Up, Down and Out in Canada: J I Packer

Posted on May 28, 2008 
Filed under News

Dr J I PackerMy wife and I moved from England to Canada in 1979. Principal James Houston has recruited me to teach theology at Regent College, which, though over age, I still do. God’s call was clear, and our only uncertainty was where we might find a spiritual home. New Westminster Diocese, of which Vancouver is the see city, was decidedly liberal, and its few evangelical clergy seemed to be keeping their heads down lest they be noticed.

But in 1978 my oldest friend among Canadian clergy, Harry Robinson, became rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy, only a mile and a half from where God, by a happy providence, gave us a place to live, so that problem was solved. Called as I am to be a pastor, I had found fulfillment before in an honorary parish appointment alongside teaching duties, and I became Harry’s honorary assistant the moment we arrived. …

– Dr Jim Packer tells his story – at VirtueOnline. (Photo: Ed Hird.)