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Staff Profiles

• Allan Saunders – Lead Minister
• Gai Burns – Minister of Pastoral Care and Outreach
• Gordon Cann – Minister of Pastoral Visitation
• Megumi Matsuo Saunders – Children, Youth, Young Adults and Family Minister
• Ann Maffey – Staff Associate, Health & Wellness Ministry
• Frances Pollet – Director of Music

Allan Saunders

Lead Minister

Allan delights in stories — the stories of people's lives. Stories of unexpected turns, challenges encountered, tough decisions made, love and friendship offered, lives renewed. He listens to those stories for hints of insights gained...insights about the nature of our souls and the nature of our God.

Allan believes in a God who is full of surprises and full of grace...a God who comes to us in countless ways...a God whose eternal nature is shown to us especially in a common carpenter from Nazareth. Jesus befriended the outcast, preached Good News, taught and lived a life of blessing, suffered the Cross and now is risen that we might be an Easter people.

Seeking to walk in Jesus' way and rely on his companionship, we discover gifts: faith for the journey, hope that sustains us in times of limbo, and love that is both resilient and miraculous. A community of faith such as ours offers infinite opportunities to explore and attain these spiritual resources.

Allan values a church which celebrates the diversity of people, where all are welcomed and there is creative programming for every age. He enjoys preaching, and is glad to share in leading worship in a variety of styles. He plays guitar for the children's songs and in the contemporary FM band.

Allan came to First†Metropolitan in the summer of 1999, following 22 years of ministry in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. While ministering with the Sturgeon Creek congregation in Winnipeg, he also had been elected President of the Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. Highlights of his term as President included coordinating the church's response to the Red River "Flood of the Century" and an all-day festival to mark the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women, attended by 3000 persons.

Allan studied for the ministry at Emmanuel College, Toronto School of Theology (University of Toronto), and was a Visiting Scholar at Andover Newton and the Boston Theological Institute.

His interests include nature, hiking, music, guitar, art, current affairs, travel, kayaking, drama.

Gai Burns

Minister of Pastoral Care and Outreach

Rev. Colleen Gai Burns began her ministry at First†Metropolitan on April 1, 2008 after spending the last three and a half years as minister of Gabriola Island United Church near Nanaimo and as chaplain at Nanaimo General Hospital.

Gai was ordained in May 1991 in the Bay of Quinte Conference after five years serving as a Chaplain at Ongwanada, an institute for the Developmentally Challenged in Kingston Ontario, and then several years as a New Church Development associate minister at Cataraqui-Westbrook Pastoral Charge on the outskirts of Kingston. At Queens University she received two bachelor degrees in theology and religious studies, and a Masters of Divinity.

Further studies in pastoral counseling and spiritual direction and then Doctoral Studies in Spirituality were done through The Toronto School of Theology (UofT). Gai has served as minister in Kingston, Peterborough, Brechin, Cambray and Kingston, all in Ontario, and in Melbourne Australia with the Uniting Church of Australia. She has also trained and served as a hospital chaplain in Calgary, Kingston, and Nanaimo.

"For me the richness of parish ministry continues to call me to offer my training within the context of a worshipping community of faith of all ages and stages. This has often been as much with those outside of the church as within. In creating 'The Healing Place', an alternative health centre in Lindsay Ontario, I became all the more aware of the role that faith and spiritual care have on our wellbeing."

Gai says that one of her greatest joys is seeing people gather, whether for a meeting, prayer, meal, worship, project, music, or just to talk. "In our coming together the wonder of God's Presence, the gift of love, is supported and discovered and celebrated, and this is good."

You will find that another one of Gai's joys is prayer which she likens to the banks of the river of her life. Contemplative in her private life, stillness and the mystery there revealed continues to shape and inform who she is, and we know she will be looking for opportunities to share this passion with others. Ask Gai about some of the chapels she has visited around the world and you'll begin to discover how she renews her own soul after a year of caring for others.

Gordon Cann

Minister of Pastoral Visitation

Gordon Cann was born in Louisbourg, NS and graduated from Mount Allison University with a B.A. Before going on to Pine Hill Divinity Hall, Halifax, he served as a lay preacher for a year at Grace Methodist Church, Bermuda. He has a M. Th. from Atlantic School of Theology.

Ordained by the Maritime Conference, he was settled in the Newtown-Waterford Pastoral Charge (a five point charge near Sussex, NB). He was an assistant minister at Danforth United Church (now Eastminister), Toronto and Westboro United Church, Ottawa. Then, he was minister at St. Andrew's Norwood, Saint-Laurent (Montreal), Knox, Lower Sackville (Halifax), McDougall and Ebenezer in Edmonton. He retired in 1999 and moved to Sidney in 2003.

He is married to Ann (Morrison) and they have four children and nine grandchildren.

Between January 2007 and March 2008, he was interim Pastoral Care Minister at First†Metropolitan. He is known for his gentle sense of humour, his compassion and his dedication to the needs of our homebound members. He and Ann have been members of First†Met for five years.

Megumi Matsuo Saunders

Staff Associate, Children, Youth, Young Adults and Family Ministry

Born as a third generation Christian in Nara, Japan. Megumi (pronounced: Meg-a-me) has lived across Canada over the last 24 years, to arrive in Victoria in the summer of 1999. Her focus here is on Sunday School. She has vast teaching experience. She loves being with children and people who are interested in nurturing children. Megumi likes to use popular education as an important teaching method including drama, music, games, crafts, etc. Megumi believes children's faith journey begins at a very early age and it is very important to nurture their spirituality. This helps build their own identity and faith which will sustain and encourage their life journey in adulthood.

Besides children's issues, Megumi is involved in women's issues in the global context. She believes her role is bridging ministry by helping people from different backgrounds to see things from the perspectives of others. i.e. Lay and Ordained/Commissioned ministers, different generations, cross-cultural, male and female, ecumenical, interfaith and global, sexual orientation, rural and urban. She seeks to bring dialogue, understanding and respect of differences to bridge the gap between people and work together towards the common good.

Ann Maffey

Staff Associate, Health & Wellness Ministry

The Health and Wellness Ministry in our church takes a realistic look at the health issues and challenges facing many in our congregation. In addition, it is a reminder to celebrate the strengths and resources of our church community as well as those available outside our walls.

Ann brings over 30 years of nursing experience, and a specialized interest in community and geriatric nursing to her position at First†Met. Through one-on-one and group meetings, information sessions, workshops, discussions around specific issues, and close cooperation with Pastoral Care, our church offers support and practical assistance within a spiritual context through the many of life's challenges.

Frances Pollet

Director of Music

Frances Pollet's goal is "to reach the highest levels of performance standards in a variety of choral repertoire." This goal is expressed in the artistry of the church choir, the Pringle Bells and the First†Metropolitan United Vocal Ensemble. In addition, she and the First†Met Music Team inivte a variety of guest artists, from within the congregation and in the community, to participate in worship and music events.

Fran has been Director of Music and Organist at First Metropolitan for several years. Previously, Fran was Director of Music at St. Matthias Church for 18 years, Music Director for Grassroots Theatre Company for seven years, and coordinated and directed the Empress Hotel's Christmas festivities for an equal length of time. In 2007, she resigned as music director of the Linden Singers, the choir she helped found.

Most recently, Fran has introduced and led monthly Celtic worship sessions based on the liturgy and music developed by the Iona Community at First Metropolitan. Fran is very well-known and respected in the Victoria music scene and is a member of the United Church of Canada Association of Musicians (UCCAM).