Who We Are
Our Pastor
Pastor Stuart Marples first moved to Shawville in 1982 to become Pastoral Intern at Shawville Wesleyan Church. In 1983 he was married to a Shawville girl (Kellie Brownlee) and together they had three children – Shawn, Heidi, and Ian.
Moving from Shawville in 1995 the Marples’ completed fifteen years at Brockville Wesleyan Church (Brockville, ON) and nine years at Solid Rock Wesleyan Church (Mount Pearl, NL), before returning to Shawville in 2019.
In addition to Shawn, Heidi, and Ian they now have a daughter-in-law, Tina, a son-in-law, Gareth, a granddaughter, Olivia, and a grandson, Logan.
Pastor Stuart is an avid soccer fan (Leeds Utd) and a collector of Coca Cola cans, bottles, and glasses. He loves having coffee with people and hearing their story. Please don’t hesitate to make contact. stuart.newhope@gmail.com
Our Board
The Local Board of Administration is responsible for the administrative oversight of the church. The Pastor serves as Board Chair and is assisted by the Vice-Chair/Secretary (Elaine Richardson), Treasurer (Patti Moffatt), Lead Trustee (Darryl Moffatt), and four members-at-large (Ronda Richardson, Steven Beattie, Barry Moffatt, Shelley-Bourgeau Greer)
The Board meets in-person on alternate months and is empowered to take action between meetings through the use of a closed facebook messenger group.
Our Ministry Leaders
The Ministry Leaders take point for organizing events, implementing policy, and maintaining oversight of all ministry in their area of responsibility. The Ministry Leaders meet on alternate months to discuss matters of mutual concern, report on the state of their work, and plan events for the coming season.
Children & Youth: Ronda Richardson
Congregational Care: Angela Moffatt
Connections: Kellie Marples
Missions & Outreach: Deb White
Worship & Prayer: Andrea Smith.
The Wesleyan Church
New Hope Christian Fellowship has its roots in both The Standard Church of America and The Wesleyan Methodist Church. At one time there was both Standard Church and Wesleyan Church congregations in Shawville, but now we are united as one congregation under one denomination (The Wesleyan Church of Canada).
The Wesleyan Church of Canada is a Protestant denomination with a rich heritage. We teach that a victorious Christian life is possible for all believers through the experience of both forgiveness of sins and the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Wesleyans believe in one God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Saviour of all men and women who put their faith in Him alone for eternal life. We believe that those who receive new life in Christ are called to be exemplary in character and conduct, and can only live this way by being filled with the Holy Spirit. We believe in the Bible and seek to establish our faith and actions on its teaching. We believe God wills for people everywhere to enjoy a dynamic personal relationship with Him and that the purpose of the Church is to tell the world about Christ through its worship, witness, and loving deeds.
The name “Wesleyan” is in honour of John Wesley, a priest in the Church of England who became the inspiration behind the Methodist movement. It was their disciplined routine, or method of spiritual devotion and social work that earned Wesley and a few of his friends in ministry the nickname “Methodists” beginning in 1735. Later, the name was attached to the unique new organizational structure Wesley designed to provide prayer and spiritual care for tens of thousands of converts who found Christ through his work.
With World Headquarters in Fishers, Indiana, The Wesleyan Church has over 500,000 constituents in 7,000 churches and missions in 80 countries of the world. Our ministries emphasize practical Bible teaching, uplifting worship, and special programs to meet a variety of life needs.
For more on The Wesleyan Church please visit www.wesleyan.org/about