Do you sometimes wonder why these men and women make time to “do the work” of the church here at Water Street Church? Ephesians 4:11-13
Our Church Staff Team
We welcome our transitional pastor, Pastor Kasey, who has taken on a leadership role here at Water Street Church as of September 1, 2022. Pastor Kasey is an ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRCNA). Pastor Kasey’s stay has been extended for another year, for which we are grateful!!
Pastor Kasey: “I have undergone training to be a Specialized Transitional Minister in the CRCNA, which means that I go to churches who do not currently have a pastor and who want or need to navigate one or more transitional changes in their culture. Navigating such changes tends to take 12 – 24 months after which we move on to the next church. Liz and I waited until we became empty nesters before embarking on this new direction in ministry but are enjoying it so far.”
Welcome, Pastor Josh Sweetman!
“I joined Water Street Church as Pastor of Faith Formation in January of 2024. For the past decade I’ve served in various ministry roles in CRC churches in both the US and Canada.
My ministry passions include intergenerational ministry and finding creative ways to help others encounter the Living God in their daily lives. I live with my wife Samantha and our three children and two cats here in Guelph. Our family enjoys spending time together exploring the town, especially bakeries. When we aren’t exploring we enjoy sports and reading. I’m also a big baseball fan and pledge my allegiance to the Chicago Cubs.
I’m always eager to hear your story and how God is working in your life. Please feel free to connect and we will find a good bakery to meet at!“
Eve Mazereeuw
Office Administrator
Trudy Mafe-van Halem
Bookkeeper/Treasurer
Anita Melancon
Caretaker
Harry van de Hoef:
Operations Coordinator
God has greatly blessed me and my family and now I am retired after a 42 year career in animal breeding with responsibility for production, technical service and special projects. It is my pleasure to share the things I learned and to help apply them in the day to day operations of our church. I am honored that I can serve our church in this capacity during daytime hours to assist those who are working and can only be available in the evening hours. I pray that in our daily efforts to run the church I will show others that I KNOW God, FOLLOW Jesus and SERVE our world.
Neil Klapwyk:
AV Director
Neil is our AV guru. He focuses on the production of and technical oversight of the audiovisual equipment and programs at Water Street Church. He also administers the church Sharepoint system to keep the “machinery” of the church ticking along so that the leadership teams stays informed and connected. You’ll often find him in the AV booth making sure all systems are “go.”
Our Church Council
Water Street Church is blessed with faithful and dedicated volunteers who take time to participate in the governance of our church.
Jean Wolting: Clerk of Council
Peter Kingma: Elder and Chair of Elders (District 5)
Ed Kuipery: Elder (District 6); Liaison to Board of Stewards
Xuidong He: Elder (District 3)
Christian faith is Xiudong’s new found treasure. It has and continues to change him in a real and profound way. He is forever grateful that he is now able to see what was hidden from him before. It always rejoices his heart to have an open and honest discussion about the scriptures, so we can be certain about what we believe and why we still believe it. One of his favourite verses is Psalm 119:105, ” your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (ESV). He wrote those words on the post behind the walls of Water Street Church and it is his prayer that those words will continue to shape Water Street Church and make it a place where truth is known, hope is found and life is being transformed.
Henny Hilverda: Elder (Districts 1 and 4)
Phil Schmidt: Elder (District 2)
Philip has been a counsellor in our Cadets program and has more recently started contributing to our Midweek Devotionals and serving at our Saturday Night Suppers at Royal City Mission.
Jason Stoter: Elder and Chair of Leadership Team (Council)
Jason has been part of the Water Street Church (WSC) community for 20+ years, he has been involved in many aspects of church life including: faith formation, deacon, board of stewards, personnel committee and several hiring committees. A recent highlight was accompanying the youth as a chaperone to the east side of Vancouver during March break. Jason is passionate about seeing youth step into leadership roles and contributing to church ministry.
Jason is married to Faye and they have 4 children that are active in various parts of church, including youth, Gems, Cadets and Sunday School. His 2 oldest children attend Woodland Christian high school and the 2 youngest attend Guelph Community Christian School (GCCS)
Faye is currently working as a midwife with Family Midwifery Care in Guelph and Jason is President of Vivere Ltd., an outdoor living company that he founded in 2004. They also have a full farm life that includes: collecting eggs, growing crops, cleaning coops, and tending to their vegetable garden. In their spare time, the Stoter’s enjoy visiting with family and friends, camping, sports and travel. And like many Canadians, Jason patiently waits with Leaf nation to someday raise Lord Stanley
Marguerite Ridder: Elder, Prayer Ministry Coordinator (Task Elder)
Deacons
News from the Deacons March 2023
Sharon McLean: Deacon, Secretary (District 3); liaison to Safe Church. Sharon also connects with Shawna, our Disability Concerns Advocate, and is active in our Friendship ministry.
Willy Kooy: Deacon (District 4)
Bill Smedes: Deacon (District 5)
Barb van de Hoef: Deacon (District 6), Treasurer
Karryne Vriesema: Deacon (District 2), Chair of Deacons
Matthew Zevenbergen: Deacon (District 1), Liaison Young Adults