Dear Friends,
It is a joy to write to you again after several weeks away on the first half of my Sabbath leave. My wife Mary and I have been enjoying the blessings of walking the St. Cuthbert’s Way pilgrimage in the UK, visiting family and dear friends in Germany, and celebrating our wedding anniversary in beautiful Italy. While Mary has now gone back to work, I am looking forward to spending the second half of my sabbatical reading, reflecting, learning, renovating and resting. I will tell you more about this time when I am back in September.
But I intentionally interrupted my Sabbath leave to attend the meeting of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, gathered this week in the Diocese of Huron. I am writing to you today from London, Ont., where members of General Synod – bishops, clergy and lay members – have been discussing many important matters, including finances, governance, ministry and the future of ministry, and discerning how God is calling us to be the Church today. We have worshipped together and been inspired by our special guests – Bishop Michael Curry, former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Bishop Marinez Bassotto, Primate of Brazil, and the Rev. Michael Blair, General Secretary of the United Church of Canada. On Wednesday night, we enjoyed a special banquet to honour our outgoing Acting Primate, Archbishop Anne Germond, and our 14th Primate of Canada, Archbishop Linda Nicholls. We are so grateful for their ministry. You can watch highlights and continue to follow the livestream of General Synod at gs2025.anglican.ca/live.
Yesterday, General Synod gathered in St. Paul’s Cathedral to elect a new Primate for the Anglican Church of Canada. It was a holy, grace-filled day, and we were conscious of God’s Spirit moving throughout the voting, and the faithful willingness of the nominees to allow their names to stand.
One of those nominees, as you know, was our own Bishop Riscylla Shaw. Bishop Riscylla was not elected as our new Primate, but I am so proud of her for faithfully allowing the nomination, and for engaging in the process. We can be relieved and grateful that there will be no upheaval in the episcopal leadership in the Diocese of Toronto, as Bishop Riscylla will continue to be one of our suffragan bishops, a role that I know she loves very much. Her home remains with us.
Our new Primate is Bishop Shane Parker of the Diocese of Ottawa. For many years, Bishop Shane served as the Rector of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean of the Diocese of Ottawa before becoming bishop in 2020. He is a leader of deep prayer, integrity and joy, who will lead our Church into a new chapter with faithfulness and imagination. Bishop Shane will be installed in a special Eucharist on Sunday afternoon, and I invite you to watch online.
As we enter the precious summer months of July and August, my prayer is that we all take time for rest, relaxation and rejuvenation – and that you will feel the presence of God in all your doings.
I look forward to being back with you again in September, ready to serve.
The Diocese is in great hands.
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Andrew Asbil
Bishop of Toronto
