Since the quakes, insurance costs for stone churches have skyrocketed, prompting calls for Anglican Church officials to sell off some of its buildings. Anglican Church insurance board chair Don Baskerville told Radio New Zealand church officials needed to sell some of their buildings.
Baskerville said the church's primary business is charity and it can't fulfil that mission with the cost of insurance, evaluation and strengthening work.
He will be urging the Anglican Synod being held in Fiji to tell officials to sell churches that don't contribute to their mission and use the money to strengthen those that do.