After receiving no word from four priests who last spring said they had left the Anglican Church of Canada, Bishop Michael Ingham has now informed them that he considers they have abandoned their ministry within the Canadian church.

Formal notices to this effect were sent out November 30 to the Revs. Paul Carter, Ed Hird, Barclay Mayo, and Silas Ng. Bishop Ingham noted his regret in having to take this step. The four priests sent letters in late March or early April each informing the bishop that they "have left the Anglican Church of Canada."

The normal procedure when priests want to leave the church is for them to follow canon 19 of the national church and submit a "relinquishment of ministry" in a form set out in the national canons (church bylaws). However a lawyer representing the priests in September wrote the diocesan Chancellor George Cadman that he was "not to presume" they wished to sign the relinquishment form.

Cadman then said he hoped the priests were reconsidering their actions and hoped they would meet with Bishop Ingham. However, nothing has been heard from the priests or their lawyer since September, Cadman said, so the Bishop was left with no alternative but to take this action.

In his notice, Bishop Ingham also provided each priest with a copy of the Canon that sets out the priests' rights of reapplication and appeal, should they wish to return to the Anglican Church of Canada. Hird has been the rector of St. Simon's, North Vancouver, Mayo of St. Andrew's, Pender Harbour, and Ng of Emmanuel Church, Richmond. Carter has been a priest on leave.

Cadman said that while the bishop has affirmed that the priests have left the Church, the parishes which they served remain part of the Diocese of New Westminster, along with any properties associated with the parishes.