The Wisdom Centre, formed in 2007 by the Anglican Parish of St Laurence in Calgary, Alberta, serves a growing community of wisdom seekers in the Calgary area and beyond.
Through its work, the Centre inspires individuals and faith leaders to be catalysts in the renewal of spiritual practice. Our original vision was based, in part, on what research describes as the “Practicing Congregation”, mainstream parishes revitalized through worship, spirituality, and the intentional formation of a way of life. We seek to both “reclaim our ancient traditions” in new and innovative ways, and to explore wisdom through other traditions and disciplines.
The Centre also seeks to create a safe space to explore ideas about the Divine through a 21st-century lens. By bringing in theological leaders, spiritual explorers, and inter-faith partners, holding discussion groups, book studies, and retreats, we open up conversational room for the doubters and the hopeful, those on the edge of faith and those who are all in.
Over the past 15 years, the Centre has flourished under the co-leadership of founding directors, the Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee (now Bishop Anna) and the Rev. Don McLeod. Following Anna’s election as Bishop of the Diocese of British Columbia in 2020, Don served as the interim director. As Don’s role comes to an end, the mantle of leadership is passing to the Rev. Dr. Jane Rowland, the new Rector of St Laurence Parish.
“The Wisdom Center has been a place to be reenergized, to see change as positive, and to see that the Christian Church and, in fact, the Faith Community is alive and well and has much to offer.”
— A founding member
A Message from our New Director
February 2023
It is with gratitude, curiosity (and some trepidation) that I take on leadership of the Wisdom Centre. As I do, I am grateful to founding directors Don and Anna for their wise leadership, their curiosity and passion, and their vision in creating a large tent for Wisdom seekers in the Calgary area.
By bringing together a wide selection of speakers and programs, and an eager and curious audience, they created opportunity for conversation and transformation of lives and communities. I am also grateful to the St Laurence community, who maintain their commitment to the Centre, and are providing this opportunity for my role as Director.
Going forward, I hope to maintain the wide vision mapped out by the founders, bringing Wisdom traditions into play with current issues of justice, faith, and human thriving. To this role, I bring my own gifts and interests as a priest, theologian, and artist.
Over the next months, we will be planning upcoming events and speakers, as well as keeping you informed of other events or programs of interest.
Warmly,
— Rev. Jane Rowland
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Rev. Jane Rowland
DIRECTOR
The Rev. Dr. Jane Rowland is the Rector of St Laurence Anglican Church and the Director of the Wisdom Centre. An Anglican priest, artist, and theologian, she has over thirty years’ experience lay ministry, theological education, and ordained ministry.
She holds a Master of Divinity from Regent College, Vancouver, and a PhD from St Andrews University, Scotland, where she wrote her dissertation on Spiritual Mothers and Prophesying Daughters: The Practice of Female Ministry among North American Radical Evangelicals, 1875-1943. Her current theological explorations are in the areas of trauma and theology, and trauma and spirituality.
Jane also draws upon her background in graphic design to create intricate pen and ink images inspired by the ancient practice of manuscript illumination. Recent artwork explores themes of faith, trauma and hope through the lens of the biblical book of Jonah.
Other interests include wandering the range lands of the Eastern Slopes, photographing and drawing wildflowers, gardening, and reading science fiction.
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Bishop Anna Greenwood-Lee
CO-FOUNDER
Bishop Anna Greenwood-Lee earned an M. Div. at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and spent the first 20 years of her ministry serving as a priest in Calgary and Toronto.
She served as Rector of St. Laurence from 2006 to 2020 during which time she and Don McLeod had the privilege of launching the Wisdom Centre. She served as a Co-Founder and Co-Director from 2007 to 2020.
In 2020 Anna was elected Bishop of the Diocese of Islands and Inlets in British Columbia. In an attempt to get ready for the next twenty years, Anna recently completed an MBA focussing on change theory and developing adaptive capacity. Anna loves seeing God breathe new life into old institutions.
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Rev. Don McLeod
CO-FOUNDER
Don has spent most of his professional life fascinated by how the visible and invisible worlds intersect in both the individual and corporate dimensions of life. Early in his career he completed graduate and post-graduate studies in social work, communications, and theology. In those early years he worked as a community developer, social worker, ordained minister, and a media producer. Later, Don also served for five years as Vice President, Organization Effectiveness for Bethany Care Society, a voluntary seniors organization based in Calgary.
Over the last twenty-five years through his consulting company Don has worked with faith based, not for profit and public sector organizations facilitating processes designed to support strategy, board and leadership development and personal and organizational change.
From 2002-2005, Don pursued doctoral studies and an applied research project focused on how the spirituality of the Wisdom traditions (the river of insight that flows below the ancient wells of every major religious tradition) can influence and inform the transformation of organizations and community life. About that time, Don began to support a visioning process at St. Laurence Anglican Church in Calgary. One of the many ideas that emerged from this process was the Wisdom Centre. In 2007, in collaboration with the Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee and the people of St. Laurence, the Wisdom Centre was launched. Don served as Co-Founder and Co-Director from 2007 to 2022.