Nowhere has the issue had more impact than here in Deep Cove, where a seven- year legal battle has raged over control of the local church.

Rev. Ed Hird, the priest at St. Simon's, is a leading figure in the opposition to the policies of Vancouver's diocese regarding these issues. Bishop Michael Ingham, Vancouver's top Anglican, is a leader in the movement for full inclusion in the Anglican church, which has put him at odds not only with much of the Church worldwide, including the Archbishop of Canterbury and the conservative (Anglican) Churches of Africa and Asia, but with 11 congregations in his own diocese, among them St. Simon's.

"It's not about the homosexual issue," Hird said. "Our concern is that we want to be true to what Anglicans have always believed. Anglicans have a strong commitment to what's called the authority of scripture."

The battle over gay inclusion has been compared with previous theological battles the church has faced, such as the ordination of women priests. But Hird said the comparisons are moot.

"The Bible is ambiguous on [the ordination of women]," Hird said, adding that the fact that most female priests are liberal hasn't helped his cause, he said, but that's not the issue at hand. There are issues upon which the Bible is uncompromising, he said, such as the dictum against premarital sex.

"I realize in our modern culture that [the biblical teaching on premarital sex] seems unreasonable, but it's still our Christian belief system," he said.

Hird believes - and has believed for decades - that homosexual behaviour is a sin. While studying at the Vancouver School of Theology (25) years ago, he addressed the issue, analyzing the scriptures and determined to his satisfaction that homosexual activity is forbidden.

The issue exploded into a legal conflict seven years ago and the congregation has finally 'given up the fight'. They will evacuate the building on May 31st.

Carrying on the fight could have bankrupted the congregation and detracted from the day-to-day work of the church.

"To go any further, it could drag on for the next eight to ten years," said Hird. "The diocese has $100 million-plus dollars (including the building/property assets of 78 parishes that the diocesan corporation claims belong financially to itself). We're just a local church. We don't have deep pockets."

It wasn't easy, he said. Not only is he losing his church building, he's losing his home.

"We're being evicted from the rectory as well," he said.

St. Simon's is involved in numerous social service projects, and Hird and his congregation members were (concerned) about diluting their energies and resources in a long conflict with the (local) Anglican hierarchy.

The final decision came on the holiest weekend of the Christian calendar.

"We made the decision on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday," said Hird. "It was a tough vote, but it was a unanimous vote."

Rather than a sense of defeat, he said, there was a relief.

"There is a sense of being free, said the priest, who has been at the church for 18 years.

His group will 'move to shelter' at the Lions Gate Christian Academy. The building will revert to the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster, after which Hird can't say what will happen.

"They won't have a congregation left behind, they'll only have a building," he said, adding: "It's expensive to run a (church building) without people."

It's been grueling, Hird said, but his faith has sustained him.

"We have to be true to what we believe, even if it's hard," he said. "I've tried to not let it distract me."

In what seems a bizarre twist to outsiders, St. Simon's congregation is longer (part of the ACC: Anglican Church of Canada), but is associated with the Rwandan Anglican Church of Africa. To further complicate matters, their bishop - "flying bishop" in the Anglican vernacular - is Bishop T.J. Johnson, an American who is ordained by the Rwandan Church.

Though Hird acknowledges that being part of church based half a world away may seem odd, it's merely a reversal of history.

"It's just as unusual as 100 years ago when Canadian missionaries went to Africa and now they're returning the favour," he said. "You just have to think missionary."

"All of us are Rwandan," he added.

The Anglican Church is facing a dramatic schism, with the European and North American churches, which are declining in membership, becoming liberal on issues of sexuality and other flashpoints, while the Asian and African branches of Anglicanism, which are stridently conservative, are growing, in some cases exponentially.

The decision to evacuate the premises brings to a close the conflict at St. Simon's, though it is unlikely to signal an end to the issue. What happens in future with the building and what happens over the future of Anglicanism is anyone's guess.

Neale Adams, a spokesperson for the diocese of New Westminster, directed the Crier to an article on the issue on the diocesan website.

"In January, the Diocesan Council approved an order that under the Anglican Canon Law (the church's bylaws) replace the two priest [Hird and another priest on the Sunshine Coast] and local parish officials with the bishop's appointees... In March, the 40-member council again approved another motion to regain possession [of the church buildings].

"The priests involved resigned from the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) to apparently join the Anglican Church of Rwanda, Africa," the article continued. "The societies led by the two priests that continued to occupy the buildings and have agreed to leave were also incorporated in 2004. Their articles of incorporation say they are affiliated with the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), a breakaway church in the U.S."

Further information is available from www.vancouver.anglican.ca