NEWS RELEASE
ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH
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The leadership at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Guelph has announced that after 20 years with the congregation, Rev. John Borthwick will preach his last sermon at St. Andrew’s on July 2. Borthwick is leaving St. Andrew’s for a new leadership role as director of lifelong learning at Knox College in Toronto.
“While I am excited about this new opportunity, I am equally saddened knowing that my time at St. Andrew's is coming to a close,” said Borthwick as news of his new role was announced. “This congregation and community have guided and heavily influenced my spiritual, emotional, and social justice learning. Serving our community through our congregation has been a gift that I will be forever grateful for.”
Borthwick’s new role will be with Knox College in Toronto and will allow him to continue his efforts to empower and support church leaders. Borthwick will be creating new outreach for the college focused on meeting the spiritual, logistical, and leadership needs of paid and lay leaders across the country. The focus of his work will be to empower church leaders with the professional and practical tools they need to lead local and congregational efforts around change and renewal.
“We are happy for John and know that he will take on this new role with passion, collaboration, and a commitment to strengthening those around him,” reflected Nancy Nicol, clerk of session at St. Andrew’s and member of the Search Team that brought John to Guelph in 2003. “John has guided us through many changes and encouraged us to think of our beautiful building as a launching pad to be of service to our community. Through and with John, our congregation has stepped into conversations about inclusion, anti-racism, and homelessness. We are indebted to John for all the leadership, creativity, and love he has shared with us.”
In partnership with the congregation, Borthwick has made a significant impression on the City of Guelph. In 2008, he was awarded one of the inaugural Guelph Mercury 40 under 40 awards in recognition of his church outreach and community leadership. Passionate about poverty elimination and homelessness, he championed an initiative in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity called My Neighbour’s House, the first multi-faith housing build in the city. He was the founding co-chair of Circles Guelph Wellington, a program that helps individuals transition out of poverty through supportive and reciprocal relationship building. Most recently, St. Andrew’s -- inspired by Borthwick’s ongoing education about housing -- made a transformational gift of $600,000 to the Home for Good Campaign, which is raising money to build over 70 permanent supportive homes in the community.
A fixture in the Guelph Wellington non-profit world, Borthwick has been “surprised by the spaces into which I’ve been invited over the years.” Whether around the city’s Community Plan or many other engagement opportunities, he has relentlessly advocated for St. Andrew’s values of inclusion and equity, social justice, coming alongside, authentic community building, and learning. His leadership was recognized in 2017 when he received the Canada 150 Community Leader Award from the Government of Canada. In 2020, the Rotary Club of Guelph presented him with an Honourary Paul Harris Fellow award for his community service. In between his work at St. Andrew's and his extensive volunteering, John also served as the Chaplain for the Guelph Police Service for seven years.
The public is invited to send good wishes and memories of Borthwick and his community impact to [email protected] by June 18. A celebration of Borthwick’s ministry will take place during the regular worship at St. Andrew’s on June 25. Community members are invited to attend the service and/or join John and other community leaders for coffee and cake in the Westminster St. Paul’s Memorial Church Hall after the service at 11:45 a.m. Those wishing to celebrate Borthwick’s impact on the community with a financial gift are invited to make a contribution to either St. Andrew’s Guelph or Chalmers Community Services.
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