From the United Church of Canada Web Page
[http://www.united-church.ca/communications/news/general/090703b]

July 3, 2009

The Rev. Deborah Elliott and Donald Gibson have been sent from London Conference for a four-year renewable appointment beginning in June 2009 to serve The Moravian Church of Nicaragua. Deborah will serve as pastor in the English-language congregation of the Moravian Church in Puerto Cabezas on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. Don hopes to use his experience as a former probation officer in church-related community development work.

Deborah was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, U.S., and immigrated to Canada in the early 1980s. She was granted a bachelor’s degree in Administration and a master’s degree in Hospital Administration by the University of Ottawa. She did her Masters of Divinity at Queen's Theological College in Kingston and was ordained in 1995 by Montreal-Ottawa Conference. Deborah has served at three pastoral charges: Sebright Pastoral charge (Lindsay Presbytery), Mountjoy United Church (Cochrane Presbytery), and most recently St. Paul’s United Church in Sarnia (Lambton Presbytery). While in Timmins, she also served as Timmins and District Hospital Chaplain for three and a half years.

Don was born in Val d’Or, Quebec, and moved to northern Ontario (South Porcupine) when he was six years old. He graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts in Recreation. He worked for the Ministry of Correctional Services, Ontario, from 1980 to 2006, and is now retired. Don hopes to be able to use his skills working with inmates either in jail or helping with reintegration back into the community.

Don and Deborah have five adult children, plus many other young people they call family. They have three grandchildren and a young teen who is their godson.

Deborah and Don are very excited about working with their brothers and sisters in the Moravian Church. Their hope is to stand with the people of God in Nicaragua and be with them in working towards the fulfillment of God’s mission in that community.

The Moravian Church of Nicaragua is the oldest Protestant denomination in Central America. It was established in 1849 and has been a partner of The United Church of Canada since the mid-1970s. The Moravian Church has a long history of providing social support, health care, and quality education in addition to ministry of word and sacrament. The Moravian Church is a fast-growing, vital church that ministers to four ethnic peoples: the Creole (Afro-descendants) and three Indigenous groups—Miskitu, Sumu Mayagna, and Rama. Over the years many relationships have flourished between the United Church and leaders of the Moravian Church in exchanges, continued education, and commissioning of overseas personnel.