Our Beloved Church

In 2007 St. Paul’s Parish had the honour of having the bishop of our Diocese, the Rt. Rev’d Fred Hiltz, join us for Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Easter Day. Later that year he was elected as the 13th Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada by the General Synod. It’s been a ministry that has allowed him to travel the world and to see nearly every part of Canada. Fred has worked tirelessly for the Church, which he, more often than not, calls, “our beloved Church.”

Our beloved Church has seen its fair share of challenges and transitions during Fred’s time as Primate. And at the next meeting of the General Synod in Vancouver (July 10-16) he will retire as Primate and his successor will be elected. The National House of Bishops, at their meeting in March will choose the nominees for the Primatial election. In the meantime, Fred has asked the Church to pray for our “beloved” Church:

Almighty God, giver of all good gifts, look on your Church with grace, and guide the minds of those who shall choose a Primate for our beloved Church, that we may receive a faithful servant who will care for your people and support us in our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This petition has been in our Sunday litany the last few weeks and will remain so until the election. The pace of challenges and transitions the Church has endured during Fred’s ministry are not likely to ease. The Church and the new Primate need our prayers.

The theme of General Synod is, “I have called you by name” (Isaiah 43). Our bishop, Archbishop Ron Cutler, has asked us to keep in our prayer the Council of General Synod, the General Synod Planning Committee, the House of Bishops and our diocesan delegates to General Synod: Paul Jennings, Mel Malton, Kyle Wagner, (our very own) Laura K. Bird, Ted Johnson, Robert MacMillan and Hannah Hughes.

Several years ago, we invited Fred to join us for a day or so during 2019, to help celebrate our 250th anniversary. We were filled with joy that he suggested that he come for Holy Week again. Plans are well underway for a full week of worship and celebration. Easter Day is the biggest day in the Christian calendar and to have the Primate choose to spend his last Holy Week as Primate is a great honour.