Our Mission

To foster vibrant, inclusive communities of young adults in Calgary and the surrounding areas through faith, learning, and welcome.

What We’re About

01

Inclusion

We’re all about drawing the circle of inclusion wider and wider. That means that whoever you are, you are welcome here—no doubt about it.

Your gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race, socioeconomic background, family configuration and faith background are no barrier to participation or leadership in our programs and offerings.

02

Faith

We’re rooted in the faith tradition of the Anglican Church of Canada. And our sponsoring churches and clergy leaders come from that tradition, too.

But you don’t need to be Anglican to find a home here. We welcome people of all faith traditions and backgrounds to explore faith and tradition in community with us.

03

Empowerment

We’re all about fostering young adult leadership of our young adult programs. That means we want our members to become our leaders.

We’re always on the lookout for programming ideas and ways to get folks involved. If you have an idea for something we should do, let us know!

Have Questions?

We would be happy to talk to you about our Mission and what we’re about! If you want to get in touch with one of our clergy partners, in particular, be sure to let us know.

Our Clergy Partners

  • Rev. Nicole Janelle (she/her)

    RECTOR, ST. STEPHEN’S ANGLICAN CHURCH

    I am honoured to serve as the 13th Rector of St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, having arrived in 2021.

    I grew up in Maine (US) and served as a priest in Southern California for 17 years before coming to Calgary. I have experience in parish, campus and farm-based ministry, and have served as a hospice/palliative care chaplain. I’m passionate about transformative social, economic and ecological justice work, and most recently am a co-founder of Palestinian Anglicans and Clergy Allies and Proud Anglican Voices of Alberta. I love brainstorming with church and community members about new ways St. Stephen’s can be a welcoming and nurturing presence in the Beltline, as well as a spiritual home for Progressive Anglicans living across Calgary.

    I share life with my partner, a family physician specializing in 2SLGBTQIA+ and HIV medicine, and our three young children. I enjoy cooking, hiking the magnificent nearby mountains and walking/biking around the city.

    I’m a graduate of Northwestern University (BA), Union Theological Seminary (MDiv) and the University of California, Berkeley

  • Rev. Derwyn Costinak (he/him)

    PARISH PRIEST, ANGLICAN CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

    Derwyn brings to the Church of the Good Shepherd almost 20 years of pastoral experience from two different Christian traditions. Raised in a Christian home, he was brought up in the Pentecostal church and went on to become a pastor in that tradition for about 13 years. When he and his family moved to Toronto in 2009 so that he could pursue graduate studies at Wycliffe College, a process of openness to other expressions of the Christian faith that had begun 9 years earlier resulted in a significant change for them. Attracted to the profound nature of the Eucharistic liturgy and the openness of the Anglican approach to the Bible and Christianity, the Costinak’s were confirmed at St John’s York Mills Anglican Church in Toronto a year or so later. Following his ordination to the diaconate in May 2013, he arrived in Calgary in August to be the Assistant Priest at St James Anglican Church. Ordained to the priesthood in January 2014, Derwyn spent almost four years at St James before enthusiastically becoming the ninth priest to serve at Good Shepherd on May 1st, 2017. 

    Derwyn possesses a love of life and a number of interests and experiences that he uses to assist him in his passion to communicate well. He is a musician and motorcyclist, he has worked on a pilot’s licence and has raced karts, does sim racing in his spare time, is a Formula 1 and Tour de France fan, and is the Chaplain for the King's Own Calgary Regiment. He believes that “maturity is simply knowing when to be immature” (and you can quote him on that). A lover of dark roast coffee, red wine, and dark ale, his motto is: “you should never drink anything you can see through,” though he does make significant exceptions for water and Scotch. And when he’s out riding his bicycle, he’s often thinking about how “real life” and “church life” come together, so that the two become one and without the quotation marks…

  • Rev. Dr. Jane Rowland (she/her)

    RECTOR, ST. LAURENCE ANGLICAN CHURCH

    The Rev. Dr. Jane Rowland is an artist, theologian, and Anglican priest living in Calgary, Alberta. Jane is a passionate and dedicated teacher, with over thirty years experience in paid and volunteer lay ministry, theological education, and ordained ministry.

    She holds a Master of Divinity from Regent College, Vancouver, and a PhD from St Andrews University, Scotland, where she wrote her dissertation on Spiritual Mothers and Prophesying Daughters: The Practice of Female Ministry among North American Radical Evangelicals, 1875-1943. More current theological explorations are in the areas of trauma and theology, and trauma and spirituality.

    Jane also draws upon her background in graphic design to create intricate pen and ink images inspired by the ancient practice of manuscript illumination. Recent art work explores themes of faith, trauma and hope through the lens of the biblical book of Jonah.

    Other interests include wandering the range lands of the Eastern Slopes photographing and drawing wildflowers, gardening and reading science fiction.