Helen Kennedy was ordained the 13th bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Qu’Appelle on January 22, in the historic St. Paul’s Cathedral, Regina.
Kennedy was elected in a synod (diocesan conference) held October 16, 2021, using Zoom. She is the first female Bishop of Qu’Appelle, and also the first woman Anglican bishop in the civil province of Saskatchewan. The Diocese of Qu’Appelle covers the southern quarter of Saskatchewan.
Due to the pandemic situation, the Diocese of Qu’Appelle has suspended in-person worship. Only those required for the formal ordination and seating of the new bishop attended the service in the cathedral. The service was live-streamed so that others could attend virtually. There were close to 2000 views of the ceremony from around the world. The service was led by Archbishop Greg Kerr-Wilson of Calgary, metropolitan of the Anglican Church Province of Rupert’s Land, which encompasses the three prairie provinces and most of Canada’s North.
Archbishop Linda Nicholls, the Primate (chief bishop) of the Anglican Church of Canada, attended and participated in the laying-on-of-hands. Nicholls also presented a crosier (a shepherd’s crook), which is a sign of a bishop’s pastoral office, to the newly ordained bishop. Very Rev. Mike Sinclair, Dean of the Cathedral, officially seated the new bishop in her chair in the cathedral.
Bishop Kennedy was born and raised in Nuneaton, England, and moved to Winnipeg, MB in 1999, and to Regina in December 2021. She received an MA in Theological Studies at the Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg and a Bachelor of Theology from the University of Winnipeg in 2007. She said she is looking forward to exploring a new province and serving the clergy and people of the Diocese of Qu’Appelle.
