Staff and Leadership
Rev. Dave Ponting, Rector
Dave Ponting is the priest at Grace Anglican Church and is a native of Burlington, Ontario. After completion of seminary he was ordained in 1996 and served his first post as rector of a small rural two-point parish on the shores of Lake Erie. While rector of that parish he served as the chair of the Niagara Diocesan Outreach committee.
From July 1999 to July 2005 Dave was the Director of Stewardship and Financial Development for the Anglican Diocese of Niagara. During that assignment he also took on the role of publisher of the diocesan newspaper representing the Bishop. At the request of local diocesan bishops Dave has been leading stewardship workshops in several dioceses within the Canadian Anglican church the past three years. In September 2005, Dave's book entitled From Scarcity to Abundance was published by ABC Publishing.
Prior to entering the priesthood Dave worked in the Marketing departments of large multi-national consumer packaged goods companies such as Crayola Crayons where he was National Marketing Manager. He also spent four years in senior management with a large multi-national advertising agency.
Dave's personal passion is that the church be faithful to its prophetic role to be a voice for the voiceless on key social justice issues in our society. He is also very interested in evangelism and walking with people as guide and mentor as their faith journeys' deepen.
Dave has two university-aged daughters. His personal interests include live theatre, creative writing, music, tennis, and golf. His daughters allow him to crack jokes if he warns them first that humour is coming. He has never had a hole-in-one and is not pleased about it.
To contact Dave Ponting, send an e-mail to .
Janet Fehr, Parish Secretary
Meet Janet Fehr, our parish secretary. Janet works mornings from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Janet takes general inquiries, hall and church bookings, announcements for our weekly bulletin (which should be given to here by 9 a.m. Thursdays at the latest). She is responsible for producing the weekly order of service and the PowerPoint presentation for our new Praise worship service. Janet will also be co-ordinating several parish communication and publishing projects and is responsible for keeping the website updated.
Please take the time to drop by and welcome her. She'd love to meet you.
You can send Janet an e-mail at .
Dave Johnston, Co-ordinator of Volunteer Ministries
Meet Dave Johnston, Co-ordinator of Volunteer Ministries at Grace Church. Dave's office hours are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and you can reach Dave during these hours or via e-mail.
As co-ordinator of volunteers, Dave is responsible for the identification and recruiting of volunteers for all parish ministries and committees. Dave generates rosters for various volunteer groups that help make Grace church worship and parish life run smoothly. If you are interested in volunteering at Grace Church, speak to Dave. We have many volunteer opportunities for those looking to contribute to our community.
Dave is also the parish envelope secretary and parish treasurer. Dave especially appreciates it if you keep him up to date on parishioners in hospital or in need of pastoral care.
Dave is a huge part of what goes on at Grace. Drop in and say "Hi."
To contact Dave Johnson, send an e-mail to .
The Reverend Vickie Edgeworth-Pitcher, Chaplain to the Laurier Brantford Campus
Thanks to the investment income of its St. Stephen's Trust fund, Grace Church is pleased to support the ministry of the chaplain to Laurier Brantford campus, the Reverend Vickie Edgeworth-Pitcher. In her own words, Vickie describes her background:
I am a graduate of McMaster University with a degree in Classical Civilizations and a graduate of Trinity College with my Masters of Divinity. I know that sounds pretty lofty, but it really means that I am very interested in history. I believe that in order to know where we are and where we’re going, we have to know where we’ve been and how we got where we are! (Another sermon yet to come!) Throughout the course of my 20 years of ordained ministry, and my years in Lay-Ministry, I have been very fortunate to discover that I have a calling in the area of pastoral care and spiritual guidance. I enjoy creating and providing leadership in guided meditations, prayer work shops (i.e. prayer beads, teach us to pray). I also have experience with labyrinths, prayer chains and liturgical dance. Having been a parish priest for most of my vocation, I have had a great deal of experience providing pastoral care for survivors of sexual and ritual abuse. As a long term Resource Person for Telecare Burlington, I also have experience responding to crisis situations. I am very excited about this new role and look forward to meeting students, faculty and staff." With this posting, Grace is pleased to be in a position to support the students, faculty and staff of Laurier, Brantford. This represents a major long-term commitment for the parish. It is our hope to fundraise to make this a full time position very quickly.
Vickie is available to meet with students, plan special events, and lead worship both on campus and at Grace Church.
Daniel Durksen, Director of Music
Daniel brings a deep personal faith and a depth and breadth of musical experience and gifts to his new assignment.
Daniel grew up in St Catharines, Ontario, in a community surrounded by fruit farms and not nearly so many wineries as one finds there today. Not that he would have noticed, being the eldest son of abstaining and devout Mennonite parents.
After graduating from Brock University with a degree in Music and German, Daniel headed out for the big world of Winnipeg, city of diverse ethnic communities and bitterly cold winters. After a few years of studying, playing and teaching in that city, he returned to Ontario. In 1987 he graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Masters in Piano Performance. It was during this time that he moved to Ingersoll, between London and Woodstock. For the last twenty years his life has consisted of a diverse collection of musical activities -- playing the organ and directing the choir at First Baptist Church, playing for various dance studios in the area, and playing for choirs in Kitchener-Waterloo and Tillsonburg.
Now it is time for a change -- Daniel is looking forward to becoming part of the worship and musical life of another community of faith, a community with long traditions and a rich liturgical past. If you are interested in singing in the choir, practices are Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m.
Bill Schatz, Praise Band Leader
Mr. Bill Schatz is an important part of our Grace Church staff as Music Director and band leader of our "Counterpoint" Praise band. Bill has an excellent musical background including a degreee in music from University of Western Ontario. Bill taught music and English at BCI in Brantford and currently teaches music at McKinnon Park Secondary School in Caledonia.
Bill has been busy putting a band together in preparation for the launch of our new Praise Worship service in September 2007. He is rehearsing musicians and vocalists Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. If you would like to be a part of this exciting project and work with a great band leader please contact the church office at 519-752-6814, ext. 23.
Meet our Honourary Assistants
The Reverend Alex Morris
Many residents of Brantford know Alex Morris very well. For thirteen
years Alex was Chaplain and Manager of Pastoral Services at the
Brantford General Hospital. Since his retirement from that position,
Alex has been an important part of the ministry team at Grace Church.
Certified in Clinical Pastoral Education, Alex presents training programs for parish pastoral visitors. In addition to leading worship services, Alex is an accomplished organist and can often be found lending his voice to the Grace Church choir. As well as his association with Grace Church, Alex is the Chaplain of Riverview Terrace Residence and the Brant Naval Veterans' Assocation.
With his wife Joyce, Alex sings in The Grand River Chorus. Both are delighted to be able to spend time with their family including two grandsons. Alex and Joyce enjoy travelling and have visited many continents teaching English as a second language.
The Reverend Canon Bob Schroeder
Bob Schroeder is recently retired, having served for a number of years in the Diocese of Huron and the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. His present focus is interim ministry. Bob continues to be an occasional lecturer at Renison College, University of Waterloo, assists with the diocesan program "Fresh Start" for clergy in transition, and serves on the Board of Directors for Brant Interfaith Counseling.
He has an interest in spiritual direction and meets with individuals on request.
In addition to leading worship, Bob will be facilitating Christian education events at Grace.
Bob is a native of Minnesota, having completed his undergraduate degree in that state. He continued his education at the University of Western Ontario, graduating with a Master of Arts and Master of Divinity degree. He has also done graduate work in theology at Wilfred Laurier University and at the theology faculty in Berlin, Germany.
Bob's first vocation was teaching and he enjoys facilitating small group studies. He is married to Mieke and they have an adult son, Stephen.
Both Bob and Mieke are proud to be a part of Grace Church. They feel Grace has much to offer in terms of its outreach to the community, its long and venerable history, and strong music program.
Wardens
Feel free to contact either , , or if you have any concerns.
