ANGLICANS in the Diocese of New Westminster are scheduled to go to court May 23 in a case that could determine the shape of Canadian Anglicanism.
At stake is the ownership of four church buildings, but the case could set a precedent that would affect the ownership of other church buildings across Canada, Anglican and otherwise.
The two sides in the dispute are currently engaged in a mediation process that is due to conclude at the end of this week. If the mediation effort is unsuccessful, the court case will go ahead as scheduled May 23; it is expected to take two to three weeks, with a decision likely to come before the end of the year.
The court case was launched in September 2008 by leaders of St. John's Shaughnessy parish in Vancouver, who made a "statement of claim" for ownership of the parish building, which is valued at over $10 million. Leaders of three other parishes have also joined the court case: St. Matthew's in Abbotsford, BC; St. Matthias and St. Luke's in Vancouver; and Church of the Good Shepherd in Vancouver.
All four parishes have voted to leave the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and are now affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), along with 23 other Canadian parishes.
More here-
http://www.canadianchristianity.com/nationalupdates/090514anglicans.html
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