One Week Later…
One week later the reality of the election is just starting to settle in. It has been some time that the possibility of being elected was present but the actuality is of a different order. That I will soon be releasing from the CAF in order to undertake these new responsibilities is now confirmed and not just a theoretical possibility. I must state that it is difficult to accept leaving military service though I am quite excited by the new ministries that await.
Of course it makes it much easier to contemplate knowing that I am leaving but not really going. The next few months will be very busy transitioning out of the military and commencing ministry as Bishop Ordinary and I ask for your prayers during this time. I will need your prayers throughout but especially at this time.
The first thing that I would like to do as the departing Archdeacon is take a moment to thank everyone who has assisted in helping us as an Ordinariate to come to this day. I am not just thinking of those directly involved in the selection and election process, though their work was absolutely critical and faithfully executed, but of all chaplains and laity who have worked for many years to bring us to the point of electing a Bishop Ordinary for the first time. It is a long and remarkable story that has been over a decade in length.
I am humbled by your trust in selecting me for this office and promise to do my utmost to honour and respond to that trust. As I have stated earlier the opportunity to continue in ministry with the Ordinariate is a great privilege for which I am profoundly thankful. I would be remiss if I did not ask in particular for prayers of thanksgiving and gratitude for +Peter our beloved Bishop. This is equally a time of transition for him and Deborah and words are inadequate to describe what they have meant to our corporate life and to us as individuals who have been recipients of their pastoral care. May God’s richest blessing fill their lives as they move into new ministries in his name.
I will be in a position to say more about my plans at the clericus meeting this summer and have only a few announcement to make at this time. I will be immediately creating a dedicated civilian e-mail address to provide for confidential communications and I will also establish a Facebook account for more general communication (though first I am going to have to learn how to use Facebook). The information concerning these will be distributed by Canon Gosse and published in subsequent newsletters.
I am pleased to inform you that Canon Staples has accepted to serve as Archdeacon of the Ordinariate and will be collated at the Ordinariate service on 29 May. I am also announcing that Padre Gordon Mintz will be appointed a Canon of the Ordinariate at the same service (see p. 9 for service details – ed.).
It is my hope that despite the logistical challenges many of you will be able to be present for these services. I look forward to meeting and sharing ministry with you in the time ahead.
May this Easter season be a rich blessing to you and your lives a blessing to others
Yours in Christ.
Nigel+
Colonel N. Shaw,
Bishop-elect, Anglican Military Ordinariate
Interested in keeping up-to-date on news, opinion, events and resources from the Anglican Church of Canada? Sign up for our email alerts .