“I’m not going to come here and do status quo. I’m not going to come here and think we can reboot 1973.”

That was the promise the Rev. Lynne Donovan made when she interviewed to become minister at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in 2007. 

Nearly two decades later, few would argue she failed to keep her word.

“If you are not interested in this pilgrimage, that will be challenging. I’m not your gal,” she recalls telling the church’s leadership team.

Needless to say, she got the job, and has since led a radical reimagining of worship. Under her ministry, a traditional Presbyterian congregation at St. Andrews evolved into the Circle of Friends, an inclusive spiritual community rooted in curiosity, creativity and courage, while the church itself became The Andrew — a gathering place for community life and now a major event space.

Looking back, Rev. Donovan doesn’t describe her ministry as preserving an institution. Instead, she asked what was needed now.

“I was looking for a congregation that was willing to look at the deepest values of this tradition — hospitality, inclusivity, courage and creativity — and put everything on the table to find a way forward,” she said.

And now, the Reverend is seeking another way to move forward. Retirement for her is certainly not an ending.

The Circle of Friends and The Andrew will continue under a collaborative leadership model, with the Reverend returning after a three-month sabbatical to serve as one member of the team rather than a full-time minister.

She will spend more time leading workshops, teaching, writing and gathering people around tables to explore what it means to be human and how communities can care for one another.

Her lifelong philosophy didn’t begin in Prince Edward County.

Ordained in 1990, Rev. Donovan grew up in a family where, she says, faith was measured less by church attendance than by service.

“It wasn’t about building a church,” she said. “Our family exists to serve the world.”

When she accepted the call to Picton, she arrived with a vision.

“We’re going to completely connect with the community,” she remembered telling church leaders. “We’re going to connect with all the artists.”

Within a few years, the congregation opened Ten Thousand Villages, a volunteer-run fair-trade store supporting artisans around the world. After noticing the number of vulnerable children in Picton, Rev. Donovan began asking questions that eventually led to Reaching for Rainbows, an after-school program for girls that has since grown into an independent organization.

Inside the church, change came just as quickly. Circle of Friends developed a statement of purpose centred on curiosity, creativity and courage; values that shaped everything from worship and music to community partnerships and outreach.

Music was central to the vision. “Music is a doorway to the sacred,” the Reverend says.

Services drew inspiration from jazz, Celtic traditions, Broadway, classical music and medieval influences because, “beauty is an essential part of spiritual life.”

“If worship isn’t beautiful, I want out,” she said. “If it’s not beautiful, then it’s not connecting us to this glorious cosmos.”

Meanwhile, St. Andrew’s became The Andrew, a community space stewarded “to support this larger vision” of healing, wholeness, and connection. It is now home to artists, community gatherings, Indigenous partnerships, the labyrinth, and programs that reach well beyond traditional church life.

Rev. Donovan estimates that eventually only about 40 percent of her ministry took place within the traditional role of parish minister. “The other 60 percent has been… creating the lifeboat,” she said. “All the heavy lifting is behind us.”

For all of the programs and projects that emerged over the years, the Reverend measures her accomplishments by her service.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that I will continue to be part of the wider discourses within Prince Edward County about how we move forward,” she said.

Mention retirement, and she laughs. “I’ll still be the loud-mouth schnook on Main Street,” Rev. Donovan said. “That’s just like breathing to me.”

Here’s to a another new beginning.