PRAYING FOR VICTORIA STAFF

On June 2, when General Synod will be in its sixth day of difficult deliberations, Bishop Victoria Matthews of Edmonton will be undergoing surgery for breast cancer. She will be in recovery when the new primate is installed at Christ Church Cathedral in Hamilton.

Prior to her sudden diagnosis, Bishop Matthews was a strong contender for the primacy and her withdrawal from the election shocked everyone. If elected, Bishop Matthews would have been the first female primate in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

In a letter to her diocese sent May 19, Bishop Matthews said the diagnosis was "a surprise." But she added, "I am at peace with what must be done. The love of God is everlasting and I am strong in my faith in Jesus Christ, the great physician, and the healing power of the Holy Spirit.

"Of course I ask and welcome your prayers, and I'll make sure you are informed, on a timely basis, about my progress," she said. "There is the expectation of full recovery. As far as I'm concerned I have lots more ministry ahead of me."

Chemotherapy and probably radiation treatment will follow. She is expected to be on medical disability leave for up to one year.

She also withdrew her name as a nominee for the office of the diocesan bishop of Toronto. And her own diocesan synod might be postponed until May, 2005.

"Victoria is a person who faces adversity with steadiness and grace," said Ron Ferris, Bishop of Algoma and one of the remaining candidates. "She is deeply rooted in the life of prayer, radiating serenity, and pointing us to Christ."

In her "Vision of the Primacy" Matthews wrote, "At this time relationships within the [worldwide Anglican] Communion are threatened. Recognizing that every province has something to teach and much to learn, I believe we need to strengthen our commitment to the Communion and our common faith."

She wrote of the dioceses and parishes of the ACC, "There is a distressing tendency to think that we don't need each other…. Moral and prophetic leadership are especially important in times of crisis.

"Canada is not a Christian country," Matthews continued, but that doesn't mean there is no place for the prophetic call to peace and justice. It is the Church's vocation in Christ to waken the conscience of Canada."

A native of Toronto, Matthews was the first female bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada and is the country's only female diocesan bishop.

Her manner with her episcopal colleagues is firm but gracious.

Blessed with a fine intellect, Matthews received her Masters of Divinity from Yale and her Masters of Theology from Trinity College, Toronto. But she has also taught twice in an inner city school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

As a single woman she enjoys reading, swimming and hiking. She has led young people in various pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostelo, Spain, Taize, France, and Iona, Scotland. When the youth were weary and ready to drop, Matthews would urge them on, setting the pace.

Now is the time to encourage the Bishop in her personal pilgrimage, when the journey is particularly rough.

Please pray for Bishop Matthews:

Almighty God, giver of all health and healing: Grant to this thy servant Victoria, such a sense of thy presence that she may have perfect trust in thee. In all her suffering may she cast her care upon thee, so that, enfolded in thy love and power, she may receive from thee health and salvation according to thy gracious will; though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p. 580)