CANADA: NORTH VANCOUVER CHURCH CUTS TIES WITH ANGLICANS OVER SAME-SEX ISSUE

By Jane Seyd jseyd@nsnews.com 5/17/2004

A conservative priest at St. Simons Anglican church in North Vancouver says both he and his congregation have quit the Anglican Church of Canada over the issue of same-sex marriage.

Ed Hird, the reverend at St. Simons, is one of four conservative priests who recently wrote to Anglican Bishop Michael Ingham telling him his "services as a bishop are no longer required."

St. Simons is one of a number of conservative Anglican parishes that have clashed with Ingham over his willingness to bless same-sex marriages.

Hird said his church voted to cut all ties with the Diocese of New Westminster because parishioners believe blessing same-sex marriages goes against biblical scripture.

Hird said Ingham's position is a "violation of basic scriptural teachings and Christian morals."

"The issue to us is being faithful to Anglican teachings," he said.

Hird said he and his congregation have instead arranged to come under the jurisdiction of a conservative Anglican church leader in Rwanda, Africa. Hird said St. Simons is now a "missionary" church in North Vancouver.

But a representative from the Diocese of New Westminster said under church laws, parishes can't unilaterally quit the Anglican church in their own country.

"Parishioners may choose to leave the Anglican Church of Canada but parishes don't," said George Cadman, chancellor of the diocese. "It remains a parish of this diocese."

Cadman said it's Hird's choice to resign if he wants, but the diocese still controls the church and its property.

Hird disagrees with that, and said the congregation has consulted a lawyer, who told them "we have a good case" for retaining ownership of the church independently.

St. Simons isn't the only Anglican church in North Vancouver that has been embroiled in legal fights with the bishop.

Earlier this year, two locally-elected church officials of St. Martin's Anglican Church launched a legal suit against Ingham over his decision to oust them last September under a rarely-used church law. That power struggle also stemmed from the same-sex marriage issue.

The pair filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court, asking for a judicial review of the bishop's decision to fire them. The case is still before the courts.

Meanwhile, Hird said gays and lesbians are still welcome at St. Simons. "It's not an issue of rejecting people," he said. Hird said he views homosexuality in a manner similar to the way he views alcoholism and believes people can "recover" from their sexual orientation.