Clergy and Staff
Our Rector: Greg Symmes
Hello and welcome! I'm Greg Symmes, the minister at St. Timothy's.
I've enjoyed my ministry, as a priest for more than 24 years, serving parishes in Newmarket, Orillia, Richmond Hill and Bolton. I entered ministry after a career in construction and running my own successful business and I still like to putter around with my woodworking. I've been a husband for more than thirty years (and still counting!) and am a father to three grown children.
I enjoy being outdoors; camping, fishing and golfing – though I don't necessarily enjoy every game! – and also tried curling for the first time last year. I'm a volunteer, actively involved in the welfare of our First Nations' people and culture, most recently spending five days last summer with my wife Ardith teaching and leading worship in Moosenee and Moose Factory.
And I'm just one person at St. Timothy's. And I'm just one story. And upon my arrival in October 2008, I was warmly welcomed.
We are a family at St. Timothy's. Young, old, and in-between, individuals and families, with different backgrounds and experiences, we celebrate our diversity – in people, in worship, in friendly social activities and events, and in our outreach programs. We're a community of people on different journeys, coming together to encourage and support each other in a Christian lifestyle and to reach out to others who need a helping hand.
I believe a church can be a place of hope and strength in a troubled world. This is what I've found at the heart of St. Timothy's. So, whatever your journey, I'm glad you're here. You've come to the right place.
Come visit St. Timothy's. Call us. Drop by. Come join your journey with ours. You are most welcome.
I hope to see you soon.
In peace,
Greg
Our Curate: Maggie Helwig
The Reverend Maggie Helwig has been the assistant curate at St Timothy's since May 2011. Maggie was born in Liverpool, England, but grew up in Kingston, Ontario, and studied classics at Trent University in Peterborough. She has spent much of her life working as a writer, and has published twelve books of poetry and fiction. She's also worked on international human rights issues, especially in East Timor and Bosnia. In 2001, she helped to start a community meal program for homeless and marginally housed people at St Thomas's, Huron Street, and coordinated that program until she left St Thomas's for St Timothy's. She also worked for several years as a Parish Outreach Facilitator for the Diocese, and is currently the chair of the diocesan Social Justice and Advocacy Committee and a member of the Child Poverty Subcommittee. She received her Masters of Divinity from Trinity College in 2011.
Maggie has particular interests in outreach and social justice, and in adult Christian education, but also works with Greg on pastoral care, preaching and liturgy. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening and singing. She's married to Ken, a magazine editor, and they have one teenage daughter.
Our Choir Director: Brainerd Blyden-Taylor
Brainerd Blyden-Taylor has led choirs since his teen years and is well known in the Toronto area for his work with church choirs, school boards, and as founder and musical director of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale.
Our Organist: Edward Connell
Edward Connell comes from Edmonton, where he won the Royal Conservatory's gold medal in piano performance while still a teenager. His early musical career was devoted to creating and directing music for professional theatre, including eleven original musicals. He has been head of music theory, piano and choral music at the Alberta College Conservatory, and was for several years Music Director of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, where he led one of the largest church music programs in Canada. His choral career includes being a singer, pianist and conductor with ProCoro Canada, the Artistic Directorship of Cantilena Consort, and founder and first conductor of Edmonton Vocal Minority. Mr. Connell has been the artistic director of Forte — the Toronto Men's Chorus since 2002. This past season, he led this fine chorus to enter the CBC Choral Competition, where Forte was named a national finalist. Mr. Connell's many academic honours include degrees and diplomas in piano, organ, music theory, composition and conducting. Although he is entirely self-taught as an organist, he is an honoured Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists with the Doreen Porter Prize, the Heather Spry Prize and the Healey Willan Prize. Since 2005, he has been concert pianist with the National Ballet of Canada, where, during the past season, he has performed 24 Preludes by Chopin, Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, Rubies (Stravinsky's Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra) and Polyphonia (solo piano pieces by Gyorgy Ligetti). He joined St. Timothy's as organist in 2008.
Our Office Administrator: Sharon Phillip
Sharon joined St. Timothy's on September 2, 2008 after serving as the Office Administrator for Colin Johnson, the Diocesan Bishop of Toronto for a little more than a year, filling in for the previous incumbent while she was on maternity leave. Sharon has held a broad range of business and church positions, having spent 30 years with the Government of Ontario in a variety of roles including managing a staff of 21 offering a full range of savings banking services to clients at the Queen's Park Branch of the Province of Ontario Savings Office. She has also variously been a school teacher, a consultant/trainer and has had several years experience as an office administrator.
On the church front, Sharon has served as Rector's Warden at her home church of St. Ninian's and as Warden and Church School Superintendent at the Church of the Nativity. She also served as Parish Administrator at St. Luke's Church before being lured away to work for Bishop Johnson last year.
Crystal Barnett, Coordinator of Congregation Development
Crystal Barnett is the Coordinator of Congregation Development and works in the area of Youth, Young Families and Missional Church Ministry at St. Timothy's on a part-time basis, and also has a position at All Saints Anglican Church (Dundas and Sherbourne Streets).
Crystal grew up in Aylmer, Ontario and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo for Rhetoric and Professional Writing. Following this, she spent a year and a half teaching English in Taiwan. Her love of travelling enabled her to see much of Southeast Asia during her time in Taiwan. Crystal moved to Toronto in 2007, where she completed her Masters of Education at OISE in Adult Education and Community Development with a collaborative in Comparative, International and Development Education. She also completed her TESL Ontario certification and teaches EFL at the University of Toronto in the summer.
Crystal enjoys spending time with her husband, Scott, and with friends and family. Crystal has many interests and aspiring hobbies, but most of all she likes being active, the great outdoors, music, writing and being creative.