Popular rector to become B.C. bishop
Greenwood-lee broadened her mission to advocate for vulnerable across city
The long-serving and well-respected rector at Calgary's St. Laurence Anglican Church is to become the first female bishop for the diocese of British Columbia.
Rev. Anna Greenwood-lee emerged victorious after seven rounds of online voting by clergy and representatives of the various parishes at a unique virtual sitting of the B.C. Synod recently.
She will leave St. Laurence at the end of the year and move to Victoria where she will be formally consecrated as that diocese's 14th bishop on Jan. 30.
Greenwood-lee will not only become the first woman to take on the role but will also — at age 45 — become one of the youngest bishops to serve the B.C. diocese.
She said leaving St. Laurence, at Lakeview Drive S.W., will be a bittersweet moment, but added that after serving as rector for 14 years, it was the right time to take on this new and important challenge.
Greenwood-lee, a native of Edmonton, was first ordained in Calgary in 2000 and left for a posting in Toronto a few years later. When she returned to the city in 2006, St. Laurence was struggling. She was given a three-year time frame to turn the church around or it would be closed. She succeeded.
“I have really loved being at St. Laurence,” she said recently. “It has been a joy to work with the people here and revitalize a struggling church.
“I love this place and it is bittersweet to be leaving, but for everything there is a season and 14 years is a long time to be an incumbent.”
Greenwood-lee helped to found the Wisdom Centre based out of the church in a bid to revitalize both corporate and individual spirituality in the 21st century through ongoing courses, retreats and seminars and by bringing in not just Anglican speakers but those from other faiths.
“This has been a life-giving ministry not only for me but for a lot of people,” she added.
After helping to turn around the fortunes at St. Laurence, she broadened her mission and became an advocate for vulnerable populations across the entire city.
Last year, Greenwood- Lee helped organize a successful protest against a planned transit fare increase for low-income commuters and she is now pushing Calgary City Police to hire a second Indigenous liaison officer for the service.
And though she will soon be leaving Alberta, she is still mindful of the serious challenges her home province currently faces.
“Our province was heavily subsidized by oil and gas revenues for a long time and we enjoyed that Alberta Advantage,” she said.
“But we now are wrestling with the fact the world is changing and we are going to have to continue finding ways to care for the vulnerable and retain strong social programs and ensure that no one gets left behind. We are facing some serious questions about how we do that.”
Married with two children, aged 12 and 16, Greenwood-lee expects to be doing a lot of commuting between Calgary and Victoria until next summer as both her kids will remain behind until then so they can complete their school years.
Meanwhile, the fight on behalf of disadvantaged Calgarians will continue until the day she leaves.
“There's another round of budget cuts coming in November at city hall and I'll be involved again, trying to see that any cuts must do the least harm to the vulnerable,” she said, adding: “No, I'm not finished yet.”