Anglican Diocese of Kootenay
St. Andrews is a member of the Anglican Diocese of Kootenay, which stretches from the Okanagan in the west to the East Kootenays in the east. We have a good relationship with the other Anglican parishes in the Kootenay Boundary region (Castlegar, Fruitvale, Salmo, Greenwood and Grand Forks). We support one another with regional services, fellowship gatherings, retreats and workshops. Once a year we are visited by the Archbishop of the Diocese. To find out more about the Diocese of Kootenay, visit their website at http://kootenay.anglican.ca/
Anglican Church of Canada
Diocesan Map of Canada
In Canada more than 800,000 Anglicans worship in 30 dioceses, from Vancouver Island to St. John’s, Newfoundland, and from the country’s southernmost point to the Arctic Circle. The Anglican Church of Canada supports churches in large urban areas, small rural villages, and in remote northern regions. In addition to English, worship is conducted in many other languages, including French, Spanish, Cantonese, Japanese, Mandarin, as well as Indigenous languages. The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada is the church’s chief governing and legislative body. It is made up of members from every diocese and all three orders (lay people, priests and bishops) from across the country. It meets every three years, for about nine days, during which members exchange information, set policy for the church and pass resolutions and canons (laws). In years when the General Synod does not meet, the church is governed by the Council of General Synod (CoGS), effectively a smaller subcommittee with a similar mandate and similar powers. Archbishop Fred Hiltz is the 13th primate, or national leader of the Anglican Church of Canada. The primate has many roles. In a statement after his nomination for the primacy, Bishop Hiltz described the Primate as “a servant of the people of God (whose) ministry is to gather the Church, to unite its members in a holy fellowship of truth and love, and to inspire them in the service of Christ’s mission in the world.” One of the crucial aspects of this ministry is the “pastoral relationship” the primate has to the whole of the Anglican Church of Canada. Sustaining this bond requires extensive travel throughout the country. (In June 2008, Archbishop Hiltz made the first stop of his first trip to Western Canada at St. Andrew & St. George in Trail, BC!) For more about the ACC, visit the Anglican Church of Canada website at www.anglican.ca.
