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Bishop John Stephens has appointed the Reverend Nick Pang to the position of Special Assistant to the Bishop and he will be appointed Diocesan Archdeacon. He will succeed the Venerable Douglas Fenton who has been serving as a consultant in this role since early September of 2023. The position of Special Assistant to the Bishop was created when the Executive Archdeacon, the Venerable Philippa Pride began medical leave. The Diocesan Archdeacon will fulfill the roles and responsibilities in the job description of the Executive Archdeacon and will begin on February 1, 2024. The following is a brief biography that he submitted to the bishop’s office.
 

I’m grateful for the calling of the Holy Spirit, the Diocese of New Westminster, and Bishop John to this ministry.

Growing up between a United Church congregation and an Evangelical school, the breadth of Christian community has always been important to me, and I’m excited about the opportunity to support the people and structures of a forward-looking and faith-filled diocese.
 
I began my ordained life in the diocese of Montreal in 2013, with a downtown curacy before moving to the beautiful Laurentians where I was tasked with developing the administrative structure for a 10-point regional ministry. In 2018, I moved to the Diocese of Kootenay to take on ministry in the parish of Penticton where we worked hard through the Pandemic to build up a witness to the liberating Kingdom of God, especially among those living unhoused within the community. 
 
One of my deep-seated desires in life is to be a bridge-builder between places and people. To that end, in Montreal I served for three years as Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer, serving on the board of the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism as well as various local dialogues. I represented the Anglican Church of Canada to the Canadian Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Witness as well as to the World Council of Churches’ 2013 Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, where I served as co-moderator of one of the Pre-Assembly gatherings focused on Youth and Reconciliation.
 
In the Diocese of Kootenay I served for four years as Coordinator of the diocesan refugee Sponsorship Agreement. During that time I worked with a small team including a professional evaluator to run a major program review and to overhaul our operational structure. 
 
I believe that good, transparent, and equitable process is a gift to the flourishing of any institution, especially the church. As my partner is fond of saying: Love is in the details. In my personal time I have a longstanding interest in the Japanese martial art Aikido. My spouse Anne and I currently live in Kelowna.

 

Photo: Submitted