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The following letter was first issued as a pastoral letter to members of the diocese on January 5, 2020. It was read aloud during worship in congregations across the region. Download the letter below.

Dear friends,

I write to inform you that I have submitted my resignation as bishop to Archbishop Melissa Skelton. It is a bittersweet experience. I will retire as your bishop on May 1, 2020. Am I ready to leave the post? Yes—however, there are many things and people I am going to miss.

I believe we have accomplished much over the last number of years. We have set a course for the future, and with commitment and hope in the Gospel, we will accomplish much more. At a time when we hear that the church is in decline, we can attest to being alive in so many ways.

I will not be “taking things easy” over the next few months. I realize that during a time of change in a diocese, the temptation is to shift the focus to the election of the next bishop. However, I ask that you do not take your foot off the accelerator. Continue during this intentional time of prayer to seek new ways to minister together as we work to transform our future. Take seriously my call for the season of discipleship and spend time together this Lent to study the book Watershed Discipleship.

The chancellor will send out a letter which will explain the process of electing the next bishop. It will be my prayer that the work we have done will not be lost in this time of transition but will be solidified, and as you seek the 14th bishop of the diocese, you will be inviting that person to join in this exciting journey of transformation.

Thank you all for the trust and confidence you have placed in me. Thank you for the journey through tough decisions and challenging times. As we continue, I believe we have a faith-full future as the diocese of islands and inlets.

Yours in Christ,

The Right Rev. Dr. Logan McMenamie
bishop 

 

Anglican Bishop Logan McMenamie, known for his work in addressing the harm the church inflicted on Indigenous peoples, announced his retirement on Sunday. After six years as bishop of the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia, which includes 45 parishes across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, McMenamie will step down on May 1. He announced his resignation in a letter read to congregants in parishes across the Island during Sunday services.

McMenamie, the 13th bishop of the diocese, formally apologized to residential school survivors at the site of the former St. Michael’s Indian Residential School on Cormorant Island in 2015. During Lent in 2016, he walked 480 kilometres from Alert Bay to Victoria seeking permission from First Nations representatives to continue living on their land. He made a similar journey during in 2017, walking from Port McNeil to Sooke. “Through our forebears, we entered this land the first time believing we carried God with us,” he said in a statement. “We failed to recognize that the Creator was already here, working in and through the First Peoples of this land. Now we, in our generation, need to symbolically re-enter this land in a new way — a way marked by respect and humility on the part of the settler church.”  https://www.timescolonist.com/_

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