Go West (and then head north)

The Bishop of Brandon has appointed The Reverend Janice Maloney-Brooks (Jann) as Rector of Christ Church (The Pas, MB).

In the midst of an exciting career in nephrology, dialysis and pediatric palliative nursing Jann discerned a call to ministry. In 2004 she was the first certified Parish Nurse in the Diocese of Ruperts Land, serving at St. Paul’s Fort Garry with Geoff Woodcroft (then rector, now bishop). She began the Master of Divinity program at The University of Winnipeg. 

When the career of her husband (Dr. Bill Brooks) took them to the Toronto area, Jann devoted herself to raising their three children; Hannah, Andy and Greer. Ministry was still calling, and she took up studies at Trinity College, University of Toronto.

In 2016, Andy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour for a second time, and Jann put school on hold to care for him. 

In 2017 the Bishop of Niagara ordained Jann as a vocational deacon and she served as parish deacon at The Church of the Ascension, as well as a Port Chaplain with the Mission to Seafarers Southern Ontario. Jann learned to climb up and down gangways visiting the big “salties” and “laker” container ships that visit the ports of Toronto, Oshawa and Hamilton.

“Working with seafaring men and women from around the world, is being a missionary where the world comes to us,” she explains. 

As a Port Chaplain, she ministered to seafarers in emergencies as well as moments of great joy, such as helping a seafarer to use technology to coach his wife through labour and delivery of their first child in the Philippines. Jann also used her knowledge of Canada’s healthcare system when aiding a seafarer who had attempted suicide while onboard. She was a constant advocate and presence to him until he was well enough to be repatriated home.

In 2019 Andy passed away and, after taking time with the family, Jann returned to her studies. Just as COVID-19 struck, she was in her full-time internship at St. John the Evangelist (Hamilton). There she took on the challenges of running a parish during a pandemic. After a few weeks of observing, she also took on the creating and presiding of online Sunday services for the summer. These services were broadcast on YouTube and reached not just the parish family but Anglicans across Canada and the globe.

With wonderful memories of their years in Manitoba, “It was like a dream come true” when Bishop William Cliff and the parish wardens invited her to become the Rector of Christ Church, The Pas.