Staff / Lay Leaders

STAFF TEAM

Every member of our staffing team is a thought leader who has made significant contributions to our congregation. Each one brings a unique set of skills and expertise to Faith!

MINISTER:
Rev. Gert van Rensburg

Join us in welcoming our new minister, Rev. Gert. He was originally ordained  Dutch Reform Church of South Africa and served there to grow a new church. In 2012, he moved to  Burnaby, BC where he helped two churches amalgamate & then developed one of the properties into a high-rise building encompassing both a new church facility and condominiums above. From Burnaby, Rev. van Rensburg served in the Brantford area as minister at Sydenham-Heritage United Church enjoying a very  successful ministry with them.  He left to be closer to South Africa to support his parents on the family farm so he moved to work in the Church of Scotland. After a couple of years in Scotland and the passing of his father, Rev. van Rensburg felt called to return to the United Church of Canada. Now he is here with us at Faith United!

MUSIC DIRECTOR:

Gordon Vanderwoude

Gordon joined us as music director and organist in 2017. This talented musician comes to us having completed ARCT in Performance Piano, Grade 10 Violin. He plays piano, violin, viola, organ and sings!! Gordon has experience as Music Director in several churches as well as accompanist experience at the Kiwanis Music Festival along with classical orchestra, chamber and musical theatre. His experience includes the McMaster University Orchestra, McMaster University Choir, Hamilton City Ballet Orchestra (presently) where he plays violin, viola and piano in the orchestra.

OFFICE ADMIN:

Emily Smith

Emily joined our Faith community in January 2022, taking on the role of the office administrator. She was born and raised in Hamilton, and in previous years has joined us for euchre nights and trivia night! Emily graduated with honours from the Business Administration program at Mohawk College in 2018. Following graduation, she worked as a general manager for Pita Pit Canada until 2020. On her own time, she enjoys outdoor adventures, listening to music, spending time at her family's cottage and being in her family's company.

CUSTODIAN:

Aaron Abrams

Aaron has been our capable custodian for 20 years!  He cheerfully assists all our various in-house groups with set-ups and take-downs for church events and provides assistance wherever needed, in addition to keeping our facility crystal clean! In his spare time Aaron likes to bike, and spends hours walking and enjoying the trails around Hamilton.

LAY LEADERS


  • Dennis Horn, Chairman of the Unified Board
  • Colleen Cavanaugh, Regional Council Representative
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