Local priest new bishop-elect of Edmonton
(Staff) A MAN who has said, “I really love being a priest. There is nothing quite like it!” and who has served all of his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Edmonton has been elected as its eleventh bishop.
The Rev. Stephen London, rector of St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in Sherwood Park, was elected on the fifth ballot, defeating not only two local diocesan priests but also the Bishop of Saskatoon, two candidates from Quebec, one from the UK and one from New Zealand.
The 67th Synod, held virtually on June 26, brought together 231 delegates.
Michelle Nieviadomy, Inner City Pastoral Ministry (ICPM) Oskâpêwis, led a smudge ceremony before the Service of Holy Eucharist, held at All Saints’ Cathedral in Edmonton (amiskwaciy-wâskahikan) on Treaty 6 land.
Archbishop Greg Kerr-Wilson, Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land and Bishop of Calgary, presided over both the Eucharist and the electoral synod that followed.
After four ballots, London had received 55 votes in the order of clergy (out of 96) and 63 in the order of laity (out of 135). Chris Harper (Bishop of Saskatoon) had received 25 and 42 in each order, respectively, and Thomas Brauer (a priest in Christchurch, NZ) had received 16 and 30.
At that point, according to the Canons of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land, all three would have remained on the ballot for a fifth vote, but Harper and Brauer chose to step down. Because the canons require the person elected to achieve 50 percent plus 1 vote, and do not allow for acclamation, the fifth ballot was held with London’s name alone. On that ballot he received 100% in each order.
London, 48, was born in Texas, earned his Master of Divinity from Yale University Divinity School, and was ordained a deacon in the Diocese of Connecticut. He has lived in Canada since 2003 and is a Canadian citizen. In 2004 he was ordained a priest by Bishop Victoria Matthews at All Saints’ Cathedral, Edmonton. London has served in the diocese since then, first as rector of St. Michael’s and All Angels in Edmonton and since 2012, as rector of St. Thomas’ in Sherwood Park.
He is currently a member of the Strathcona County Ecumenical Mission Committee, the Lutheran-Anglican-Roman Catholic (LARC) Dialogue and the Anglican-Lutheran-Moravian Ecumenical Dialogue.
Steve, as he prefers to be called, is married to the Rev. Stephanie London, rector of St. Columba’s Anglican Church in Beaumont. They had met at Yale and have three children, ages nine to fifteen.
London says on his parish website that he really enjoys “a wide variety of worship styles and seeing what other churches are doing.” He continues:
“If I have a passion in ministry, it would probably be preaching, one-on-one ministry and leadership and administration. I am particularly interested in how churches are navigating the challenges and the exciting possibilities of the 21st century. There is a real balance to being the church family in continuity with the centuries of people who have gone before us and who have proclaimed the good news of Jesus’ work of reconciliation and healing, and being authentic to the new realities of the digital and post-Christendom era. I find it to be a very exciting time to be church and to be part of the great conversation as to where we are going now.”
As for hobbies he says, “I love to read, to hang out with my family, to hike, play golf and learn new things. But most of all I really love being a priest. There is nothing quite like it!”
In a prepared statement to the electoral synod that all candidates had to submit, London wrote: “I am committed to equal participation in all sacraments for LGBTQ2S+ clergy and people….”
London succeeds the Rt. Rev. Dr. Jane Alexander who served as Bishop of Edmonton for 13 years. She had originally planned to retire in July 2020 but delayed for nine months citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The diocese of Edmonton consists of 52 urban and rural parishes in an area of more than 126,000 square kilometres stretching like a belt across central Alberta. To the north is the diocese of Athabasca while to the south are the dioceses of Kootenay and Calgary.
London’s consecration will take place on Sept. 18 at All Saints’ Cathedral in Edmonton. –With files from the Diocese of Edmonton
