January 18, 2018: From Mechanical Engineer to Spiritual Engineer;
St. Stephen’s Welcomes New Minister.
By Charles Singh.
“Church Street”, as Parkdale Avenue was once known, is celebrating the arrival of a new minister.
St Stephen’s Presbyterian welcomed Rev. Meg Patterson, graduate of the Knox College, University of Toronto with her Masters in Divinity. Meg has a life-long association with the Presbyterian Church but prior to her call to ministry she worked as a mechanical engineer. She and her husband Ian have three wonderful children ages nine and six (twins) and all are settling in to their new adventure in Ottawa and with the family of St. Stephen’s.
“It is a joy for me to plan and lead worship,” says Rev. Patterson, “ I gave my first sermon at the age of 14, and it has been something I have enjoyed since then. I like to experiment a bit with my preaching style, although it is always based on Scripture. Music has always been important to me, and I appreciate meaningful, theologically sound, sing-able praise songs that speak to the theme of the Scripture for the day. I love ministering within a community of people who are passionate for Christ and for God’s mission within their neighbourhood, as well as in the larger global context. I see the entire congregation as ministers of grace and love, where I am the pastor of ministers, equipping people to be Christ’s hands and feet in the community.”
St. Stephen’s has a proud history in the west-end, and was founded as a result of a burgeoning Church School after the second world-war. It was one of those Churches that sponsored Vietnamese Refugees back in the late 70’s.
Within the neighbourhood, St. Stephen’s is a proud partner and active supporter of the Parkdale Food Center, the Youth Services Bureau; A.A., the Ottawa West Community Support, the Forward Shelter and Campus Ministry at Algonquin College.
Rev. Patterson hopes that St. Stephen’s will continue to have a positive impact in our Community.
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