Diploma in Ministry Instructor Biographies

Mary Boucher: 

MNST110 Instructor, Mary Boucher, is a lay woman who is single and lives in a faith community. Her life has been filled with variety and experiences which have impacted her understanding of ministry in the Christian community. She began her career teaching Grade 4 in a Catholic school but soon realized that teaching was more than a career – it was a ministry. As time went on she became a vice-principal and then a principal. Mary journeyed with adults as well as the children - parents, teachers and principals in Catholic schools. After seven years as a principal, she went to a Jesuit University in Seattle where she received her masters in theological studies. 

Mary was the first lay director of the Archdiocesan Office of Religious Education for Vancouver. While there, she journeyed with principals and teachers of the Catholic Schools, coordinators and catechists of parish CCD in over 90 parishes, RCIA coordinators and teams, Liturgy of the Word with Children Coordinators and teams, and Adult Faith Teams. After leaving the Office of Religious Education, she and a friend opened a house of welcome in Mission, BC where they welcomed people for spiritual direction and directed retreats. She also helped begin the Generations of Faith approach to faith formation in their parish; an intergenerational approach in action. 

Since 2005, Mary has lived in New Westminster where she now ministers part time in another parish and continues to journey with folks through spiritual direction, retreats, and workshops as requested. Other areas of service she has explored are prison ministry and supporting men and women who have recently left prison and are in transition houses where they explore faith and recovery through the 12 step program. She has also helped introduce the Generations of Faith approach in the Ukrainian Eparchy of New Westminster.

 

Mary Jo MacKinnon-Simms: 

Mary-Jo MacKinnon-Simms has a Bachelor’s Degree from Saint Thomas University in Fredericton and a Master’s Degree in Education (with a concentration in adult education) from Mount Saint Vincent University.  She completed the St. Francis Xavier University Diploma in Ministry and is currently completing a Master in Divinity program (concentration in restorative justice) at Queen’s Theological College in Kingston Ontario.  Mary-Jo has been heavily involved in the chaplaincy work of Correctional Services Canada.  In addition to chaplaincy work this includes being on the organizing committee of volunteer training programs and a number of other learning focused initiatives.  She has had a long connection to both adult education and religious education.  This commenced immediately out of high school as a youth counselor for the Diocese of Antigonish and has included teaching positions with Seneca College, being a member of the board of directors for Adult Literacy in the Halifax/Dartmouth area, being involved in Parish religious education programs and, most recently, in various activities with Correctional Services in the federal prisons in Kingston.  As an adult learner, a mother of three, and the wife of a career army officer, Mary-Jo understands that adult learning comes with unique challenges with a multitude of demands for time and attention. 

 

Dr. Charles MacDonald: N/A

Rev. Paul Abbass: N/A

Dr. Paul Beaudette:
Paul is a native of Niagara Falls, Ontario. He did his undergraduate work in anthropology and philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He studied theology at the Toronto School of Theology, receiving his M.Div. In 1980. He taught for five years at his alma mater, Notre Dame College School in Welland, ON, while furthering his education background, earning an M.Sc.Ed. from Niagara University in 1987. Paul proceeded to enter doctoral studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, in 1986. He finished his course work in 1989, and returned to Toronto where he taught in the Religious Studies Department at Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton High School from 1989-1995. It was during this period that Paul completed his dissertation on Ritual Purity in Priestly Celibacy.

In 1995 Paul moved to Halifax to teach within the Religious Studies Department of Mount Saint Vincent University. In his five years on the faculty there, he has been twice nominated and once finalist for the MSVU Award for Excellence in Teaching, and has also been recognized by the MacLean’s Guide to Universities and Colleges (1999) as a “popular professor” by students at the Mount. Paul also teaches part-time at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax where he is involved in courses on Scripture, Field Education and Bioethics.

Paul and Katherine, his spouse, have two children: Benjamin and Clare.
 
Susan L. Eaton M.Ed
Susan is an adult educator with 25+ years of experience in group facilitation, community development, and the production of community-oriented education materials. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree (Political Science) from the University of Saskatchewan and a Master of Education degree (Adult Education) from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
 
For 21 years she worked for the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP), first as the animateur (community education field worker) in her home province of Saskatchewan and then as the national Program Coordinator, based in Toronto.
 
Since 1998, Susan has been self-employed as a freelance meeting facilitator, writer and researcher. She works primarily with church and community groups and non-government organizations. She has facilitated events for the Coady International Institute, the Family Literacy Association of Nova Scotia, the District Health Authority, and a coalition of groups dealing with restorative justice. She recently completed a 15-month project working with the Antigonish Town and County Community Health Board (The PATH II Project: People Assessing Their Health), funded by Health Canada.
 
Susan has traveled widely throughout Canada and has conducted workshops and educational sessions in every province except New Brunswick. Her international travel has included professional visits to the Philippines, Nicaragua, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia, East Timor and India.
In 1999, Susan moved to Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She is an active member of Development and Peace at the local and diocesan levels and serves as the town's Returning Officer for municipal elections. She finds that Antigonish, the birthplace of the Antigonish Movement, is the perfect place to live out her passion for adult learning, social justice, and community participation.