Personnel & Contact info
Minister
Reverend Arlen John Bonnar
Reverend Arlen John Bonnar B.A.; B.Th.; M.Div., was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and has been a resident of Quebec for 40 years. He is a graduate of Bishop's and McGill universities and United Theological College. Prior to becoming a minister, Arlen worked for many years with the intellectually handicapped. His two internships while studying theology were at Augustine United Church in Winnipeg and in Lilongwe, Malawi with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. Upon ordination in 1984, he was settled at Sutton and Dunham United Churches in the Eastern Townships. After five years in the two-point pastoral charge Arlen returned to Montreal as Executive Director of Montreal City Mission, an outreach ministry of the United Church of Canada. Three years later he became staff chaplain at the Montreal General Hospital. For the next 10 years he worked primarily in the HIV/AIDS clinics (he was the first full-time chaplain in this milieu in the world) and in the Palliative Care Units of the Montreal General and Royal Victoria hospitals. He attended and presented workshops at many international conferences on AIDS and Palliative Care with a focus on spiritual responses to illness from a multi-cultural and inter-faith perspective and aimed at patients, families and health-care professionals. In 2000, Arlen began his ministry at St. James United Church. He has a passion for ministry that is inclusive of all God's people and delights in the diverse community that is St. James.
Volunteer associate minister
Reverend Doctor Phyllis Smyth
Reverend Doctor Phyllis Smyth of Montreal celebrated her 45 years of ordination in 2009. She was accepted as a candidate for ministry by the Session of St. James United Church in Montreal and ordained in 1964 by Montreal and Ottawa Conference. She did graduate and doctoral studies in Germany and Scotland, taught at the University of Winnipeg and the Université de Montréal, was a minister of churches in the Saguenay-Lac St-Jean region and in Montreal and worked extensively as a hospital chaplain in Winnipeg, Toronto, Quebec City and Montreal. She has three honorary doctorates.
Volunteer associate minister
Reverend Doug Stewart
Reverend Doug Stewart of Antigonish, NS celebrated his 30 years of ordination in 2009. A graduate of St. Francis Xavier University and the Atlantic School of Theology, he did internships in Harrington Harbour, Shefferville and Sept-Iles Qc and in Norman Wells in the North West Territories. After ordination in the Maritime Conference of the United Church of Canada, he led an ecumenical congregation of United Church, Lutheran, Anglican and Ukrainian Orthodox Christians in Peace River, Alberta, and a joint Anglican and United Church congregation in Grandmere, QC, before being called to Valois United Church in suburban Pointe-Claire, QC. He now is Personnel Minister for the Montreal and Ottawa Conference of the United Church of Canada.
Director of Music
Philip Crozier
Choral Director
Jean-Sébastien Allaire
For more information about our music staff, please see the Church Music page.
Administrative Secretary
Anne Jones
Anne Jones was born and raised in Montreal. Anne is the Adminstrative Secretary and has worked at St. James since 1970.
Bookkeeper
Margaret McWhinnie
Margaret McWhinnie was born in Scotland and moved to Canada in 1958. She is the church bookkeeper and has been at the church since 1978.
Caretakers
Caretakers Pablo Gonzales (left) and Denis Toupin. Pablo came to Canada from Chile in 1986 and has been working at St. James since 2002. Denis started working at the church in the summer of 2011.
Beadle
Peter Kandalaft
Caretaker
Jean-Claude Beaudry
We acquired Peter — a third generation Canadian — from the Anglicans. In the Anglican church a beadle is appointed to assist the minister and maintain order. He is responsible for sound and security on Sunday.
Jean-Claude Beaudry, occasional caretaker, came to St. James in 2007.
