Newly Appointed Executive Officer to Engage with Church Locally, Provincially and Nationally

Bishop Stephen London is pleased to appoint the Rev. Canon Dr. Scott Sharman as Executive Officer of the Diocese of Edmonton.

“It is a great honour to be called to serve the saints in the church of Edmonton, and in the other places my travels have led me. I am so grateful for all the gifts and wisdom that our diocesan family has shared with me to help form me into who I am…” says Sharman.

Going back more than 20 years, the Edmonton diocese has had an Executive Officer/Executive Archdeacon. However, that role has been vacant for the last 3 years and many of the duties that this office used to carry have been reassigned to other members of the Synod Office staff, including Treasurer and Synod Secretary the Rev. John Gee; Synod Office Administrative Assistant RJ Chambers, and Executive Assistant Sarah Kemp.

As Executive Officer, Sharman will engage on behalf of the diocese in certain kinds of consultation and collaboration at the provincial and national levels of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC).

“It is these pieces of work, along with occasional representational and visitational duties undertaken at the request of the Bishop which I will be picking up with the addition of this appointment as Executive Officer for the Diocese of Edmonton,” he says.

Additionally, Sharman will continue to serve as the Ecumenical and Interfaith Coordinator in the diocese, a role he has held for the past 10 years.

“I have long been convinced that the church of coming generations is going to be a deeply ecumenical one, moving past many of the divisive histories and issues that have kept denominations apart and at odds for centuries to, instead, bear restored common witness to the Gospel in an extended family of reconciled diversity.

“This has been confirmed for me increasingly in what I see on the ground among the churches in the Edmonton area in recent years. We are almost certainly going to need to walk together more closely with our fellow siblings in faith, and I believe that building relationship and trust with these communities today is a critical investment in the Church of the future.”

In 2021, shortly after the beginning of Bishop Stephen’s episcopacy, he was also appointed as Canon to the Ordinary, a senior member of the diocesan staff who shares significant aspects of Bishop Stephen’s ministry of leadership and oversight and is a close source of counsel and support.

“This is a ministry I greatly enjoy, being asked of late to focus especially on things like strategic planning, the development of ministry formation and training programs, theological consultation and education, partnerships with ecumenical and full communion partners, and engaging with parishes that are in transition or exploring new models of how to be church. This is work I expect to carry on," he says.

Nationally, Sharman serves with the General Synod Office of the ACC as the Animator for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations.

“In this latter capacity, I am privileged to provide leadership and encouragement of mutual learning and cooperative partnerships all across Canada, and sometimes internationally as well, in dialogues and ministry protects with Roman Catholics, Lutherans, the United Church of Canada, Mennonite Church Canada, the Moravian Church in Canada, and other kinds of contact and engagement with other Protestant, Evangelical, and Orthodox churches in the context of the Canadian Council of Churches. I also get to help develop opportunities for Anglicans to grow in pursuing opportunities for understanding and peacemaking with other faith traditions beyond the Christian family.

Though Sharman admits it can be “challenging” to navigate and hold together all the complexities of these many different faith groups and their diverse ways of organising their communities and engaging in the world, “this ecumenical and interfaith work remains at the centre of my heart.

“While there are question marks out there about the future shape and focus of the General Synod office in our national church, this aspect of my ministry always brings me the greatest joy and fulfilment, and I hope to continue in it as long as I can.”

When he is not helping lead the Anglican church, Sharman assists the Very Rev. Alex (Meek Sharman) with parenting their children Elliot (14), Felix (12) and Graeme (6), and he supports her critically important ministry as Dean of the Diocese of Edmonton.

“I am grateful for her compassionate heart and consistent leadership,” he says. “Most of our “free time” these days is devoted to shuttling and watching the kids in their various athletic, musical and artistic activities, helping them with school, and encouraging them as they grow up in their own discipleship in the Jesus Way in a complicated time and complex world.”

Correction: a previous version of this story stated that Scott Sharman has been appointed Executive Archdeacon of the Diocese of Edmonton. In fact, his new role is Executive Officer of the diocese.