When Rev. Ansley Tucker is inducted as Rector of Christ Church Cathedral on Sunday, she will take on more responsibilities than the spiritual life of one city parish.
With the position, Tucker also becomes Dean of Columbia, second in church rank in the Anglican Diocese of British Columbia only to the bishop, Rev. Logan McMenamie. (“The Diocese of B.C.” is a historical title and includes only Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.)
Tucker also takes responsibility for an entire city block of downtown land. Bounded by Quadra and Vancouver streets, and Rockland and Burdett avenues, the property also contains a kindergarten through Grade 8 private church school and two buildings with administrative offices.
And so, Tucker’s induction ceremony will be attended by more than just church officials and parishioners.
B.C. Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon is expected, and the City of Victoria council and the Songhees First Nation will be also be represented.
So Tucker becomes an administrator, a landlord and something close to a politician.
At the same time, Tucker said, she will always remain a committed Christian and an Anglican clergywoman.
“It’s very important that we are facing outward and engaged in meeting with the world,” she said in an interview. “But, at the same time, if we are not addressing issues of faith and spirituality, then we may as well be nothing more than a darned good service club.”
Tucker, 62, becomes the 14th Dean of Columbia and eighth rector to take charge of the stone church on Quadra Street at Rockland with Sunday’s official induction.
Born in Victoria and raised in Ontario, she studied divinity only after earning a degree in nursing. She worked in health care long enough to realize her true vocation. Tucker has been an ordained minister for 34 years. Her most recent post was as rector of Christ Church in Calgary and archdeacon of Bow Valley.
Chris Coleman, Victoria city councillor, active member of Christ Church Cathedral and son of an Anglican bishop in Saskatchewan, said Tucker’s new job offers a role in Victoria that extends beyond the life of the parish.
For example, Christ Church Cathedral School means 188 elementary students are on site every day, in the building next to the cathedral. With parents dropping children off and picking them up, cars are constantly coming and going. The playground is full of noisy kids at recess and lunch.
The parish also has its own committee dealing with the management of its land. It regularly communicates with city hall. It was after the cathedral’s urging that the city decided to close off Rockland Avenue at Quadra Street a few years ago.
So, whether it’s discussions with city hall about land use, offering regular breakfasts to people on the street, or talking with the occasional neighbour who grumbles about “those damned bells,” the cathedral and its rector must be in constant outreach mode, Coleman said.
“Generally, people are aware that there is big church there, but they don’t see all the interaction going on,” he said.
Tucker takes over the parish when much of the interaction has lost focus. The previous dean/rector, McMenamie, left in March 2014, and it wasn’t until July this year that Tucker arrived to begin work.
The remaining clergy and lay people at the cathedral carried on well during the interim. But the parish is now ready for a “renewed sense of cohesion.”
Tucker hopes to begin active working relationships with other churches, faiths and community groups.
“It’s now possible to create the sort of communications network that allows us to guide and build on the strengths and imagination of various groups in the community,” Tucker said.
She said she has long been personally committed to issues such as the environment, poverty and social justice. And she believes the church has a perspective and role to play in those issues.
But Tucker said she is not yet certain how best Christ Church Cathedral parish might fulfil its Christian mission. So she continues to talk, get to know people and attend lots of meetings.
“It’s been very busy, meeting people and finding out the ways in which Victoria and the church differ from other places I’ve been,” she said.
Tucker said in the four months she has been in Victoria, she has encountered some surprises:
• Victoria is more youthful than its reputation as a retirement destination indicates, in both the age and spirit of its residents.
• A love of tradition exists in Victoria. But unlike other parts of Canada, to love tradition doesn’t mean you are automatically a political conservative.
• She has been surprised by what looks like, at least superficially, the desperate level of visible poverty in Victoria.
On the other hand, especially when discussing poverty, Tucker admits to being a newcomer, and not fully acquainted with the issue to offer well-grounded opinions.
But she has also become aware of how much of a presence Christ Church Cathedral holds in Victoria.
“This cathedral stands for a whole spiritual quest as a big, visible icon,” Tucker said.
“The city sees this great big cathedral on a hill, and feels, one hopes, welcome at any time,” Tucker said. “And the doors are always open, eight to five, every day.”
“If the parish chooses to take that on, I think that would include being politically informed and being aware of the debates and issues of the day,” she said.
Tucker will be inducted in Christ Church Cathedral at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
