The Rev. Canon Gene Packwood

Canon Gene Packwood was born in New Zealand in 1947. After beginning university on his way to divinity studies in the Presbyterian Church, Gene changed course, met and married Judy, an Anglican, before starting a career in television production with the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. They came to Canada in 1974 with a 5-month old daughter intending to return to New Zealand in time for her to start school, but they stayed in Canada.

He found a job in TV in Kelowna and soon moved to Winnipeg with CKY as a television producer-director. His work included news, commercials, documentary, magazine, children’s and dramatic programs, many aired on the CTV Network. In Winnipeg, the family increased with the birth of a son and they decided that it would be good for the kids to go to Sunday School. It was an Anglican Church but Gene did not attend regularly.

In 1980, they moved to Calgary and he became a TV producer-director with ACCESS Network doing educational TV, similar to TV Ontario. He won numerous awards in Canada and the US for his work and became Senior Producer-Director before taking a leave of absence to teach TV production at Mount Royal College in Calgary.

In Calgary, Judy attended a brand new Anglican Church followed later by Gene. On the first day he attended, the priest asked him to assist with Holy Communion and Gene began to be involved with that parish. Gene and Judy began a prayer meeting at their home that continued until he went to theological college. They attended Cursillo and were Baptized in the Spirit. They moved to Saskatoon in 1988 so that Gene could study at the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad’s , supported by his refunded pension contributions, certainly a step of faith. He graduated with honours in 1991 with a B.Th. later upgraded to a Masters Degree of Divinity because of his excellent scholastic record. Then it was back to Calgary Diocese becoming a deacon and the incumbent of the parish of St. Francis of Assisi . He was ordained priest in December 1991. He attended an Anglican Renewal Ministries Clergy Leadership Training week that gave great impetus to his ministry. He served as Spiritual Director for Cursillo for a few years and similar groups, especially with his musical talents.

In 1999, he began 15 years of ministry at St. Barnabas Church in Medicine Hat before retiring last year. During that ministry, Gene was active in Diocesan leadership including serving on Diocesan Council for many years and as a member of General Synod for four General Synods and as member of the National Church Executive Committee (COGS) for six years.

During this period, Gene was doing some leadership work for Anglican Renewal Ministries and similar organizations leading conferences including three Clergy Leadership Training Institutes, team leader for the third one. His gift of music is very important in this work.

Gene has stepped back from church activity for his first year of retirement and is now looking at a new ministry free of parish responsibilities. Gene and Judy have two married children and 4 grandchildren.

See Gene’s Blog:
GENEralities

Montreal Flame 2015

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