The 145th Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa gathered in Ottawa on Oct. 24 and 25.
At the opening of the sessions on Oct. 24, Dean Beth Bretzlaff introduced and thanked Bishop Michael Bird for serving as Diocesan Administrator until a newly elected bishop is installed in May 2026. L to R: Synod Secretaries Margaret Porter and the Rev. Canon Stephen Silverthorne; Bishop Michael Bird; Dean Beth Bretzlaff and Chancellor Canon Henry Schultz.
A greeting from the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem
The Very Rev. Richard Sewell, Dean of St. George’s College in Jerusalem, sent a video greeting. He thanked the people of the diocese for their love, prayers and advocacy during these last two years of war and trauma and thanked God for the ceasefire at that time.
“The ending of the terrible destruction, the decimation, the loss of tens of thousands of lives is one thing and a very important thing, but actually so much more needs to be done to bring that elusive peace which everybody here so desperately needs.” Dean Sewell added a wish for God’s blessing for the Diocese of Ottawa.
“Our heartfelt love and prayers are with you as you enter into this period of your time of Synod fellowship together.”
Report from General Synod 2025
Diocesan representatives — Caroll Carkner, Kate Jordan, Katherine Spencer-Ross, the Rev. Matthew Brown, the Rev. Dr. Jon Martin and the Ven. Kathryn Otley— offered their observations and thoughts about attending the 44th General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada in London, Ont. in June.
The Ven. Kathryn Otley described her feelings about the primatial election as “shock and awe.” The shock came when the House of Bishops submitted Bishop Shane Parker’s name in response to a request for additional candidates after the second ballot and with his unexpected election. She said the awe came two days later at his very moving installation as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada when the Ottawa representatives were asked to participate by assisting Archbishop Parker as he vested for his new role.
Kate Jordan and the Rev. Canon Jon Martin, both attending General Synod for the first time, reported that although discussion among those attending did become passionate at times, the overall atmosphere was one in which people listened respectfully to each other and made efforts to incorporate the views and experience of others.
Episcopal Election news
The Rev. Canon Stephen Silverthorne, Clerical Synod Secretary updated Synod on preparations for the episcopal election set for Feb. 28, 2026.
The Supplementary Nominations Committee, appointed by Diocesan Council and advised by the House of Bishops, can appoint one or two nominees who can be from other dioceses.
The Episcopal Elections Committee, chaired by the Synod Secretaries, is developing formal questions to be answered by all of the nominees.
In the weeks leading up to the election, four public meetings will be held different locations across the diocese as an opportunity for people to get to know the nominees. They will include a formal introduction, a question period and a reception. The meetings will also be live-streamed.
Applications are now available through a portal on the diocesan website. Nominations must be supported by at least five lay members of Synod and five clergy and be submitted by Jan. 24, 2026 for the candidate to take part in the public meetings. Additional applications can be accepted until the electoral synod is called to order on Feb. 28.
Who votes
- Diocesan Council members in 2025
- 10 retired clergy (chosen by the retired clergy of the diocese)
- Members of the 2025 Diocesan Synod, including active clergy and lay parish members
Voting is completed in successive rounds until one of the candidates receives a majority of votes in both orders (clergy and lay).
The new bishop will be consecrated at a service on May, 9, 2026.
Update on triennial cycle and current priorities
The Ven. Monique Stone chairs the Evaluation and Priority Setting Task Force, which includes the Rev. Michael Garner, Kate Jordan, the Ven. Brian Kauk, Alec Simpson and Jamie Tomlinson. Archdeacon Stone explained that they have been working “to design a way that we can evaluate the work that we’ve done over the last three years, and to review the impacts that have been made.” She explained that the review and assessment will then help “all of us to work together in developing priorities for our next triennium as well.”
In her presentation, Stone looked back to a previous strategic plan, Embracing God’s Future (2014), to see what goals and objectives were agreed upon by the diocesan church. Moving to more recent work, she gave an overview of the way the Shape of Parish Ministry Consultations, which began in 2020, led to a consensus at the 2022 Synod for three proposals, which developed into 11 actions supported at the 2023 Synod, and finally six desired results presented at the 2024 Synod (see graphic).
Archdeacon Stone encouraged everyone to “acknowledge the importance of all that we have done so far, and to recognize that this is the infrastructure of who we are as a diocese.
The task force has developed tools and processes for a review of the achievements, challenges, and remaining work of this 2024 -2026 triennium. They asked Synod members to discuss and offer ideas and feedback in writing. Stone added that the task force will be “unfolding opportunities for all of us together to determine the priorities also for the 2027-2029 triennium that we will approve as a synod at next synod.”
Anglican Foundation of Canada
The Rev. Amy Hamilton, acting director of the Anglican Foundation of Canada, brought news of the foundation’s latest initiatives:
- a new online application portal
- new legacy giving resources
- Category C grants of up to $50,000 for strategic, high-impact projects
- Greater emphasis on funding community ministry projects
- Growth of Say Yes to Kids — 30 teams raised $160,000 this year
Contextual Mission update
Archdeacon Mark Whittall, co-chair of the Contextual Mission Sub-Committee, reminded Synod of the goals envisioned at the 2023 Synod:
• By 2028, every parish in our diocese will be engaged in a new or renewed contextual mission initiative.
• By the 135th anniversary of our diocese, in 2032, we will have created 35 new worshipping communities.
One resource he recommended was a Certificate in Missional Leadership course offered in partnership with the Center for Missional Leadership in Vancouver, B.C. Five parishes in the diocese are currently participating.
Other presenters offered inspiration from their experiences:
• Carolyn Coffin-Caputo recommended a course on Reimaging Church from the Niagara School for Missional Leadership. And she described a hot lunch program that the Parish of the Lower Valley is just creating in Hawkesbury that will be served in the Church Hall.
• The Rev. Colin McFarland recommended a course on John Bowen’s book The Unfolding Gospel available on the Contextual Mission page of the diocesan website
• The Rev. John Holgate described popular monthly community gatherings and lunches held at St. James, Manotick
• The Rev. Dr. Thomas Brauer described the success and growth of a monthly games night at St. John’s, Smiths Falls
They offered information about how to apply for diocesan Future Fund grants to fund such ventures. (Watch for more in-depth stories on these experiences with contextual mission in upcoming issues of Perspective.)
Learning Commons report
Caroll Carkner, chair of the Education Committee, reported that a great deal of progress had been made since the last Synod in developing Learning Commons resources, including several in-person training sessions for parish leaders held in several locations in the spring.
The Rev. Dr. Canon Jon Martin, co-chair of the Parish Development Sub-Committee, updated progress on the development of online resources. He noted that they decided to shift from offering introductory modules as videos to written materials because it is easier to update and add to written text and because video was difficult for people without reliable Internet service to access. An introduction to parish development is available, with two more modules on community and pastoral care to be posted soon.
The Rev. Simone Hurkmans, co-chair, introduced Synod members to the Thriving Parish Self-Assessment Tool, a questionnaire to help parishes decide what areas of parish life to prioritize [worship, spiritual growth, community, pastoral care, contextual mission, leadership & governance, financial stewardship and management, property management and maintenance.] She led Synod members through a test run of the tool so that they could guide their parishes through its use.
Motions presented
The All My Relations Panel drew Synod’s attention to the fact that 2025 marks the tenth year since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report. Following a short video with inspiration and challenges from the late Justice Murray Sinclair, AMR co-chair Kathryn Fournier introduced a motion calling on the Diocese to renew its commitment to ongoing education to ensure its members learn about the church’s role in colonization, the history and legacy of residential schools, and why apologies to former residential school students, their families, and communities were necessary. The motion carried with broad support.
The Rev. Canon Hilary Murray introduced a motion for the Diocese to support the UN Declaration for the Decade for People of African Descent being extended for a second decade. The motion carried.
Canon and bylaw amendments
Diocesan Chancellor Canon Henry Schultz led Synod members through numerous amendments to the canons and bylaws, including some updates to the governance of Community Ministries. All motions were carried.
Synod Reflector
The Rev. Canon Dr. Sarah Kathleen Johnson, director of Anglican Studies at Saint Paul University, offered three reflections for the 2025 Synod. Read more in our next issue.
St. James, Morrisburg — Stormont Deanery