| Mar 21, 2018


Catherine Oxenford-Grant has been the minister for the congregation of Trinity United Church in Verona since January. She came to Verona from Westport, where she had been the full time student minister for two years. The opportunity to work on a part-time basis appealed to her, and she welcomed the appointment. She will be ordained as a United Church Minister in Napanee at the end of April, and at the end of June the congregation will have the option of engaging her on a long term basis.

But she has not spent a lot of time thinking about all that since taking on the challenge of ministering to the Harrowsmith-Verona Pastoral Charge. She has been too busy enjoying what she describes as a “really good fit” between herself and the congregation. “I think they are what I need right now and I am what they need” she says of the relationship.

“This particular church has just gone through an amalgamation with her sister church, St. Paul’s in Harrowsmith. There is a lot of grieving and change to cope with. That is something I’ve had training to help out with, through my studies in spiritual and pastoral care.

“There is a tremendous sense of loss for many from Harrowsmith. They have memories that are tied in to the very stones of a church where they were baptized, where they were married, where funerals for their loved ones were held, where they went to have fellowship and live their life with God. These aren’t easy things to lose,” she said.

Some of the Harrowsmith people have come to Trinity for services, some of them with reluctance, and some have drifted away. Oxenford-Grant spends about half of the 20 hours a week that she works at Trinity preparing for and officiating at services, and half on parish matters. That includes phoning people who she may never have met, but has been told are hurting about the amalgamation and might appreciate hearing from her.

“It does help that I am new here, I think, but I am following in some very fine footsteps who have served the Harrowsmith-Verona Pastoral Charge, my mentor the Reverend Dr. John Young, Rev. Lynda Price and Rev. Patsy Henry, who are all friends.”

For ‘Pastor Cat’, as she is called by some of her parishioners, one of the best parts of her new job has been the people in the church.

“They are wonderful people, absolutely wonderful people, and I believe I have their respect and their affection. We feel like it is a tremendous fit. What people at Trinity are most appreciative of is energy, humour, theological and pastoral understanding, and a really worshipful service.”

She has taken an interesting path to ordination. Although her entire career has been with the United Church, becoming a minister was never something she expected to do. Her first career was spent in music. She graduated from the Royal Conservatory, and became a singer, pianist, organist and as choir master at two large churches in Ottawa and Brockville for 30 years. She seemed to have found her niche.

Then, as she describes it in a YouTube video, she literally received a message from God about her future, and knew it was time to step away from music and towards ordained ministry. She took her Master of Divinity at Queen’s and began the path to ordination with the United Church, all leading to this posting and beyond.

Nowadays her musical involvement is limited to singing in the choir under director Stanley Stinchcombe and with the Brockville Community Choir in her home town of Brockville.

“My hope is that I will be able to spend several years at Trinity United,” she said.

The feeling seems to be mutual.

In a press release formally announcing her arrival in Verona, Ruth Barker, a member of the Trinity United Committee of Stewards wrote “Trinity United Church is a community asset and is proud to out-love any adversity. Every year the church becomes a more vibrant symbol of the strength and courage of good people and now to continue our growth and dedication into the future of this community, we are honoured to welcome our new Minister Catherine Oxenford-Grant. Our Spiritual awakening could not be better served.”

After ordination next month, Minister Cat Oxenford-Grant seems to have a pretty optimistic future lined up.

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