Presbytery of Ottawa

News

A memorial service for Laszlo Peter, former pastor of the congregation, is scheduled for Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 1 p.m. at Gloucester Church, Ottawa. The service will be conducted entirely in Hungarian, by a Hungarian-speaking pastor from Toronto, whom the congregation has invited as a guest to lead them in remembering with thanksgiving the life and service of their former pastor. Refreshments will be served following the service. The funeral and burial was held in Hungary on March 30, 2026. Let us uphold the congregation of Calvin Hungarian Church, Ottawa and the surviving family of Laszlo Peter in our prayers at this time.
At it's regular meeting March 24... (1) approval was given to Kars-Richmond becoming a 2-point charge effective April 1/26, with David Whitecross as interim moderator; (2) progress was reported in regards to St. Stephen's - St. David & St Martin arrangements - an 8-month trial partnership is anticipated starting in May 2026; (3) Sunjay Henry was certified as a candidate for ministry; (4) the resignation of Karen Dimock as minister of St. Andrew's Kent St. was approved effective July 10/26; Paul Wu and Heather Paton were appointed co-interim moderators as of that date; (5) presbytery approved ongoing efforts to establish a French Presbyterian Community within the bounds; (6) a one-day retreat is being planned for Tuesday, June 2nd at St. David & St. Martin's Church (444 St. Laurent Blvd).on the theme "The Marriage of Church & Technology: For Better, For Worse"
Presbytery Animator News... info on the April 11, 2026 Presbytery-wide event here.
We are sad to announce the passing of David Whitehead recently in Ottawa. A "memorial minute" has been drafted.
"Safe Church" (March 2026) Recently there has been some conversation in the PCC around the concept of "safe church', providing our people with a safe environment to worship, learn and grow in faith. It encompasses three existing policies within the PCC: Leading with Care, Harassment and Sexual Abuse and Harassment. This conversation is in the early stages; here are some resources on our national website dealing with this. See the page "Safe Church Commitment" for more information.
The clerk of Presbytery has received word of the passing of Lazlo Peter, recently retired minister of Calvin Hungarian Church, Ottawa, in Hungary, on March 3, 2026. Funeral arrangements (in Hungary) are pending. Please uphold his family and members of Calvin church in your prayers.
At its regular meeting on January 20, 2026... (1) Reine Boghos was named interim moderator of Calvin Hungarian church, following the retirement of Lazlo Peter on January 1, 2026; (2) The Presbytery treasurer is currently experiencing some health issues; his duties are being covered by the clerk and the chair of the Finance & Maintenance Committee. For the time being any business involving the treasurer should be directed to James Hurd @ 10 Chesterton Drive, Ottawa ON K2E 5S9
pages on this site providing info on QR codes and website security have been updated and a new Presbytery QR code and info card produced. See misc below.
Passings, 2025... We are thankful for the contributions to the life and work of the Presbytery of Ottawa by the following ministers and elders:
Frances Cordukes (22-Oct-2025)
Linda Whitehead (9-Aug-2025)
Art Pattison (28-Mar-2025)
G.A. News... Three announcements have been made by the General Assembly office which may be of interest to presbyters.
1. the General Assembly office has a new senior administrator in the person of Connie Wardle, who is the successor to Terrie-Lee Hamilton, who is retiring as of December 31, 2025.
2. the next General Assembly, appointed to convene on Sunday, June 7, 2026 is now scheduled to be held at York University, Toronto.
3. the three nominees for moderator of the General Assembly in 2026 include:
  · Marianne Emig Carr, Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Brockville, ON and St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Caintown, ON.
  · Cherie Inksetter, Minister, Morningside-High Park Presbyterian Church, Toronto, ON
  · Lara Scholey, Minister, St. Columba by-the-Lake Presbyterian Church, Pointe-Claire, QC.
At it's regular meeting on November 18... (1) three names were added to the Appendix to the Roll: Mary E. (Lyn) Hughes and William Ball, retired ministers, and Christine Ball, diacinal minister without charge; (2) presbytery received a request to retire from Lazlo Peter of Calvin Hungarian Church. A presbytery meeting to deal with that request is called for Tuesday December 2 @ 7 PM. The meeting will be held online via Zoom; (3) it was decided to hold the first meeting of the new year (scheduled for January 20, 2026) online via Zoom.
Call sustained... Aug. 8/25 update: At a special meeting on July 22 at Parkwood church, presbytery sustained a call from Knox Church Manotick to Feras Chamas. The service of induction took place on Sunday, September 7, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.
July 8, 2025: Presbytery of Ottawa is called to meet in emergent session on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 at 7 pm at Parkwood Church, 10 Chesterton Drive, Ottawa, for the following purposes: (a) to receive a report from the interim moderator for Knox Church, Manotick; (b) to consider a call from Knox Church, Manotick addressed to Feras Chamas, presently serving as minister at Morrisburg and Ingleside in the Presbytery of Seaway-Glengarry; and (c) to address any matters related to or consequent upon the foregoing.
At it's regular meeting May 20... (1) presbytery sustained a call from St. Paul's church, Ottawa to Rev. Elizabeth Chan, currently serving St. Andrew's church Kars and Osgoode church, Vernon. The Induction Service took place at St. Paul's church Sunday June 22 @ 7pm. Watch the recording here; view the program here; (2) Moderators pro tem were appoined for Kars (Doug Kendall) and Vernon (James Hurd) effective June 21; (3) Jackson Bradley was appointed summer student at St. Andrew's church, Aylmer QC at the special presbytery meeting on April 23, has started his work. His term will be from May 1, 2025 to August 25, 2025. Welcome, Jackson!

The service celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church in Canada took place Sunday May 4 @ 3pm at St. Paul's church, Ottawa. Here are the links: view the livestream recording · download the program
The WMS Synodical of Quebec and Eastern Ontario AGM was held on Friday, April 25th, 2025 from 9.30 am to 3 pm at St Paul’s Presbyterian Church, 319 Prescott Street, Kemptville (MAP). The theme will be “Resilience” with speaker Diana Kemp on Cuba. The lunch meal costs $15. A poster is available here.
At it's regular meeting on January 21/25... (1) the resignation of Liz Chan as interim moderator for St. Paul's church was accepted, and Jim Pot was named as replacement; (2) a Guide for addressing Presbytery was approved by Presbytery for guidance of sessions and congregations when cited to appear before the presbytery and is now available linked off the documents page.
20-nov-2024: The updated Standing Orders have been uploaded to the Presbytery site - here.
Synod 2024... met in Arnprior ON on Oct. 18 & 19. This year was a "full court" (all members of any of the 5 presbyteries could attend). A conference was also be held, with theme speaker Carey Nieuwhof. Slides and videos of the two main theme talks are now available, linked off the Synod 2024 page here.
Passings, 2024... We are thankful for the contributions to the life and work of the Presbytery of Ottawa by the following elders:
Bonnie Anderson (21-Sep-2024)
Kalman Fejes (11-Sep-2024)
Don MacMillan (17-Jun-2024)

Miscellaneous

"NOT SECURE" got you worried? More info on websites and SSL Certificates in the webserant's report to the May 2019 meeting of Presbytery, available here.
Presbytery QR codes, including background info, a QR code for the Presbytery of Ottawa and a link to a QR code generator.