Council of General Synod (CoGS) has appointed Andrea Mann, the Anglican Church of Canada’s Global Relations director, as the new general secretary of General Synod effective Oct. 13.
Archbishop Shane Parker, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, nominated Mann to the position following the recommendation of a search committee that led the process to find a new general secretary. CoGS passed a motion formally naming Mann the new general secretary at a special meeting on Oct. 7 held over Zoom.
Parker said Mann was the first woman to have ever held the position, and also the first lay person. The general secretary is General Synod’s chief operations officer. Their responsibilities include managing the national church office, organizing meetings of General Synod and CoGS and acting as secretary of both.
The primate said he had known Mann for the better part of 20 years in various professional capacities. Since July 1, Mann had served as acting interim general secretary—working in tandem with Canon (lay) Ian Alexander, the latter serving as interim general secretary. Her tenure as Global Relations director will end Oct. 13, though she will continue to direct the transition of Global Relations ministry until the end of 2025.
Parker praised Mann as a “team player … closely aligned with where our church is at this time” who brought “extensive experience and insight” into both the Anglican Church of Canada and worldwide Anglican Communion.
“Andrea’s a person of exceptional intelligence,” the primate said. “She is wise and deeply pastoral and faithful. She gives appropriate attention to detail while understanding the larger picture and dynamics … I am very, very pleased that Andrea allowed her name to stand and delighted that she surfaced as the recommended candidate.”
Mann, who has served as Global Relations director since 1997, thanked CoGS for appointing her general secretary, calling it “a tremendous privilege and a challenge to be sure,” and said she was “very moved at your confidence in me and your support.”
“I am deeply honoured to serve the Anglican Church of Canada as general secretary in this time of critical and exciting change for the ministry of the General Synod in and with the church national,” Mann said in an email to the Anglican Journal.
“It is a deep privilege to work in this new role with the remarkable and dedicated staff, volunteers and partners comprising Church House. I will seek to build upon strong working relationships with the Council of the North and Sacred Circle, and with councils and networks of the Anglican Communion. All by the mercy and grace of God.”
Archdeacon Alan Perry, Mann’s predecessor in the role, saw his employment as general secretary officially end on Sept. 3 following a three-month leave of absence that began weeks before the June 23-29 meeting of General Synod. CoGS appointed Canon (lay) Ian Alexander as interim general secretary at a special meeting June 4, the day after Perry’s leave of absence began.
On June 24, Canon (lay) Clare Burns told General Synod the Anglican Church of Canada had contracted accounting firm Doane Grant Thornton to investigate the process through which Perry and General Synod treasurer and CFO Amal Attia signed a lease to rent new office space for a national office from the United Church of Canada without reporting back to or requesting approval from CoGS. Church leaders have declined to comment on whether Perry’s departure was related to the lease.
General Synod financial statements estimate that the lease, on a newly redeveloped Toronto property at 300 Bloor St. West, will cost $8.18 million over five years. Burns said at the time it was unclear whether the lease Perry signed was legally enforceable or not.
Before serving as Global Relations director, Mann was a volunteer in mission from 1994 to 1995 with the Church of Ceylon, the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka, as part of the Partnerships Department of the General Synod. In this capacity she worked with Sri Lankan Anglicans toward the ordination of women in the Church of Ceylon. Mann also previously worked as an assistant professor in the Faculty of Humanities and School of Physical Education at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.