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The Diocese of Islands and Inlets was extremely well represented at General Synod 2025 in London, Ontario.  Apart from myself, the elected delegates of our diocese were Lon Towstego, Jenny Replogle, Kirsten Evenden, Helen Love, Georgina Love (youth), Michael Wolff, and Ian Alexander. Isabel Weeks was also present to serve as an assessor, Nancy Ford was present to represent the Deacons, and Bob Fearnley, who is a member of our Diocese, was present as a representative of the military ordinariate. An Islands and Inlets liturgy was also chosen for the Eucharist during the Primatial election. We truly were well represented.  

While Ansley Tucker did not travel to General Synod with us, her work over the past couple of years in helping craft the theological statement on the Deaconate was considerable and was one of the many contributions made by people across our church to our common life and ministry.  

As always, the most moving part of General Synod is seeing representatives from across our vast and beautiful church which stretches from coast to coast to coast. At the opening worship service Kirsten Evenden poured water into the font that she had collected from the beach down the road from St. Mary’s, Nanoose Bay.  Water brought from each and every diocese, bringing together waters from the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans not to mention so many of our country’s beautiful rivers and lakes, was used for renewing our baptismal vows and was kept by the Paschal Candle at the front of General Synod throughout our gathering.  

On the first morning I met Grace Delaney, a deacon from Moose Island in the Diocese of Moosonee and a survivor of Shingwauk Residential School. She explained that her trip to General Synod began by getting in a canoe and making the 20-minute trip from her community over to Moosonee. From Moosonee she got on the ‘Polar Bear Express’ train from Moosonee to Cochrane. Her trip then continued with a car ride to Timmins Airport, a flight to Toronto and then a bus to London. I am awed by her faith and her commitment to the church.  

The highlights of General Synod can be found on the Anglican Church’s website .  In particular, I draw your attention to:  

  • The resolution making the First Sunday in September the Feast of the Creator marking the beginning of the Season of Creation   
  • The adoption of Practices for a Restored Deaconate and a motion commending this working document to Bishops, Dioceses and Theological Colleges  
  • The resolution making the last Sunday in July Emancipation Sunday marking the end of slavery in the British Empire   
  • The resolution urging the Primate and COGS to actively pursue the pathways outlined in Creating Pathways calling  the church to a major change initiative in the areas of  

1. Organizational Structure  

2. Management Overview and Restructuring  

3. Inclusion and Diversity in Decision Making  

4. Communications  

5. Walking Together in Partnership: Indigenous Church (Sacred Circle) with the Historic Settler Church (General Synod, Provinces, Dioceses and Territories)  

6. Ministry in Remote Northern Communities  

  • The election of Shane Parker as our 15th Primate.   Shane will have a short tenure as Primate as he will be retiring in 2028.  He is committed, in his short tenure, to implement the Pathways recommendations.   

I also ask your prayers for all the leadership of the National Church as there are significant financial challenges that have recently come to light regarding a lease of new office premises on Bloor Street.  

The Church owes a debt of gratitude to Ian Alexander who very ably served as both Prolocutor and Interim General Secretary both in the weeks leading up to Synod and at Synod itself.     

I was also extremely proud of our youth delegate, Georgina Love, who not only preached one of the best sermons we heard at Synod at the Bible study on Sunday morning, but who was also elected as a youth representative to the Council of General Synod (COGS) from our Ecclesiastical Province.      

Even though the meeting of General Synod is finished, the work continues. Apart from Georgina’s participation in CoGS, I will be serving both on Finance Committee as well as on the Pathways Implementation Committee. Jenny is going to be involved in looking at the required canonical and constitutional reforms and Michael has joined the Pension Board.   I was also pleased to see that Christine Conkin has been appointed to the Partners in Mission committee. Ian Alexander, bless him, will continue to offer his significant gifts in this time of transition as Shane wraps up his work as Bishop of Ottawa and takes up his role as Primate.   

I am proud of our Diocese for contributing in so many ways to the work of the Church from coast to coast to coast. 

- Bishop Anna Greenwood-Lee



To watch the service where our new Primate was installed, click here.

To watch other livestreams or read updates from General Synod 2025, click here.

Bishop Anna and the Ven. Lon Towstego shared a few behind the scenes pictures. The first is a picture of all the female bishops in Canada. 

The second is a joyful candid picture of our House of Bishops gathering. 

The three center pictures are Canon Ian Alexander (Prolocutor) receiving the Primatial Cross.

The bottom two pictures are of the diocese of islands and inlets team and Helen Love with her daughter at General Synod.