Summer’s new faces for the house of bishops

Bishop Andrew Atagotaaluk, currently a suffragan, or assistant bishop in the diocese of the Arctic, was elected co-adjutor bishop in May 25. The title means that he automatically became diocesan bishop when Bishop Chris Williams officially retired at the end of August.

Bishop Atagotaaluk, 51, is the first Inuit Anglican diocesan bishop.

Raised in Resolute Bay, N.W.T., he attended Stringer Hall residential school in Inuvik for six years. Run by the federal government, the school had Anglican and Roman Catholic residence halls.

As a young adult, Bishop Atagotaaluk worked as a diver for the federal Department of Renewable Resources and was a boat inspector for Transport Canada before attending the Theological Training Centre in Pangnirtung. He was ordained in 1975.

He is well-known for his involvement in evangelical ministry. Based at the church of St. James in Salluit, Que., he was elected suffragan bishop in May, 1999 after serving as a priest in Pond Inlet, Inukjuak, Spence Bay and Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut.

He has also served as a member of provincial synod and General Synod and a member of the Council on Native Ministries. He and his wife, Mary, have six children.

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Canon Benjamin Arreak, 54, was elected suffragan bishop of Nunavik (northern Quebec), succeeding Bishop Atagotaaluk, in May.

Canon Arreak was most recently incumbent of the parish of Kuujjuaq, Que. He was deputy prolocutor of General Synod from 1995 to 1998 and has served on several national committees. He and his wife, Susan, have eight children.

Bishop-elect Arreak is to be consecrated Sept. 15 at St. Jude?s Cathedral in Iqaluit.

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The diocese of Ontario elected Dean George Bruce, 60, as co-adjutor bishop in June, succeeding Bishop Peter Mason, who retires at the end of September.

Bishop-elect Bruce?s consecration will take place on Sept. 28 at St. George?s Cathedral in Kingston, Ont., where he has been incumbent since 2000.

Before his cathedral appointment, he served as rector of St. James the Apostle in Perth, Ont., and at two parishes in the diocese of Ottawa.

Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England in 1942, Bishop-elect Bruce moved with his family to the United States in 1953. Following high school in England and Montreal, he served in the Canadian Forces from 1959 to 1986. He received a history degree from the Royal Military College in Kingston and was ordained to the priesthood in 1987.

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In the diocese of Huron, Archdeacon Robert Franklin Bennett, 53, was elected on the sixth ballot on June 15 as suffragan, or assistant, bishop.

One of nine candidates nominated, Bishop-elect Bennett will be consecrated at St. Paul?s Cathedral this month. He will assist diocesan Bishop Bruce Howe.

Archdeacon Bennett is currently rector of All Saints Church, Windsor, Ont. and territorial archdeacon for the Essex.

Ordained in 1974, he has served at parishes in Simcoe, Port Ryerse, Paisley, Kitchener and Brantford, all in Ontario. He has served on a number of diocesan committees and been a delegate to General Synod.