On September 15th, the Most Rev’d Linda Nicholls will retire from her position as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Since she announced her retirement, here have been many opportunities to say goodbye to her, to say thank you to a faithful Anglican, priest, bishop, and primate.
Linda has a lifetime of ministry and service in the Church—ordained a deacon in 1985, priest in 1986, she served as a parish priest for almost twenty years in the Diocese of Toronto, as the Coordinator for Dialogue for Ethics, Interfaith Relations and Congregational Development with the General Synod, Area Bishop of Trent-Durham in the Diocese of Toronto and Bishop of the Diocese of Huron. She participated in ecumenical dialogue with the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission III and in the Canadian Anglican Roman Catholic Dialogue. She was the first woman to be elected Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada and only the second woman to be elected primate in the Anglican Communion.
As we say farewell to a faithful Primate, I want to add my voice to the many who have expressed their appreciation.
I met Linda when I served on the Partners in Mission Committee and our paths crossed many times since then, including when she came to Pasadena to lead a parish retreat. Most recently, I worked with her as co-chair of the Planning and Agenda Team for the first four years of her primacy. I have found her to be a thoughtful, committed servant of God, passionate about caring for God’s people and furthering God’s mission.
You can see that in her pastoral response to Anglicans across the country as we struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic, when she wrote “During this difficult time of the pandemic, I want you to be assured that I am committed to supporting our diocesan and parish leadership and would be happy to accept invitations to worship (preach or participate), simply attend a coffee hour, study group, youth group, confirmation class or share in other online gatherings during our isolation!” I know that she didn’t just ‘say’ she was open to invitations, she accepted those invitations, being present electronically to people when they most needed the encouragement.
I watched her raise money for the Ride for Refuge of the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund as she took requests and played and sang favourite hymns, combining her love for music with her commitment to PWRDF.
I have been aware of the many relationships she has cultivated internationally as she as been present and participated in that arena in such a way that makes us Canadian Anglicans proud. As in the time when she visited a PWRDF project in Kenya between other international commitments.
It has been an honour for me to have been along for part of Linda’s journey, to have been enriched by her ministry and again, I add my voice to the many who wish her joy as she continues in God’s service, albeit in a different forum.
