News

      passing of Stephen Hayes...  Jim Pot, minister of Knox Church, Ottawa, has advised that Stephen Hayes, former minister of Knox Church, Ottawa from 1993-2004, died on September 5, 2026 in Toronto, at the age of 90 years. Stephen was an active member of the Presbytery of Ottawa during his tenure at Knox Church, Ottawa, and served the wider church, principally on the Committee on Church Doctrine during the years when the document Living Faith was formulated, in which he had a foundational role. The funeral was held on September 10, 2026 from Knox Church, Oakville. Read Stephen's obituary here; watch a recording of the funeral service here.

      The Acts and Proceedings from the 2026 General Assembly are now available for download here. The "2026 set" includes two documents: The Acts & Proceedings in one document and Records & Statistics in a second.

  • as of September 1, 2026 contact information for the Presbytery clerk and acting treasurer is
         James T. Hurd, 47 Montavista Ave., Ottawa ON K2J 2P2, e-mail jthurd@sympatico.ca, phone 613-600-0907 (cell)

  • Youth news... 
    (1) the Youth Working Group is seeking new members. More info here; contact Sunjay at prezminanimator@gmail.com.
    (2) the next Youth Event - bowling - will take place Saturday September 12, 2-4 PM @ Merivale Bowling Centre (1916 Merivale Rd, Nepean, ON K2G 1E8 - MAP)  ·   cost $10   ·   poster here

  • At it's regular meeting on June 16, 2026 Presbytery granted James Hurd's request for leave to retire, effective September 1, 2026. Chris Clarke was named Interim Moderator; Parkwood's pulpit will be "preached vacant" on September 6th. Presbytery also said farewell to Karen Dimock, who steps down as minister of St. Andrew's Ottawa in September.

  • The 151st General Assembly of the PCC has been taking place at York University (Keele Campus) in Toronto from June 7 through 11, 2026. View reports, pics, videos of the various worship services and sederunts here,
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  • Presbytery Animator News...  Check out the announcement about the spring wind-up event - a BBQ party on June 25. Click on image on right to go to the poster

  • At it's regular meeting on May 19, 2026 Presbytery received a request for leave to retire from James Hurd, effective September 1, 2026. That request will be placed on the docket of the June 16 meeting of Presbytery, and the congregation cited to appear (stated hour: 8:30 PM). The meeting will be held at Parkwood church.

  • The Presbytery Youth Working Group has circulated an info sheet on Collective 2026, the national youth conference happening at Brock University in St. Catharine’s August 12-15 - the sheet is available here; also circulated was a Lay Bursary Application Form. Other resource material:   conference website   ·   conference brochure   ·   introductory video.

  • Word has been recived that the official nominee for moderator of the 2026 General Assembly is the Rev. Lara Scholey, minister of St. Columba by-the-Lake Presbyterian Church, Pointe-Claire, QC. (Click on image to enlarge.). The 151st General Assembly will meet at York University (Keele Campus) from Sunday, June 7 until Thursday, June 11, 2026. Lara's bio and her responses to a Q&A can be found here (scroll down the page to her pic).

  • A memorial service for Laszlo Peter, former pastor of the congregation, was held on Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 1 p.m. at Gloucester Church, Ottawa. The service was conducted entirely in Hungarian, by a Hungarian-speaking pastor from Toronto, whom the congregation has invited as a guest to lead them in remembering with thanksgiving the life and service of their former pastor. Refreshments will be served following the service. The funeral and burial was held in Hungary on March 30, 2026. Let us uphold the congregation of Calvin Hungarian Church, Ottawa and the surviving family of Laszlo Peter in our prayers at this time.

  • At it's regular meeting March 24, 2026...  (1) approval was given to Kars-Richmond becoming a 2-point charge effective April 1/26, with David Whitecross as interim moderator; (2) progress was reported in regards to St. Stephen's - St. David & St Martin arrangements - an 8-month trial partnership is anticipated starting in May 2026; (3) Sunjay Henry was certified as a candidate for ministry; (4) the resignation of Karen Dimock as minister of St. Andrew's Kent St. was approved effective July 10/26; Paul Wu and Heather Paton were appointed co-interim moderators as of that date; (5) presbytery approved ongoing efforts to establish a French Presbyterian Community within the bounds; (6) a one-day retreat is being planned for Tuesday, June 2nd at St. David & St. Martin's Church (444 St. Laurent Blvd).on the theme "The Marriage of Church & Technology: For Better, For Worse"

  • We are sad to announce the passing of David Whitehead recently in Ottawa. A "memorial minute" has been drafted.

  • "Safe Church" (March 2026) Recently there has been some conversation in the PCC around the concept of "safe church', providing our people with a safe environment to worship, learn and grow in faith. It encompasses three existing policies within the PCC: Leading with Care, Harassment and Sexual Abuse and Harassment. This conversation is in the early stages; here are some resources on our national website dealing with this. See the page "Safe Church Commitment" for more information.

  • The clerk of Presbytery has received word of the passing of Lazlo Peter, recently retired minister of Calvin Hungarian Church, Ottawa, in Hungary, on March 3, 2026. Funeral arrangements (in Hungary) are pending. Please uphold his family and members of Calvin church in your prayers.

  • At its regular meeting on January 20, 2026... (1) Reine Boghos was named interim moderator of Calvin Hungarian church, following the retirement of Lazlo Peter on January 1, 2026; (2) The Presbytery treasurer is currently experiencing some health issues; his duties are being covered by the clerk and the chair of the Finance & Maintenance Committee. For the time being any business involving the treasurer should be directed to James Hurd @ 10 Chesterton Drive, Ottawa ON K2E 5S9

  • pages on this site providing info on QR codes and website security have been updated and a new Presbytery QR code and info card produced. See misc below.

  • Passings, 2025... We are thankful for the contributions to the life and work of the Presbytery of Ottawa by the following ministers and elders:
          Frances Cordukes   (22-Oct-2025)
          Linda Whitehead   (9-Aug-2025)
          Art Pattison   (28-Mar-2025)

  • At it's regular meeting on November 18, 2025... (1) three names were added to the Appendix to the Roll: Mary E. (Lyn) Hughes and William Ball, retired ministers, and Christine Ball, diacinal minister without charge; (2) presbytery received a request to retire from Lazlo Peter of Calvin Hungarian Church. A presbytery meeting to deal with that request is called for Tuesday December 2 @ 7 PM. The meeting will be held online via Zoom; (3) it was decided to hold the first meeting of the new year (scheduled for January 20, 2026) online via Zoom.

  • Call sustained...  Aug. 8/25 update: At a special meeting on July 22 at Parkwood church, presbytery sustained a call from Knox Church Manotick to Feras Chamas. The service of induction took place on Sunday, September 7, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.

  • July 8, 2025:  Presbytery of Ottawa is called to meet in emergent session on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 at 7 pm at Parkwood Church, 10 Chesterton Drive, Ottawa, for the following purposes:  (a) to receive a report from the interim moderator for Knox Church, Manotick;  (b) to consider a call from Knox Church, Manotick addressed to Feras Chamas, presently serving as minister at Morrisburg and Ingleside in the Presbytery of Seaway-Glengarry; and  (c) to address any matters related to or consequent upon the foregoing.

Miscellaneous

  • "NOT SECURE" got you worried? More info on websites and SSL Certificates in the webserant's report to the May 2019 meeting of Presbytery, available here.

  • Presbytery QR codes, including background info, a QR code for the Presbytery of Ottawa and a link to a QR code generator.

 

 

 

© 2026, Presbytery of Ottawa, the Presbyterian Church in Canada