Local church reverend follows father's footsteps

By Topher Seguin

Reverend Anne-Marie Jones poses next to pews in St. Andrews Presbyterian Church on October 2, 2011. Jones, whose father is also a reverend, is the first female minister in St. Andrew's 180 year history. Jones celebrated her ninth year as a reverend on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011. Photo by Topher Seguin.

Take a step through the front door and into St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, and into one of the warmest places you’ll ever find yourself.

Located in Belleville, you’re guaranteed to be welcomed with a light warm breeze as soon as you enter the foyer. Take a few steps further inside and you’ll notice that each and every pew is perfectly and evenly spaced. The ceiling of the cathedral goes on for what seems like forever, as if to reach the heavens itself. When the light is right, the stained glass windows glow majestically and softly spread light into every nook and cranny of St. Andrew’s. But most importantly, upon entering you’re almost assured to be welcomed with a huge smile by none other than the church’s reverend, Anne-Marie Jones.

“You can take a seat right next to Jesus,” Jones says while pointing at the stuffed doll resting on her couch as I enter her office, which looks surprisingly nothing like an office at all.  Pictures of pets and loved ones fill the walls of her humble abode, bringing a smile to her as she points out who’s-who in each of the photographs.

“Well, where should I start?” asks Jones – but not before making sure I’m absolutely comfortable. “The beginning,” I say.

Anne-Marie Jones is, and has been, the reverend at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Belleville for the past nine years. “I always knew I wanted to go into the healing arts,” Jones says with a smile on her face. From a young age, Jones wanted to be a chiropractor.

“I don’t know why, just from a young age I knew I wanted to do something to help people, and I felt like I was called to it.”

All throughout high school she studied the sciences. “Study, study, study. It’s all I ever did.” She sighs.

“I almost felt like they were lost years. Everyone had so many more friends than I did. I knew everyone and everyone knew me, but I didn’t feel close to anyone else. But then again, I was voted prom queen, which really turned it all around for me. It proved to me that it wasn’t all for nothing.”

The smiling face then turns away. No longer relaxed in her chair, Jones looks tense as she fights to find the right words. “My health started deteriorating in university. I had to take two years off. I remember staying in my room and watching the summers go by. Doctors told me that the condition they couldn’t fix could lead to depression. I just laughed at them, saying ‘Yeah! It would!’

“I used to love medicine and the medical arts. But I had never been so disappointed in it. All the finest minds in medical science couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. I was just stuck dealing with this pain in my gut.

“I eventually had to go back to school because I couldn’t afford to take anymore time off. I went back to the University of Waterloo, and graduated with honours in 1997 with a bachelor of science.  After losing hope in medicine, only one door remained open — the one possibly leading to ministry.”

Jones grew up with a father who was a minister in Picton.  Every day was a struggle. Her mother was a housewife who primarily stayed home to raise Anne-Marie and her two siblings.

Jones realized from a young age how tough it was to build a family on a small living allowance, especially when her father was so into his work that he rarely came home.

“I just couldn’t think about ministry, I was trying to fight it. Watching my father give his all to the church and still be stressed out at home wasn’t something I wanted for myself. But I then met a young woman who told me, ‘God wants you to know he heals in all sorts of ways.’ “So I applied to Knox College in Toronto. It’s funny how I slowly started to accept it. This is what I want to do. And the pain I had been feeling slowly started going away. It was really miraculous.”

Jones explains to me that when becoming a minister, it can be rather stressful. You don’t know where it’s going to take you. You could end up on the other side of Canada, if a church needs a reverend.

“It takes four years to graduate, and when I was finished school I applied to some churches. But it was actually St. Andrew’s that wanted me to apply. I didn’t find this out until after, but they actually had another guy lined up for this gig… they just wanted me to apply to get the minimum amount of applicants before making their choice. But I blew them out of the water!” she says with a massive smile on her face.

“They weren’t expecting to like me but they really did. They chose me over the other guy, which was lucky, because at the last second he took off to another church. Things just have a way of working out I guess.”

Jones is the first female minister in St. Andrew’s 180-year history and celebrated her ninth year as a reverend on Oct. 6 of this year. Being 38, Jones hears a lot about how young she is.

“Being 29 years old at the time I was ordained, people used to always say ‘You’re too young!’ ” Jones laughs hysterically while pointing at an old photo from her first day. “I used to tell people that I’m starting my ministry at the same age as Jesus was when he began his ministry!”

Working hard, Jones takes after her father — always wanting to do more and never feeling like she gets what she wants finished.

“When I’m here I’m giving it my all, I give everything I can to these people. I just always wish I could do a bit more while giving myself time to rest.”