Bishop Michael Ingham has asked two priests who have resigned from the Anglican Church of Canada to find new places to worship so their parish buildings may be used by Anglicans who wish to remain in the diocese.

The Rev. Barclay Mayo and the Rev. Ed Hird late in March wrote to inform Bishop Ingham they were leaving the Anglican Church of Canada, renouncing Bishop Ingham’s jurisdiction, and considering themselves missionaries to North America of the Archbishop of Rwanda in Africa.

The priests however have continued to use the church buildings – St Andrew’s at Pender Harbour, and St. Simon’s at Deep Cove, North Vancouver.

In a letter to the two priests this week, Bishop Ingham said that while people are free to leave the Anglican Church of Canada, it is not open to a parish to leave. A parish includes a specific territory as well as one or more congregations of parish members and buildings, and is an integral part of a diocese.

On June 22 the 40-member Diocesan Council, which governs the Anglican Church in Vancouver jointly with the bishop, asked the bishop to take action to reorganize the two parishes so that Anglicans who wish to remain within the Canadian church could do so.

Over the summer “I would invite you to seek out alternate worship space for those whom you lead,” wrote the bishop to the priests. “I am asked by Council to act on this matter and report back by [their] September meeting.”

The bishop wrote that he would welcome a meeting with the priests if they wished to reconsider their decision to leave the Anglican Church of Canada and seek a reconciliation.

Meanwhile, Diocesan Council invited members of another parish, Emmanuel Church in Richmond, to come to a meeting in October and state whether they wish to be part of the Anglican Church of Canada. Otherwise the council will consider closing the parish and having its territory absorbed into that of the three remaining parishes in Richmond, St. Alban’s, St. Anne’s, and St. Edward’s. Emmanuel Parish owns no church properties but meets in rented quarters. Emmanuel’s priest, the Rev. Silas Ng, also left the Anglican Church of Canada in late March.