The Rev. Amy Hamilton has been appointed as Incumbent of the Church of the Ascension, Ottawa, effective Oct. 19, 2026. She has been serving as Rector of the Church of the Epiphany, Montreal.

The Rev. Thomas Brauer has been appointed as Incumbent of St. Michael and All Angels in Thunder Bay in the Diocese of Algoma, effective Oct. 15, 2026.

Staff News

Michele Allen joined diocesan staff as the executive assistant to Bishop Kathryn Otley.

Allen has worked in the nonprofit sector since moving to Canada in 2007 from Manchester, England, with her husband and three children. She holds a degree in Business Administration and has spent the past 17 years working closely with clergy, including both Christian and rabbinical leaders.

She shared that she recommitted her life to Christ in 2014 at Harrowsmith Free Methodist Church and is delighted to now be joining the Christian community in Ottawa.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching “football” — particularly Manchester United — and watching anything related to true crime.

Allen is excited to join have joined the staff at Ascension House and to work with Bishop Kathryn. Please contact her at bishopsoffice@ottawa.anglican.ca  for matters related to the Bishop’s Office, including meeting and event requests, invitations, and correspondence.

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Holzman served as the chair of Cornerstone’s board for four years. He chaired a capital campaign committee and sat on the planning committee Cornerstone’s newest supportive housing residence on Eccles Street. He has played a major role in helping Cornerstone, an Anglican Community Ministry, raise critical funds and awareness through various fundraisers. For Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY), one of Cornerstone’s key annual fundraising events, he has been the top fundraiser for close to six years. The announcement from Cornerstone noted that Holzman is passionate about housing and the homeless sector and that he frequently comes to locations to chat with residents, support resident art sales and shelter community events.

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The event is part of All Saints/ Aging with Grace series of community gatherings, now in its second year. The Rev. Chung Yan Lam said it is intended to start or ease conversations about death and end-of-life that are uncomfortable.

This time the parish is collaborating with Community Deathcare Ottawa (CDO), a non-profit collective of practitioners supporting dying, death and grief. CDO describes its members as “rooted in holistic, compassionate, and family-led approaches to deathcare, and share a belief that death is not simply a medical or logistical event, but a sacred and meaningful part of life.”

Why a Victorian theme? CDO founder Kelly Butler explained that in Victorian society, “Death was part of everyday life. The dying were cared for at home, communities gathered around the dead, mourning had its own language and rituals, and remembrance was woven into clothing, photographs, objects, and ceremony. Death was a communal event.

“Nowadays, dying and death has moved out of our homes and communities and into Institutions and professional systems. Many of us have lost the rituals, knowledge, and confidence that once helped people accompany the dying, care for the dead, and express grief. Community Deathcare aims to reclaim these processes.”

Butler has decades of experience helping families navigate bereavement and end-of-life care and teaches a death doula training program.

The event at All Saints’ will take place from 11 am to 2 pm on Oct. 17.

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Horton, a longtime parishioner and choir member at St. Thomas Alta Vista, was one of three recipients from the municipality honoured in the ceremony at the Ottawa Farmers’ Market. Councillor Marty Carr highlighted the recipients’ dedication to improving the quality of lives in the local community and city-wide.

The commemorative coins carry the City’s coat of arms on the front and an image of the locks at the junction of the Ottawa River and the Rideau canal on the back. Sutcliffe noted that it was the construction of the Canal, built by Colonel By, which birthed the development of Bytown, now the City of Ottawa.  — Michele Bédard

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Thursday, Oct. 22

Opening worship service – Holy Eucharist

Christ Church Cathedral (414 Sparks St., Ottawa)

7 pm

All are welcome. Bishop Kathryn Otley will deliver her Charge to the Diocesan Synod

Friday, Oct. 23

Diocesan Synod Meetings

St. Elias Centre (750 Ridgewood Ave., Ottawa)

8 am to 4:30 pm

Registration begins at 8 am, meetings begin at 9 am. Delegates and clergy from across the Diocese gather for a prayerful and collaborative time to reflect on shared mission and ministry.

Guest speaker: Catherine E. Clifford, professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Saint Paul University.

Online registration is open from Sept. 25 to Oct. 11. Delegates should download the double-sided credential form sent to them by email, print and sign it, then hand it in at Synod.

Saturday, Oct. 24

Diocesan Synod Meetings

St. Elias Centre (750 Ridgewood Ave., Ottawa)

8:30 am to noon

Concluding sessions and worship service.

For more information: ottawa.anglican.ca/synod

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Now, as their first-year anniversary approaches, Perspective checked in with the volunteer team of organizers to see how it is going now that the ministry has grown to serve an average of 60 people every Saturday.

“At Centre 440, making a real difference in the lives of others is at the heart of everything we do,” said Carolyn Coffin-Caputo. “The response has been inspiring! Not only are our participant numbers growing steadily, reflecting a clear and vital need for the work we do, but the dedicated support of our community—our volunteers, our partners — continues to grow as well. As Centre 440 expands its reach, we look forward to welcoming more community members and deepening our positive impact. We are honoured and privileged to be a catalyst for positive change in our community!”

 During the summer, Bishop Kathryn Otley and Communications and Development director Carole Breton visited the Parish of the Lower Valley. While there, they joined Centre 440’s great team of volunteers serving a community meal in the parish hall of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Hawkesbury.

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And the Rev. Christine Muise, reflects on the need “to protect our waterways, our water sources and support the work of Indigenous people who are leading the way.”

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(Photos: LA Williams)

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Front row: Carole Breton, diocesan director of Communications and Development;  George Cribbs, editor, Anglican Diocese of Moosonee; Jason Antonio, Saskatchewan editor; Janice Biehn, Alongside Hope; Gisele McKnight, editor, Diocese of New Brunswick; Bishop Kathryn Otley; Archbishop Shane Parker; the Rev. Victoria Scott, director general of Anglican Community Ministries; Emily Rowe, editor, Diocese of Newfoundland; Leigh Anne Williams, editor Perspective.

Editors of diocesan newspapers from across Canada as well as staff from the Anglican Journal met for their annual conference at the end of May in Ottawa this year. In addition to professional development workshops, they heard presentations on affordable housing projects in the diocese, Community Ministries, Alongside Hope, the Anglican Foundation of Canada and the Companions of Jerusalem. Archbishop Shane Parker, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, was the guest speaker on the final evening of the conference.

The idea of expanding the Anglican Editors’ Association to include other communicators working for the church was discussed, and the editors voted to broaden the organization to include anyone working in a communications role throughout the Anglican Church of Canada.

The editors expressed their appreciation for being able to meet in the beautiful space of the Great Hall of Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa and thanked the Rev. Canon Doug Richards for leading our concluding Eucharist service.

Special thanks to Dean Beth Bretzlaff, the Rev. Canon Doug Richards and Nicholas Galambos at the Cathedral and Carole Breton and Marcela Hurtado at Ascension House for all their help organizing the conference and to our guest presenters.  — Leigh Anne Williams

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