On Saturday, Oct. 25, the investiture service for the Order of the Diocese of British Columbia was held at a packed Christ Church Cathedral.
This was the fourth investiture service since the Order was established by Bishop Logan in 2018 to honour laity in the diocese who have shown faithful service over an extended period.
The Order has two ranks: member and officer. While the rank of member is awarded to those who have shown outstanding voluntary service to their parish, the rank of officer is awarded to those who show extraordinary commitment not only to their parish but also to the diocese or the Anglican Church of Canada, or both.
In addition to these ranks, the bishop can also recognize members, and the Honorary Member award is presented to those who are not Anglican but whose work within the geographic area of the diocese exemplifies the diocese’s vision.
At this year’s investiture, 42 individuals from across the diocese and islands were inducted into the Order of the Diocese of BC.
We also had the honour of welcoming Archbishop Shane Parker, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, to Christ Church Cathedral. Archbishop Shane delivered the sermon. He spoke about his connection to the islands and inlets; a connection forged in the 70s during a rainy and memorable hike along the West Coast Trail.
Archbishop Shane spoke on the second reading from the book of Luke (4:14-21), in which Jesus reads from the book of Isaiah in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. You can watch the full sermon in the video below (from 37:40).
Following Archbishop Shane’s sermon, the Order was presented to the following individuals:
Members
- Bonnie Claire Wadds, St. John the Baptist, Cobble Hill
- Carole Ann Gill, St. John the Baptist, Duncan
- Patricia Lynne Sunderland, St. Michael & All Angels, Chemainus
- Valerie Davies, St. Mary’s, Nanoose Bay
- Joanne Gloria Bevis, St. Paul’s, Nanaimo
- Mary Eileen Curtis-Snider, St. Peter’s, Quamichan
- Nicole Michelle McDaid, St. Philip’s By-the-Sea, Lantzville
- Judith Nelson, Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria
- Debra Brown, St. Dunstan’s, Gordon Head
- Margaret Smart, St. George the Martyr, Cadboro Bay
- Graeme William Brown, St. John the Divine, Victoria
- Barbara Ann Prescott, St. Luke’s, Cedar Cross Rd
- Anne Underhill, St. Mary the Virgin, Oak Bay
- Dorothy Robertson, St. Matthias, Victoria
- Sheila Simpson, Two Saints Ministry, Victoria
- Robert Willian Olmsted, St. Anne & St. Edmund, Parksville
- Kathy Coulthart-Dewey, St. John the Divine, Courtenay
- Craig Fraser Murray, St. John Gualbert, Port McNeill
- Richard de Candole, St. Mark’s, Qualicum Beach
- Susanne Elizabeth Vickery, St. Peter’s, Campbell River
- James Peacock, St. Peter’s, Comox
- Alison Patricia Cowan, Trinity Anglican & Lutheran, Port Alberni
- Barbara Lynn Gossman, Church of the Advent, Colwood
- Barbara Lynn Fallan, Parish of Central Saanich
- Patricia Callendar, Parish of Pender & Saturna Islands
- Dolores Devindisch, Parish of Salt Spring Island
- Marjorie May Nelson, St. Andrew’s, Sidney
- Garth Walmsley, St. Margaret of Scotland, Galiano Island
- Edward Bennington, St. Mary of the Incarnation, Metchosin
- Mary Jane Weeks, St. Mary Magdalene, Mayne Island
- Stanley Willow, St. Michael & All Angels, Royal Oak
Bishop’s Members
- Joanne Marie Beagle, St. Dunstan’s, Gordon Head
- Amanda Louise Conrad, Two Saints Ministry, Victoria
- Geraldine Marea Hinton, Dawson Heights Housing Society
- Jeffery Searley Nelson, Christ Church Cathedral Building Ltd
Honorary Member
- Cheryl Diebel, New Roads, Our Place Society
Officers
- Ian David Alexander, Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria & Anglican Church of Canada
- Wendy Mae Carriere, St. Mark’s, Qualicum
- Joel Thomas Hefty, St. John the Divine, Victoria
- Sharron Lynn Schumacher, Parish of Central Saanich
- Isabel Martha Weeks, Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria
Honorary Officer
- Frances Hunt-Jinnouchi, Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness Society
Download the order of service to learn more about individual recipients contributions to the life of the diocese.
Frances Hunt-Jinnouchi was invited to speak. She is the executive director of the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness (ACEH). The coalition works to provide culturally supportive, affordable housing and services, with the mission of ending homelessness among First Nations, Inuit and Metis on Vancouver Island.
Frances spoke about how, ten years ago, she was first asked to help the organization for a short period of time. During the initial meeting she found herself in tears. Frances shared how she lost her own mother to the streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and addiction, and eventually murder.
2028 will see the opening of ACEH’s Wellness House, on land adjoining St. John the Divine, Victoria. Wellness House will provide culturally supportive housing for First Nations, Inuit and Metis people at risk of homelessness.
The final award to be presented was the Anglican Award of Merit. Archbishop Shane presented this award to Ian Alexander. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the life of the national church, both in Canada and internationally. Over the years, Ian has served in numerous roles, including Council of General Synod, and most recently as prolocutor. Archbishop Shane expressed his personal gratitude to Ian for his support during a time of crisis, when Ian stepped into the role of interim general secretary, just before Archbishop Shane’s election to primate.
This was the fourth investiture service, since the order was established in 2018 by then-bishop of the diocese Logan McMenamie. The next investiture will take place in 2027 and Ian Powell, secretary of the order, is optimistic that there will be many more to come: “After this fourth time of holding the service, with over a third more people being invested into the Order than previous times, and the attendance in the cathedral was over 600, I know that the Order of the Diocese now has deep roots in the life of the diocese.”
