NEW WESTMINSTER, BC, December 23, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Anglican Bishop Michael Ingham of the New Westminster Diocese is closing Holy Cross church in Abbotsford – just days before Christmas. The closure comes after a dispute between Ingham and a parish which declared itself “independent” in protest of the controversial decision by Ingham to “marry” homosexuals in his diocese.
Holy Cross parish priest, Rev. James Wagner, told National Post reporters that, despite the forced closure, he would still celebrate mass on Christmas Day with his parishioners. “I don’t regret what I am doing or the circumstances I find myself in. I think that Jesus often talked about his disciples having to count the cost and having to take up their cross,” he said. Holy Cross is part of a group of breakaway churches within the diocese who have sought Episcopal oversight from Yukon bishop Terry Buckle. None of the other churches have been closed because all have incorporated themselves independently, and do not rely on funding from the New Westminster diocese, unlike Holy Cross. Read National Post coverage at: https://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=40504029-ab5b-4d11-a979-4f61d537fe9c
Also see LifeSiteNews coverage of Bishop Ingham’s plan to sue his renegade priests at: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/nov/03111006.html