I am proud to say that I am a native Vancouverite and was born in St Paul’s hospital in Downtown. I grew up in Kerrisdale and went to Maple Grove Elementary and then Magee High School. In High School I developed a love for Theatre and when I graduated and went to UBC I took a Bachelor’s Degree in Acting. I acted professionally for a time and with the help of two other UBC grads started our own theatre company. During this time I started to direct theatre productions, which was always my goal.
I then went to SFU and did three years of graduate studies in Communication. During this time I also started to teach drama part-time at the High School level. I love teaching and eventually found myself a full-time position teaching Drama and other subjects at a local private school. I did this job for about fourteen years.
While I was teaching I found my spirituality was not being fed. I decided to go to church and I fell in love with the fellowship and the sacramentality of the Sunday service. It is a long story, but I eventually got the call to ministry and was sponsored by St Augustine’s Church in Marpole. I went to the Vancouver School of Theology and graduated with my Master of Divinity eight years ago. I served as Curate at Christ Church Cathedral for two years. While at the Cathedral I learned a great deal from Dean Peter Elliott and The Ven. Dr. Ellen Clark-King. After my two year term as a Curate was completed I was very pleased to be called by Bishop Michael and to be received by the Wardens and the congregation of St Thomas Vancouver in August 2010 to fill an interim position. St Thomas for me was an incredibly warm, welcoming and fun place to be and I learned a great deal there about being a Parish Priest. I applied for the position at St. John North Vancouver in the spring of 2012 and was thrilled and honoured to be chosen by the Canonical Committee and receive the blessing of Bishop Michael.
My new position was divided between the work of the Parish Priest at St John and as a leader in the Community Engagement Team in the Deanery of North Vancouver. I was inducted to the community of St John in September of 2012 and I still am very much engaged and excited to be at St. John's ten years later . I would very much look forward to serving this wonderful community for many years to come. The congregation of St. John's is my other family and I consider myself blessed to be here. I am also currently service as the Dean of North Vancouver in the Diocese of New Westminster.
As I start my tenth year as Priest In Charge of St John's I am extremely excited and genuinely energized by the plans we have for the year ahead. We are an innovative Church and are always welcome to trying new ways to engage people in their spiritual journey. A recent visiting clergy was moved by our worship service and said to everyone afterwards that, "Prayer is here". I fully agree. St John's is a community that finds joy in worship and fulfilment in our service to God and each other.
I am blessed with a fantastic family. I have an older sister, Erin who lives in the United States with her Husband John, and their daughter and my niece Caitlin lives with her Husband George in the United States as well. My mother Shirley died ten years ago and my father Jack still lives in Vancouver. I live in Kitsilano with my wonderful partner Christopher.
I thought I might also share with you a couple of my favourite websites. The first is World Prayers. It is an amazing site of ecumenical prayers from different people and cultures around the world and I like the way in which you can search for the kind of prayer you might be looking for. When on site, be sure to look up the prayer by written by Dr Jane Goodall. Yes, the famed chimpanzee researcher wrote an amazing prayer about humanity, animals and peace on earth. The other site is Sacred Space. The site is run by a group of Irish Jesuits and each day they give you a sample of scriptural readings and thoughts. I find it is a very centring way to start your day. I hope you enjoy these sites as much as I have.
If you are not already a part of our community, please do come and join us for our next Sunday service. Your presence would be an honour and a blessing to us all.
May God's Peace Be With You, The Reverend Patrick Blaney
