Dear colleagues in faith,

With a heavy heart, I share with you that The Rev. Grant Croswell died last night, June 5, 2022.

With this news, our hearts and minds will of course go to the wellbeing of his wife, The Rev. Colleen Lissamer, and their son, Neil, as they navigate this loss.

Grant was born in Victoria and has been a life-long Christian. He was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1977 and served in Kitimat and Edmonton. In 1992, he met the love of his life, Colleen, and left the priesthood to pursue a career in counselling. Together, they raised their son, Neil, in Saskatoon. In 2000, Grant and Colleen returned to Victoria and began attending Church of the Advent in Colwood. Grant continued to counsel and worked as the social concern manager for the St. Vincent de Paul Society for ten years. Grant was received into the Anglican Communion in August 2019 by Bishop Logan, happily returning to his calling as a servant of God.

Please pray for the parish of Holy Trinity, Sooke, where Grant had been serving for this past year.

Funeral details will be shared widely when confirmed. Cards or messages of condolences can be sent to the synod office (bishop@bc.anglican.ca) and will be passed on to Colleen and Neil.

Peace,

The Right Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee, Bishop

The following message was posted this morning on Facebook by Colleen Lissamer, Grant’s wife.

“This morning I must share the news that my beloved Grant passed away last night from heart failure after a most joyful day in which he was so happy. Neil and I are heartbroken. Please pray for us. Life without our Grant is unimaginable.“

Colleen refers to a most joyful day. Indeed it was. Michael Zarb and I drove down to Colwood which is one of the Victoria group of municipalities to the Anglican Church of the Advent for the ordination to the priesthood of Colleen.

The ceremony was indeed joyous, presided by a young bishop Anna Greenwood-Lee whose manner made the pomp and circumstance a friendly and happy celebration, for Colleen and another candidate. There were lots of clergy in their red gowns present but great participation by the congregation. Colleen and Grant’s son Neil participated as a reader and also as a musician.

Off to the side were a number of us ordained Catholic clergy, friends of Grant and Colleen, who shared in the joy of this new step in the life of Colleen and Grant.

(There were aspects of the service that I felt Catholics could do very well to incorporate, including the prayers used but that would be for another discussion.)

Each candidate was accompanied by four presenters, and naturally for Colleen one of her presenters was Grant who had not only inspired her but accompanied and supported her quest to join Grant as an ordained minister of the Anglican communion. Grant was vested as he had been accepted into the Anglican Church as a minister and was the past number of years working in a parish, as he had so much wished over the years.

After the ordination ceremony the parish hosted a reception and with this an opportunity to meet and congratulate the candidates and to socialize with friends. Colleen was beaming and so was Grant. He was wearing a bright red episcopal type clergy shirt which he said had been passed on to him by someone else. He was his typical self and sharing in the limelight of Colleen who this day was the reason for the celebration.

This is a most sorrowful time for Colleen and Neil, a true shock and the beginning of a very difficult time.
Their email is crossliss1@telus.net

May Grant Rest In Peace

Phil Little
Ladysmith, BC