Staff & Governance

Rev. Julia Kimmett

Minister

Growing up in a small community in southeastern Ontario, Julia believed that she would be a nurse, but God had other plans. After moving to Calgary in 1986, Julia worked as a Child Care Worker in a Group Home. Returning to a downtown United Church after years of not attending church, Julia’s passion for Jesus and the church was reignited. She went back to university to do her undergrad degree in preparation for attending Theological School. That would take another 20 years as she began working as a Staff Associate in the church.

Julia was ordained in 2012 after being a student at Okotoks-De Winton for 5 years. After Ordination she was called to full-time ministry at Okotoks-De Winton and has enjoyed being part of these two very different and loving congregations. Her passion is Spiritual Formation and challenging people to think outside the box. She has taken Mission Teams to Nicaragua, Africa and the Dominican Republic and has travelled to Israel, India, Turkey, Greece and many others interesting places.

Julia has facilitated many Board Retreats, Women’s Retreats and preached at several events. She loves to learn and besides attending several conferences and courses in her work with the church, she has also taken and taught the Bethel Bible Series, written a mentoring manual for one-on-one Mentoring called “Journey of the Heart” with her writing partner Summer Robertson and worked for two years mentoring women one-on-one.

Julia still doesn’t know how to be a minister or even what she’s doing in ministry but she loves the people and the work (most days) and looks forward to seeing where God will lead these two amazing communities.

Email: okjulia@telus.net

Rev. Matthew Heesing

Minister

Rev. Matthew Heesing

Matthew Heesing is filled with joy to join Okotoks-De Winton Pastoral Charge on their journey of faith. For as long as he can remember, he has been actively involved in the United Church of Canada, and brings with him a surprising array of experience and education: from joining his local church Board as a teenager, to serving as a United Church General Council Commissioner, living in Bogota, Colombia as a United Church Overseas Mission Personnel, and completing a Masters of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies from St. Mary’s University, Halifax.

Before joining Okotoks-De Winton Pastoral Charge, Matthew spent over five years as the student minister for the United Church in the Valley. Some highlights of that time include radically reimagining Sunday morning worship (including temporarily replacing the sermon with a time of discussion), hosting an Old Time Family Dance, and leading creative sermon series such as “Star Wars and the Christmas Story.”

Matthew’s passions for ministry include preaching, pointing out connections between pop culture and the Divine, exploring the stories of Scripture with others, and accompanying people through the most ordinary and profound moments of their lives.

Matthew lives in Okotoks with his spouse and young daughter (and his two favourite puppets: Melvin and Davey!)

Email: okjulia@telus.net