London, Ontario, July 27 – Diocesan Council issued the following statement after its extraordinary meeting on Saturday, July 27, 2019:
“As an outcome of the election of our Diocesan Bishop, Archbishop Linda Nicholls, as the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Diocesan Council met today for an extraordinary meeting.
At this meeting, Archbishop Linda shared with Council her formal letter of resignation as the Bishop of Huron effective September 30, 2019 which had been sent earlier this week to the Metropolitan, the Most Reverend Anne Germond and our Diocesan Chancellor, Canon James Ferguson.
In accordance with the Diocesan Constitution, the Honorary Secretaries of Synod hereby give notice of an Electoral Synod to be held on Saturday, October 26th at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in London.
The Vice-Chancellor, Mr. Christopher Sinal, will convene an Electoral Procedures Committee whose membership will be shared with the Diocese shortly. This Committee will oversee the electoral process including the method of sharing candidates’ names and information with the Diocese.
Following a time of prayer and silence, each council member was asked to nominate possible candidates for the office of Bishop. Council also passed a motion requesting that the Provincial House of Bishop provide the Diocese with the names of up to three nominees.
For more information on the Election of a Bishop, including how to nominate a candidate, please see sections 17-24 of the Constitution of the Diocese at https://diohuron.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Constitution.pdf. The Vice-Chancellor may be reached at vicechancellor@diohuron.org.
Diocesan Council appointed the Most Reverend Colin Johnson, retired Metropolitan of Ontario and Archbishop of Toronto and Moosonee as the Diocesan Administrator from October 1, 2019 until the consecration or installation of the 14th Bishop of Huron. Archbishop Colin will have all the rights and privileges of a Diocesan Bishop during this time period.
Finally, Archbishop Linda shared some closing remarks with the Council and a reception was held to mark the final Diocesan Council meeting which she will chair. The Council is deeply grateful for the leadership that Archbishop Linda has given to the Diocese and the Council during her time as the Bishop of Huron.