The Rt. Rev. Douglas Blackwell died on May 25, 2022. Ordained deacon in 1963 and priest in 1964 in the Diocese of Calgary, he also served in the Diocese of Saskatoon before transferring to the Diocese of Toronto in 1974. He served as assistant director for adult education at the Aurora Conference Centre, executive assistant to Archbishop Lewis Garnsworthy and took on the additional role of director of communications. He was installed a Canon in 1978 and appointed Archdeacon of York in 1987.
After being elected suffragan bishop on June 4, 1988, he was consecrated on Sept. 15, 1988, and served as area bishop of Trent-Durham until his retirement in 2003. Bishop Blackwell went on to serve as interim priest-in-charge in several parishes and was honorary assistant of St. Thomas, Brooklin.
His funeral will be held on June 2 at 1 p.m. at St. Thomas, Brooklin and live streamed on YouTube. Visitation will take place prior to the service at 12 p.m. and a reception will follow the service in the parish hall.
Seeing God amidst the bleakness