The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) has announced it is re-evaluating its course of action on a plan to share office space with the United Church of Canada following the Anglican Church of Canada’s withdrawal from that plan. “The PCC understands that important factors in the originally proposed ecumenical project have changed significantly,” reads a Dec. 12 press release. “The Assembly Council of The Presbyterian Church in Canada is guiding a process of reviewing the PCC’s options and further details will be shared when they are available.”
The plan for the three churches to share space goes back several years. In November 2020, Council of General Synod approved a non-binding memorandum of understanding exploring options on “sharing space with ecumenical partners.” The Presbyterian and Anglican churches eventually signed leases to move into shared offices at 300 Bloor St. West, a building now under construction by the United Church. Canon (lay) Clare Burns, who is chancellor of the Anglican Church of Canada until Dec. 31, announced at June’s General Synod that former general secretary Archdeacon Alan Perry and chief financial officer Amal Attia had signed a lease for the Anglican Church of Canada without consulting the Council of the General Synod (CoGS). Burns told CoGS in November the church was negotiating its exit from that contract.
Anglican Church of Canada financial statements peg the cost of the lease at $8.18 million for the first five years of tenancy. The United Church’s executive officer of finance has said the cost would have been lower than this figure, and that the lease would have offered below-market rates.
Archbishop Shane Parker, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and General Secretary Andrea Mann say they have been working to maintain good ecumenical relations between the Anglican, United and Presbyterian churches as the negotiations continued. Asked for comment on the PCC release, Anglican Church of Canada communications director Henrieta Paukov forwarded a statement on behalf of the church: “We will refrain from comment pending the outcome of negotiations regarding the lease agreement. Speaking more generally, at the recent meeting of the Council of the General Synod we reaffirmed our support for ecumenical dialogue as the triennium proceeds.”
The PCC has not yet responded to the Anglican Journal’s request for comment.
