St. John’s Anglican Church Welcomes New Priest
submitted by Elizabeth Mann
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]St. John’s Anglican Church in Richmond welcomed its new priest-in-charge, Reverend Ryan Boivin, on January 12th of this year. After the retirement of Rev. Michel Dubord in August 2016, the congregation was led by two successive interim priests until news came in late 2017 that the church would soon have its “own” incumbent priest as part of the Carleton West Group Ministry team serving the congregations of St. John’s Richmond, Christ Church Ashton, and St. Paul’s Kanata.
Born and raised in Windsor, Ryan completed a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Education at the University of Windsor in 2007. After moving to Ottawa in 2011 when his wife, Kara, began doctoral studies at Carleton University, Ryan completed a Master of Divinity at Saint Paul University in the spring of 2016. He was subsequently appointed assistant curate at Christ Church Bells Corners.
Ryan also has a culinary skills (chef) certificate from St. Clair College, and has already contributed one of his creations to the monthly potluck lunch at St. John’s. When not following his favourite teams (the Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers), Ryan enjoys reading fiction, golfing, and curling. Ryan and Kara have a dog, Neville, and a one-year-old son, Theodore.
On Ash Wednesday (Feb. 14th), Ryan and Kerri Brennan, priest-in-charge at Christ Church Ashton, will be starting a brand new tradition in Richmond, “Ashes to Go”. They’ll be taking the ashes out into the community (outside King’s Independent between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.), and sharing a prayer with anyone interested in marking the start of Lent.
Ryan and Kerri will also be running a Youth Lenten Program on three Friday evenings (5-8 p.m.) at the Team Parishes: Feb. 23 at St. Paul’s Kanata, March 2 at Christ Church Ashton and March 9 at St. John’s Richmond. Participants will cook and eat a meal together, watch a portion of the Harry Potter series and have a discussion, while getting to know one another and having a good time.
Rev. Ryan would like to extend a warm welcome to all to visit St. John’s at its 8:30 or 10 a.m. services on Sundays (kids’ craft program during the 10 a.m. service) and looks forward to meeting more people in the community.
