Parishioners from across the Diocese of Saskatchewan were at the Cathedral Church of St. Alban the Martyr in Prince Albert on Friday, Sept. 6 to witness the consecration and installation of Richard Reed as the diocese’s 13th bishop.
The event was witnessed by local church members, guests, and visiting priests from both inside and outside Canada. The Presiding Bishop was the Most Rev. Gregory Kerr-Wilson, while the Rt. Rev Fraser Lawton, Rector of St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Diocese of Dallas, preached at the ceremony.
St. Alban’s Rector David Butorac said Reed has a lot of experience serving in different dioceses, and is a welcome addition as bishop.
“(He is) very sociable. He likes to talk. I think he has very creative ways of sharing the gospel. He has a lot of energy, and people like him,” Butorac said.
“I think Rick brings a lot of positivity and a lot of energy and a lot of vision. I think he will work with everyone in the diocese, both people in the south and the north. I think he’s got wonderful people skills, and I think he wants to bring people together. I think he wants to get people focused on the gospel and working together.”
Reed the priest at St. David’s Anglican Church in Prince Albert before being elected bishop in May. He was one of five candidates nominated for the position, and said he’s eager to take on a new challenge.
“(It’s) a little nerve-wracking,” Reed said. “When you go to a seminary or you become a deacon or a priest, they don’t teach you what it means to be a bishop. I think it’s like being thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool. You’ve got to learn to swim for the first time all over again.”
Reed said the church has been pushed to the margins of society. That, combined with the growing number of newcomers arriving in the Prince Albert area has changed the context of ministry.
Despite those challenges, he’s confident there is still a role for the church in communities like Prince Albert.
“There’s challenges, but nothing is too much for the Lord,” Reed said in an interview.
In his reception comments, Bishop Reed relied on the Book of Galatians and advised those in attendance to keep their eyes on Jesus.
“May we be filled with the joy of the Lord. And may we persevere and not grow weary, living out each of our callings not in our own strength, not in our own wisdom, but by the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. For we were all born, and called, and sent for such a time as this. So may we trust the Lord; may we pray without ceasing,” he said.
Reed compared the task of being a bishop to Peter walking on water in the midst of a storm.
“I take comfort in knowing that the Lord is with me, but not just with me, but with us all, for it is not I who must come to Jesus on the water, but we all must step out of the boat, and come to Him,” he said.
While delivering the sermon, the Rt. Rev. Fraser Lawton advised the new Bishop as well as the entire congregation to focus on Christ Jesus and the instructions as given in the Book of Mathew 28: 19-20.
Reed and his wife Julie-Anne have four children and one grandchild. In his spare time he likes hunting and fishing.
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