MOOSE JAW (Qu’A) — “Is it your will that Michelle and Nathan be ordained as deacons? Will you uphold them in this ministry?” Bishop Helen Kennedy asked the gathered congregation of St. Aidan’s on an otherwise unremarkable Saturday afternoon on June 27.
“We will!” The response resounded through the nave. The people of St. Aidan joyfully stood up for Nathan McLean and Michelle Josefson as they were ordained as transitional deacons. Ninety-seven laypeople and clergy came to celebrate the ordinands. Bishop Helen spoke for all when she said, warmly, “You are a gift to the church, both of you.”
McLean and Josefson were presented by Carla Hoffmann and John Langford, and Rev. Dr. Cal Macfarlane, the priest-in-charge at St. Aidan. Bishop Kennedy presided and preached during the ordination service.
To begin the road to ordination, in April 2024, they were confirmed by Bishop Helen Kennedy. In July and August 2024, they met with parish discernment groups who, with the vestry of St. Aidan, recommended them to the Committee on Ordained Ministry for the ongoing discernment process.
Following their assessment with the Advisory Committee on Postulants for Ordination (ACPO), they were recommended for postulancy to the bishop, which she affirmed in November 2024.
Placements in other parishes are part of the ongoing spiritual formation and continued discernment process. Josefson served a three-month placement in the diocese’s companion diocese of Lichfield, England, from Lent through Pentecost 2025, while McLean served a short placement in Calgary, from Advent through Epiphany 2025-26. During their diaconal year, both deacons will experience a variety of ministry settings to help them engage with the wider expressions of the Anglican Church.
St. Aidan’s congregation is proud of Josefson and McLean, and was overjoyed to throw them a party, complete with cake and flowers, following their ordination service. The congregation celebrates the God-given gifts they both bring for the church and for the world.
These two new deacons join six other active deacons in the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, four of whom hold a licence and two of whom have permission to officiate. Out of the 30 congregations in the Diocese of Qu’Appelle, St. Aidan has the rare privilege of being served by a team of ministers, including Deacon Arleen Champion and Rev. Dr. Cal MacFarlane.
The parish and its clergy and lay leaders are very excited to be welcoming the incoming incumbent, Rev. Louis Harris, in November.
Josefson continues as St Aidan’s parish administrator, where her gifts for spiritual direction and pastoral communication shine. McLean is on paternity leave following the birth of his second child, Lucy, and will return to his role with Hope Ministries, serving the homeless and hungry of Moose Jaw, in September.
We pray God’s blessing on them and we are eager to see what God has in store for them both.