Curacy Program Profile - Rev. Josiah Henderson

Meet the Reverend Josiah Henderson. Josiah was born and raised in Montreal, where he attended Emmaus Anglican Church, met and married his wife Alicia, and graduated with a BTh Honours from McGill University. While completing an MDiv at Wycliffe College, he served as a student intern at Christ the King Anglican Church in Toronto. And since October 2021, he has served as Curate for Children's and Student Ministries at St. Aidan's Church in Windsor through our diocesan Curacy Program. 

“For a young pastor like myself to have the opportunity to continue to learn and to grow, while also exercising my gifts (and feeding my family!) in full-time ministry, is such a blessing and a privilege!” Josiah told us. “I get to work under and alongside a more experienced pastor, whose guidance and example are teaching me a lot about what it means to be a faithful rector.”

“Josiah has grown by leaps and bounds in learning how to lead ministry rather than just do ministry,” Rev. David Pennylegion, rector of St. Aidan’s, wrote. “He has also grown in ministry planning and setting vision and priorities for ministry areas. His confidence has grown in his preaching and leading worship, while also gaining clarity on his own gifts and call as a clergyman.”

“So many of the things that pastors do routinely,” said Josiah, “—celebrate Communion, administer Baptism, visit parishioners in hospital, plan funerals, teach Confirmation classes—I have been able to do for the first time in this curacy. It's a wonderful thing to have these "firsts" in a context where I am not trying to figure out how to do everything on my own, but instead receive helpful direction and supportive feedback! I have no doubt that God is using this curacy to prepare me to serve more competently and more faithfully wherever he sends me next.”

“Josiah has grown by leaps and bounds in learning how to lead ministry rather than just do ministry.”

- Rev. David Pennylegion

As rector we asked Pastor David to reflect on some of the ways the parish has benefited from having Josiah with them.

“To have someone focus on our children and students ministry has allowed for an important ministry to be built,” he said. “And we have seen growth in the amount of families who are attending since they know we have something for their kids. It fulfills a value that we have had in serving people and preaching/teaching the Gospel to all generations.

“It has also shown the importance of investing in young leadership so that we might raise up leaders for the church and that we are all in this together. It takes a team to build a church. No one person can do it themselves and so we have to invest in one another. Since taking on Josiah, we have seen more people be willing to volunteer and take on more active roles in the life of the church.”

““Having had a Curacy of my own and now leading a Curate, I would not simply recommend it but almost require it for young clergy. ”

- Rev. David Pennylegion

We also asked him if he’d recommend the Curacy Program to other young clergy and parishes and he answer “Yes” immediately.

“Having had a Curacy of my own,” he wrote, “and now leading a Curate, I would not simply recommend it but almost require it for young clergy. You don't know what you don't know and so if one comes with a faithful and teachable spirit, they will benefit greatly from a Curacy. 

“Yes, other congregations should have Curates. If the Rector is gifted in training and building up young leaders, he should absolutely have a Curate. Everyone wins when a Curacy goes well. The Curate is given a safe place to develop, grow and make mistakes without carrying the weight of being a Rector or planter. The church wins not simply because its another set of hands but it shows how valuable it is to develop young leaders. And as they send the Curate out to serve in their next role, the congregation is blessed to serve the wider church and play a larger role in building the Kingdom of God in Canada.”

One of our central values as a diocese is having equipped and supported clergy who are qualified and cared for and well prepared for ministry. 

And one of the ways we are seeking to pursue this value is by helping provide young clergy opportunities through our Curacy Program to minister in well established parishes as curates under a more senior clergy member who is able to act as an instructor and mentor.  But this initiative can’t operate without generous giving above and beyond our normal parish tithes.

You can learn more about the Curacy Program and give today here: