The Anglican Parish of St. Aidan and St. Bartholomew in Gibsons, welcomed a new minister at the beginning of February. The Reverend Dr. Joyce Parry-Moore took up the position of Parish Priest on Feb. 1.
“We are delighted to have found an energetic and dynamic person to lead our faith community,” said Heather Jeal, who has served as Vicar’s Warden for the parish. “Joyce comes to us with an interesting and diverse background that we are confident will help to grow the positive impact that St. Bart’s has locally.”
Most recently, Dr. Parry-Moore (who goes by “Mother Joyce” or “MoJo”) served for more than six years as rector at St. James Episcopal Church, in Kent, WA. Before that, she held the position of Rector of St. Bartholomew’s church in Livermore, California, and, prior to that, as Chaplain for the Port of Oakland, CA.
“I am thrilled to be joining the lovely folks at St. Bart’s and to be moving to the Sunshine Coast,” said Mother Joyce. “I look forward to getting to know the community and to helping the parish to thrive and grow.”
With a background in musical theatre and opera, theatre production, teaching, and counselling, Joyce brings a wealth of skills that will serve St. Bart’s and the Sunshine Coast community well. While at St. James, Mother Joyce supported food programming in the form of garden plots, nutrition classes, cooking with local produce, and support for food stamp recipients. These experiences will make Joyce a strong supporter of St. Bart’s food bank and hot lunch programs.
Joyce Parry-Moore holds a B.A. in Voice and Theatre from Western Washington University, a Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA, and a Doctorate in Pastoral Counselling from the San Francisco Theological Seminary.
St. Bart’s has been without a permanent priest since late 2020. During the interim, Archdeacon Stephen Muir, Rector of St. Agnes Anglican Church in North Vancouver, has served as priest-in-charge of St. Bart’s, with support from Assistant Priest, Clarence Li, Deacon Steven Bailey, and a variety of guest preachers.
St. Bart’s invites everyone to join them in welcoming Joyce Parry-Moore to the Sunshine Coast. The community is invited to meet Mother Joyce at St. Bart’s when she leads her first service at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5, to be followed by coffee and snacks.
