Our Speakers

Adrian is Ganosono (Deer Lodge), Turtle Clan, Cayuga Nation, Six Nations Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Grand River Country in Southern Ontario, Turtle Island. He founded an Indigenous church on his home reserve. For 47 years he has trained Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in spiritual and social service in various venues throughout the United States and Canada. His personal and professional studies include Indigenous worldviews, cultures, and health, through a culturally affirming approach. He serves NAIITS An Indigenous Learning Community as Elder Liaison for the NAIITS Elders Circle and is Senior Leader for Indigenous Justice and Reconciliation for the Christian Reformed Church in North America in Canada.

Adrian is a single father of five and grandfather of four. A storyteller and artist at heart he writes poetry and poetic prose about passionate matters of Indigenous justice and the vicissitudes of life. Public speaking has taken him to collaborations with Indigenous and decolonizing communities in Canada, the United States and globally.

Beth Fellinger is a wife, mother, grandmother and foodie (party thrower). She has also been a pastor for over 40 years and has been involved in both urban and rural settings, organized churches and church plants. Beth currently holds the role of Regional Mission Leader for Resonate in Eastern Canada. She does life at full speed and believes every day is a gift. She is a cancer survivor that lives life and honors those who didn’t get tomorrow. Her daily motto is always about moving people one step closer to Jesus than they were before.

Cindy Stover serves as the Canadian Justice Mobilizer for the Christian Reformed Church in North America. In this role, she supports Canadian churches and communities through learning experiences, relationship building, and resource development with a concentration on advocacy, Indigenous justice, climate care, and refugee justice. Having grown up in Northern Canada, Cindy is a country girl at heart, but also loves her close-knit neighbourhood in downtown Hamilton Ontario. Cindy is interested in seeing people enact justice and mercy in every area of our lives, from how we shop, to how we talk to our neighbours, to how our communities respond to the most vulnerable.

I am currently in my third year with Diaconal Ministries Canada. My primary role is to help set up the conditions where a diaconate (team of deacons) has the resources to flourish in the ways the diaconate mandate envisions. I invest the bulk of my time in supporting our network of coaches and facilitating a variety of workshops. I am married to Nancy and we live in Brampton, ON. Our five adult children still occupy a lot of our time and thoughts. I love anything to do with the outdoors; my passion at the moment is fixing up a family cottage on Lake Superior with my siblings. I am also always up for a game of scrabble!

Karla Winham is the NewGround Program Coordinator for Diaconal Ministries Canada. NewGround provides coaching and grants for churches that are partnering with their communities to create new ministries and programs to love their neighbours. Karla also developed the materials in the Stewardship online course. She is passionate about helping people find their own gifts and figure out ways to use them. Karla lives in Lower Onslow with her husband Gary and two dogs, and is always excited when her three kids come home from university. She spends her spare time playing hockey, running in the forest, writing poetry and making music online with people all over the world.

René is a diaconal coach with Diaconal Ministries Canada for the Maritimes. She has worked for the province of Nova Scotia for almost 30 years as a web application developer and technical coordinator. She has coordinated many Maritime Day of Encouragement/ Spark events in the past and loves to bring people together in these kind of learning opportunities. When she is not organizing something, René loves to cuddle with a cat and read, craft, work with her husband on their hobby farm, and sing in a local woman’s choral performance group.