Rev. Rick Spies, B.A., M. Div., Ordained Minister.
Rev Rick knew where he was heading at the age of five…and where was that? Why China, of course, as a missionary and the only thing that stopped him, right 
there and then, was a teacher who told him he would never survive because he didn’t like rice. Fortunately there were other influences, of a more positive nature, during his formative years in Petrolia, Ontario: oil riggers and visiting missionaries to his church with wonderful tales of foreign lands, the family minister he came to admire, sensitive to the needs of a fourteen year old, and a nurturing family with loving grandparents he speaks of so fondly.
Soon after Rev. Rick completed his degree at Carleton University in Ottawa, his itchy foot took over and he embarked on an eight year career as a teacher in Central Zambia at a Roman Catholic boys boarding school teaching African History, English and Bible Knowledge. The severe illness of his sister brought about his abrupt return to Canada.
Rev. Rick studied theology at the Vancouver School of Theology (a joint Anglican-Presbyterian-United College) and was ordained by the B.C. Conference in 1985. His first charge (1985-1991) was part of a team ministry on the five-point Ayer’s Cliff-Magog charge in the Eastern Townships of Quebec .He then served the Bowman-Bethseda charge in Ancaster (1991-1998).
Fortunately he found us in Jan. 1999. Rev. Rick is an outstanding spiritual leader; always approachable and very much aware of the needs of his flock. In 2004 he helped to launch the new Stephen Ministry of our congregation ... developing a team of trained lay visitors. Over the years he has done his share of work at Presbytery, Conference and General Council. He is currently the President of the Canadian Methodist Historical Society.
Ministry for Youth & Family: Rev. Tiina Cote
Greetings in the name of the Living Spirit!
I am so honoured to have been called into this partnership with you, the congregation and staff of St. Paul's United Church! I believe that we will experience great joy as we risk leaping into the world together and find our loving, playful and challenging God already on the path before us.
I bring into this new partnership a strong belief in community as the way of building God's Kingdom today. My high value of community was first nurtured when I worked as the Neighbourhood Redevelopment Planner for the City of Welland. In that context, I learned the importance of living intentionally as community, honouring each voice (including the children's) and facing the fears of taking on the seemingly insurmountable. This learning equipped me for the next decade or so of my life which focused on developing citizen coalitions in my hometown of Grimsby while raising my children.
As my children entered their teen years, I found myself drawn more and more into the life of the church as the place of holistic community. I started working in part-time ministry in Christian Education and Community Outreach at Trinity United Church in Grimsby in 1996. A year later I started my formal theological studies (part-time) at Emmanuel College. For nearly 8 years, this time of weaving theological studies with an active ministry was truly life-giving. For example, the youth mission trips undertaken in 2001 and 2004 laid the groundwork for my Masters of Divinity thesis on the integration of such mission trips into the life of sponsoring faith communities. This passion continues today with my participation with the Canadian Council of Churches Forum of Global Ministries and with the Justice, Ecumenical and Global Relations Unit of our United Church.
Following my graduation from Emmanuel College with my Masters of Divinity (2006), I entered a three-part internship year. The first component saw me engaged with Clinical Pastoral Education at the St. Catharine's General Hospital. That was followed by a short pastoral time with the people of Port Dalhousie United Church. Then I was sent to Barbados on an overseas internship with the Methodist Church of the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA). My daily living as a minority person within the two-thirds world cast profound new realities on the Body of Christ in our global village.
In 2007 I was ordained and settled half-time at Rock Chapel United Church, almost a stone’s throw up on the escarpment from St. Paul's United Church. Stepping into a rural community reignited my personal interests in issues of land, food, ecology and the nature of sustainable living. What a joy it has been to walk with that community of faith and its deep rural roots. And now it seems that God wants all of us to journey in a new collaborative way. I am sure that some of us are uncertain about this. Yet, God has called us together and that leaves me with a great anticipation of seeing where the joy will erupt among us all as we live our ministries. I truly look forward to stepping in God's future with you!
Tiina
(Rev. Tiina K. Cote)
Rev. W.M.Wayne Irwin
Baptized in 1945 (Grey United Church, Hampshire Mills, Ontario)
Confirmed 1956 (St. Paul’s United Church, Dundas, Ontario)
Charter Member (1959) of St. Mark’s United Church, Dundas, Ontario
Organist (1959 to 1968) St. Mark’s United, Dundas, and Thorncliffe Park United, Toronto
B.Sc. in Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry (McMaster 1995)
M.Div. (Emmanuel College, Victoria University, 1968)
Ordained: May, 1968
‘68-‘70: Rocanville-Spy Hill Pastoral Charge, Qu’Appelle Presbytery, Saskatchewan Conference
‘70-‘96: Lowville United Church (Halton Presbytery, Hamilton Conference)
‘95-‘96: Worship Office in the General Council Offices, Toronto
‘96-‘09: Centenary United Church (Hamilton Presbytery, Hamilton Conference)
Served the United Church in the Presbytery, Conference and General Council courts.
Served as President of Hamilton Conference (2002-2003)
Retired: June, 2009
Other:
Post-graduate studies (Toronto School of Theology) on origins of corporate ritual activity.
Studies on the effect of loving intentionality (prayer) on physiology.
Hosting of group study and reflection Tours to the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Scandinavia.
Co-author of “Worship Resource” (Years A, B, & C)
helping initiate use of Responsorial Psalms in United Church worship
Co-author and editor of “Lectern Resource” for 20 years,
a worship preparation journal for ministers, used across the world.
Launched and Directed Lowville Prayer Centre, conducting workshops in United Churches across Canada, for the teaching and practice of prayer.
Co-author of “Healing from the Heart: A Guide to Christian Healing for Individuals and Groups”
‘06-‘09: Studied Photography and Web Design (Mohawk College)
‘09: Designed, launched and commenced maintaining the Website for Hamilton Presbytery
‘09: Began archiving images of United Church buildings (about 250) in Hamilton Conference
‘10: Launched ‘Model T Websites’ to help put any Church on the Internet
Rev. Merrill Graham
• Queen's Theological College M.Div. 1963
• Ordained, London Conference 1963
• Pastorates at Juniper-Glassville, New Brunswick 1963-65, Brigden-Zion,
• Brigden, Ontario, 1965-70, Stamford United, Niagara Falls, 1970-86,
• St. Paul's, 1986-1998
After Retirement was at Olivet, St. Andrews and Centenary United Churches
Wife Charlotte, three children, seven grandchildren
Member Dundas Probus club, Dundas Retirees Golf League