Tom Greenwood (born 1 January 1903 [1] - 1 February 1974) was an Anglican bishop. [2]
Tom Greenwood was born in Luddenden, Yorkshire, England, in 1903 and grew up in the local Church of England St. Mary's Church, where he sang in the choir. He was the son of Mitchell Greenwood, a pub manager, and Ellen Broadbent, a determined young woman who sadly died in childbirth when Tom was 2 years old. Although he came from a large loving family, after the loss of his mother, years of family instability followed. From a young age Tom knew that he wanted to serve in the church but had no idea how that could happen. His education was disrupted at 13 years when he began half-time work in a clothing factory although he was able to continue his education half-time as well. At 17 years he began two years of working for the local railway, excelling at administrative tasks.
At 19 years old, he began his training with the Church Army in London, UK. He had heard about Church Army as a child and was inspired by a young Church Army captain who worked in his home area. The ministry involved two years of travelling around England leading parish missions. He excelled at leadership and choral ability, and his skills led to his next opportunities. In 1926, Church Army asked him to travel to the U.S.A. to help the fledgling Church Army there with summer missions. He travelled throughout the southern states and New England leading evangelical missions for four summers. It was in Vermont, during this time, that he met his future wife. During these experiences, he decided to study for the priesthood.
With the support of his Bishop, the Bishop of Durham, he attended Knutsford Ordination Test School in Cheshire to achieve his GED,. [3] He then applied to enter the U.S.A. to study theology, with a full scholarship. He was refused entry to the U.S.A., and quickly turned to his Church Army connections in Canada. He was sponsored by the Bishop of the Arctic to continue his education at Trinity College, Toronto, graduating with an L.Th.. He was ordained priest in 1934. [4]
In 1934, Tom Greenwood married Isabel Dunham (Gilbert) Greenwood, an American he had met earlier, who graduated with an M.D. from McGill University Faculty of Medicine in 1935. [5] She practiced as a family doctor in Fort McPherson for two years, delivering babies and tending to patients or referring them to larger hospitals in Edmonton. She joined her husband visiting the winter and summer camps of the Gwitchin peoples based in Fort McPherson.
Tom was at the Arctic Mission at Fort McPherson from 1934 to 1936 and then, leaving the north, he was curate in St. Paul, Minnesota before returning to England in 1937 where he was curate at St John the Baptist's Greenhill, Harrow from 1937 to 1939. [6] Later in 1939 he was called to St Peter's, Hale, Greater Manchester where he was vicar until 1946, through the years of World War II. In 1946 he returned to Canada to be the rector of St. John's Anglican Church, Fort McMurray and then of Holy Trinity Church, Yellowknife (1949–1952). He was elected and consecrated as the sixth Anglican Bishop of Yukon, and served there from 1952 to 1961. He undertook significant re-building of the Anglican church in the Yukon over those ten years, both building a stable team of priests and mission workers, and also re-building some of the church infrastructure.
Following their time in the North of Canada, they moved in 1961 to Whitegate, Cheshire where Bishop Greenwood became the vicar of Whitegate, St. Mary's Parish, and Assistant Bishop of Chester, assisting the Bishop of Chester with confirmations. In 1965, they returned to Canada where Tom was Assistant Bishop of Cariboo, living in Kamloops, British Columbia and leading the Diocese while the Diocesan Bishop, Ralph Dean, was on leave as Executive Officer of the Anglican Communion. [7] From there, Tom and Isabel retired in 1969 and moved to Ottawa, where he was an honorary Assistant Bishop assisting the Bishop of Ottawa, Bishop Reed. [8]
Having always kept his connection to his roots in the Canadian Anglican Church Army, now "Threshold Ministries", he travelled to Toronto, Ontario on February 1, 1974 to attend an annual meeting. He died from a heart attack upon reaching his destination. He was survived by his wife Isabel, his son David, three daughters, Sarah, Mary and Anne, and predeceased by a second son Michael (1961). [9]