Sean Frankling

  • Sean Frankling’s experience includes newspaper reporting as well as writing for video and podcast media. He’s been chasing stories since his first co-op for Toronto’s Gleaner Community Press at age 19. He studied journalism at Carleton University and has written for the Toronto Star, WatchMojo and other outlets.

ARTICLES

Archbishop Chris Harper (left) praised the abilities of his fellow Indigenous ministries leaders, the Rev. Rosalyn Elm (centre left), Rosie Jane Tailfeathers (centre right), and Bishop Murray Still (right) at a Nov. 9 presentation on the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples' work. Photo: Sean Frankling

Indigenous church introduces mental health programs

National Indigenous Archbishop Chris Harper has announced he will slow down his schedule of travel in 2025 following two years of extensive visits to church communities across the country. 

Voices of caution raised at CoGS discussion of church-changing ‘hypotheses’

The church should stop to consider how the work done by General Synod or the ecclesiastical provinces would be replaced before it responds to a suggestion by a primatial commission to eliminate one of those levels of governance, Archbishop Anne Germond, acting primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, told members of Council of General Synod (CoGS) Nov. 9.

Both clergy and parishioners, Penner says, can be either perpetrators or victims of abuse and harassment. Photo: Gordenkoff

Sexual misconduct policy in spotlight across church

Across the Anglican Church of Canada, governing bodies from the national to the diocesan level are in the process of reviewing, updating and in some cases introducing for the first time sexual misconduct policies.

While AI creators prophesy dramatic futures for their technology, the simpler generative AI tools already available are a source for enthusiasm for some in the church—and a source of suspicion for others. Image: agsandrew/Shutterstock

Anglicans wrestle with potential uses, pitfalls of artificial intelligence

All across the bustling show floor at Collision 2024, startup companies display laptops, flyers and signs promising to apply artificial intelligence (AI) to security, data analytics, online shopping, code optimization—on and on it goes. Between quirky intro and outro music, panels of experts at the North American tech expo give prognostications ranging from the optimistic (AI will drastically increase productivity) to the very optimistic (AI will boost longevity to the point of making everyone immortal) to the catastrophic (AI will interfere with democracy or become a threat to human life)

Rupert’s Land asks for prayers after bishop diagnosed with terminal cancer

Bishop of the diocese of Rupert’s Land Geoffrey Woodcroft has been admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of cancer shortly after announcing his intention to retire in June 2025. The diocese’s executive archdeacon Simon Blaikie told the Anglican Journal Woodcroft made the announcement on the final day of the diocesan synod, Oct. 19, then felt unwell and was in the hospital within 12 hours. He was diagnosed with cancer, said Blaikie, and has gone on sick leave, expecting to transition directly into long-term disability leave. Blaikie confirmed a Facebook post that the cancer had been diagnosed as terminal. The diocese is asking for prayers and held a mass for his healing and comfort Oct. 23. 

PWRDF to change name to Alongside Hope

Members of the board of the Anglican Church of Canada’s global charity arm, until now known as the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), have voted to rename it Alongside Hope.  

‘The most mind-blowing “I don’t know” I’d ever heard’

The Rev. Ben Tshin is a priest at St. Paul’s Bloor Street in Toronto. Tshin says many of those who engage with St. Paul’s for the first time do so through its ESL program, which invites members of the communities in to hone their English skills and—perhaps more importantly—find a sense of belonging among people who have similar experiences as newcomers to Canada. Often, he says, it attracts people whose English is already very strong, but who are just looking for somewhere to make friends. In the process, he says, the program exposes them to the church’s sanctuary space, developing a sense that they are safe and welcome there even as they form community ties.

Members of the Moosonee synod gather in a circle to give thanks for God’s providence and their renewed hopes for the future as a diocese. Photo: George Cribbs

Moosonee votes to have its own bishop again

The synod of the diocese of Moosonee voted unanimously June 26 to elect a dedicated bishop for the first time in a decade—a milestone in the history of the regional church, according to Archbishop Anne Germond, metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Ontario and currently the bishop ministering to Moosonee. 

It will likely take more than nine months to create a profile of the diocese’s demographics and ministries, select candidates for bishop based on how well they fit the profile and hold an election, Germond says.  

Bishop of the Arctic to retire at year’s end

Bishop of the diocese of the Arctic David Parsons has announced he will retire Dec. 31, 2024. In a career he describes as beginning with a small voice calling him to share the gospel despite his reluctance, Parsons today says his greatest highlight was meeting the people of the Arctic, whom he was called to share it with. 

This concept image shows a mixed-use affordable rental and community housing development proposal for St. Matthew's Regina in the diocese of Qu'Appelle by real estate company Arwel Living and the Trinity Centres Foundation. Image provided by Trinity Centres Foundation

Redeveloping the house of God

Amid land use anxieties, churches seek to hold and transform rather than sell off property “If I could, I’d burn it all down and start

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