When Canon Stuart Mann opened the Globe and Mail and saw a tiny job ad for an editorial assistant with the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, he didn’t expect it to shape the next 35 years of his life.
It was 1990, and after five years working for a weekly newspaper in a small town in southwestern Ontario, Canon Mann and his wife, Susan, had recently moved to Cambridge for Susan’s work as a reporter. To make ends meet, Canon Mann took a job as a stock clerk in a supermarket.
“I was 29 years old, and I was a stock boy in the supermarket, which is fine. But it’s not how I thought my career would unfold,” he says.
After four months in the supermarket, he spotted the job ad, applied and became the diocese’s new editorial assistant. “I thought, I’ll give it two years, and it’ll be a way of getting my foot in the door of the GTA market,” he says. “I never, ever imagined that I would end up working here for more than 35 years.”
Canon Mann, now the diocese’s director of Communications and editor of The Anglican, will be retiring on May 31, 2026.
In his more than 35 years with the diocese, he has held several different positions in the Communications department. In 1994, he became the editor of The Anglican, and then some years later the communications manager and finally the director of communications. In that time, he has worked with three diocesan bishops and 15 suffragan bishops, forged relationships with countless clergy and lay people, and contributed to more than 350 issues of The Anglican. He was made an honorary canon of St. James Cathedral in 2014 in recognition of his contributions to the life of the diocese.
“We have been blessed beyond measure by Stuart’s ministry of word and print, story and reporting. For 35 years, Stuart has offered the diocese his deep wisdom, calming spirit, turns of phrase and superlative writing,” says Bishop Andrew Asbil. “He has been our best storyteller for so many years. He has encouraged new writers and challenged seasoned ones to be better. And in all that he has written, the heart of faith in Jesus Christ has been strengthened.”
The Communications department has seen much change and growth during Canon Mann’s tenure, from the launch of the diocese’s first website and a presence on several social media channels to regular video production. The Anglican, Bulletin Board and other publications have transitioned from print-only to digital formats, while initiatives such as the Parish Website Project have helped parishes across the diocese engage with their wider communities.
“Moving from print to digital has been a revolution in communications, so I’ve had to adapt to that,” says Canon Mann. “I come from a print background, so it was quite challenging.”
The diocese itself has also seen change and upheaval over the past three decades, at times difficult and in the public eye. Canon Mann has been on the front lines of media relations on behalf of the diocese and has advised countless parishes when they’ve been called by the press.
“When you think of all the turns in the road, I’ve been part of every one of those big turns, either writing stories about it or putting out press releases or dealing with the press,” he says. “I’ve had to change as the Church has had to change, and as Anglicans have had to change.”
Canon Mann has contributed to many important diocesan initiatives over the years, including the diocese’s visual identity, the Our Faith-Our Hope fundraising campaign, and both the Growing in Christ and Cast the Net strategic plans.
“I was on the team that communicated the Our Faith-Our Hope campaign, and that was a highlight,” he says. “We raised over $40 million, and that money is still being used. That was very satisfying.”
Canon Mann says helping people tell their stories has been one of his favourite parts of the job. “As followers of Jesus Christ, Anglicans are doing wonderful, important work in the world, but they don’t always have the inclination or the time to tell others about it, and that’s where I come in,” he says.
Working with a small team of talented freelancers and staff, he has published stories and photos that bring to life synods, Bishop’s Company dinners, cricket festivals, ordinations, pet blessings, parish anniversaries, and events big and small in every part of the diocese.
“It’s been a joy covering episcopal elections, it’s been a joy covering synods, and it’s been equally joyful covering the smaller things, people who are doing something wonderful in their community,” he says. “I’ve written hundreds of stories, and I’m glad that I was able to help raise up the efforts of Anglicans.”
Through the pages of The Anglican and other communication channels, he has helped shed light on many social justice issues, including homelessness, the opioid crisis, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, LGBTQ2S+ rights, refugee resettlement, creation care and anti-racism. He says he hopes Anglicans continue to care for the marginalized and amplify their voices.
“Jesus went to where the pain was and where the suffering was, no matter who those people were, and we need to follow Jesus to those places and those people,” he says.
Alongside his passion for justice, Canon Mann says he has deeply appreciated working with all the staff, freelancers, clergy and laypeople he’s met from across the diocese over the years. “We’re a very committed, enthusiastic, talented group of people,” he says. “Working with people like that is very energizing, and it challenges me to do my very best.”
A lifelong Anglican, he says he also feels privileged to have worked in the Anglican world. “It’s a crazy, messy, strange, wonderful, beautiful place that just really gets into your blood,” he says.
As he considers the spring, Canon Mann says he’s looking forward to stepping back from deadlines and meetings. So far, his plans for retirement are modest. “I’m hoping to wake up and not have deadlines or catch the GO train,” he says. He also plans to go fishing with a friend in northern Ontario. “I’m really looking forward to just stepping off, disengaging from everything, getting away for a couple of weeks and just decompressing.”
Meanwhile, the diocese is making plans to recognize Canon Mann’s accomplishments and celebrate his career.
“I will miss working with Stuart so very much. He is such a gift to all of us,” says Bishop Asbil. “May God bless him in this time of transition and change.”
For his part, Canon Mann wants to thank everyone he has worked with over the years. “I’ve loved working here. I’ve loved my job. I love what the Church does,” he says. “This is my community. But it’s time for me to start a new chapter.”
The church has been called out