the Church”. St. Mary's has an average Sunday attendance of about 130 to 150 people and use their church building throughout the week for mission and ministry. ...

This will cause hardship to the congregation, as they will be forced to find alternate accommodations for Sunday services and to support their weekly ministries in the Metchosin area. “It is a great disappointment that the judge did not feel it appropriate to allow both congregations to continue meeting in the two church buildings while the issue of ownership was being determined”, said Bud Boomer, spokesman for St. Mary's.

SAME SEX UNION.
The Anglican Diocese of Niagara made the plea after the congregations of the parishes decided to leave over fundamental theological differences - namely the church’s liberal leaning towards issues such as same-sex unions.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/04/06/5210646-cp.html

B.C.Supreme Court judge orders Anglican diocese to let parishioners use church

By THE CANADIAN PRESS

VICTORIA - Parishioners at an Anglican church in Victoria are back in the church after an order from a B.C. Supreme Court judge.

They say the court ordered the Diocese of B.C. to allow worshippers to attend Sunday services at the St. Mary of the Incarnation church.

Parishioners claim the locks were changed and a security system was being installed Friday without notice to approximately 185 parishioners who built the church.

The parish is aligned with the Anglican Network of Canada which opposes blessings of same-sex unions.

Director Cheryl Chang said the network regretted having to go to court to get the church doors open.

“We have said all along that there are serious legal issues as to the ownership of these properties,” she said in a prepared statement

“We have asked the courts to preserve the status quo in the parishes while these bigger issues are being determined.”

The parish and the diocese had addressing the issue of whether the parish of the diocese owns the church, with the assistance of Archbishop Terry Buckle.

Buckle became involved in the affairs of a number of B.C. Anglican parishes as the divide in the church over the blessing of same-sex unions widened.

In February, St. Mary parishioners voted 88 per cent in favour of seeking episcopal oversight and protection from Bishop Donald Harvey and the Anglican Network in Canada.

Last month, congregants at three breakaway Anglican churches in Ontario were somewhat disappointed a judge wasn’t ready to make a definitive ruling in their property dispute with the diocese.

There, a judge was asked to entertain a joint-custody scenario as he heard submissions on the contentious issue of who owns the southern Ontario churches where parishioners voted overwhelmingly in favour of splitting from the church

The Anglican Diocese of Niagara made the plea after the congregations of the parishes decided to leave over fundamental theological differences - namely the church’s liberal leaning towards issues such as same-sex unions.

St. Hilda’s in Oakville, St. George’s in Lowville, and Good Shepherd in St. Catharines, Ont., have all left the Anglican Church of Canada and are now aligned with the more conservative Anglican Network in Canada.

They’re seeking exclusive use of the church buildings without interference from the diocese, which is asking the court to order the facilities be shared and jointly managed by the two groups.

A further hearing was held on March 20 regarding a longer term order, but the judge has not yet released her decision.

If I understand this correctly, those who support same sex unions are trying to make the entire church support same sex unions along with them. When those opposed to gay marriage (the majority) refused to go along with that, the gay marriage folks got the local bishop to support them.

When the majority opposed to gay marriage tried to go over the local bishop’s head, the bishop sued to deny them the use of their own church, which they had built!

So it’s NOT ONLY about gay marriage, it’s about seizing property for their own uses, and forcing out the majority regular parishioners opposed to them.

This is a clear abuse by gay marriage activists, one of many I am sure. Now they want to either force the vast opposition majority to go along with their perversions, or they’ll take the building and property away.

Have I misunderstood anything?

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