Church chooses new home to fit theological views
TORONTO, ON - Living Hope Christian Church has become the first Toronto-based Anglican church to join the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC). The small congregation, led by pastor Andy Leroux, broke away from St. Ninian's Anglican Church at the beginning of the new year.
“We know that what we're doing is really, truly in God's favour," says Leroux. “There's just been an absolutely wonderful feeling of freedom and expression. Of coming out from under a cloud, and into a place of absolute liberty, freedom and joy. Of God being powerfully present... A true expression of what Anglicanism needs to be, should be, and what God wants it to be."
Approximately half of St. Ninian's previous congregation - "about 50 people - "joined the break-away church. Leroux says the decision was made after a five-year process of prayer and consultation, especially around concerns that the Anglican Church of Canada was deviating from Scripture on the issues of homosexuality.
“I believe my ordination vows said I was to honour the Scriptures as the Word of God," he says. “I take that very, very seriously... So when we try to neutralize the Word by saying something is 'your interpretation' or 'my interpretation' we end up nullifying the Word and it no longer has authority in our lives."
While having been assured by the Anglican Diocese of Toronto that he would not be asked to bless homosexual couples, Leroux says he found even being asked to refer them to another congregation as concerning.
“If someone who was homosexual came to me asking if I would bless them," Leroux says, “I would say, 'Let's sit down and talk about being transformed by the love of God. Let's talk about being healed of whatever needs to be healed.'"
The church is now meeting at 1100 Bellamy Road North, in a property that also houses a Tamil church, a Singhalese church and a Filipino church.
“We're getting more and more [people] each week," says Leroux. “We have a sense that within the year we'll probably need bigger facilities."
Both Leroux and Colin Johnson, bishop of Toronto, described the parting as sad but gracious. The two men, who were ordained in the same church service more than 30 years ago, prayed together with suffragan bishop Patrick Yu after Leroux tendered his resignation.
Johnson says he regretted Living Hope's decision to break away, adding that “conservatives and evangelicals of conviction" are needed in the life of the Diocese of Toronto.
“One of the things that we are trying to do," says Johnson, “is to be a big tent that incorporates people from a variety of different theological perspectives. There is space within the Diocese of Toronto for people of very conservative and evangelical convictions, and those who have a more liberal spirituality and theology.
“In fact, I think we are working very hard to make sure all those voices are not only just heard but active and engaged in the life of the diocese."
Johnson adds he remains “personally committed" to having conservatives and evangelicals of conviction in key senior leadership roles in the diocese.
The move has split the congregation down the middle, with about equal numbers staying and going.
Yu, suffragan bishop for Scarborough, officiated services at St. Ninian's the first Sunday after the split.
“It was a grace-filled day," he says. “It was a sad and solemn day. But I just told them, 'We're coming to worship God' and we did."
Prue Chambers, the former regional dean, is officiating at the church until a new priest can be appointed.
Yu says, “I'm going to give them as much support and as much time as they need to sort out the future."
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