Rev. Dianne Mesh was born and raised in a small fishing village on the east coast of Newfoundland. She received a Bachelor of Arts (Education) from Memorial University of Newfoundland, a Master in Education form the University of Western Ontario and a Masters in Divinity from Trinity College, University of Toronto. She was ordained in the Diocese of Toronto in 1996. Since then she has served in four parishes in that diocese, most recently as Priest-in-charge of Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto. A graduate of the Toronto School of Theology Jubilee Program in Spiritual Direction, Dianne has a keen interest in helping others to grow spiritually. She also has training and experience in providing pastoral care with the dying and the bereaved, with a special concern for how death and grief affect the lives of children. Dianne is an active person who enjoys the outdoors, especially cross-country skiing and long walks. She is also an avid knitter and enjoys a good mystery.
Murray Ashton is in charge of maintenance and really keeps the place humming! He retired from the City of Saskatoon after 25 years in Environmental Services. Murray was on theexecutive of the Solid Waste Assoc. of N. America, Prairie Chapter, for 15 years and was presented with a Professional Achievement Award in 2002 at the International SWANA convention in Long Beach, California. A long time member of the St. James family, Murray enjoys welcoming people to the Church and The Refinery and is pictured here with Susan his wife, music librarian for the choir.
Our honorary clergy assistant is The Rev. Canon Glenn Ash. Glenn has a long history with St. James, serving as rector from 1969 to 1981. Since retirement, he and his wife Adelaide have remained at St. James as active parishioners. Glenn has a passion for Global Justice issues and is a mover and a shaker with the PWRDF.
Emily Carr grew up on a dairy farm in exotic eastern Ontario. With a name like Emily Carr, it’s no surprise that she has a commitment to the arts. Emily studied Fine Art at the University of Windsor Ontario before entering seminary at McGill. Now in Saskatoon, Emily plans to complete her theological studies through Emmanuel & St Chad’s. Emily is committed to social justice, believing that faith is a vehicle for social justice, and that the youth of our society have a prophetic voice and the energy required to engage with difficult issues. Emily continues to be engaged in the arts making them central to her ministry. In her spare time, Emily enjoys practicing and teaching yoga and spending time with her genius dog Moose.
George Behr is an organist/ accompanist/ director of adult/ children & bell choirs along with organ building, tuning, voicing and restoration work (Attuned Organs). George studied in Princeton New Jersey, at Westminster Choir College, receiving a BM with an emphasis in church music. Principle teachers included; James Jordon, Fr. J. Farrell, Eugene Roan, Joan Lipincott, and Mark Anderson. He went west to further his studies at Saint Johns University in Collegeville, Minnesota, receiving a Master with an emphasis in Liturgical Music; Kim Kasling, Fr. Anthony Ruff, Richard Proulx, principal teachers. George started as of January first at Saint James' Anglican as music director. If you are interested in organ tuning (Attuned Organs) of looking to have a workshop done please contact him via email at: music@refinersonline.org or via mobile: 306-292-4584. Pax Christi
Karen Fung is our new Administrative Assistant. Originally from Hong Kong, Karen came to Saskatoon to go to school. She graduated in 2009 from the College of Commerce, University of Saskatchewan with a major in Accounting.
Sheila Ann Whiteway is responsible for coordinating spiritual development programming including adult education and Refinery classes and for programs aimed at meeting the needs newcomers. She is also responsible for communication to the communty and our members about what is happening at St. James'. This is a second career for Sheila Ann. Prior to joining the St. James' team, she worked for 29 years as a librarian, mostly with the Saskatoon Public Library.