At St. Mark’s we are blessed to have not one, but two ministers! Rev. Paula Hamilton and Rev. Dr. Tom Hamilton serve in Team Ministry.
Rev. Paula Hamilton, “Rev. Paula”, our lead minister, has served in Team Ministry with Dr. Tom since 1998. In addition to her duties of preaching, leading worship and helping provide pastoral care to the Church Family, Rev. Paula also oversees the Administrative office of the church. She has a great love for children and youth and a desire for them to come to know Jesus, and is the driving force behind our annual VBS (Vacation Bible School). In addition to her duties at St. Mark’s, Rev. Paula serves as Chaplain to the Charlottetown Fire Department (Stations 1 & 2) and through her work in the CFD has developed a special interest in spiritual resiliency and critical incident stress management for first responders. Rev. Paula has a B.A. in Psychology from Dalhousie University and an M.Div. from Knox College Theological Seminary. Prior to her seminary training, she served as a Missionary with the Presbyterian Church in Canada in Hsinchu, Taiwan where she taught Bible, English, Business English and Creative Writing at the Presbyterian Bible College.
Maj. Rev. Dr. Tom Hamilton, or “Dr. Tom” as we call him, serves part-time at St. Mark’s in team with Rev. Paula. Dr. Tom has served in ministry for over thirty years. His enthusiasm for ministry and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is evident. Dr. Tom works as a military historian for the Directorate of History and Heritage in Ottawa. He has served as Military Chaplain to the Prince Edward Island Regiment since 2012, and is also Padre to the Charlottetown Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. He has a passion for Veterans and is often a speaker and workshop leader at Veterans Affairs Canada. His Remembrance Day Dramas featuring true stories of Canadians who served during time of war, have gained renown as he profiles the “heroes among us”. He also taught for thirteen years at UPEI in the History Department and introduced two new courses to the Department: The Canadian Experience of the First World War and The Canadian Experience of the Second World War. Dr. Tom has a B.A. in History from University of Toronto, an M.Div. from Tyndale Theological Seminary, an M.A. in History from U of T, and a Ph.D. in History from U of T. His doctoral thesis, “Padres Under Fire”, looked at the role of Canada’s Military Chaplains in the Second World War.
Both Rev. Paula and Dr. Tom believe that Christianity is not a religion, rather it’s a relationship – a relationship between ourselves and Jesus Christ. They believe that our faith should impact everything we do and they strive to bring weekly messages that help us apply the Gospel to our every day lives.
Rev. Paula and Dr. Tom have two daughters: Susanna, who recently graduated from UPEI and is actively involved in the Church Family at St. Mark’s; and Rachel, who is pursuing a PhD at Queen’s University.