Archbishop Anne Germond is pleased to announce that five new Canons of St. Luke’s Cathedral will be installed at the opening service of Diocesan Synod 2019 on May 8^th.  These five individuals have contributed to the life and ministry of our Diocese over several years and the Archbishop is thankful that she is able to honour them in this way.

These individuals are:  The Reverend Rosalie Goos, Mr. Hugh Mackenzie, Mrs. Betty Whetham, The Honourable John deP. Wright, and Mr. Stephen Mallinger.

We are sharing a brief biography and picture below to introduce you to them and to highlight some of their contributions to the Diocese.

The Reverend Rosalie Goos

Rosalie first became a part of the Algoma Diocesan family in 1985 when she moved with her husband, Ken and son, Mike to Sault Ste. Marie from Labrador, where she had been teaching religion and music in the schools for 16 years and serving as lay Incumbent with two Anglican churches.  Before venturing to Labrador, Rosalie served as Parish Assistant in a large Moravian Church in southern Wisconsin for 8 years after graduating with a B.A. in Religious Education from St. Olaf College (Lutheran) in Northfield Minnesota. Church life and ministry have been an integral part of Rosalie’s life ever since she can remember. She felt a call to be ordained when she was in grade 8 – long before women were accepted into the ranks of clergy. Additional courses along the way and gentle encouragement from people she worked with resulted in her ordination as Deacon and Priest in 1996. This occurred during the time that Rosalie was serving as Incumbent for St. John’s, Garden River, where she ministered for 12 years.

Most of Rosalie’s connection with people from across the Diocese happened from 1987-1998 when she worked as Stewardship and Parish Development Officer for the Diocese. Her travels took her to most of about 100 congregations in all five deaneries, where she lead stewardship workshops, helped parishes develop mission statements, encouraged people to discover their spiritual gifts, responded to needs for workshops in a number of areas,  and helped introduce the new hymn book, Common Praise.  She also wrote monthly stewardship articles for the Algoma Anglican, took leadership in the Native Council, and attended Executive meetings.  This position came to an end when Rosalie accepted the call to become Incumbent of St. Thomas’, Bracebridge, in 1999. She was there for seven years before retiring. Even though she has officially retired twice, she continues to serve the parish of St. Joseph & St. George, is on the ACW deanery Executive, and fills in where clergy are needed. Some of the personal joys in her life include family, aquabics with the pool pals, and singing with the Algoma Festival Choir.

Mr. Hugh Mackenzie

Hugh has a vast spread of professional/business experience and has held various elected positions in the District of Muskoka and the Town of Huntsville including the position of Mayor.  He has a wealth of experience in public policy and has held various board positions at the Provincial and National Government levels.

As a member of All Saint’s, Huntsville, Hugh has served as a Warden and Lay Steward for Muskoka Deanery.  He has been a member of the Diocesan Executive Committee (currently as Archbishop’s lay appointee) for so many years that records don’t actually show a start date!  In his words…”I think forever!”  He has chaired two Bishop’s Appeal campaigns and was the first President of the Bishop’s Court.  He co-chaired our Strategic Plan Committee with the Venerable Deborah Kraft.  Over the years he has been a fairly regular delegate to Diocesan Synod and has twice been elected General Synod delegate.  He will be attending General Synod 2019 in Vancouver with our Algoma delegates.

Hugh also co-chaired the Episcopal Electoral Process Committee in 2016 as we moved into an electoral Synod.

Hugh’s invaluable experience and love for the church are visible in most conversations with him.  Past bishops and our current Archbishop have valued his advice in all matters Diocesan.

Mrs. Betty Whetham

Born in London England, Betty subsequently married husband, John, and immigrated to Canada (Sarnia) in 1957. She worked in legal offices until starting her own business providing freelance services to local law firms. The family moved to Parry Sound in 1964 and in 1965 Betty joined the staff of the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario in the Registrar’s office of the Parry Sound Court House.  During the next 29 years she held multiple positions within the Ministry until her retirement in 1994 following which she was appointed to and served a full term on the Ontario Judicial Council.

Upon moving to Parry Sound in 1964 she became actively involved with the congregation of Trinity Church. Betty assisted teaching Sunday school, helped with the catering of weddings, funerals, congregational and community dinners. She served as President of the Artiban’s; President of the A.C.W., Vestry Clerk and member of the Advisory Board, Envelope Secretary, Synod delegate, served on two Concurrence Committees, is a long serving member of the choir and has served as Treasurer since 2004.

In 2005 she was appointed by Bishop Ferris to serve on the Renewal in Mission Task Force, subsequently served  as a member of the Muskoka Deanery Assessment Team and in 2011 was elected as a Lay Steward for Muskoka Deanery;  thus being privileged to be part of the Diocesan Executive where she served as Chair of the Solar Energy Committee.  She currently serves as a member of the Constitution and Canons Committee and is the Chair of the Grants Board for the Muskoka Ministry Endowment Fund.

Betty has also been active in her local community serving as President of the local branch of the Kidney Foundation; President of the West Parry Sound District Museum and President of the Parry Sound-Muskoka Riding Ontario PC Party.  She is also Past Treasurer of the West Parry Sound District Health Centre Auxiliary, of which she remains a volunteer.

Betty and her husband John have been blessed with a wonderful family – three children, Neil (Lana), Kevin (Holly), Lisa (Bill); four grandchildren Matthew (Sabrina), Daniel (Sarah), Karley (Nick) and Tanner and three great grandchildren, Joel, Kylie and Jeremy.

The Honourable John deP. Wright

The Honorable John dePencier Wright is known to many of you. His contributions to the church over almost 70 years include  service to the parishes of St. Luke’s Cathedral, Sault Ste. Marie and St. Michael and all Angels, Thunder Bay,  the Diocese, the Provincial Synod and the National church.

At St. Luke’s he served as a member of the choir for five years and a member of the Servers Guild for four years where he was trained as a Lay Reader and assisted at the Rankin mission.  Following his return to Sault Ste. Marie after university he taught Sunday school for 17 years, served as a member of the Advisory Board, and as a Lay Delegate to Synod.

At St. Michaels, at various times over the past thirty years, he has served as a reader, a sidesman, and as a counselor for the parish Scout Troop.

On the Diocesan level John was a member of Synod. He served on the Matrimonial Commission for eight years, a member of the Heritage Committee for seven years, and a member of the Executive Committee for eight years. He was elected as Registrar of the Diocese for two years, served as Chancellor of the Diocese for six years, a member of the Canons and Constitution committee over 15 years and as President of the Diocesan Court over 11 years.

On the Provincial Church level he served on several committees.

On the National Church level the then Judge Wright was a member of the Supreme Court of Appeal of the Anglican Church of Canada and a member of the Committee to Consider Intercommunion Between the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church Canada.

Over the years John has written many memos and two booklets for the guidance of clergy and laity: The Law Of Ontario For Clergy and Handbook For The Guidance of Members of The Diocesan Court.

Mr. Stephen Mallinger

Stephen Mallinger has been Organist and Choirmaster of St. Luke’s Cathedral since Palm Sunday 1992. He has overseen the installation of two pipe organs at the Cathedral and the Choir has traveled to the UK to sing services on numerous occasions. In August, they will sing at Westminster Abbey. He is Music Director of the Algoma Festival Choir and piano instructor at Algoma Conservatory of Music and Algoma University. He is married to violinist Anya Mallinger, and they have five daughters, one granddaughter, and another grandchild joining the family in August.

Stephen is always readily available to assist with music ministry for Synod, Clergy Conferences, Ordinations and any special services happening in Sault Ste. Marie for the Diocese.  His talent as a musician and his experience as a choirmaster are exceptional and we are grateful for his contributions to the life of the Diocese.