Mary Ruth Snyder, the editor of the Diocese of BC’s newspaper, the Diocesan Post is all for sloughing off church buildings in the interest of following Jesus:

Jesus never had a building, that is about as outside as you can get and he is our example, is he not? Let’s show God and Jesus that we have actually been paying attention to their words and their actions and follow the example set by the Son of God.

Let go … and let God.
Let go of the buildings
Let go of the books
Let go of our fears
Let go of our comfort
Let go of our humanistic expectations
Just let go, get outside the lines and see what happens!

Perhaps she didn’t consult the diocese’s bishop, James Cowan before expressing such enthusiasm for a cavalier abandoning of buildings. He seems pretty determined to hang on to them:

Victoria – The Anglican Diocese of British Columbia (Vancouver Island & the Gulf Islands) has asserted its ownership of buildings at 4125 Metchosin Road, in the District of Metchosin, by securing the property with a change of locks and the installation of a monitored alarm system. The property is known as St. Mary of the Incarnation Anglican Church.

The Bishop’s need to “protect and preserve” people and property is a result of the Episcopal and the synodical make-up of Anglicanism in Canada.

The truth of the matter is, when the diocese wants to close down a church in order to sell it, parishioners are reminded that “Jesus never had a building”; when a parish joins ANiC, Cowan feels a sudden need to preserve the “property of the institution in my care”.

At least one thing is consistent in the ACoC: the application of the ethics of self-interest.