Page 9 - Presbyterian Connection – Spring 2021

presbyterian.ca
SPRING 2021
Ballot for Moderator
By the Communications Office
Three names will appear on the Bal- lot for Moderator of the 2021 General Assembly. The Committee to Advise with the Moderator will count the bal- lots on April 1, 2021.
The Rev. Paulette M. Brown
Born, baptized and raised in Jamaica, Paulette’s faith formation occurred within the context of the church’s struggles to be relevant, as new generations questioned the church’s commitment to justice. During those times of questioning, Paulette’s faith in Jesus Christ was nourished by prayers and the persistence of Chris- tians working for justice.
Paulette, her three children and husband emigrated to Canada in 1983. University Presbyterian Church in Toronto, Ont., became their home church, providing opportunities for their practice of faith. Responding to a call to ministry, Paulette attended Knox College and graduated in 1991.
Called as pastor to University Pres- byterian Church in 1992, she served there for eight years. She led the con- gregation in developing the “Created for Life Youth Ministry,” respond- ing to violence and deaths among Black youth in communities served by the church. She received a YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for this church-community engagement.
From 2008 to 2014, Paulette served Gateway Community Church, leading the board in developing and implementing its vision of a mission to newcomer families.
Called to St. Andrew’s Presbyteri- an Church, Humber Heights, in 2014, Paulette supported the congregation in developing the Vision United Sum- mer Camp, a mission responding to families’ needs in Etobicoke. She brings gifts of prayer, discernment, fasting and study to support the con- gregation’s revisioning.
Paulette has served the church locally and internationally. She has been a keynote speaker for the Pres- byterian Women’s Gathering, a gen- der consultant for the World Com- munion of Reformed Churches and a member of a writing team for Council of World Mission. Tasting firsthand the sufferings that result from the
church’s failure to do justice, Paulette has learned a resilience that refuses to give up on God. Paulette is also a Ph.D. candidate in biblical studies.
Paulette brings passionate lead- ership to support the church’s re- sponse to God’s call to equitable re- lationships and reconciliation within its diverse body, even as it hammers out new ways of being the church.
The Rev. Mary Fontaine
Mary Fontaine (Cree), born and raised at Mistawasis Nêhiyawak, Sask., grew up in the Mistawasis Presbyterian Church. She is the founding director of Hummingbird Ministries, an Indigenous-led heal- ing and reconciling ministry of the Presbytery of Westminster in British Columbia.
Mary’s passion for healing is mo- tivated by the suffering of Indigenous people. And her hope for the healing of the nations is inspired by her work with Indigenous children, her faith in the Great Physician and in Indig- enous kinship spirituality.
Her faith was influenced by her mother, who loved Jesus Christ, her people and her culture. Mary’s pas- sion for justice was inspired by her father who made her aware of the suffering of Indigenous people, a re- ality affirmed academically through her B.A. in Native Studies. Her grand- father (a pipe carrier) modelled the inclusive All My Relations view of humanity and creation. She cred- its her spiritual parents for her own spiritual growth and an appreciation for the healing power of scripture. The Native Ministries program at the Vancouver School of Theology (VST) provided an opportunity to authenti- cate Indigenous Christianity through the integration of faith with Indig- enous cultures.
Mary preached at the 2019 Gen- eral Assembly and served on the Executive Committee of the World Communion of Reformed Churches from 2010 to 2017. She participated in pre-COPPS22 in Morocco (2016) and was on a climate change panel responding to Pope Francis’s Laud- ato Si in Vancouver (2015). Mary has chaired the Native Ministries Consortium at VST and the National Indigenous Ministries Council of The
Presbyterian Church in Canada. Mary loves theatre and writing. She has a married daughter and two grandchildren. She keeps close ties
with family in Mistawasis.
The Rev. Dr. Daniel D. Scott
Dan Scott is the minister at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Bradford, Ont., and an associate professor at Tyndale University, where he previ- ously served as Vice President and Academic Dean.
In 1987, his adventurous spirit took him to China where he taught English to academics first at Shanxi University, then at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He joined the lead- ership team at the Shanghai Inter- national Fellowship. Upon returning to Canada in 1989, after the Tianan- men Square protests, he served on the pastoral staff at Knox Church in Toronto.
While at Knox College in 1995, he became the student minister at St. John’s and hasn’t left. At St. John’s, which recently celebrated its 201st anniversary, Dan led the construc- tion of a brand-new church facility (2004), with plans for an addition underway.
His leadership has connected the church to the wider commu- nity, through his involvement with programs, such as: special-needs camps; a twinning project between lo- calschoolsandFirstNationsschools;
as the founder of the Bradford Minis- terial; as a hockey and soccer coach; and by integrating community groups into the life of the church.
In 2018, The Elden opened in part- nership with St. John’s PC to create a $54-million, 152-unit retirement home in response to a significant lack of housing for seniors in the community. The facility has part- nered with Southlake Hospital to care for patients during COVID-19.
Dan has served as moderator of the Presbytery of Oak Ridges, as ecumenical observer on behalf of The Presbyterian Church in Canada to the Evangelical Fellowship of Can- ada’s Council of Presidents, as the Presbyterian representative on the Bereavement Authority of Ontario’s faith-based Advisory Committee and in various other committee roles, in- cluding serving on the founding team of Stewards by Design.
At Tyndale University, Dan led the introduction of eight Honours B.A. programs, as well as the creation of a B.Ed. program certified by the Ontario College of Teachers. He also served as Managing Director of Save the Mothers, a maternal health non- governmental organization, and he has published multiple articles in a variety of publications.
For more information about the candidates for moderator and the 2021 General Assembly, visit presbyterian.ca/ga2021.
The Rev. Paulette M. Brown.
Connection
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
PRESBYTERIAN
9
The Rev. Mary Fontaine.
The Rev. Dr. Daniel D. Scott.
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