Prayer for a miracle, reflecting on a good life

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This article was published 03/02/2025 (593 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Geoff Woodcroft announced he would soon be retiring as bishop of the Anglican diocese of Rupert’s Land; less than 24 hours later, he was at Victoria Hospital fighting for his life.

Woodcroft, 63, got out of hospital later that week, in late October, with a life-changing diagnosis: Stage 4 colon cancer. Today, he is on long-term disability as he undergoes chemotherapy treatments. He will administratively remain bishop of the diocese until March 18.

“Life changed overnight for me,” he said.

Woodcroft had felt some discomfort and pain for a few months prior, but he believed it was not terribly serious. On the day he got home from the synod, he felt something more serious was happening.

“By evening, I was voiding blood. I went to hospital and collapsed in emergency. They called a ‘code blue’ on me. I was in bad shape,” he said.

His life since that time has been “a whirlwind of big changes,” he said. “I lost everything I had been.”

Support from his family — his wife, Jennifer, also an Anglican priest in the city — and from friends and colleagues is getting him through the tough time.

“People stepped right up,” he said. “God made sure the right people were there at the right time.”

So far, he’s dealing well with chemotherapy. “I’m just fatigued all the time,” Woodcroft said, adding the tumour seems to be shrinking.

At the same time, “I know how serious it is,” he said. “The average survival rate is three years, but as my oncologist says, ‘miracles do happen.’ I’m hoping and praying he’s right.”

Woodcroft’s overwhelming feeling now is that of gratitude for the life he has been able to lead. That includes his years of ministry following ordination as a priest in Ontario in 1990, his time as chaplain at St. John’s College at the University of Manitoba, then serving as priest at St. Paul’s in Fort Garry and, in 2018, being elected bishop of Rupert’s Land, which covers southern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.

Highlights of his time as bishop include working with Indigenous Anglicans on issues related to reconciliation, and incorporating Indigenous spirituality and practices into the diocese.

“That issue was at the forefront of my heart,” he said.

Another significant event was the pandemic, which changed the way parishes operated, and how the diocese helped lead the way for Anglicans in Canada when it recognized same-sex marriage and affirmed LGBTTQ+ and transgender people as priests.

“We ran ahead of the national Church on that… We did it as a pastoral response to people in the diocese.”

Discipleship — how Christians can follow Jesus in daily life — was also close to his heart.

“For me, it’s not about how many people go to church on Sunday,” he said. “I’m more interested in people being the church with their neighbours, at work and in the community, being less parish-centred and more focused on the world outside the church walls.”

As for regrets, a big one is that his busy schedule as bishop didn’t give him enough time to practise what he was preaching in this area. “I wanted to show people what I meant by discipleship by doing it, not just by talking about it,” he said.

Another area he wished he had more time to work on is what to do with old church buildings that are too costly to maintain.

“Buildings are legacy resources, gifted to us from previous generations to find creative ways to use them today,” Woodcroft said. “It’s exciting to think of how we can use those gifts.”

For him, this means encouraging Anglicans not to focus on buildings but to ask “what the Church is here for… the focus should be on serving the community. If a building helps us do that, fine. If not, let’s not be afraid to try something new.”

All that is in the past. Right now, Woodcroft is focused on chemotherapy treatments — he wears a bottle pump for 48 hours every two weeks — and spending more time in prayer each day.

“I wake every day in a posture of gratitude,” he said, adding he likes not being wedded to a computer, the phone and a schedule. “The cancer has given me a different sense of purpose and meaning… I’m at peace with whatever comes.”

For Cathy Campbell, a retired Anglican priest, Woodcroft was positive, constructive and creative in the search for solutions. “He had a vision for the Church that was inclusive, respectful, and vital,” she said.

Murray Still is co-chair of the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples. He said Woodcroft “was very positive” toward Indigenous people in the diocese, including them in leadership at synods.

“He helped change the way we do business, incorporating a more Indigenous way of being,” he said. “He is a good friend of Indigenous people.”

Ryan Turnbull, who directs discipleship ministries for the diocese, said talking about that topic with Woodcroft was where he saw him “come alive… it was an absolute pleasure to work with him.”

Simon Blaikie worked with Woodcroft as executive archdeacon for the diocese.

For him, Woodcroft is a kind and compassionate person who “proved to be patient in often difficult circumstances and consistently searched for the path that he believed Jesus would travel… I am confident that when Geoff stands before our Lord, may it be many years from now, that he will be greeted with, ‘Well done my good and faithful servant.’”

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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