Bishop's duties covered
by Ana Watts
While Bishop Claude Miller is on sabbatical, Bishop Bill Hockin is providing episcopal oversight and Dean Keith Joyce is bishop’s commissary.
Any diocesan matters or inquiries should be brought to the attention of Archdeacon Geoffrey Hall, the bishop’s executive assistant, at the Synod Office in Fredericton. He will continue to deal with most issues, as he does during the bishop’s many routine absences. He will forward inquiries requiring episcopal input or commissarial attention to Bishop Hockin and Dean Joyce, in keeping with Diocesan Canon 4.
Bishop Miller began his sabbatical on Feb. 15 and will return to his office on May 15.
“The bishop carefully planned for his absence so there are unlikely to be too many things that will need his attention,” says Archdeacon Hall.
Bishop Miller is easily reached and can be back in the diocese within a few hours if necessary. With all the winter storms before he left, he said he was sorry he hadn’t planned his sabbatical retreat in a more southerly location.
Bishop Hockin will be in the Synod Office weekly during Bishop Miller’s absence. As commissary, Dean Joyce will be called upon to sign legal documents dealing with temporal matters such as deeds for land and real property.
Diocesan clergy are encouraged to use sabbatical leave for personal development and the pursuit of worthy scholarly interests in their area of ministry. The three-month leave may be taken in a community or retreat setting. It is available to those who have been priests for at least 10 years and have been incumbent in their current parish/ministry for at least five years.
Accumulated continuing education funds can be used to support a sabbatical leave. Funds from the Diocesan Jubilee Fund for the Education of Clergy, the priest’s parish and through the General Synod Continuing Education Plan may also be available. Allowable expenses include travel and living costs, tuition, books and relevant computer hardware and software.
Bishop Miller is funding his sabbatical leave with a General Synod Continuing Education Plan grant and available bursaries. He is in the fifth year of his episcopacy.
