(In an exciting development, the Revd. Chris Dow, one of the national Vice-Chairmen of the PBSC, was appointed in the summer of 2024 as the chaplain of Wycliffe College in Toronto. Half a year after his appointment, Fr. Dow describes his experiences since arriving at the College.)
After serving for over two years in Iqaluit, my wife and children and I decided to move south for family reasons, and also because an exciting new opportunity became available. I am now the Chaplain and Director of Field Education at Wycliffe College, Toronto.
It was as a student at Wycliffe 15 years ago that I first discovered the Prayer Book – and it was the daily rhythm of morning and evening prayer in the college chapel that drew me into Anglicanism. I am pleased that the Prayer Book is still used in the Wycliffe chapel for half of each semester and that the history and ethos of the Prayer Book are still taught in several courses. This is thanks in large part to Bishop Stephen Andrews, a long-time supporter of the Book of Common Prayer, who will retire from his role as Principal in June. We are grateful for his promotion of the Prayer Book over his entire career of parish, episcopal and academic ministry.
My role includes overseeing chapel services, student placements, and pastoral care to students. Additionally, I teach a course I inherited from my predecessor called “Life Together”, named after Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book of the same title. In addition to Bonhoeffer, we also read the Rule of St. Benedict and introduce students to an Anglican Benedictine spirituality founded upon daily prayer, especially psalmody.
I have delighted in getting to know the students and feel stimulated being back in an academic setting. I have also enjoyed renewing connections with Toronto-area BCP parishes and their clergy.
Although I work in Toronto, my family and I have settled in my hometown of Kingston. During academic term, I typically commute into Toronto on Sunday evenings and stay through at the college until Thursday afternoons. In Kingston, I am an honorary assistant at St. John’s, Portsmouth.
I am delighted that our National Chairman, Fr. Gordon Maitland, is moving to Kingston in April and that Bp. Cliff of Ontario has recently agreed to become our new episcopal visitor. With all of us being in Kingston, it has also made sense to move the Society’s general mailing address there. I’m excited for the opportunity that this will allow for us to brainstorm and collaborate on new initiatives for the Society.