Guest Speakers

James Loney is a Canadian peace activist who is a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). In November 2005, he and the CPT delegation he was leading was kidnapped in Iraq and held for four months. One member of the group was killed, an American named Tom Fox. In addition to Iraq, he has served on CPT projects in Palestine; Burnt Church, New Brunswick; Grassy Narrows, Kenora and Robertsville, Ontario.

Mark Tewksbury knows what it means to be a champion.

If you were to ask Rev. Elder Diane Fisher to describe herself, she would likely say, “I am a lesbian Christian pastor who is an Elder, which is similar to a bishop, with Metropolitan Community Churches and I am a mother of a fabulous daughter, Karli.” Diane is a queer activist, proudly Canadian, who had her daughter with two gay men, and she is legally married to her Jewish partner.

Cindy Magdalene Bourgeois is the first known trans person to be ordained in The United Church of Canada. She was settled to Central United Church in Stratford, Ontario, in 2010, having just graduated with a Master of Divinity. In addition to her work with trans issues, Cindy is an adherent of the social gospel and liberation theology, believing that God has a preferential option for the poor and the oppressed.

James Loney is a Canadian peace activist who is a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). In November 2005, he and the CPT delegation he was leading was kidnapped in Iraq and held for four months. One member of the group was killed, an American named Tom Fox. In addition to Iraq, he has served on CPT projects in Palestine; Burnt Church, New Brunswick; Grassy Narrows, Kenora and Robertsville, Ontario.