Mennonite Church of B.C. frontrunner recalls stepping in to mediate ‘unusual’ dispute in Chinatown congregation eight years back. The Chinatown Peace Church since it is at 375 East Pender St. in Vancouver today. PNG

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State of Grace, role 2: Seniors property owner broke ties with church after home dispute back once again to video.also after retiring while the Vancouver Chinese Mennonite Church’s pastor in 2001, Rev. Stephen Sai Fung Lee stayed an influential figure during the Chinatown congregation throughout the decade that is next. He proceeded to act as a pastor here, along with his spouse led the church choir. But, by 2012, a dispute over Lee’s maneuvering of a church-owned seniors home generated interior debate, an ultimate rift when you look at the church, and their departure as a result.

Lee discovered himself into the news in April with this 12 months whenever Postmedia Information stated that intends to offer Grace Seniors Residence, the Chinatown seniors house he operated, were creating fear among seniors eviction that is seemingly facing. B.C. Housing stepped directly into purchase the building to protect it as affordable housing for Chinese seniors.

Lee possessed a complex and history that is sometimes contentious of dealings a long time before this present year.

A house at 485 Dunlevy St., next to the Vancouver Chinese Mennonite Church, was created within the mid-1990s into Chinese seniors’ housing. Whenever Janice Abbott, CEO of non-profit housing provider Atira, first came across Lee in 2012, the building ended up being vacant, she recalled recently. The 2 started Atira that is discussing possibly the home.

Those talks had been suddenly halted, however, by Vancouver Chinese Mennonite Church leadership, whom shared with her Lee failed to have the building nor had the authority to lease it away.

Fundamentally, Atira finished up renting and soon after buying 485 Dunlevy from the owner, the Mennonite Church of B.C., additionally the building is currently social housing for senior ladies. Today, Abbott stated, Atira enjoys a exemplary relationship with the existing leadership for the church, now referred to as Chinatown Peace Church.

Abbott’s tale is corroborated by internal communication from 2012 and 2013, involving the Vancouver Chinese Mennonite Church leadership council while the Mennonite Church of B.C., the organization that is provincial of denomination.

In December 2012, the minister that is executive of church in B.C., Garry Janzen, composed a page towards the Vancouver church’s deacon board.

A particular basic conference had been called for the after thirty days, Janzen composed, to upgrade the congregation on which took place “from enough time that Stephen Lee started performing on changing the seniors home to something different.”

The letter proceeded to describe the real history of Lee “evicting the seniors, saying he’d change it out to a international youth hostel, then initiating a discussion to rent it to Atira for senior females, and (church leadership) jumping in and saying he’s no authority to complete any one of this since he does not obtain the property.”

The Mennonite Church of B.C., or MCBC, had carried out an “extensive” article on matters pertaining to the Dunlevy seniors house, Janzen published, which produced “some anomalies into the tale which have held MCBC on our feet all of the time, made plenty of additional work us to question … several of Stephen Lee’s actions. for all of us, and caused”

The initial anomaly, Janzen published, had been “a failure to respect that MCBC holds name, and Stephen Lee running as if he’s got the freedom to accomplish as he wants, particularly after making an understanding to exert effort together.”

A page from Lee’s attorney to the MCBC at that time acknowledged that Lee and their charity Residence Mutual help community had arranged to rent the premises to Atira, but during the minute that is last the MCBC told Lee “he had no authority to signal the rent and therefore (the MCBC) would not consent to the proposed rent. The reason behind your rejection is unknown to your customer.”