By Greg Nikkel
Rev. Dr. Jay Mowchenko is looking to move on to a new challenge, after leading the Weyburn Free Methodist Church for the past 12 years.
After he and wife Marilou saw both of their children, Josh and Keisha, graduate from the Weyburn Comprehensive School and move on to post-secondary education, and he completed his doctorate degree, he felt that this would be the perfect time to go, and recently announced his intention to leave by May 1, 2018.
During his time as the lead pastor of the Free Methodist Church, he has also served as the chaplain to the Weyburn Police Service, and was a member of the City of Weyburn’s Housing Advisory Committee, which is working on a shelter project that he hopes to see come to reality before he is done.
Jay and his family arrived in Weyburn in 2006 after he worked to start up a church in Oshawa, Ont., as both he and his wife had ties to this region, and more importantly, he and Marilou wanted to spend time in a “healthy, resilient, relevant, multi-generational church”, and “that’s why we chose Weyburn FM, because they have had a history of being all of those things, and I felt I could contribute to making it even stronger than it already was.”
Jay noted when he first arrived, when the church board asked him how long he might stay, he told them he wanted to stay at the very least until his kids are done high school, and now that timing has worked out as the best time to make a change in his ministry.
“As I look back on it, there are many things we accomplished, so it’s a sense of completion,” said Jay, noting that the centennial of the Weyburn church in 2011 was a major milestone the church reached during his time as pastor.
“From the church’s perspective, part of my passion here has been to develop leaders, and I see some really exceptional young leaders in the church. Leaders need space to grow, but strong leaders also take up space, so one of my things is to give other exceptional young leaders the chance to show their abilities.”
He spoke highly of this city as an ideal place to bring and raise a family, and they have enjoyed that aspect greatly.
“It’s been a phenomenal place to raise our kids. Weyburn is exceptionally safe. You have to understand, we moved here from Oshawa, which is a suburb of Toronto, where we wouldn’t have dreamed of letting our kids ride their bikes down the street unsupervised. (Weyburn) felt like utopia. We felt completely safe,” he said, noting both of his children have had exceptional teachers and coaches while developing their passions.
For Keisha, it’s the performing arts, and for Josh, his passion is soccer, and both excelled in their areas and are now pursuing them.
“People have been passionate contributors into our children’s lives,” he added.
His involvement with the police force and on the housing committee arose as Jay approached the police chief, and then-mayor Debra Button, about being involved in an area where there was a need, and she suggested that he be a part of the housing advisory committee.
His involvement with the housing committee led directly to the chaplaincy, as Chief Marlo Pritchard had a great respect for the work that chaplains can provide to a police force after his years of work with the Regina Police Service.
As Jay now considers his next move, he has begun forming a chaplaincy team for the police force, so that when he and Marilou leave the community, there will not be a vacancy left behind, but a number of ministers will be available to help out when the need arises.
He feels he didn’t do as much as he could have in this role, and hopes that with a team in place, there will be more resources in terms of people available to help.
As for the housing shelter that is proposed for Weyburn, Jay said this “is on the verge of becoming a reality, based on a couple of crucial decisions by some key partners in the next month. We hope to get it up and running before I am done in May.”
As for what his future holds, Jay said this still has not been determined, but noted that with his resignation set, now he will be free to other opportunities in ministry that may come along.
“I am exploring some business opportunities that coincide with my ministry gifts and passions. I’m coaching church planters and pastors for the Free Methodist Church in Canada already, and will be expanding that in the new year,” he said. “A move away from Weyburn is likely at some point, but we have no firm plans for that right now. We love this city too much to just up and leave without giving it serious thought and prayer.”
