J. I. Packer's parish leaves the Anglican Church of Canada

This is HUGE news:

Members of what is described as the largest congregation in the Anglican Church of Canada voted strongly Wednesday to split with Vancouver-area Bishop Michael Ingham over his support for same-sex blessings.

"It means that the community speaks with one mind," said St. John's Shaughnessy Anglican Church spokeswoman Lesley Bentley, after a preliminary count showed that out of 495 ballots cast, only 11 opposed the split and nine abstained.

"What it is is very uniting."

The vote means the church, which has more than 700 members, will break with Ingham and join with the conservative Anglican bishops of the Diocese of the Southern Cone, which includes Argentina and Paraguay.
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This is a very significant move, as one of the posters on Stand Firm points out:

Americans might not realize the import of St. John’s decision. Several reasons make this a very important decision indeed.

1. St. John’s is the largest Anglican parish in Canada and very influential.
2. St. John’s had rejected earlier moves to join the Canadian version of the AMiA, believing the time was not yet right to leave. Now they have voted to leave, and everyone expects that they will be the first of many parishes to leave the ACC over the next few months.
3. This parish is home to J.I. Packer.
4. The parish rector, David Short, has many very strong connections to the Diocese of Sydney in Australia.
5. This parish has a lot of well-connected parishioners (judges, lawyers, aldermen, etc.). It is my expectation that if Michael Ingham wants a legal fight, he will more then get one. And note that the Diocese of New Westminster is in steep decline and has recently been forced to close several parishes.
6. Regent College, a graduate theological school located at the nearby Univ. of British Columbia, attracts a lot of Anglican and Episcopal students from around the world. Many of them make St. John’s their church home. So St. John’s decision will be heard throughout the world.

It is my guess that this decision of St. John’s will very likely be heard all the way to Lambeth Palace and will likely have a much greater impact on the likes of N.T. Wright et.al. then the similar decisions by the DSJ and various American parishes.
[6] Posted by james