Chapter 20. Election of Bishop G.E. Lloyd--Archdeacon Dewdney becomes Bishop of Keewatin

On November 30th, 1921 a special Synod of the Diocese was called for the purpose of electing a Bishop in succession to Bishop Newnham. The Synod was convened by Archdeacon J. A. Mackay, the Administrator of the Diocese, and Archdeacon A. D. Dewdney, the Commissary.

Special services were held in the morning when devotional periods were conducted by the two Archdeacons. In the afternoon the business of the Synod was attended to, but the first item of business was the presentation to Archdeacon Dewdney of a Memorial Address together with a set of episcopal robes. These were in recognition of his election as Bishop of the Diocese of Keewatin. He had been elected on October 19th by the Bishops and Electoral Committee of the Synod of the Province of Rupert's Land which had met in Winnipeg.

In making the presentation, Archdeacon Mackay expressed the thanks and appreciation of the members of Synod for his devotion and faithful service to the church in this Diocese for the previous 16 years, together with their congratulations on his appointment as a Bishop, and their regret at the forthcoming departure of himself and Mrs. Dewdney. Archdeacon Dewdney replied, expressing his thanks and his regret at severing his relations with the Diocese.

The Diocesan W. A. then presented Mrs. Dewdney with an Address and a Dominion Life Membership, and the Junior W.A. presented her with a bouquet, while the women of St. Alban's Cathedral presented her with a silver tea service. After the reply of Mrs. Dewdney, the Synod then undertook the business for which they were assembled.

There were present at the Synod at the roll call 59 clerical and 70 lay delegates. The result of the first ballot, while inconclusive, strongly indicated the lead of Dr. Lloyd in the balloting. The only other serious contender, both by clerical and lay votes, was Archdeacon R. D. McElheran of Winnipeg. The second ballot resulted in the election of Dr. Lloyd, although Archdeacon McElheran again had a strong following in both the clerical and lay votes. Archdeacon McElheran had been the preacher at a previous Synod, and later was to become the Principal of Wycliffe College in Toronto.

Archdeacon Mackay declared Dr. Lloyd elected and the secretary was instructed to cable him in England, asking for a reply. The Synod re-assembled on the following day when the cable from Dr. Lloyd was read to the members, reading as follows: "Please thank Synod for confidence. I accept election and, God helping, will do my best for the Diocese." Signed--George Exton Lloyd.

Following Dr. Lloyd's return to England in 1916 to undertake special work for the C. and C.C.S., he had undertaken special work as Director of a new organization named the Fellowship of the Maple Leaf. The purpose of this organization was to supply British teachers for the schools in the North-West, particularly in foreign settlements where the British culture and the English language were often very little known or understood. Consequently, it was necessary for the new Bishop to make arrangements for the transfer of the work to someone else, and to return with his family to Canda. As a result, his consecration did not take place until March 12th, 1922 at St. John's Church, Saskatoon.

[92] In the meantime, Archdeacon Dewdney resigned his offices in the Diocese of Saskatchewan and was consecrated as Bishop of Keewatin by Archbishop Samuel P. Matheson of Rupert's Land in the Pro-Cathedral Church of St. Alban's at Kenora, Ontario, on Sunday, December 11th, 1921. As a result, it was possible for Bishop Dewdney to return to Prince Albert for the consecration of Bishop Lloyd at St. John's Church in Saskatoon.

Bishop Dewdney's early life had been spent for the most time in Toronto, where he attended the University and graduated in Theology from Wycliffe College. In 1886 he was ordained Deacon by Bishop Baldwin of Huron, and Priest the following year. He was in charge of several parishes in the Diocese of Huron from the time of his ordination until he went to St. James Church, St. John, New Brunswick, in 1894. Here he served for 12 years before becoming Rector of St. Alban's Pro-Cathedral in Saskatchewan. The value of his work in the Diocese of Saskatchewan does not need to be further enlarged upon, since the remarks of Bishop Newnham at his last Synod and other references that have been made to him will provide sufficient evidence of the remarkable contribution that he made during his stay in this Diocese.

At the Synod when Bishop Lloyd was elected Bishop, a special resolution had been passed asking the attention of the Archbishop to be directed to the desirability of the consecration taking place in St. John's Church, Saskatoon, in view of its growing importance and influence in Saskatchewan. Fortunately, a full report of the consecration ceremony has been preserved, in which we are told that the church which was designed to accommodate 1200 people was literally packed to the doors, with more than 1400 persons presenting themselves for admission.

In addition to the church choir, consisting of men, women and boys, the participants in the procession and service included the divinity students of Emmanuel College, the Deacons and Priests who were the Diocesan clergy, the dignitaries, the Principal of Emmanuel College, Canon Paul, Canon Strong and Archdeacon Mackay, Judge A. E. Doak who had by this time become the Chancellor of the Diocese, the Reverend Canon James of Toronto who was the special preacher, together with the Bishops of Keewatin and Edmonton, Qu'Appelle and Calgary, and the Metropolitan and Primate of all Canada, the Most Reverend S. P. Matheson, the Archbishop of Rupert's Land.

In the course of his sermon, Canon James of Toronto referred to his 40 years of friendship with Bishop Lloyd, and stated that he had never known him to do a mean thing; he had never known him to shirk a duty; he had never gone behind peoples' backs--but always spoke to their faces. He was one who never spared himself but had spent his life with dauntless courage and tireless energy in the service; service for his brother man, for his country and for Christ. He urged the prayers of those present that God would now further endow him by the gift of the Holy Ghost, with power, with wisdom, with patience, that he might be a true Father in God to his people.

Members and delegates of the Diocese were present from every part of the Diocese, from The Pas in the Province of Manitoba to the Parish of Manville in the Province of Alberta. Among the visitors also, was Dean H. W. K. Mowll of Wycliffe College, Toronto, who had just been appointed Assistant Bishop of Western China, and who later became Archbishop in Australia.

The enthronement of Bishop Lloyd was held on the following Sunday, March 20th, in St. Alban's Pro-Cathedral, Prince Albert.

As at the consecration service in Saskatoon, once again the church was filled to overflowing, many being turned away because of the inadequacy of St. Alban's to contain the many who attended.

[93] After the ceremony of enthronement, the Bishop entered the pulpit to preach the special sermon for the occasion. Speaking from the story of Elisha in the Second Book of Kings, Chapter 6, Verse 16, "Fear not, they that be with us are more than they that be with them", the Bishop described the world as being in a state of great unrest. Nevertheless, it was a time for Christians to stand firm, taking comfort from the words of the Prophet to his man servant when faced with the Syrians. Not only must they stand firm but they must be prepared to repel the forces of evil.

Referring to the difficulty of the servant in accepting Elisha's assurance that deliverance would arrive, the Bishop suggested that the same cry was being heard from people all over the world ever since the days of the World War. The answer for the church was the same as that which Elisha had given to his man servant, and the church must show the same faith in God and in Christ that the man servant showed in Elisha.

The need today, the Bishop said, was for firm belief and spiritual conviction, to appreciate the fact that the power of God which was unseen, was greater than the dangers that were seen. The message "Fear not" was for the church today. We needed to have our spiritual eyes opened and see ourselves stripped of our conventionalities, then we would be able to see and appreciate the eternal forces and use them for our own salvation and that of others.

Thus began an episcopate which was to be marked by the same dynamic leadership which had characterized Bishop Lloyd's ministry, both as Archdeacon of Prince Albert and as Principal of Emmanuel College. In the years that followed, new patterns were to unfold which would change the working and administrative programs not only of the Diocese of Saskatchewan but of the church at large.

When Bishop Lloyd convened his first Synod three months later in Prince Albert, he referred to the fact that he had returned home. He mentioned his first visit to Saskatchewan as a young soldier of the Queens Own Rifles of Toronto in 1885, and that he still carried the marks of that campaign. Again in 1903 he had come out with what he spoke of as "that other Army of over 3000 settlers who went into the valley of the Saskatchewan and founded the colony stretching from Battleford to Vermilion." During his visitation of that part of the Diocese after his consecration, he mentioned the fact that he had confirmed two whom he had baptized during those early years. One was a baby that had been born on the long trail of 1903 and was baptized in one of the open-air centres, the other was a girl of 18 who had been baptized in what was known in the early days as St. Peters at the Gully. He explained that St. Peters in 1903 was a sod shack and this girl as a baby had come to every service in an English clothes basket, her conduct being remarkably good and never once having upset the service by crying!

Bishop Lloyd went on to speak of his having left that area of the Diocese in order to find men for the new missions that were needed all over the Diocese. That need took him over the water every third year to find clergy, students and money for Emmanuel College and its maintenance, a work which had kept him busy until the outbreak of war had practically closed the College in 1915. The Bishop then went on to speak of the work in which he had been engaged in England from 1916, when there were few or no men to be had and he had given his time and efforts in gathering up qualified women teachers who would go into the schools, white and foreign, and while earning their living by teaching the ordinary government subjects, would put their heart into it and inculcate a British and Christian spirit. This work had developed into the organization of the Fellowship of the Maple Leaf, and [93/94] with the Bishop's return to Canada to accept his new responsibilities the Reverend P. J. Andrews had gone to England to take up the work which he had been doing. Mr. Andrews was later appointed a Canon and continued to direct the valuable work of the F.M.L. for many years. Bishop Lloyd's interest in education had been manifest from the time of his organization of the Boys School at Rothesay in the Maritimes during his early ministry, and his continuation of that interest was displayed in his re-organization of the Divinity School and Emmanuel College. The Bishop continued that while in England canvassing for students for the Divinity College, he had asked for teachers for the prairie schools and ultimately the Teachers Hostel in Saskatoon was the result, a work which had been supported by the C. and C.C.S.

Bishop Lloyd illustrated the value of the work by mentioning some of those who had responded to the call for teachers, including one young teacher who was teaching 50 miles from anywhere with very few visitors, no church nearby, and 28 children in school--eight of whom were Germans, seven Austrians, five Serbians, five Scandinavians and three English. He mentioned that they could now speak English and in his presence stood up and repeated a Psalm and sang a hymn from memory, and then answered all kinds of questions on the flag, on their homes, and on religion. All their cultural and spiritual values had been inculcated not by Sunday School, because they were too far from one, but as a result of the light that had been given to them by the teacher who had come in their midst as a result of the Fellowship of the Maple Leaf.

When Bishop Lloyd arrived in the Diocese, he came to the conclusion that Bishop Newnham's residence was too large a building for him to maintain. Consequently, since Archdeacon Dewdney had left the Diocese for his new responsibility in the Diocese of Keewatin, Bishop Lloyd had the Archdeacon's house renovated and had taken up his residence there. He asked the Synod's guidance as to whether they were in favour of his continuing to live there or whether they felt that the dignity of the Diocese required him keeping up the larger building which he felt was beyond his financial ability. His concern was directed at extricating the Diocese from debt as soon as possible, and staffing the vacant missions with men, and for this reason he wanted all the income available spent on church extension. He made the suggestion that a residence for young men, similar to that provided for girls at St. Alban's College, was required; and that the house that Bishop Newnham had lived in could well be used for this purpose.

The executive committee had endorsed the suggestion and a special committee was appointed at the Synod to examine the matter, as a result of which it was moved that the offer of the Bishop for the use of Bishopsthorpe as an Anglican Boys Hostel be accepted, and the necessary arrangements for staff and equipment and salaries and fees be undertaken by a special committee, with the authority of the Synod to make a loan in order to make the project possible.

The Bishop spoke at length in a carefully prepared statement on the position of women in the councils and ministration of the church. He pointed out that this matter had received considerable study and attention, both in the recent Lambeth Conference and also at the General Synod of the previous year. The Lambeth Conference had pronounced that women should be admitted to those councils of the church to which laymen are admitted, and on equal terms. Decisions were to be made on the level of local Synods, and the Primate had recommended that the Diaconate of Women should be restored formally and canonically, and should be recognized in the Anglican communion.

[95] In view of the fact that Deaconess Mabel Jones had been appointed to the Diocese through the arrangement of Bishop Newnham, Bishop Lloyd had studied the matter very carefully and fully endorsed the sentiments of the Lambeth Conference. He therefore announced that in his judgement the Canon of the General Synod; the service of ordination used, and the letters of orders and license issued to Deaconess Mabel Jones, "constituted her clergy" and that as such she would be called to take her seat on the floor of Synod the following year together with any other Deaconess whose standing was found on enquiry to be the same.

The action of Lambeth and the General Synod at this time initiated the beginning of the emphasis not only upon the place of women in the councils of the church but also in the church's ministry, an emphasis which has been redeveloped and strengthened with the passage of the years up to the present day.

Bishop Lloyd paid tribute to the zealous work of Professor Hopkins who had been carrying on the work of Emmanuel College almost single-handed. He expressed the hope that some day he might become Principal of the College for which he had worked so hard, but announced that at the last meeting of the Board the Rev. Professor W. T. Hallam of Wycliffe College, Toronto, had accepted the offer of the Principalship of Emmanuel and would begin his work in September.

A welcome was also extended to the Reverend Walter Burd who had been ordained Deacon. Originally a student of Emmanuel College until war broke out, he had won personal distinction and a fine record. Returning badly wounded from the war, he had taken up his studies in Wycliffe College while in attendance at the hospital. Subsequently he became general secretary for the Brotherhood of St. Andrew and had done splendid work in that connection. For the sake of the work among Laymen, he had remained without ordination until recently, but by virtue of his years and experience he could be considered senior to many men who had been ordained for a number of years. Bishop Lloyd referred to him as a fine soldier of the King, a real Christian and an all-round good fellow.

The Bishop explained that in his opinion, as a result of Diocesan indebtedness, it would be preferable for the Diocese to remain without an Archdeacon for white work until the financial situation could be stabilized. As a result, he requested the Rural Deans to take over such share of the Archdeacon's work as was possible and to keep him advised by reports until the appointment of an Archdeacon could once again coordinate this situation.

The Synod was unanimous in welcoming Dr. Lloyd in his new capacity as Bishop of the Diocese, and looked forward with confidence to his wise administration of the Diocese in view of the many problems that existed. Many of the reports that were presented made reference to the serious situation which existed with regard to the need both for more clergy and for the necessary funds to sustain them. Included in these reports were those of Archdeacon Mackay representing the Indian work of the Diocese, the Rev. H. Sherstone, the general missionary, and most of the Rural Deans.

While some of the men who had volunteered for service during the war had returned, some had not come back to the Diocese and additional missions were becoming necessary as the result of Soldier settlements which had been created after the war had concluded. This was resulting in new areas being taken up for settlement and, while not as far-reaching in their effect as the wave of immigration which had begun in 1903, considerable concern was felt at the number of church people who were still unshepherded. The disorganization of the work at Emmanuel College during the war years had also delayed the return of. students to the Diocese for Summer work [95/96] and as ordinands, and it would still be some time before any large increase could be anticipated in this regard.

Financially it was noted that because of financial problems of the C. and C.C.S., the grant from this organization was necessarily being curtailed. A more serious problem existed with regard to the financial arrangements which had previously been possible through the C.M.S., which in 1920 had arranged to hand over its work to the Canadian Church through the M.S.C.C. As a final contribution to the work, the C.M.S. had made a contribution of £25,000 and it was generally understood that the income of this endowment was to be applied to the support of the work that the C.M.S. was handing over to the Canadian Church. In addition to this, the M.S.C.C. had undertaken a financial appeal which was called the Anglican Forward Movement to make provision for the support of the Indian Missions by raising an endowment of half a million dollars for this purpose.

Archdeacon Mackay reported that as a matter of procedure the M.S.C.C. had decided that the funds that had been provided by C.M.S. and by the Forward Movement should first be utilized for the support of the educational institutions of the church such as the Indian Boarding Schools, leaving the question of the Indian Missions for further careful examination and consideration. Archdeacon Mackay went on to say that of the three Indian Residential Schools in the Diocese, two had been self-supporting and the third one was rapidly moving in that direction. As a consequence, it meant that the growing work among the Indian population in the missions was not receiving the support to which they were entitled, and which it was imperative that they should receive if the work was to be maintained.

Therefore, the Archdeacon suggested there seemed to be no urgent reason why the Board should take over the control of the Residential Schools but very urgent reasons why they should come to the assistance of the mission work. He suggested that "they could not for a moment imagine that the Eastern members of the Board of Management have any other idea than to do what seems best, in the interest of the work; a better knowledge of the real condition of things is what they need, and it is for us to endeavour to make the position clear to them." Archdeacon Mackay concluded his report by saying "The present misapplication of the Indian and Eskimo endowment fund does not concern us only, but it concerns every Diocese that has Indian Missions."

In the report the Archdeacon had mentioned that there were forty-two Indian Reserves in the Diocese, on twenty-nine of which the Diocese was working. Thirteen Reserves were entirely Anglican in their membership, and on sixteen other Reserves they were divided between the Anglican and the Roman Catholic Churches. The Diocese had at that time ten ordained missionaries, one of whom was supported by the Diocesan W.A., and another by the Sunday Schools. In every organized mission, the Indians were contributing to the support of the missionary as well as towards all other objects called for by the Synod. On these Reserves there were eighteen churches and three school chapels and the hope was to have four more churches in course of erection before long

The reports of the acting Principal of Emmanuel College, the Divinity Students Committee, and the general missionary, all reflected concern with the situation with regard to manpower. However, they were a little more optimistic, as Mr. Sherstone reported that for the first time in many years a number of students had occupied missions in the field, and that in nearly every case the people had provided them with a pony and saddle besides paying the largest share of the stipend. A request had been made for stipends for two more superintending clergy in view of the difficulty of Mr. Sherstone [96/97] doing the work of the Archdeacon as well as those responsibilities which he had himself assumed. He remarked that it was imperative to have more workers in the field in order to maintain constant and regular contact with the members of the churches.

Twenty-five men had been in residence at Emmanuel College during the academic year which concluded in May 1922, twenty-one of whom were Diocesan students. Since almost every student had gone to vacant mission fields for the Summer months and several more Diocesan students were expected in the following year, the situation seemed to hold greater promise than it had done for some time.

As a result of the alarm expressed by the Divinity Students Committee that the funds available were insufficient to meet the requirements of the students wishing to attend the College, a special resolution was moved by Canon E. V. Smith and seconded by Prof. Hopkins that owing to the serious need for increased funds to provide for the training of Diocesan students, the Synod pledge itself to make an earnest effort to secure both men and money for the work of the ministry in the Diocese, and that special offerings should be solicited from all congregations for contributions and bursaries for the education of local applicants for the Christian ministry.

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