ST ALBAN’S ANGLICAN CHURCH, KING EDWARD AND DALY AVENUES, OTTAWA

PRESS RELEASE

June 25 2011

CONGREGATION WALKING OUT OF HISTORIC CHURCH, PLEDGES TO CONTINUE MINISTRY

     OTTAWA - Sunday June 26, 2011 will mark the final poignant day of worship for the
congregation of St. Alban's Anglican Church. The leadership of the church
was sued by the Diocese of Ottawa in May of 2010. To avoid going to Court, a
mediated settlement was reached. This settlement involves a division of
assets, but the 146 year old congregation had to agree to give up its name,
and the Diocese would get the building. Sir John A MacDonald, Canada's first
Prime Minister, attended the church in its early years.

  In the United States, when the Dioceses of Pittsburgh and Fort Worth left
the denomination, they allowed parishes who wanted to stay in the American
branch of the Anglican Church to keep their assets and separate gracefully.
While the parish is relieved that it did not have to engage in a lengthy
legal battle, they believe the Diocese of Ottawa should have followed the
gracious examples of Pittsburgh and Fort Worth.

  "We know that this can be a hard issue for people who are not Christians
to follow. But for Christians, the issue is not the blessing of same sex
marriages by the church. The issue is whether Jesus Christ is Saviour and
Lord and whether the Bible is authoritative in the life of the Christian."
said the Rector George Sinclair.

   "There is obviously some sadness that we will be leaving the building,
but we intend to continue to proclaim the gospel in the neighborhood with
grace and gentleness. We consider it an honour to give up a building for
Jesus. We are looking to the future with optimism and hope."

   Sinclair and the trustees will set up the Church of the Messiah and will
worship in the nearby Ottawa Little Theatre. They will continue their
ministries to university students and to families and are considering new
ways to make a difference. The Anglican hierarchy will try to create a new
congregation with the old name.

   The new Church of the Messiah is affiliated with the Anglican Network in
Canada, which is comprised largely of former Anglican Church of Canada
parishioners and parishes. The 45 churches of the Anglican Network in Canada
are in full communion and in doctrinal agreement with the majority of the 70
million Anglicans worldwide, particularly those in Africa, South America and
Asia.

    "We simply wanted to be faithful to Christ and the Bible and to
historic Anglican doctrine. We are unwilling to sacrifice our beliefs in
order to keep a building," Sinclair said.

*NOTES FOR EDITORS:

The church will be having its final service at 10am, Sunday June 26. At
1030am they will leave the building and walk together to the Ottawa Little
Theatre where they will finish the service.

Follow up interviews, including television and radio, can be held with the Rector Rev. George Sinclair, who can be reached at 613 235 0596 or email at messiahchurch.pastor@gmail.com. We will do our best to answer promptly and help you meet your deadline.

BACKGROUNDER

ST. ALBAN’S ANGLICAN CHURCH WALKOUT ON SUNDAY JUNE 26

For interview requests, please call the Rev. George Sinclair at 613-235-0596 or email at messiahchurch.pastor@gmail.com. We will do our best to answer promptly and help you meet your deadline.

Background unique to Ottawa

On Feb 16, 2008 at a specially called meeting of the parish, the church voted overwhelmingly to separate from the Diocese of Ottawa and realign with another branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The vote for the move was 79 in favour, 1 opposed.

The church voted to join a new Anglican jurisdiction, the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), which in turn is under the emergency Episcopal oversight of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. This is the Anglican Province for the lower part of South America. ANiC is also part of a new Anglican Province in formation known as the Anglican Church of North America. Anglican churches are grouped in Provinces.

The Ottawa Diocese is part of the Province, the Anglican Church of Canada.

At the time of the vote, St. Alban’s maintained that legally, canonically and morally they owned the building. We also said that we hoped that in the face of claims by the Diocese of Ottawa, a peaceable and negotiated settlement could be reached that would allow both groups to move on with their lives.

The people of St. Alban’s knew that with their vote to realign, the Diocese of Ottawa would probably pursue them in Court. They also knew this might mean that the congregation would have to walk away from its building and other assets. However, for the congregation, the vote involved a fundamental issue of conscience.

In May of 2010, the Diocese of Ottawa sued the Rector and Wardens of St. Alban’s and the Rector and Wardens of St. George’s Anglican Church.

St. George’s had voted in November of 2010 to leave the Diocese of Ottawa and realign with ANiC. A Rector is the senior pastor/priest of an Anglican parish. They are also sometimes called the ‘Incumbent’. Each Anglican Church in Canada also has two Wardens. They are lay people, and the two Wardens, with the Incumbent are the legal trustees of the parish and its assets.

In late August 2010, both sides agreed to seek voluntary mediation before the legal process went any farther. By January of 2011, a settlement was reached. This settlement had to be ratified by the relevant governing bodies of each party. By mid February, each of the 3 governing bodies had approved the settlement.

Many details of the settlement have to remain confidential. As in all settlements of this type, neither side needs to concede that the other side’s legal case is correct. A settlement is a pragmatic decision, which allows both sides to walk apart without the cost and stress of legal proceedings. In this settlement, both St. George’s and St. Alban’s agreed to change their name and there was to be a division of assets. As part of the asset division, St. George’s would keep their building, and the congregation of St. Alban’s would walk away from theirs effective 11:59pm, June 30, 2011.

When St. Alban’s had their vote to accept the settlement, the vote was unanimous. St. Alban’s has since changed its name to Church of the Messiah. St. George’s has changed their name to St. Peter and St. Paul’s Anglican Church.

What is the issue?

The press has often focused on the ‘sex’ aspect, portraying the issue as one over homosexuality. We understand that it can be hard for people who are not committed Christians to understand what motivates committed Christians.

For committed Christians, the issue is not the blessing of same-sex marriages per se. The issue is connected to whether Jesus the Christ is Saviour and Lord, and whether the Bible, rightly understood, is to be authoritative in the life of the Christian, and the Christian church. This is why the actions taken by the Diocese of Ottawa, the Anglican Church of Canada, and, the Episcopal Church in the U.S. are causing such a serious division in world-wide Anglicanism that the Anglican Communion is currently impaired and seems to be moving towards breaking apart. The Anglican Communion is made up of 38 Anglican Provinces.

St. Alban’s particular views on the issue of the blessing of same sex marriages by the church is consistent with historic Anglican beliefs and formularies; likewise on the role of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord; likewise on the authoritative role of the Bible in the life of the Christian and the church. Our views are mainstream, historic Anglicanism.

Our views on blessing same sex marriages by a church are consistent with the position taken by such diverse groups as the Roman Catholic Church, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, the Mennonite Brethren, and the Wesleyan Church and many more.

What precipitated the vote by St. Alban’s?

In October 2007, the Synod of the Diocese of Ottawa voted overwhelmingly to ask the Bishop of Ottawa to allow churches to begin blessing same sex marriages. This vote took place after enabling motions had been passed in successive National Synods, in particular, new motions passed in June of 2007.

A Synod meeting is a gathering of Bishop, clergy, and laity in a Diocese with authority to pass rules governing the Dioceses’ common life. A National Synod meeting is similar, but has the authority to pass rules governing the common life of Anglican churches in the nation.

It was after these votes, that the people of St. Alban’s believed in conscience they must separate from the Anglican Church of Canada and realign with a biblically faithful Anglican jurisdiction.

What happened in the Dioceses of Pittsburgh and Fort Worth?

In the U.S., several Dioceses have seceded from the national church and realigned. In every case, the Diocese knew that there would be individual parishes who wanted to remain as part of the national church. The Dioceses decided they would not engage in legal battles with these churches. Without prejudice to the legal cases, they told dissenting parishes they were free to leave the Diocese with their property.

No Anglican Diocese in Canada has followed the path of Fort Worth, Pittsburgh and others. In Canada, every Diocese to date has pursued dissenting parishes via law suit.

Ottawa is the only Diocese in Canada, which after beginning legal proceedings, has later settled out of Court.

What about Centre 454?

It is not the Congregation of St. Alban's that is bringing in Centre 454 to the building on the corner of King Edward and Daly. After the congregation leaves and changes its name, it has no say in what the Diocese of Ottawa does with the building. The Diocese of Ottawa is going to move Centre 454 into the building. The Diocese of Ottawa is also going to attempt to start a new congregation with the old name (St. Alban's) in the same building that Centre 454 uses.

Mission and Vision Statements of Church of the Messiah

Mission: “Helping ordinary people be confident, joyful disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Vision: “Building a prayerful Bible-teaching evangelical church in the heart of the city with a heart for the city (and the world).”