News for Week Ending 12/13/2010

Breakaway New Westminster congregations appeal to Canadian high court

The four congregations that left British Columbia’s Diocese of New Westminster and are now part of the Anglican Church in North America have decided to appeal a lower-court decision to the Supreme Court of Canada. An appeals court ruled in November that the congregations had to relinquish parish property to the Anglican Church of Canada diocese. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) As in the U.S., the Supreme Court of Canada is not obligated to hear the case. The move by the four congregations was noted in a December 12, 2010, story on the Anglican Network in Canada Web site. The Diocese of New Westminster has a statement on its Web site. The judgment to be appealed can be read here.

Calgary congregation may become Roman Catholic

Anglican Journal reported December 10, 2010, that the congregation of St. John the Evangelist in Calgary, Alberta, voted in November to initiate discussions with the Roman Catholic church aimed at joining the Anglican Ordinariate in Canada. St. John’s could become the first congregation of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) to take advantage of the offer made by the Vatican more than a year ago to join the Roman Catholic Church while retaining some Anglican traditions. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) The development was announced in a letter from Bishop Derek Hoskin of the Anglican Diocese of Calgary. For now, St. John’s retains its status as an Anglo-Catholic parish within the ACoC.