Elder Selection Process 2026

Intro  |  Process Overview  |  Schedule
Elder Role  |  Elder Eligibility  |  Book of Forms | 2026 Candidates

2026 Candidates for Eldership

In preparation for voting, we are pleased to list the candidates for the 2026 elder selection process. Member voting will be open April 20 - May 4.

  • I have lived in Toronto almost all my life. I was raised in a Christian family and attended Christian schools through high school. In university, I studied mathematics, philosophy and history of science. Then I worked in the software industry as a programmer, manager and consultant until I retired. I have three children, all grown and married, and five grandchildren.

    My late wife, Pat, and I began attending Knox in 1976 because the preaching was Biblical, the congregation included people of all ages, and it was close to our home on Major Street. We hosted and led home Bible studies until she became ill.

    I was first ordained as an elder in 1982 and served on Session for 20 years. During that time I taught adult Bible classes, visited members of the congregation, served on many committees and led the Long Range Planning committee about 25 years ago.

    I have been a Christian since my earliest years. I find that systematically reading the whole Bible has been key to an ever deepening faith. A notable verse is “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” (1Cor 6:19) I often return to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and his upper room teaching and prayer. My faith has also grown by being tested through difficulties, among which I count looking after Pat during her decades-long illness and death in 2024.

An elderly man with white hair and beard wearing glasses, a black suit, light blue shirt, and dark tie, smiling indoors.

  • I started attending Knox when I was 8, after one of my Mom’s best friends introduced us to Knox. I personally experienced Jesus when I was 13, and made the decision to follow him in that moment. I’ve been at Knox ever since. 

    I’ve been blessed to serve as an elder, as well as a member of the Missions Committee, and as a greeter. I’m also a Psychological Associate, working with those who have been through trauma. I’m so thankful for God’s leading in my career. I love my job and there is nothing I would rather be doing. 

    Whenever I’m having a rough time, I turn to Luke 24:5-6. It reminds me of the resurrection, that God is in control of all things, and that no matter what I am struggling with, God is always with me.

A smiling woman with long dark hair and glasses, wearing a black and white sweater, standing inside a church with stained glass windows in the background.

  • I grew up in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa where I committed to follow Christ at a young age. My faith has only grown as I have seen Christ work powerfully in my family and by experiencing how He unites His people from all backgrounds in the locations I have lived internationally.

    My wife, Suna, and I moved to Toronto during the pandemic and started to join online worship in early 2021. We felt blessed by both the scripture-centered teaching and the warm welcome we received at Knox. I have been involved in the Refugee Committee and recently started volunteering with the ESL ministry.

    I have often found reassurance in the words of Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

A middle-aged man with short gray hair, wearing a white button-up shirt and a black Arc'teryx vest, standing inside a church with stained glass windows in the background.

  • I grew up in church, but there were certain periods in which my faith or understanding grew more actively. Sometimes it was fed by particularly good teaching from the pulpit or the fellowship of a homegroup, but (looking back) it was unsurprisingly most marked during times of trial or difficulty. This is when my prayer life especially grew. 

    About 5 years ago, Leon and I decided to move to Canada to be closer to my family. We chose Toronto (new to both of us) and, pretty soon afterward, started attending Knox. I started volunteering with the Internationals’ Bible Study, and Leon and I volunteered with the Refugee Committee to bring the Haidarys to Canada. I’m also involved with the Friday noontime prayer, a 15 minute online prayer gathering. 

    One theme of Scripture that I often turn to deals with perspective and hope. There can be little ‘right’, but I know that God is still at wor— the cross being the foremost example of this. “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?”(Psalm 27:1)

Smiling woman with glasses inside a church with stained glass windows and wooden pews.

  • I was born in London, Ontario, and grew up in a Christian family. There never was a time when I didn’t believe, but faith was a matter of family custom, and I never really pondered the roots of my faith or asked what it meant to be a Christian. Like others in my situation, I drifted away from being a practising Christian when I left home to attend university in Toronto. God never really let me go, and after several years of not attending church, the Spirit led me to feel that something was missing. I began to look for a church home in Toronto. As a graduate student I had a meal plan at New College and could see Knox right across the street. Having tried out a few other churches, I decided to give Knox a try. The congregation was welcoming, and I was blown away by Dr. DiGangi’s preaching. That was nearly 38 years ago, and I have never looked back. 

    Knox transformed my faith from conventional to intentional, and encouraged me to make a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as my saviour. As I deepened in faith I became more active in the church. In 2002 I joined the Board of Managers and served as Chair from 2008 to 2015. Since 2003 I have headed up the greeting teams. In 2008 I joined Session as an elder, and it has been my privilege to serve in that capacity ever since. Getting involved in the life and work of Knox is a way of giving something back in return for the many blessings God has granted me.

    I joined the staff of the Loblaws store in the Manulife Centre in 1989 – the same year I
    began attending Knox—and am still there. My favourite passage of Scripture, which inspires me more than any other, is Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with
    your God.”

A smiling man with short hair wearing a plaid button-up shirt, standing inside a building with stained glass windows in the background.