Rev. STEVEN DAVIS was born and raised in Scarborough now, of course, a part of Toronto. He earned a BA in History from York University and a Master Of Divinity degree from Emmanuel College. In 2013, he received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. His thesis was entitled, “Preaching To Brokenness: Proclaiming Good News To Churches In Conflict.” Rev. Davis was ordained by the Toronto Conference in May 1994 in Etobicoke, and after serving Pastoral Charges in Central Newfoundland, the Near North of Ontario and the Niagara Peninsula, he joins PVUC as the Lead Minister on July 1. |
 Rev. KAREN SMART was raised in Kingsville, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Windsor with an Honours B.A. in Scenic Design for the Theatre and a Master of Divinity from Emmanuel College. She has served in paid accountable ministry for over 20 years. Most recently she has served as the ordained minister at the Greenwood Pastoral Charge and then as the Program Coordinator – Governance at General Council Office. She is also the Secretary of Lakeridge Presbytery.
Karen is married to Tom who works on the Management Team at Ontario Power Generation. They are blessed with three adult children, John, Cameron and Laura. They have two cats named Nebuchadnezzar (Neb) and Cheddar. They have lived in South Ajax for over thirty years. Karen enjoys theatre, curling, swimming, gardening, reading, painting, and baking. She enjoys being with people of all ages. |
 OKSANA HAHN, Music Director, was born in Kiev, Ukraine, to to the family of a well-known professional choral conductor. At an early age, she began violin and pinao lessons. At age 7 she was enrolled in the Mukola Lysenko special music school for gifted youth in Kiev where she competed their 11-year program. This was followed by a futher 5 years of study at the Kiev Tchaikovsky State Conservatory (university status) where she specialized in piano solo, chamber music and pedagogy. While studying at the Conservatory, Oksana became a 2nd prize winner as accompanist at the International Choir Competition in Varna, Bulgaria in 1988. In 1989 she became a laureate of Kiev’s Youth Piano Competition. Before immigrating to Canada at age 23, Oksana had performed in Ukraine, Russia, the Baltic Republics, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Arriving in Edmonton in 1990, Oksana quickly established herself as a performer, teacher and accompanist. She worked for several years as an accompanist for the Ukrainian choir ‘Dnipro’ and for the ‘Summer School of Conductors’.Since moving to Ajax/Pickering in 2000, she began teaching privately and established the ‘Elite Piano Studio’ as well as working for St. John Presbyterian Church and Faith United Church |
 RUTH FOX, Office Administrator, was born in Brantford, Ontario and grew up attending Wellington Memorial United Church. She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and her career background was in the Human Resources field. Ruth chose to stay at home to raise her two children for 17 years before re-entering the work force as Church Secretary in November 2005. In this role, she enjoys dealing with many church volunteers, the general public and, of course, the PVUC Staff. Ruth joined Pickering Village United Church in 1990 and is currently a member of the UCW. |
