Staff
Minister: Rev. Karen Ptolemy-Stam
Director of Music: Victoria Warwick
Victoria Warwick loves the role of Music Director at St Paul’s United Church as it provides varied and interesting opportunities to interact with the congregation and the larger Midland community. Having been born and raised here, she is delighted to give back in this way.
Victoria received her early training with Clifford McAree and James Anagnoson in Toronto and holds degrees of Bachelor of Music (Performance), Bachelor of Education and Master of Music (Collaborative Piano) from the Don Wright Faculty of Music, University of Western Ontario, where she studied with John-Paul Bracey, Peter Smith and John Hess.
In 1982, she joined the teaching staff at Conservatory Canada and was appointed an examiner in 1988. She was named National Executive Director of Conservatory Canada in 2001 and held that position for 13 years.
In addition to being Music Director at St. Paul’s United Church, she is also Director of the Bell A'Peal Handbell Choir and the Georgian Bay Ringmasters Handchime Choir of St Paul’s, Director of the Bay Sound Children's Choir and Bay Sound VIVO Choir, music and choir Director of the Bay Sound Singers (formerly Serenata) and also Director of the Midland Y’s Men’s Music Festival.
Pastoral Care: Colleen Gareau
Colleen has been on the staff at St. Paul’s since January of 2017 following a move from Manitoba where she served over a span of 15 years at Central United as Sunday School Coordinator, Staff Associate and Visitor. Following a year as Discovery Kids Leader, she moved into her current position as Pastoral Care Coordinator in 2018. Colleen heads up a group of 12 visiting volunteers who keep in touch with our “At Home Faithfuls” including those living in Retirement Homes, Personal Care Homes and their own residences. She also provides worship at Hillcrest Village Care Home and leads the “Women’s Grief Group”.
Administrator: Louise Therrien
Louise Therrien is the Office Administrator at St. Paul’s United church, having started in in March 2017. Prior to this, she enjoyed a 40-year career with the Federal Public Service, working in various positions including Employment Insurance Claims Assessor, Employment Counsellor, Labour Market Information Analyst and Outreach worker. She also worked part-time as the bookkeeper for the family’s small business. She has lived and worked in Midland all her adult life. Louise enjoys her work immensely at St. Paul’s and finds the staff and congregation extremely friendly and pleasurable to work and interact with. In her spare time, she enjoys long nature walks, reading and spending quality time with friends and extended family.
Rebecca Amadei: Children & Youth Leader
Rebecca leads the Children (Discovery Kids) and Youth Programs at St. Paul’s. Each Sunday of the year, she offers enriching and faith-based lessons using stories, art, music and dance for the Discovery Kids. She also facilitates opportunities for the children to gather outside of church, including Camp Awesome (regional United Church camp program) and outdoor adventures. Once per month, she engages the youth in meaningful topics including mental health, anti-racism, LGBTQ+ advocacy, social justice, community outreach and outdoor activities. Her position at St. Paul’s is a great fit for her because it combines her passion for developing faith and spirituality in young people with her commitment to building a better world through education.
Rebecca has a degree in Religious Studies from St. Jerome’s University at the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto. She is also part of the leadership team from Camp Micah, an Ecumenical High School Leadership Camp for Social Justice.
Outside of work, Rebecca enjoys spending time outdoors with her family. Their favourite places include the beach, camping in the backcountry, biking around local trails and hosting house concerts at their home in Midland.
Glenn Erwin: Technical Services Coordinator
Glenn’s interest in technology started at a young age. He dismantled his fathers expensive Swiss watch to see how it worked and that was the last time it worked. He grew up in Toronto and in school, he was a member of the drama club as sound man, lighting technician and stage manager on different productions. In his late teens, he moved to North Western Ontario to work in the lumber mills as a shift Supervisor. As the industry started adopting computers, he became the go to person because of his knowledge and love of emerging technology. After 35 years in the industry, Glenn moved to Midland Ontario and worked as a teacher’s aid in the Adult Learning Centres and taught industrial health and safety courses for Georgian College. For the last 6 years he has been the Audiovisual Technician for The Midland Cultural Centre. In 2019 Glenn expanded on his love of people and media by joining the team at St. Paul’s United Church as Technical Services Coordinator.
Custodian: Sonya Donahue
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Volunteer Minister: Rev. Bev Irwin
