Music Coordinator: 

Catherine Pate is a lifelong Anglican and former church planter, Catherine has been journeying with AbbeyChurch since 2016 when she moved to Victoria from Winnipeg. She's been part of the Emmaus Community and is guided by its Rule of prayer, presence, and simplicity. She is honoured to be asked to share more formally in the worship leadership, and to co-create music alongside the gifted and gracious musicians who lift us up each week in song.

Poet-in-Residence: 

Rebecca Yeo (they/them) is our  poet-in-residence. They hold a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Mount Allison University, and currently attend Vancouver School of Theology. As part of their preparation for ministry in the Anglican Church of Canada, Rebecca is also an intern with Inclusive Christians at UVic. In their spare time, Rebecca plays tabletop roleplaying games, dabbles in voice-acting, and pets dogs.

Children's Ministry Coordinators:

Anna E is one of our Abbeykids  (Children's Ministry) Interns - and they are supported by screened volunteers from the community.  They are responsible for teaching and accompanying the youngest members of our community.  These folks bring bring a breadth of leadership experience - and they share their passion for teaching our ancient stories of faith in creative ways, and accompanying children through the liturgy each week - and having a LOT of fun.

The Clergy:

The Rev. Matthew W. Humphrey, EC (he/him) - Priest.  Matt is a writer and educator who lives, works, and plays on Songhees territory, in the Bowker Creek watershed, (Victoria, BC).   He currently serves as Prior of Emmaus Community and is an ordained priest with The Anglican Church of Canada.  Matt has taught University courses at Regent College and elsewhere, worked for A Rocha Canada, a faith-based environmental organization, and is currently a partner of the Local General Store.  He shepherds three young children and a cat named Wendell, a fondness for wild landscapes and a fascination with God's grace as the bedrock of our existence.  

Clergy and Workers: 

These folks are an active and regular part of our community and regularly preach and preside/officiate and/or help with youth, children or music: 

 

The Rev. Meagan Crosby  (she/her) - Priest. Meagan has a rich and varied life experience. Born in Victoria, she has a passion for creative liturgy and prayer, social justice and engaging ways of telling our faith story. She has been involved in musical theatre, gospel choirs and loves reading and the beauty of the West Coast! She served in the Philippines for a year as an ‘ecumenical-intern-in-mutual-mission’ with The United Church of Canada. She is trained as a Registered Nurse and is a priest in The Anglican Church of Canada and is a co-owner of the Local General Store. She a mother to two amazing teenagers

The Rev. Rob Shearer, EC (he/him) - Non-Stipendiary Honorary Clergy.  Rob has worked in vocational Christian ministry and social justice activism for the last 25+ years. He's has been a founding part of The Emmaus Community the New Monastic community that AbbeyChurch is a part of.  Before that, Rob lived for 5 years in Zacchaeus House, a Catholic Worker community house of hospitality. He served as music director at the campus-based Wine Before Breakfast, directed the the Nidus Festival with The Canadian Council of Churches in 2006, worked in campus and congregational ministry, was involved for over a decade at Parkdale Neighbourhood Church (a Baptist ‘street church’ in Toronto now called “The Dale”). Rob works full-time as the Regional Minister for Church Planting with the Pacific Mountain Region of the United Church of Canada, where he helps steward 14 new church plants/starts (and more coming soon) - of which we are one. He also has an interest in housing co-ops, land trusts, and decolonizing church properties for spirituality, arts and justice. He has co-owned an organic bakery, made all kinds of music, loves hiking, urban walking, nordic noir mystery books and shows, brewing beer, anarchist organizing, cooking and coffee! He is a daddy to twin teenagers.

The Rev. Michelle Slater (she/her) grew up in the United Church of Canada and loves its commitment to diversity, seeking justice and nurturing community. For almost 20 years, she has been leading growing churches in Chemainus, Vancouver (Dunbar Heights) and Victoria (Oak Bay) and is now a volunteer minister with the AbbeyChurch. She is a grad of Vancouver School of Theology. Almost a decade of service on the Executive of the General Council of the UCC (2000-2009), including the Governance committee, gave Michelle experience and skill in discerning purpose, priority and policy. In congregational ministry, Michelle helps people to know and experience the unconditional love of God, to grow as followers of Jesus, and to look for where God is at work in the world and join in. A graduate of Vancouver School of Theology, she loves the stories and traditions of the Bible and is good at exploring and sharing how these ancient stories give life and meaning, challenge and comfort. She loves to sing, read murder mysteries, quilt, and play Pokemon Go with her husband and son.

The Rev. Dr. Lynn Mills, EC  (she/her) is a newly ordained Anglican priest who holds a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Vancouver School of Theology where her thesis was on reclaiming the integrity of baptism. She has completed a PhD at Trinity College Dublin, researching water and spirit in initiation and cleansing rites in the Dead Sea Scrolls and New Testament. The topic of Lynn’s research was partially chosen based on what would provide an opportunity to spend extended periods of time researching in Israel, a place very close to her heart as it is where she met her English husband while living on a kibbutz in the early 1980’s.Lynn is a member of our parent community - the neo-monastic Emmaus Community in Victoria where she lives with her husband Phil. Lynn is deeply interested in the transforming agency of the Holy Spirit, ritual, and liturgy, particularly the effect on faith, praxis, and the psyche.

The Rev. Katherine Brittain (she/her) is a United Church of Canada minister at Sylvan United Church and a part of AbbeyChurch.  She is a graduate of St. Andrews College in Theology. Katherine has a rich and diverse background in church work and serves on the executive of the Pacific Mountain Regional Council and preaches and presides as part of our rota at AbbeyChurch.  She's spouse to Beth and a parent of two daughters.

Tressa Brotsky (she/her/they/them) has been helping with our AbbeyKids and Teens.  Tressa is a youth and kids minister and communications specialist with the United Church region and lives and works on Lekwungen territory (Victoria BC). She’s a BFA Honours Visual Arts graduate from the University of Victoria (2003) and is a practicing vintage fabric artist. Tressa has two decades experience inspiring and connecting with teens, and creating meaningful arts-based experiences for individuals and community. Tressa is a fierce LGBTQ2+ ally and activist, certified Rainbow Kids Yoga Instructor, Kid & Teen minister within the United Church of Canada, an art supply nut, and single mum to three super rad kids. Also, there are probably more than 2000 pens in her house.

 

Emeritus Artist-in-Residence:

Jessica Ziakin-Cook (she/her) lives with her husband, two children, and three guinea pigs in Saanich, BC. She teaches art history, creative development, and drawing at The Vancouver Island School of Art (VISA). She graduated from the Vancouver Island School of Art in 2015 with a diploma of fine arts. She also holds a BA in Art History from the University of Victoria, and studied religion at McGill University. After seriously considering applying to the Vancouver School of Theology to pursue ordination, Jessica has recently accepted a fellowship to study art history at the University of Victoria, where she will be researching the intersections between theology, art, and activism.

Emeritus poet-in-residence and ongoing contributor: Benjamin Hertwig (he/him) is a writer and artist recently re-located to Treaty Six, Edmonton, after a number of years living on the lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tseil-Waututh. His debut poetry collection Slow War was published in 2017 by McGill-Queen's University Press. He has offered writing workshops for inmates, veterans, and students across Canada.    

Emeritus poet-in-residence and ongoing contributor: Céline Chuang (莊善寧)  (she/her) is a diasporic settler, writer, and educator, who lives, forages, and agitates on Treaty 6 (Edmonton). You can find her on Instagram (@celinebythesea), on her blog, holy spit!, or as one of the hosts of Resetting The Table, a podcast expanding imagination around race, place, and faith in pursuit of collective liberation. Together with Benjamin Hertwig, she conspires, cozifies, and co-gardens and owns a local, independent bookstore. They also write a column for Geez Magazine called Notes from Northern Turtle Island. 

 

All of our staff are screened according to the policies of The Anglican and/or United Chuches, including vulnerable sector background checks for those working with vulnerable people.