Tribute: Geoffrey Peddle
By Sue Careless
THE DIOCESAN BISHOP of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Peddle, died suddenly on Oct. 8th at the age of 57. Recently Bp Peddle had been placed on medical leave by his physician for an indefinite period.
Bp Peddle had served as bishop for six years and was set to retire at the end of December. A virtual electoral synod will be held on Nov. 28th.
The Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada, the Most Rev. David Edwards, has approved the appointment of Archdeacon Sam Rose to act as the Administrator of the Diocese until a new bishop is elected.
Bp Peddle was born in Bonavista the son of a railroad worker and grew up in Newfoundland in the communities of Trinity, Lethbridge and Whitbourne. He earned his BA and MA degrees from Memorial University in St John’s, a Master of Divinity from Queen’s College in the same city, then a PhD in Empirical Theology from Cardiff University in Wales.
Ordained in 1987, he served in the Newfoundland Parishes of Lake Melville, Arnold’s Cove, Ascension and the Parish of the Good Shepherd. He also served as Diocesan Executive Officer and most recently as Provost and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s College.
He was the author of various academic articles and books, notably, From Mount Pearl to Mount Sinai, The Atonement of Jack Fowler, The Church Lads’ Brigade in Newfoundland: A People’s Story and The Church of England Orphanage in Newfoundland: 1855-1969.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Kathy, a recently retired nurse, and their two adult sons, Adam and Benjamin, as well as a new grandchild. His obituary noted that donations in the bishop’s memory would be welcome for causes he supported, including The Home Again Furniture Bank, The Food Sharing Association, Roots of Empathy, Godly Play Canada or the PWRDF.
The diocese is located on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and stretches across most of Labrador. With 37 parishes and over 30,000 members, it supports a large range of parish, teaching and institutional ministries for people of all ages.
In his book The Church Lads’ Brigade, Peddle wrote:
“The earliest presence of the Anglican Church in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced to stopovers by various military chaplains and visiting clerics in the 16th and 17th centuries. Their stays were often quite brief and not conducive to the development of permanent ecclesiastical structures. It was not until 1701, under the auspices of the Bishop of London and later the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (S.P.G.), that the first resident clergyman was appointed. In 1787 Newfoundland was placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Nova Scotia and in 1839 received its first resident Bishop, Aubrey George Spencer, when diocesan status was granted. His Episcopal jurisdiction included both the island of Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador, as well as Bermuda in the Caribbean.” TAP
