Breakaway Anglicans debut to small audience

Leaders confident ‘they will come,’ as new church opens doors to worshippers

BY CHRIS COBB
Ottawa Citizen
7 January 2008

And on the first day, barely a dozen of the breakaway Anglican faithful showed up. Far from being disappointed, Brian DeVisser said he considered yesterday’s service a historic and successful occasion that bodes well for Ottawa’s conservative-minded Anglicans.

“It went really well,” said Mr. DeVisser, shortly after completing the first service of the Kanata Lakes Fellowship at the neighbourhood’s tiny, but venerable Old Schoolhouse. “We really hadn’t a clue how many people to expect because getting the word out over Christmas has been difficult. It can only get better.”

Tony Copple, the guitar strumming president of Anglican Essentials Ottawa, said he had delivered 350 pamphlets announcing the Fellowship’s inaugural service, but otherwise, yesterday’s event had not been advertised. The Kanata Lakes group will shortly apply to join the nationwide Anglican Network, which currently has a modest 500 members in 16 parishes. The main church has 641,000 members in 2,800 parishes.

Network members are angry at Anglican leaders for leading them down a path of liberalism, manifested in part by its blessing of same-sex marriages.

“People are all too ready to say there are more ways to God and that Jesus is not the only way,” said Mr. Copple, who provided musical accompaniment on his white electric guitar during yesterday’s service. “It’s a politically correct concept in line with our multifaith communities. But we believe Christianity is unique, a statement of what happened and the way to heaven.”

Mr. DeVisser, 30, who completed his seminary studies three years ago, agreed, and describes the current attitude of Anglican leaders “rude” and “like a parent disowning a son.”

Mr. DeVisser, sporting a funky Blues Brothers-like tie featuring the words, “On a mission from God,” conducted his service from behind a Toastmasters International lectern while the words to mostly modern hymns were fed by laptop computer to project brightly onto the wall behind.

Mr. Copple said those leaving an offering and their name and address in the bowl provided at the back of the room would receive a tax receipt in due course.

Both Mr. DeVisser and Mr. Copple say there are many disaffected Anglicans unhappy with the church’s current liberal tendencies and are confident their independent-minded congregation will grow. “It’s very difficult for people to leave churches they have been a part of for 20 or 30 years,” said Mr. DeVisser. “But more will be joining us. Maybe not next week, or next month, but they will come.”

Any more than 30 adult bodies would be a tight squeeze at the Old Schoolhouse, but Mr. Copple says they will take it one service at a time. “We’ve got the place booked for four weeks,” he said.

Brian DeVisser delivers his sermon yesterday to a handful of worshippers at the first service of the Kanata Lakes Fellowship. The group, which disagrees with the blessing of same-sex marriages, hopes to join the national Anglican Network. ‘It is very difficult for people to leave churches they have been a part of for 20 or 30 years,’ Mr. DeVisser said.