Wendy LeMarquand, a physician and former leader of the Mothers’ Union of Gambella, Ethiopia, has received a Doctor of Sacred Letters from Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto. She is married to the Rt. Rev. Grant LeMarquand, who served as Assistant Bishop of the Horn of Africa from 2012 to 2017.
Much of her time in Gambella was devoted to helping Mothers’ Union leaders learn about malaria, nutrition, and clean water. The LeMarquands had to leave the Horn of Africa because of her health struggles, but the program she launched is now led by Ethiopians.
In addition to receiving the degree, LeMarquand was also Wycliffe’s convocation speaker. She thanked the college for considering work done with the poor as “theology put into practice.”
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.