The Story of the Dragonfly
In 2014, following a process of consultations and discerning where the Holy Spirit is leading the Anglican church here in this time and place, we adopted our diocesan vision: Renewed Hearts, Renewed Spirits and Renewed People. The following year, the diocesan vision team held its final gathering. During the meeting, there was a collective sense of God’s word being spoken and heard in the diocesan vision statement. This was powerfully reinforced when a dragonfly appeared and hovered over the group before flying off.
In 2016, the diocese had a new logo designed that incorporates the dragonfly. For some local First Nations, the dragonfly is a powerful symbol of change. For us, the dragonfly is a symbol of reconciliation and our commitment to allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through us, in partnership with all peoples of these lands. As a diocese, we are on a journey of truth-telling, reconciliation and healing, as we seek to address those parts of our history when we did not live into God’s call to treat all peoples with dignity, respect and equality.
The dragonfly also appears in the official badge of the diocese, which was created in 2017 by Coast Salish artist Douglas LaFortune of the Tsawout First Nation. The cross at its centre, which was part of the seal of the first bishop of the diocese, George Hills, is surrounded by four dragonflies.