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Synod Council met Tuesday, June 23rd at St. Paul’s, Kingston and online. For the opening devotions and in recognition of the National Indigenous Day of Prayer, Bishop William read the opening verses of John’s Gospel from the First Nations Version (FNV) and concluded with a prayer.

In his opening remarks Bishop William shared his schedule over the past month and expressed gratitude for the life of Archbishop Percy O’Driscoll whose funeral he attended on May 27th. He also thanked the many members from across the diocese who attended the funeral for Wendy Pierson on June 18th and gave thanks for her life and her many contributions to the life of the diocese. During the opening remarks it was announced that Commander the Venerable Jennifer Gosse was elected Bishop Ordinary for the Anglican Military Ordinariate. The bishop also announced that he will be appointing Elizabeth Matthews from the ACW to Synod Council effective September, 2026. In addition to marking the National Indigenous Day of Prayer on June 21st the bishop was also pleased to recognize World Refugee Day (June 17th ) by attending a Refugee Sunday service at St. Lawrence, Brockville on June 14th and also a ‘thank you’ event held by DOORS on June 18th where sponsors and sponsoring groups were recognized for their good work over the years.

Under new business, Archdeacon Bill Clarke brought forward a motion to designate October 25, 2026, as ‘Alongside Hope Sunday.’ Resources for this day will be made available. Archdeacon Jane Humphreys brought forward a motion on behalf of St. Paul’s Cardinal to proceed with roof repairs. Both motions carried.

In a presentation to Synod Council, Mark Hauser, communications officer, outlined the role and challenges of communications within the diocese, emphasizing its importance in supporting operations, resourcing parishes, and strengthening community engagement. He highlighted existing communication channels such as the Diocese of Ontario website, Facebook, YouTube and eNews Weekly. A key focus of the presentation was the decline of the diocesan newspaper Dialogue, which has been driven less by failing readership than by a sharp drop in volunteer-generated content. In response, Mark proposes replacing it with a curated digital magazine published a few times per year, featuring intentional, high-quality stories about diocesan ministries and themes. He will work on further planning and rebranding with a potential launch target of spring 2027, positioning the new format as a more sustainable and engaging communications tool.

For the financial report, Joyce Williams, director of finance, highlighted the ongoing work to stabilize and modernize finance operations amid staff transitions, with a strong focus on cross-training to ensure continuity, compliance, and shared knowledge across the team. She expressed her thanks for Laura Conway and the work she has readily undertaken. Joyce outlined several system updates, including the replacement of an outgoing HR platform with an integrated, self-service database, the introduction of automated payroll invoicing to improve efficiency and audit processes, and collaboration with the Diocese of Algoma to share software costs. Joyce also noted the growing role of artificial intelligence in finance with future policy development anticipated.

A report focused on managing diocesan property and updating policies was given by Jane Humphreys. She shared that there are currently 11 vacant church properties and that efforts are underway to assess building conditions, coordinate with realtors, and plan sales, transfers, or demolitions. This is work that must be phased due to budget impacts. On the policy side, Jane noted the need to address emerging issues such as artificial intelligence, while also improving access to existing policies, such as the clergy vacation policy that had been previously difficult to locate.

The Church of the Good Shepherd, Kingston, held their last on-site worship service on June 21st. The remaining members will relocate to other churches. Thanks were expressed to James Hopkins, Licensed Lay Reader, for his faithful commitment to preparing and often leading Sunday morning services, and for his care of the building and property.

The next Synod Council meeting will be on Tuesday, September 22nd at St. Paul’s, Kingston.

The approval of the minutes of the June 23rd meeting is pending. For questions about Synod Council, please contact the Ven. Jane Humphreys, diocesan executive officer, by email at jhumphreys@ontario.anglican.ca or by phone 613-777-0540.