A postulant is a person who has been admitted to a program of training for Diaconal or Priestly ministry and is discerning, with the Church, a call to ordained ministry. Most postulants begin this process before beginning seminary or in their early seminary education. It is not a guarantee of future ordination, but is an early step along that path.
Laura Woolner has been accepted as a postulant for the Diocese of Qu’Appelle. The Saskatchewan Anglican interviewed her in order to introduce her to the diocese.
How did you come to be a postulant for this diocese?
I was discerning where the Lord may be calling me to serve. I’ve always said I will go and serve wherever I was called, but I had southern Ontario or some far off country in my head. For some reason, it had never really occurred to me that I may be called to another province.
My hometown priest, Rev. Canon Dr. Grayhame Bowcott, in the Anglican Parish of the Blue Mountains, knows Bishop Helen Kennedy, of Qu’Appelle, and mentioned me to her, opening a conversation about me coming to Saskatchewan, where I had never been, and exploring ministry.
At that time, the bishop asked me if I was serious about coming. My answer? “I just want to serve.” If Qu’Appelle was where God was opening a door for me to serve, that’s where I’d go.
Where were you born and grew up?
I grew up in Thornbury, a small town in southern Ontario on the southern shore of Georgian Bay, off Lake Huron. With the exception of five years of university and two years living in Singapore, I lived there my entire life up until 2022, when I moved to London, Ont. for a clinical pastoral education unit.
Thornbury has changed a great deal over the years, and the culture I’ve experienced so far in Saskatchewan is very much like going back in time to the way my hometown used to be; slower paced, community-minded, and welcoming.
Please tell us about your post-secondary education and previous career.
I can’t really remember a time before working, since even before I was old enough to babysit, I would cut lawns, and I’ve held various jobs over the years. Before my teaching career, I worked for several years with children who have Autism, as a babysitter, mother’s helper, and respite worker.
After doing a joint undergraduate program in art and art history at the University of Mississauga and Sheridan College from 2001 to 2005, I was blessed to participate in the specialized Artist in the Community Education Program at Queen’s University, completing a practicum in India and graduating with a bachelor of education, certified to teach high-school visual art and English.
From 2006 to 2008 I taught visual art, English, and communications technology at the Canadian International School in Singapore, before returning to Ontario and being hired as an occasional teacher with the Bluewater District School Board. Since then, I have been supply teaching, have done further qualification to teach from kindergarten to Grade 12, including special education qualifications.
I began a master of divinity at Tyndale University and Seminary in North York in 2015, and after completing it in 2020, began a master of pastoral studies with a certificate in spiritual care and psychotherapy at Knox College, part of the Toronto School of Theology.
This gave me access to Anglican courses at Wycliffe and Trinity, while I completed the requirements to register with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. My final practicum had me moving to London, Ont., so I began supply teaching in Thames Valley District School Board as well.
After graduating from Knox, I began a job working for an employee assistance program as a counsellor, a job that came with me to Saskatchewan as I explore bi-vocational ministry here.
When did you feel you were drawn to ministry?
That’s a very long answer! The short answer would be high school. The long answer is that I figured I must be hearing the Lord incorrectly, because I was terrified of public speaking.
It would be over 15 years, and many conversation where others told me I should be a minister or pastor, before I would begin seminary, still sure I could not be clergy, but being willing to be led and used.
I would be told years later that, years before I began attending seminary, perhaps even back in high school, my Grandma Pyatt said I was going to be a minister (I grew up in the United Church). She was the first to voice what I had only discussed with God.
What has interested or surprised you about the Diocese of Qu’Appelle?
I think the thing that really stands out about the Diocese of Qu’Appelle is the welcome of the people and the feeling of family. There is an air of grace for imperfections and acceptance of differences, which speaks to the overall expression of the Church here.
As I’ve said, the culture of Saskatchewan is like returning home to the small-town culture I grew up with; a slower and more community-oriented way of life where random strangers offer help or say hello.
Other information about me:
I very much enjoy reading and Bible study; outdoor activities like hiking, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking and camping; and I enjoy both the study and creation of visual art, including church building architecture, windows, and decoration.
If I had all the space in the world to create, I’d likely be doing sculptural installation and oil painting, but, as it is, I usually stick to drawing, photography, and acrylic painting right now.
I am a firm believer in the unity of God’s Church, but that does make sense given I attended programs at all five churches in my small town growing up. I grew up in the United Church tradition, and have attended various churches over the years as long as they had solid biblical teaching and felt like community.
I spent about eight years worshipping with a Free Methodist congregation before I found my way to St. George’s Anglican Church in the Parish of the Blue Mountains. In the 8 a.m. said service, I found a quiet reverence for the Almighty Creator and, in the liturgy of the Prayer Book, a grounding in Trinitarian theology.
This balanced the personal and relational nature of God, with the AWEsomenesss of creation’s Designer. The worship was grounding and healing, the preaching was conversational and relational, and the people were welcoming and hospitable.
I’m one of those people who will take in three services on a Sunday, one on Saturday, and Bible studies during the week, given the chance. I am forever reminded of the endless depth of Scripture to continue teaching us and I revel in theological conversation.
This was one of the things I missed the most when COVID-19 shut down Ontario almost overnight. I was in my last semester of seminary and enjoyed the seminary lounge, where deep theological conversations arose on a daily basis. Suddenly, we were not even allowed to go to school.
I am very much an extrovert, and a talker, and the relational aspect of the Church — our relationship with God and our relationship with each other — is extremely important to me.
As I write this I am only three weeks into my six weeks here and I am already so grateful for all the support and outpouring of knowledge from Dean Mike Sinclair and so many others at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
I headed back to Ontario in early December for Christmas with my family when this placement time at St. Paul’s was done. As I anxiously await, then joyfully celebrate, the birth of our incarnate Lord, Christmas this year will be bittersweet.
It may be my last Christmas with family for quite some time since I hope to return to Qu’Appelle in the near future and resume exploring bi-vocational ministry here.
