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Laverne Jacobs standing inside a church, wearing glasses and a clerical collar with a dark jacket. Wooden pews and the altar are visible behind him, with warm light coming through tall stained-glass windows.
Anglican Video

Remembering the Rev. Canon Laverne Jacobs

Published on 
December 15, 2025

The Anglican Church of Canada mourns the loss of the Rev. Canon Laverne Jacobs, who died on December 11, 2025.

Baptized and raised in the United Church, he was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1975. After serving in parish ministry and as regional dean in the Diocese of Huron, he took a leave in 1987 to serve the national church at Church House in Toronto, first as staff person for the Council on Native Ministries (precursor to the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples) and later as native ministries coordinator. He returned to the Diocese of Huron in 1996, and in 2002 became the United Church’s first program officer (later coordinator) for native ministries.

Canon Jacobs is remembered by Church House colleagues as a great teacher and mentor, and a man of courage and integrity. A video tribute for him, created by Anglican Video and entitled “A portrait of Laverne Jacobs, a gentle warrior,” was shown at Sacred Circle in 2023.

Visitation will take place on Dec. 16, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Haycock-Cavanagh Funeral Home in Wallaceburg, ON. The funeral service will be held on Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. at the United Church on Walpole Island, with visitation starting at 11 a.m. The Rt. Rev. Todd Townshend, Bishop of Huron, will preside.

Explore related topic areas: obituaries and memorials

Acknowledging the land and God’s creation

This acknowledgement is crafted in light of the Principles of Reconciliation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, as we seek to live faithfully in Christ and in right relationship with all. 

We give thanks to the Creator for this land, its waters, forests and all living beings, and for the abiding presence of Christ among us. From coast to coast to coast, these have been cared for and nurtured by First Nations, Inuit and Métis through countless generations. 

We honour the enduring relationship Indigenous Peoples have cultivated with these lands and waters, and the treaties and agreements that reflect these sacred bonds. We acknowledge the harms caused by colonial expansion, through frameworks like the Doctrine of Discovery and structures like the residential school system. We recognize our past failures as a Church, including disruption of connections to the land and suppression of Indigenous spiritualities. 

Guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we confess our need for healing. We commit ourselves to seeking truth, pursuing reconciliation and nurturing harmony with all creation. We place our trust in Christ, through whom all things are reconciled to God. 

May God strengthen us to live faithfully as stewards of the Earth. Let us walk in love, justice and reconciliation, joining in God’s work to restore all creation.