Rector
The Reverend Canon Robert J. Mitchell
Tel: 416-769-5686, ext. 1
Email: rector@stolaves.ca
The Reverend Canon Rob Mitchell was installed in July 2016 as St. Olave’s sixth Rector. Prior to coming to St. Olave’s, Rob served in parishes in Peterborough, Cookstown and Churchill, followed by St. Thomas’s, Huron Street in Toronto.
Born in Saskatoon and raised in a clergy family, Rob earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1999 he moved to Toronto to study theology at Wycliffe College. He was made deacon at St. James Cathedral in 2002 by the Most Reverend Terence Finlay, and ordained a priest in the same year by the Right Rev’d Douglas Blackwell. On November 17, 2023, Rob was named Honorary Canon to the Cathedral of St. James. Rob is married to Caroline and together they are delighted to be a part of the St. Olave’s and Swansea communities.
Learn about Rob’s book These Our Prayers.
Deacon
The Reverend Dr. Jim Leatch
Email: jleatch@rsgc.on.ca
In 2021, Bishop Andrew Asbil appointed the Rev. Dr Jim Leatch as a Vocational Deacon at St. Olave’s. Jim was born in Toronto and attended Lord Dufferin Public School and North Toronto Collegiate Institute. During university, he joined the 48th Highlanders of Canada and spent four summers training in the Reserve Entry Scheme Officer (RESO) program. He qualified as an infantry officer, military parachutist and demolition instructor and served for 22 years in the 48th and as a staff officer in the G1 (Personnel) and G3 (Operations) branches of 32 Brigade Headquarters.
Jim has worked at Royal St. George’s College for over 30 years as a history teacher, department head, curriculum coordinator, Acting Head of the Senior School and Chaplain. Outside of the classroom, Jim coaches hockey, rugby, and softball. He holds the following degrees from the University of Toronto: B.A. in Early Modern History (Trinity College); Bachelor of Education (History & Physical Education); Master of Education (Educational Administration and Educational Law); and Doctor of Philosophy (History). He earned an M.A. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, a Master of Theological Studies from the Toronto School of Theology (Trinity College) University of Toronto, and a Certificate in Furniture and Cabinet Making from the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology of Humber College. Jim graduated from the Opera School of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. After studying singing with Sir Peter Pears at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh, England, he performed for three seasons with the Stratford Festival. Jim has sung as an opera and oratorio soloist in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Austria and Germany. In Germany, he recorded the tenor solos of Mozart’s “Requiem” and Haydn’s “Nelson Mass” for the South German Radio network (Süddeutscher Rundfunk). He is married to Dr. Sandra Boyes. They live in Toronto with their two Bearded Collies, Henry and Poppy.
Director of Music
Jeremy Tingle
Tel: 416-769-5686 ext. 3
Email: music@stolaves.ca
After serving as St. Olave’s Interim Director of Music for five months, Jeremy Tingle was appointed permanent Director of Music in May 2023. Jeremy’s musical education began at St. Michael’s Choir School, Toronto, after which he dedicated his life to sacred and liturgical music with special emphasis on the works of Anton Bruckner and Josef Gabriel Rheinberger. He has studied voice with Peter Barnes, the pipe organ with Dr. John Paul Farahat and Professor Kevin Komisaruk, and orchestral conducting with Ivars Taurins while attending the University of Toronto. In addition to serving as Director of Music at St. Olave’s, he holds an appointment to the Schola Cantorum at St. Basil’s Catholic Parish and is the co-director of Ensemble ex nihilo. Active as conductor, organist, pedagogue and tenor across the Greater Toronto Area, he also possesses a deep interest in the art of historical organ-building.
Learn more about St. Olave’s choir.
Junior Church Coordinator
Siobhan Carmichael
Email: children@stolaves.ca
Siobhan Carmichael and her family began worshipping at St. Olave’s in 2016. Her children are regular attenders of Junior Church and Siobhan has been a strong supporter of St. Olave’s children’s ministry. She is also a member of the Second Century Mission Fund committee and passionate about social justice. Siobhan’s teaching experience includes the Godly Play program at St. George’s-on-the-Hill and a variety of classrooms, from elementary school up to university level. During the pandemic, Siobhan home schooled her children and further nurtured her love of teaching.
Learn more about St. Olave’s children’s program.
Honorary Assistants
The Reverend Dr. Pearce James (PJ) Carefoote (on leave)
Contact through the parish office at 416-769-5686
The Rev’d Dr. Pearce James (PJ) Carefoote was born and raised in Toronto, and ordained a priest in 1988. He holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology in Church History from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium and a Master of Information Studies from the University of Toronto. He recently retired from a long career as the Head of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto. PJ is the author of Forbidden Fruit: Banned, Censored and Challenged Books from Dante to Harry Potter and A Confusion of Printers: The Role of Print in the English Reformation. He has preached, celebrated and assisted at St. Olave’s many times, and made several educational presentations. PJ was appointed Honorary Assistant in February 2022.
The Reverend Peter John Achiek
416-653-1174
The Reverend Peter John Achiek is the priest-in-charge of the Sudanese Community Church in Toronto which worships in St. Olave’s Church on Sunday afternoons and is a Designated Ministry of the Diocese of Toronto. Peter John started church activities in 1979 at age 13 and was ordained an evangelist in 1990 in Ethiopia as a refugee, where he also served as assistant to the pastor of the Episcopal Church (Anglican). In 1995 Peter John went to Kenya and started a Church in a refugee camp. He was ordained a priest in 1999 at St. Ngummo Nairobi, Kenya by Rt. Rev. Bishop Nathaniel Garan Anyieth, the former Bishop of Bor Diocese, the capital of Jongeli State in South Sudan. In 2000 Rev. Peter John moved to Canada as a refugee. He graduated with a diploma from Wycliffe College in 2004 and also has training in payroll accounting and nursing. Reverend Peter John was appointed Honorary Assistant at St. Olave’s in 2010.
Office Administrator, Judy Beal
Email: stolaves@stolaves.ca
416-769-5686
Judy can be reached during office hours, which are from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays.
Please email stolaves@stolaves.ca if you would like to be included in our email update list.
Sexton, Dave Webb
416-720-1163
Dave works Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Wardens and other key lay leaders
Many people volunteer their time and talents to help the church run smoothly. The following people can be reached through the church office:
- Rector’s Warden – Janice Douglas
- People’s Warden – Sharm Powell
- Deputy Rector’s Warden – Allan Taylor
- Deputy People’s Warden – Carol Ambler
- Treasurer – Annis Tebbutt
- Head of Servers’ Guild – Jon Ingall
- Altar Guild President – Dale Allen
- Property Chair – Sheila Tait, Order of the Diocese of Toronto
- Hospitality Committee Co-chairs – Lisa Jeens, Alicia Christopher
- Envelope Secretary – Doug Hewitt
- ACW President – Sheila Tait, ODT
To learn more about ministry contacts or to get involved, please contact the parish office.