Episcopal News Service January 4, 2007
Alaska bishop named Canadian National Indigenous Bishop
MacDonald will remain assisting bishop in Navajoland
By Mary Frances Schjonberg
[ENS] Mark L. MacDonald, the seventh Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Alaska, hopes that his new ministry as the Anglican Church of Canada's first National Indigenous Bishop will both transform the way people think about the church and move Anglicans into deeper communion with each other.
Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, announced his appointment of MacDonald at a news conference in the Church's headquarters in Toronto January 4.
MacDonald, 52, becomes a rarity in Anglican tradition -- a bishop who is pastor to a group of people irrespective of where they live, rather than to residents of a geographic diocese. In Canada, only the Bishop Ordinary to the Armed Forces, with pastoral oversight of Anglicans serving in the Armed Forces, is in an analogous position, according to a news release (http://www.anglican.ca/news/news.php?newsItem=2007-01-04_nibnr.ans) from the Church announcing Hutchison's choice.
As well as crossing Canadian diocesan jurisdictions, MacDonald, in his new position, will straddle national and ecclesiastical boundaries as well. Although he has resigned as Bishop of Alaska, he is due to remain assisting bishop of Navajoland Area Mission with the Episcopal Church.
"It's important to remember that we elect bishops for the church," Hutchison said at the news conference. "We don't elect bishops for national jurisdictions."
MacDonald told ENS after the news conference that "the most important thing to remember is that aboriginal authority and identity is based on a living relationship with the land."
"It is that relationship that is the hallmark of what we might call catholic jurisdiction," he said. "It's that distinction which makes this quite a bit different than simply saying 'well, we'd like to do it better our way' or 'we have an ideological concern we want to give expression to.'"
Full story and photograph:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_80937_ENG_HTM.htm
- - - - - - - - -
To SUBSCRIBE to Episcopal News Service, send a blank email message, from the address which you wish subscribed, to join-enslist@epicom.org and include "subscribe" in the subject line.
Send QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS to news@episcopalchurch.org
ENS provides information and resources which we consider to be of interest to our readers. However, statements and opinions expressed in the articles and communications herein, are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of ENS or the Episcopal Church.