Staff

GEORGE CLIFFORD hails from Verdun, Quebec, where he graduated from Sir George Williams and McGill Universities. Ordained in 1960, he was settled in the five point Campbell’s Bay Pastoral Charge. A call in 1962 brought him to Rideau Park United. From 1965, and for the next 33 years, George ministered in Cornwall, Brockville, and City View United Church, Nepean.

Active in Conference and Presbytery, George served as President of Montreal and Ottawa Conference in 1977. For eight years, he chaired the Ottawa Pastoral Relations Committee. He retired in 1997.

George has been part of the Glebe-St. James family on a part time basis since 1999. His primary responsibility is visiting our seniors, especially in nursing and retirement homes. He and his wife Marguerite live in Barhaven. They have three children and two grandchildren. George has a strong interest in fishing. Since he has no boat, he always welcomes invitations to “dip the rod”.

ROBERT PALMAI – Music Director – Robert Palmai (Robert and his family immigrated to Canada from Hungary in 1956, settling in the Kitchener area. Robert’s father became a choir director at St. Clement’s in Preston, and Robert began playing the Casavant organ there when he was sixteen.

Following his music degree at University of Toronto, Robert taught high school music for 30 years, worked in several united churches, and is the founding Director of the Amadeus Choir. In 1983, Robert moved to Ottawa to take a teaching position in the music department of Canterbury High School, where he taught vocal and choral music, harmony and keyboarding until he retired in 2001. He was the organist at Emmanuel United for 16 years, and was also the Music Director of the Savoy Society from 1993 to 2000. He directed the middle school and senior choirs at Elmwood from 2001 to 2006. Two years ago he founded the Canterbury Alumnae Treble Choir.

Robert lives in Alta Vista happily married to Susan enjoying a blended family of 6 children and two grandchildren.

STEPHANIE LANGILL brings the warmth and cheerfulness of her Nova Scotia spirit to the Christian Education Program at Glebe-St. James. Born in Truro, she earned a B.A. in English from Mount Allison University before moving to Halifax where Bedford United was her home church. She initially taught English as a Second Language and Adult Education before discovering her first love was working with children.

Stephanie came to Ottawa in 2008, and was employed at an inner-city day care. She is a graduate of the Early Childhood Education Intensive Program at Algonquin College.

She began working at Glebe-St. James in January, 2010 as a nursery school attendant, and is now is charged with Faith Formation for our full Sunday School Program. Stephanie loves the honesty of children and is attracted to the strong community spirit she finds here.

SANDRA MACMILLAN is the first voice or face of contact at Glebe-St. James. Phone in, e-mail, or walk in, and Sandy has a quick quip and a cheery smile for you. She started as the Church Administrator in 1992, right after she earned her diploma in Business Administration from St. Lawrence College. Sandy is an excellent listener, and often consoles congregation members with pastoral concerns.

She feels that being a mother of 3 grown children has been good training for handling the thousand logistical details in an active church’s weekly life. Sandy most appreciates the spiritual liberalism she finds among the accepting, inclusive congregation and staff here.

An avid genealogist, she also enjoys cycling, hiking and cross-country skiing.