Pastor's Message
Pastor Defoe's Bio
My hometown is Vancouver, B.C. When I was a small child, my parents lived moved to Camp Borden, Ontario for five years. We then moved back to Vancouver when I was 7. I attended elementary and high schools in Vancouver. Before I entered Grade 12, my family moved to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. I then attended first-year classes at the University of British Columbia.
That was followed by a Marketing and Sales diploma from Vancouver City College. This in turn led to employment with Woodward's department stores, where I worked in the men's wear department. Kathleen and I were married by Pastor Elroy Treit at Killarney Park Lutheran Church in 1974. The next year, after sensing God's call into the ministry,I left Woodward's to study for a batchelor's degree in sociology at Simom Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. I graduated in 1978.
In the spring of 1978, Kathleen and I moved to Saskatoon, where I began my ministerial studies. After serving a vicarage in Duchess and Iddesleigh Alberta, I completed my Masters of Divinity degree in the spring of 1982. Our daughter Michelle was born in 1980, while we were living in Duchess, Alberta. I was placed as pastor at Castlegar and Nelson, B.C. Our son Joel was born while we were in the Kootenays of B.C.
In 1986, Kathleen and I moved to Vancouver, where I served as pastor of Kitsilano Lutheran Church, and then as Associate Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. My position at Bethlehem Lutheran was half-time. The other half of my time was spent with Singles Ministry in the Greater Vancouver area as well as a part-time chaplain at the University of B.C. and Simon Fraser University.
In 1992, our family moved to Alberta, where I served Zion Lutheran Church in Wetaskiwin until 2003. In the fall of 2003, our family moved to Saskatchewan, where I began serving Mount Olive Lutheran Church. Our time here in Regina has been very fulfilling. Mount Olive is a very special Christian community and I am privileged to serve here. In the summer of 2007, I was thrilled when the members of Mount Olive voted to call our Vicar, Ted Giese, to become Associate Pastor of this congregation.
Our Mission Statement summarizes our ministry goals:
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… members of Mount Olive Lutheran Church have been CALLED by
God, as INSTRUMENTS of the Holy Spirit, to faithfully WITNESS
in the process of disciple making.
(Matthew 28:19-20)
- We are PREPARED by the Holy Spirit to minister to the residents of Regina, assisting them to discover and develop their spiritual gifts.
- To accomplish this, we will base our teachings, activities, and instruction on the Biblical discipline of Christian life, EQUIPPING disciples to serve God under the leadership of the Pastor. (Ephesians 4:11-16; 2 Timothy 2:2)