Peter Irish, of Minto, N.B., diocese of Fredericton, on March 11 resigned as deputy prolocutor of General Synod, one of the nine national offices of the Anglican Church of Canada.
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22).
Peter Irish, of Minto, N.B., diocese of Fredericton, on March 11 resigned as deputy prolocutor of General Synod, one of the nine national offices of the Anglican Church of Canada.
In an interview, Mr. Irish said he was feeling overworked by a number of church commitments.
“I had started to run out of steam,” said Mr. Irish, who is 58. In addition to his national church duties, he is active at the parish level (his wife, Eileen, is a priest at St. Michael and All Angels in Minto and St. Augustine of Canterbury in Chipman, N.B.). He also is leading a $1.25 million campaign to raise funds for the diocesan summer camps, Medley and Brookwood. An avid sailor, Mr. Irish also has several grandchildren with whom he spends time. “Something had to go. This is a chance to step back and catch my breath,” Mr. Irish added.
Mr. Irish has been involved with the church on the national and provincial levels. He has served as chair of the General Synod planning committee, chair of the national church’s agenda committee and a member of the communications and information resources committee. He is also a previous member of the Council of General Synod (CoGS), which governs the church between triennial General Synod meetings, and was prolocutor for two terms of the ecclesiastical (church) province of Canada, which includes the eastern part of the country.
The deputy prolocutor chairs meetings in the absence of the primate (the national archbishop) or the prolocutor. The officers of General Synod are: the primate (acting as president), general secretary, prolocutor, deputy prolocutor, chancellor (legal officer), vice chancellor, treasurer and two officers at large.
Mr. Irish was elected at the 2004 meeting of General Synod in St. Catharines, Ont. to a three-year term. Nominations for his successor are currently being received at the national office in Toronto, according to an announcement from General Secretary Michael Pollesel. CoGS is scheduled to elect a new deputy prolocutor at its May 11-14 meeting in Mississauga, Ont.
