After serving as the Anglican Church of Canada’s interim director of Resources for Mission (RfM) for two and a half years, Monica Patten announced her departure May 31.
Patten was named to the RfM post in 2013, not long after having retired from a 20-year stint as president and CEO of Community Foundations of Canada, a network of community funding organizations based in Ottawa. She had also served as chair of the RfM co-ordinating committee.
Among the highlights of her time as RfM interim director, Patten said, was work supporting Indigenous ministries, the Council of the North, global relations and youth-related projects.
“I was very excited about the kind of ministry that we were engaged in, and our work to build relationships with Anglicans and encourage their generosity,” she said in an interview. “I think it was a great honour to tell them about those ministries…and invite them to express their love and their concern for those ministries through their generosity.
“It was very, very exciting to see that happen, and we saw it a lot,” Patten said.
Archdeacon Michael Thompson, general secretary of the Anglican Church of Canada, said Patten had taken the helm of RfM at a “very challenging moment in its life.
“She has worked hard with staff, committee members, volunteers and colleagues to strengthen and stabilize Resources for Mission, accomplish significant change, and foster good relationships with our partners in the Primate’s Fund, Anglican Foundation and the dioceses we serve,” leaving RfM “a much stronger ministry than when she began,” Thompson said.
In a presentation to Council of General Synod (CoGS) this March, Patten announced RfM had raised slightly more in 2015 than the previous year-$912,932, according to as-yet unaudited figures, which was $2,333 more than in 2014.
Aside from annual giving, RfM is also involved in gift planning, stewardship education and congregational giving programs.
Patten’s past work for the church also includes chairing General Synod’s financial management committee for six years, as well as serving as campaign co-chair for the diocese of Ottawa’s “Growing in Faith Together” campaign.
In 2013, Patten was named a member of the Order of Canada for her work in the volunteer sector. She received the Anglican Award of Merit, which recognizes Canadian lay people for their contribution to the church, in 2010.
Patten said her plans for the future include working in her garden and possibly taking courses, while continuing to volunteer for the diocese of Ottawa, where she makes her home.
