Michael Hawkins was elected bishop of the diocese of Saskatchewan on Dec. 6 at a synod held at St. Alban’s Cathedral in Prince Albert. Bishop-elect Hawkins, who has served as the rector at St. Alban’s Cathedral and as dean of Saskatchewan since 2001, was voted in by a decisive margin in both clergy and lay houses on the first ballot.
Bishop-elect Hawkins was pleased but said he was also apprehensive about the challenges of his new job. He mentioned the need to develop a missionary or strategic plan. “A big part of that plan for the future will be moving towards a more self-determining aboriginal church in the diocese,” he said. The diocese is also still struggling with the fallout from residential schools. Healing and reconciliation “will take time and work and prayer,” he said.
Moving toward financial self-sufficiency will also be a big challenge, but Bishop-elect Hawkins said: ” I look forward to the support of the people and the clergy in the diocese as well as diocesan bishops in our province and nationally.”
He was rector of two parishes in the diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island – Pugwash and River John, and Petite Riviere and New Dublin. He will be consecrated as bishop on March 6.
