On the Road with Ministry Forum Summer 2025

Last month, I (Director John) embarked on a Northern Ontario and Winnipeg Road Trip. This was sparked by our 500th Ministry Forum email subscriber contest - the winner being The Rev. Joyce Yanishewski, minister of St. Andrew’s Thunder Bay. One of the ‘prizes’ was that I would preach at the winner’s church! SO, I was going to Thunder Bay (justlike last year when our winners were The Rev. Amanda Currie and Barry Holtslander in Regina and Moose Jaw respectively and I was off to Saskatchewan!). The interesting coincidence was that I was born in Thunder Bay (soon after the amalgamation of the cities of Port Arthur and Fort William -  which may give some of you a sense of my age). Not only was I born there, but most of my life we’d travel to Thunder Bay for summer vacations - adding variety from time to time either choosing Highway 17 or Highway 11 routes. As a child, my entertainment consisted of what large roadside monuments we’d see - Wawa’s Goose, Cochrane’s Polar Bear, etc… so that’s why if you were following my social media during the roadtrip you’ll see some pictures featuring roadside monuments including a missing one in Nipigon!

​​Max the Moose, Dryden, Ontario

​​Husky the Muskie, Kenora, Ontario

The Trout in Nipigon is missing.

I flew to Thunder Bay and drove out to Winnipeg making a stop in Kenora to visit with ministry leaders. As promised, I preached at St. Andrew’s in Thunder Bay and the following Sunday preached at Prairie Presbyterian Church in Winnipeg. Over the ten days, I took a break from time to time to be a tourist and to explore the communities where our ministry leaders serve. Starting in Thunder Bay, I had the privilege to preach and worship with the good people of St. Andrew’s Thunder Bay. What a physical plant St. Andrew’s has. So much space which they are working hard to steward well. This congregation has been actively engaged in the New Beginnings program supported by the PCC. Over a lunch with Joyce and many of her key leaders following worship, I was caught up in their enthusiasm for ministry and mission. They are passionate about how they can be responsive to not only those whom they connect with in their building but also in the wider community in Thunder Bay. There is so much need and St. Andrew’s is doing their part to be the hands and feet of Christ in collaboration with many others. What I really appreciated was how supportive these key lay leaders were to each other and especially to their minister, Joyce! There was a clear mutual respect and love between them all. 

Rev. Joyce Yanishewski, minister of St. Andrew’s Thunder Bay. Our 500th subscriber to the Ministry Forum Email List

​​The Terry Fox Memorial, Thunder Bay

The Sleeping Giant(Nanabijou)

Visit the memorial site for Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School

My next stop was in Kenora to visit Yvonne Bearbull at Anamiewigummig (Kenora) Fellowship Centre (one of the 8 Indigenous Ministries of the National Indigenous Ministries Council). Yvonne was so generous with her time and presence. She shared much about the realities of ministry in Kenora particularly with Indigenous persons experiencing houselessness, poverty, additions, and mental health challenges. Funding is always a challenge and it was obvious that Yvonne and her team work tirelessly to find ways to make it work to support their guests. Most importantly, the ministry provides an urban “home” for many elders and young people who have endured the realities of the Residential School system or have aged out of the child welfare system. She shared many stories of the joys and hardships of this ministry - especially poignant was the deep relationships that are formed between ministry leaders and their guests. At the Centre, you will find laughter and fellowship as well as heartbreak and compassionate support as the bonds that are formed navigate life’s ups and downs. I was grateful that Yvonne made time for myself and Kate (my partner) to visit the memorial site for the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School. She made it a sacred experience by facilitating the offering of tobacco and holding space for us to quietly reflect and pray. She took a picture of us as we did so. Our visit to Kenora and time spent with Yvonne will be a memory we cherish and will continue to motivate us, personally, to advocate for indigenous justice both within the PCC and in our wider circles of influence.   

Finally, we visited Winnipeg. It was chance to meet with a few ministry leaders including Rev. Margaret Mullin, minister of Place of Hope Indigenous Presbyterian Church. As a kind of continuation of the conversation had with Yvonne, we were able to reflect on the uniqueness of ministry to indigenous peoples as well as the need to address both pathways to ministry and meaningful representation of indigenous ministry leaders within our PCC system. We also heard about the challenges within the Presbytery of Winnipeg that are quite common across Canada - number of vacancies, lack of human resources to do the work of the court, and the need / hope for an openness to change and creative new ways of being church. It was a gift to share breakfast with these ministry leaders. 

​​Some members of the Presbytery of Winnipeg.

As a special treat, I was gifted with a copy of one of The Rev. Matthew Brough’s novels, Del Ryder and the Crystal Seed. Matt is the minister at Prairie Presbyterian Church, Winnipeg where I preached while in the City of the Golden Boy (thestatue, not Matt!) 

​​Matthew Brough with his book “Del Ryder and the Crystal Seed”

“Golden Boy” Statue

Preaching Collective Participant and Ministry Leader, Erin

At Prairie, I was joined in worship with Erin who was a participant in The Preaching Collective preaching retreat held in Quebec earlier this year. Erin’s full time work is with the Province of Manitoba in Emergency Management. Specifically, she is involved in coordinating the mass evacuations being experienced by the people of Manitoba as a result of the fires. In prayer during worship she noted that some people would be returning home while others would need to remain in Winnipeg and other locations until infrastructure could be repaired. Hearing recently about more fires in the region, I can only imagine how Erin and others like her are working hard to support and care for those who have been devastated by these fires yet again - and will likely have a very long summer ahead of them. Related to a theme to which I bore witness on this trip often, the experience of indigenous persons who live in remote / fly-in communities across the province has been much different than some others. We experienced it personally in our hotel accommodations in Winnipeg as we met many indigenous individuals and families who had been evacuated and may be facing months of dislocation in the city. I can only imagine the isolation, boredom, and stress that they bear, especially with little children. 

I’m grateful to have had the privilege to connect with the variety of ministry leaders I met over the 10 days I was traveling. It was good to not only hear about their experiences but also see it first hand. As a former congregational minister who has only served in urban and suburban contexts in southern Ontario, I was struck by how limited - and diminishing - the chance to connect with colleagues is for those who serve in these areas. While the dissolution of a congregation is profoundly distressing to those who have worshipped there, I came to realize that it also means one less potential PCC friend, colleague, or co-labourer for those continuing to serve in their ministry context. I am hopeful that the ministry of the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Knox College will continue to provide tangible connections and relational networks to support and sustain ministry leaders - not just by our own offerings but through the many other opportunities we amplify through Ministry Forum.