Ottawa: Church followers find a new home

The former congregation of St. Alban's church leaves behind its historic roots after a bitter battle with the Anglican Diocese, Kelly Patterson reports
By Kelly Patterson
Ottawa Citizen
June 27, 2011

It was a historic moment in Ottawa as a subdued crowd of about 300 filed out of St. Alban's Anglican Church on King Edward Avenue on Sunday, leaving behind a place where some have roots going back to Confederation.

Founded in 1865, the church where Sir John A. Macdonald worshipped has been in the spotlight ever since a showdown over samesex marriage and other issues led the congregation of St. Alban's to leave the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, and, after a bitter battle, the building they have called home for 146 years.

"This is kind of historic. We're in a new era," said Sheila Lang, 79, as her grandchildren - the seventh generation of her family to attend the church - played in the reception hall of the Ottawa Little Theatre, where the congregation, now called the Church of the Messiah, will meet until it finds a permanent home. Meanwhile, the diocese will establish a new congregation at St. Alban's, with a relaunch planned for Friday. the rest