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At the 150th Synod of the Diocese of Niagara, Bishop Susan Bell launched a special endowment fund to mark the diocese’s sesquicentennial. The 150th Anniversary Curacy Fund will support the training and formation of priests throughout the diocese.

“This fund will make it possible long into the future for us to provide appropriate training for newly ordained clergy,” said the bishop. “We will keep building it all through this anniversary year - and beyond - because it is something that truly benefits the whole diocese.”

The vision of the anniversary fund is to better equip newly ordained clergy who would benefit by working alongside seasoned priests allowing for a focused time of apprenticeship, also known as a curacy. Not all parishes can afford a second priest; the bishop's hope through the fund is to provide parishes with financial support to underwrite the costs of training and forming new priests in a variety of ministry contexts.

“When your parish needs a new priest, with your help, I’ll be able much more easily to provide one who is formed and supported by the donations of many,” stated Bishop Bell in her charge to Synod. “That's our Anglican Church at its best!”

Donations to the fund can be made through a special CanadaHelps Anniversary Fund website linked HERE.