DUC Office
Many, many people contribute countless hours to achieve the work of our church community. Meet our staff and some of those who are instrumental in the day-to-day life of Duncan United. Dozens of others work behind the scenes - UCW groups, Thrift Store, music leaders, Mother's Morning Out, AOTS, SundayJourney teachers, Youth Group leaders, Community Dinner, Harvest Fair, building maintenance and enhancements and more. Thank you all!
Duncan Barwise was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in Toronto. He earned a Bachelor of Arts at McMaster University, his Master of Divinity at Emmanuel College (University of Toronto), and a Certification in Gerontology at Mount Royal College in Calgary. Called to his present position in 2003, Duncan served parishes in Grande Cache, Banff, and Calgary, Alberta, as well as serving as a chaplain with the Canadian Forces in Cold Lake (Alberta), Lahr (Germany), Valcartier (Quebec), and Victoria (BC).
Joan Barwise was born and raised in Toronto and earned her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Work degrees at McMaster University, and her Master of Social Work degree at the University of Calgary. Also called to her current position at Duncan United in 2003, Joan previously practised social work with both provincial and federal government and non-governmental agencies in Canada and in Germany.
Duncan and Joan have one adult son and when not engaging in parish ministry activities, they will be found pursuing a love of self-propelled outdoor activities, most especially trail running and kayaking.
Cathy Coulter became Duncan United Church's Parish Nurse in the fall of 2008. She received her nursing degree from the University of Saskatchewan and pursued a wide variety of work and travel experiences, working in England, teaching English as a Second Language in Spain and Canada, and working in the L'Arche community. She is certified in parish nursing and palliative care nursing and works part-time with the Victoria Hospice Palliative Response Team.
Cathy and husband Jim moved to Duncan from Alberta in 2005 and are enjoying the delights of the Island. Cathy enjoys the fruits (and veggies) of Vancouver Island's long growing season and making music with the Taizé prayer group.
Our Musical Director, Connie Masson, is a skilled musician, piano and voice instructor known throughout the Cowichan Valley.
She is a life-long United Church member, and grew up with 5 musical sisters in the Lower Mainland. After obtaining a Bachelor of Music from UBC in Voice Performance, she lived briefly in Tofino, and then arrived in the Cowichan Valley, where she is partway through raising 5 children. For the past 30 years she has been teaching Voice and Piano, conducting choirs, and performing as a soloist. She likes to include music from many traditions in her Music Ministry at Duncan United.
With her husband John, she is also involved in fostering children, and in her spare time she ... wait, she has no spare time!
Linda Evans, Office Administrator, began attending Duncan United Church as a child. She has three adult children, Amy, Adam and Sara, who all live here on the island. In her spare time Linda enjoys walking with friends, hiking, reading, knitting and spending time exploring the island beaches. She is part of the Circle of Friends, Faith Formation and the Centering Prayer Group here at the church. She also volunteers as an usher at the Cowichan Theatre.
"All shall be well, all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well"
- St. Julian of Norwich
Nancy George grew up in an Irish Catholic family in Toronto. She traveled extensively, including sailing across the Altantic twice before settling in the Valley to raise her children 11 years ago. Nancy is now a single mother raising two young sons who attend Sunrise Waldorf School. Nancy also works from home as a portrait photographer, specializing in maternity and newborns as well as a freelance graphic designer. Nancy attended the Ontario College of Art and enjoys many forms of art and currently teaches felting workshops from her studio.
John Close is the leader of our Youth ministry team. John and wife Angie have three children and own their own landscaping business. John brings many years of youth ministry experience to our church along with great ethusiasum and energy.
Our caretaker, Ray Lockhart, grew up on the prairies and in BC and has lived in the Cowichan Valley for over 30 years. In 1978, Ray married Shelley Weismiller and they have 2 adopted children - Dustin, who was born in Vancouver and Elena, born in Romania. Ray's passion is Scouting and all the Lockharts have spent many hours volunteering and participating in Scouting and Guiding. Ray is a Scout leader and Venturer advisor and recently accompanied a group of Scouts to the 2010 Blair Atholl Jamborette in Scotland. Ray also enjoys fishing, hiking, boating and being outdoors.
The Unified Board is responsible for the overall spiritual, financial and outreach functions of our church. The Board is comprised of a representative of each church committee, meeting regularly to receive information about the work of the committees and provide guidance and decisions as required. Meetings, on the last Wednesday of the month (January-June, September-November), are open to all.