Friends: you may have noticed some new faces in our official leadership ranks. They’re not all unfamiliar: Olivia LaPointe has sung for us for years, and has just moved back from New Brunswick. But Fraser Elsdon and Matthew Coulthard are brand new to us. Here is a bit about them. Note: always feed the interns! Seriously, they’re eager to get to know you, so ask them to coffee or meals and get to know them! - Jason
Olivia LaPointe
What will your role be at TEMC and what are you most excited about in it?
I am thrilled to join TEMC as the Worship Arts Assistant! It's an honour to collaborate with our Director of Music, Dr. Elaine Choi. On Sundays, you'll find me singing in both the contemporary service and the Sanctuary Choir. I'm also excited about my role with the TEMC Choir School as an instructor for Seraphic Voices, where I look forward to inspiring and guiding the next generation of vocalists in their music and faith journey. Having previously sung at TEMC four years ago, I am so grateful for the chance to return and contribute to this vibrant and beautiful community. I can't wait to collaborate with such a passionate and dedicated team!
How did you come to Christian faith and how do you hope to help pass it on to others?
I am deeply grateful for having grown up in a family grounded in strong faith, where our values of family, music, and Christianity provided a solid foundation throughout my life. The supportive and welcoming church community in my hometown of Fredericton, New Brunswick, has shaped my understanding of the Christian faith, much like the welcoming environment here at TEMC. God's love brings me profound peace, and I am eager to share that peace and joy with others. Inspired by the kindness and openness of my family and friends, I aspire to follow their example by spreading God's light and love to everyone I encounter.
What’s something cool and different about you that you’d like us to know?
I have a great passion for singing across a diverse range of genres, including jazz, musical theatre, classical, opera, and pop. It's a joy for me to explore such varied musical styles! I have extensive experience in studio recording and performing with my family's group, The LaPointes. Our most recent album is Christmas Together, featuring the Jolly Jazz Band. I also find great fulfillment in teaching voice lessons to students of all ages, helping them to discover and develop their own musical talents.
Fraser Elsdon
What will your role be at TEMC and what are you most excited about in it?
I'm joining the TEMC team as part of my education at Emmanual College, where I'm working towards a Masters of Divinity in the hopes of becoming an ordained minister in the United Church. They call this part 'Contextual Education,' and it lasts throughout the school year from September until April. While I'm with TEMC I'll be helping to teach Sunday school, and will be assisting in other ways that Rev. Jason and I are still discerning. I'm excited to meet a brand new (to me!), vibrant Christian community and to learn about the work that you're doing in Christ's name. I hope to help out in worship, possibly adding my singing voice and a bit of guitar here and there, and to study God's word with some of the younger folks in the community.
How did you come to Christian faith and how do you hope to help pass it on to others?
I grew up in the United Church, attending worship at Emmanual United in Windsor, Ontario. While I have roots in the faith, I didn't get deeply invested until I was in my twenties. It was then that I began asking big questions from life and then searching for some answers. Inspired partly by my sister, a United Church minister, I returned to Christianity with new eyes and found it totally fascinating. It's so big, and strange, and beautiful, and it encompasses many things that I love, things like art and music and history, philosophy and poetry, fellowship and friendship and social justice. I love that it is ancient, and it connects me to generations of ancestors in the faith. I hope that my studies and my time at Timothy Eaton will help me to articulate and live out a vision of Christianity that piques the curiosity of others like my curiosity was piqued all those years ago.
What’s something cool and different about you that you’d like us to know?
Before I decided to return to school and pursue a life in ministry, I was an actor. I went to theatre school in Toronto and then worked on and off in the theatre, plus a bit of TV, for over a decade. A few times I played Buddy Holly in a musical about his life, which were really fun experiences. I've written a few plays, as well as a handful of screenplays, a novel, and other various bits and pieces. I miss doing theatre, but I love the way that those skills have helped me in worship contexts. Another fact about me that is possibly different but certainly not cool: I'm obsessed with a computer game called 'Starcraft 2.' It's the only game that I play, but I've played a lot of it. On the competitive ladder I'm in the Diamond league, level 3, for those of you who wanted to know.
Matthew Coulthard
What will your role be at TEMC and what are you most excited about in it?
My role at TEMC is as a part of the youth leadership team. I will be involved in curriculum planning and teaching the youth of TEMC lessons in the Christian faith. I will also be part of the leadership team for youth group. I am most excited to serve on a great team in such an obviously involved and faithful community and to be involved in youth leadership because I remember just how important having a young community of faith was to me when I was in youth group.
How did you come to Christian Faith and how do you hope to help pass it on to others.
I was born, baptised, and raised in the United Church of Canada. Christian faith has been an important part of my whole life, I attended church and youth group, went on retreats, and volunteered a lot. Christ has been my rock when my life has been shaken. In university I really felt a call to deepen my faith I began to study Christ, the scriptures, the writings of theologians like CS Lewis, more seriously in doing so I realised that what was a call to deeper faith had become a call to ministry. I hope to be able to share my faith with others through using my experiences with genuine questions and faith study, seminary training, and helping to build opportunities for people to serve God’s kingdom through helping others.
What’s something cool and different about you that you’d like us to know?
I am a huge nerd, I love many things sci-fi and fantasy with Star Wars being both me and my family’s favourite movie. I paint Warhammer models and regularly go to Fan Expo and have made cosplays for the convention 3 times.