Ordination

Rev Deborah is an Ordained Minister with over 25 years of Ministerial service. She came to Clergy Support Memorial Church on May 8th, 2015 from the United Church of Canada. Her contribution to our church continues to be outstanding.

Ordination Credentials

Incardinated (Ordained) Clergy Support Memorial Church 2015
Ordained BC Conference, Terrace BC 1989 United Church of Canada

Academic Achievements

• St. Andrew’s College, Saskatoon, SK
  Master of Divinity, (MDiv)
• University of Victoria, Victoria, BC  Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology and Classical Studies

Present Ministry of Outreach & Church Growth

Ministry of Life Celebrations – Covenant of Marriage, Funerals.
Elder Care Ministry – Comfort Keepers, Victoria, April 2018 – present
Bereavement Ministry – End of Life care, First Memorial Funeral Services, Sept 2014 – present

Ministerial History – Worship Leader

• Lead Minister 2000-2009. St. Paul’s United Church, Sidney, BC
• Lead Minister 1992-2000. Belmont Ave United Church, Victoria, BC

Read Rev Deborah’s article on the importance of ritual in our lives.

Funeral Ministry and Bereavement Care

First Memorial Funeral Services. In addition to her regular ministry, Deborah offers Life, Graveside services, Scattering of Ashes, and traditional Memorial services in the Victoria area.

Elder Care Ministry

Rev Deborah provides spiritual care and companionship to seniors in the Victoria area. Every day, she provides pastoral care to seniors who have some form of dementia and are lonely. She does this in their homes and in care residences.

Deborah also provides pastoral care to grieving families as a Celebrant of Life Celebrations and Funerals.

Three words that best describe Deborah:

Compassionate, Loyal, Punctual.

Worship & Theological Study Groups

Rev Deborah initiated and facilitated a group called the Progressive Spirituality Circle Group of Victoria.

Last year the Progressive Spirituality Group partnered with the Centre for Religion and Society at University of Victoria to bring Theologian Rev Gretta Vosper to Victoria for seminars.

Deborah is also involved with a BC Multifaith committee planning for workshop on “Responding to Loneliness in Seniors” Nov 3, 2018 in Victoria.

Hobbies & Interests

Music (playing piano), Choir singing, Gardening, Cooking, Reading, Current Events, Spirituality, Social Justice.

Volunteer Work and Associations

• Co-founder and facilitator of the Progressive Spirituality Circle Group of Victoria.
• Secretary, Strata #74.
• Member of Sidney Seniors Business Network.

Personal Growth and Continuing Training

The following are some books with a theological bent that have impacted and/or inspired Deborah:

• The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt
• The Art of Death by Edwidge Danticat
• Essays on Ethics by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
• No Is Not Enough by Naomi Klein
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

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