About Us

As Catholics we are one people in Christ. We are a community; we are in communion. This communion of persons is the Body of Christ; we are the universal church carrying out Christ’s mission all over the world. Each member of Corpus Christi is a member of this Body and we are called to share our gifts, each of us to serve according to our different gifts. We will share our time, talents and treasure with our parish community, our wider community and our world.

As a Parish we are committed to the vision set out by the Archdiocese: “that everyone will encounter the love and mercy of the Father through Jesus Christ, be accompanied by a community of believers, and be equipped to share that encounter with others”.

Parish Structure

Parish Forms

Leadership

Our Church Communities
Parish Photos

Our Vision and Our Mission

We are on a Mission to unite joyfully and lovingly as followers of Christ and to take and share His message wherever we go.

Our Parish Logo

During Lent of 2020,  we unveiled our logo for Corpus Christi.  So much has happened since that day.  We launched it in a moment and in the next moment, the world stood still.  It’s interesting in a way that we chose the phoenix when we did.

The phoenix has long been a mythological symbol (Arabico-Egyptian) of rebirth with a history, as well, going back to our Jewish roots (Book of Job, Midrash – 1st & 2nd century Jewish commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures) and the early Church (St. Clement of Rome – Pope in the 1st century and St. Cyril of Jerusalem – 4th century). 

The phoenix is a symbol of new life, of new beginnings, and it represents us today in more ways than one.  When we built the logo in 2020, it was in thinking of how multiple parishes from 4 counties (Digby, Annapolis, Kings, Hants) — merged with one stroke of the pen in the Archbishop’s decree — immediately rose up as ONE Parish, ONE BODY in Christ. Read more….

Leadership

Father John MacPherson

Father John MacPherson

Pastor

Father John has been Pastor of Corpus Christi since its creation on January 1, 2020. Before that Fr. John looked after the parishes referred to as Valley Catholic Churches that included the former parishes of St. John, St. Francis, St. Joseph (Kentville), St. Monica, St. Anthony and their missions. Fr. John has roots in the Annapolis Valley where he spent much of his youth. He has been pastor to parishes from Yarmouth to Windsor and is a member of the Flying Fathers hockey team.

Father Michael Walsh

Father Michael Walsh

Associate Pastor

Father Michael Walsh has been in parish ministry since his priestly ordination in 1990.  He was born in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia and grew up mainly in Timberlea and Dartmouth.  Since receiving his Licentiate in canon law in 2005 and completing the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises in 2011 he brings these experiences to the service of God’s people.  He presently is serving in the communities in Berwick, Bridgetown and Middleton.

Father Raymond Odumuko

Father Raymond Odumuko

Associate Pastor

Fr. Raymond has been at Corpus Christi since August 2019 here he ministers to the parishioners at St. Louis, St. Anne, St. Patrick, St. Alphonsus, St. Joseph (Weymouth) and St. Theresa.   Prior to joining Corpus Christi he served as administrator at St. John the Baptist for five years.  He hails from Nigeria where he was a priest for 13 years before coming to Canada.

Kevin Grandy

Kevin Grandy

Deacon

Deacon Kevin was ordained in June 2008 and has been married to Joyce since 1984. He is a cycling enthusiast, both as a road cyclist and as a spectator of cycling sports, especially the Tour de France!
Don Boudreau

Don Boudreau

deacon

Deacon Don was born in Woodvale Digby county. He has been married to Connie for 47 year’s, they have three daughters and seven grandchildren. Deacon Don spent 30 years in the military and was as ordained May 6, 2006 . He currently lives in Meadowvale Annapolis County. You will often find Deacon Dave in Middleton serving our parishioners who attend St. Monica.
Jerry Clement

Jerry Clement

Deacon

Deacon Jerry Clement has been a deacon since 2005.  He is retired from teaching, is originally from Ontario and moved to Nova Scotia  seven years ago.  He is married and father of two.  His daughter and her family live in Dartmouth and his son has passed.  Deacon Jerry’s daughter-in-law and grandsons live with him and his wife.  Deacon Jerry enjoys reading and journaling scripture.

Dave Hasler

Dave Hasler

Deacon

Deacon Dave has been active in diaconal ministry in the valley region since being ordained in May 2007. He has lived in the Annapolis Valley since 1980 with his wife Paula. They have 2 children: a daughter Shannon who is married to Mark Eastman and a son Ryan.  He has been involved in the Visitation ministry, Baptismal preparation ministry, ALPHA, Community Life Team CLT (Windsor), Parish Leadership Team (PLT), Parish Human Resource and Archdiocesan Finance Council, Diaconal Advisory and Formation Councils among others.  He has  always appreciated all that his church has done to serve him on his spiritual journey and that led him to answer to God’s call to be of service to others.

Jan Gnemmi

Parish Bookkeeper

Jennifer Hilborn

Office and Parish Coordinator

Jennifer Hilborn works in the St Joseph’s office in an administrative support role and is the primary person for those who contact or come into the office. She is also the Parish Responsible Ministry Coordinator.

Pam Cosman

Parish Administration, Digby Office

Pam has worked at St. Patrick’s Church, Digby for just over 11 years and has been a Parishioner there her whole life.  Pam has been involved with Children’s Liturgy, Religious Ed, Confirmation and  various fund raising events.  She even  sang in the choir for awhile.  Pam feels very much a home when she is at her church.  

Judy Griffith-Coulombe

Chair, Parish Pastoral Council

Judy and her husband retired to the beautiful Annapolis Valley approximately 10 years ago. They live in Harbourville where they have a magnificent view of the Bay. The church community of St Anthony of Padua made them feel immediately welcomed and at hom and they have both been active on many ministries within this community. As a teacher in the public sector and with DND, Judy had the opportunity of working with a variety of age groups as well as planning many projects. Her strong organizational and planning skills will be an asset as as our parish engages in new endeavours.

 

Harold Alexander

Chair, Parish Finance and Administrative Council

Harold grew up near Stephenville in Western Newfoundland and earned his BSci in Forestry from UNB in 1978.  He and his wife Meredith have 3 grown children and they live in North Range, Digby Co. Harold brings over 30 years experience as an independent business person to his role as chair. Harold and Meredith were long time members of Holy Cross Church in Plympton, where Harold was involved in church life, teaching children’s liturgy, as a lector, usher and member of the Parish Council.  AfterHoly Cross Church closed Harold and Meredith began attending St. Patrick’s Church in Digby.

 

 

Our Church Communities

 Our Parish is made up of many communities, many people and many traditions.  Together we form one body of Christ, but we are still unique, each a piece of the DNA that makes Corpus Christi what it is.  Without our differences, we would not be who we are.   Without our similarities, we would not have as much to share.  Just as some of us have blue eyes and some have brown, each of our Church Communities brings its own genetics to the mix that makes up this Parish.  Combined together, we are Corpus Christi.  But our community might still have blue eyes or brown eyes.   Our coming together doesn’t change our individual genes; our coming together makes a new person in Christ, a new body that will grow and thrive in the years to come as we strive to be that new Body of Christ.  We are clothed in that newness; together we will live out our Vision and embark on our Mission.

But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.
- 1 Corinthians 14:40

Corpus Christi Parish Structure

Corpus Christi Parish is a newly formed Parish established in January of 2020. Corpus Christi brings together nine former parish communities stretching from Windsor to Weymouth. As with any new organization, we have challenges to meet. For Corpus Christi, our large geographical area and these new relationships among so many Catholic Christian communities that may be unfamiliar to one another pose challenges for us. To help us learn and grow together in our faith and overcome these challenges, we are working on a new Parish structure. It is a work in progess and what is shown here is an organizational chart and each aspect of our leadership structure is set out here as well.

The Parish Leadership Team (PLT)
The Parish Leadership Team is a small group of highly engaged parishioners who help the Pastor with the ongoing decision-making process for Corpus Christi. Our PLT has five members, including the Pastor. Each member is chosen for his or her unique strengths and skills that can contribute to robust leadership and that complement the Pastor’s skills, leadership style and that round out the skills required to run the Parish. The PLT also broadly represents the various areas of the Parish, while always working in the best interests of the whole Parish.. The PLT meets at least once a week and often more frequently. It represents a major commitment for the members and their role is to support the Pastor in making and executing the best possible day-to-day decisions that are needed to bring about missionary renewal in the Parish. Guided by the missionary mandate of the Pastor and the Pastoral Council, the PLT must work within the budgetary constraints provided by the Finance Committee.
The Parish Finance & Administrative Council (PFAC)
The Parish Finance and Administrative Council is comprised of five to nine parish members. The members of the PFAC are selected based on their backgrounds in such areas as business, finance, insurance, risk management, engineering, and financial leadership. The goal is to build a team that has an understanding of financial matters, especially those policies and procedures related specifically to the Parish and the Diocese. The PFAC consults and assists the Pastor and Parish Administrator in the administration and stewardship of the parish’s temporal matters. They meet regularly and have access to all the relevant financial information and policies of the Parish and work closely with the Parish Pastoral Council and Community Life Teams within the Parish’s established leadership framework. Their objective is always and foremost to ensure that all financial requirements are properly budgeted, monitored and met. The PFAC prepares annual budgets and ongoing financial reports and reports to the Parishioners at least once per year on Parish finances.
The Parish Pastoral Council (PPC)
The Parish Pastoral Council membership is made up of from seven to 15 representatives, all of whom are members of the Parish. PPC Members are committed to the Mission of the Church and dedicate and devote their time and wisdom to the fulfillment of the Mission. Each must be a practicing member of the Parish and their role is to consult and recommend strategic, long term vision for the Parish and oversee its development, growth, revision as needed and to support the Pastor in meeting Parish goals. The PPC is grounded in prayer and discernment, relying on the Holy Spirit as their guide. The PPC assists the Pastor and other parish leadership members in planning and implementing strategies for the Parish’s growth in mission, formation and as a community of faith. They are focused on fostering the pastoral activity of the Parish by creating a strategic long-term plan and proposing pastoral programs that support the planning objectives, as well as, evaluating the effectiveness of these programs and pastoral services. They will work closely with the parish Community Life Teams to effectively institute the Pastoral Plan that they develop in conjunction with the Pastor and Parish leadership.
The Community Life Teams (CLTs)

The Community Life Teams are at the heart of each church community. No longer are we nine separate parishes, we are nine communities. Each community is the same in some ways – we are all called to life as Catholic Christians – but also unique in its membership, whether through location, demographics, community lifestyle, age, size, financial resources. To meet the needs of such a diverse range of Parishioners and such a wide range of churches in a large geographic area, the Community Life Teams (CLT) are the voices and doers for each church community. With six to ten members on each team, drawn from within that particular community’s membership, the CLT is responsible for the implementation of the pastoral plan at their unique community level. They are the connection to the Parish from the local church community. They provide feedback to the Parish from their community on topics such as: pastoral care, liturgy, prayer, outreach, faith formation (adult, youth & children), hospitality, as well as maintenance and care of the community’s buildings & assets. Each community will have a designated Community Liaison who will be responsible for communicating the flow of information, to and from, the PPC. Members of the church community can reach out to their Community Liaison with any questions and he or she will be happy to help.

The Community Liaisons

 Each community has a designated Community Liaison who is responsible for communicating the flow of information, to and from, the PPC,, Parish Leadership and members of the church community.   Members of the church community can reach out to their Community Liaison with any questions and he or she will be happy to help.

Parish Forms

Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR) Form
Responsible Ministry Forms
Empower (Children’s Faith Formation) Registration – coming soon
Empowered by the Sacraments (First Communion Preparation) Registration
Confirmation Preparation Registration
Vacation Bible School Registration – check back in Spring 2023

Parish Photos

First Communions

Priests

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