We hope you are able to join us for our special celebration. In honour of such an occasion, we will have Reverend Don Stiles Jnr preaching. We will be honoured with music from Dr Fred Graham.

Rev Stiles has a childhood connection to Newcastle United Church; he grew up in the village, as his father, Rev Don Stiles Senior, preached at Newcastle United Church. Rev Stiles completed his undergrad at Trent University, and after much thought, entered the ordination stream of the United Church, completing his Masters of Divinity at Queens Theological College in Kingston in 2005 with a concentration in rural ministry.  After years of being in Ontario, he settled in Newfoundland, in the Swift Current Pastoral Charge. Recently, he has found his way back to Ontario, and is currently ministering in the Seely’s Bay Pastoral Charge, north of Kingston. We welcome Rev Stiles as he joins us in a homecoming, of sorts.

We have the pleasure of Dr Fred Graham joining us to perform at Newcastle United, for such a special occasion.  Dr Graham has been a member of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (RCCO) since 1966. Dr Graham’s accomplishments include contributions to church music through hymn tune writing, hymn editing, workshops throughout Canada, organ recitals in Canada and beyond, and local involvement with colleagues in the RCCO in the Atlantic Region, Ottawa and central Ontario.

In 1967, Fred completed the undergraduate Music Education program at Toronto. His studies have taken him to Germany-in both Cologne and Berlin. With a Canada Council Grant, he studied advanced conducting, prior to studying music for children in Budapest. Musical positions have included teaching elementary and high school in Ottawa and New Brunswick, along with appointments to the music faculty at Dalhousie University. Dr Graham completed his education PhD in Liturgical Theology at Drew University.

In his spare time, Graham has held various church music positions in the Toronto area.  In semi-retirement, Fred acts as lay worship leader in Shining Waters Region of the United Church, and as a musician in congregations that request temporary leadership. In 2020, he and his wife, Melva, retired to Oshawa.