The Rev. Rick Durrett

Hello everyone. During Rev. Gillian’s parental leave I will be ministering on a part-time basis in the Parish of the Valley and I very much look forward to that opportunity.

I was born in Ottawa ON and my father was an Anglican Priest. Early years were spent in Ottawa, the Eastern Townships of Quebec, and the Ottawa Valley. My Dad was Rector of Galetta and Antrim until I was 14 and we moved back to Ottawa where he became an assistant at St Barnabas in the city.

Growing up I served the church as a chorister, a server/acolyte and as a reader. Of course I participated in many youth events and went to Camp Pontiac in the summer, notably to Dr. Godfrey Hewitt’s choir camps back in the day.

High school graduation was at Brookfield High School in Ottawa and then on to Algonquin College for a diploma in Hospitality and Food Services. After a couple of years working in the Hospitality industry I joined the Royal Canadian Navy as a Marine Surface Officer. I was very active in the church during these years and when at sea I always helped the Chaplain onboard with services etc. Somewhere around the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a voyage back from Hong Kong to Pearl Harbor I discerned a very strong call to ordained ministry.

So it was off to seminary at the Vancouver School of Theology where I graduated with a Master of Divinity in 1988. Ordination to the diaconate and priesthood took place in the Diocese of Ontario (Kingston) and subsequently I spent 2 years in the Parish of Land O Lakes (Plevna, Ompah, Ardoch, Cloyne and Flinton).

For the next 22 years I spent my time as a Chaplain in the Canadian Forces with wonderful postings in Petawawa, Goose Bay Labrador, Victoria, Fredericton, Halifax and finally back home to Ottawa. Upon retirement from the CF I returned to full time parish ministry at the Church of the Resurrection in Ottawa and served there for 7 years until my retirement in 2019.

My wife, Gillian, and I live in Braeside right on the Ottawa river and we enjoy, swimming, gardening, cooking, walking and motorcycling on our Honda Goldwing.  We love music of all kinds especially Blues and Classical music. We are parents to a blended family of 5 children and grandparents of 3 grandkids. Family is extremely important to us and we cherish every moment we can to spend with our “little ones.”

I look forward to my time with you and hope to meet many of you very soon.