about lay chaplaincy

Lay Chaplains perform many types of rites of passage, but most often, weddings, memorials, and child naming/parent dedication services. They officiate these services primarily for people who are not associated with our congregation, but can serve our members as well.

meet our lay chaplains

Alex Campbell
A former priest, Alex Campbell has been a Lay Chaplain at First Unitarian since 2014 and looks forward to helping you design your special rite of passage. With his compassion, warmth and his easy-going nature he will work with you to plan your unique, personalized, spiritual and enjoyable wedding, design a meaningful Memorial Service/Celebration of Life for your deceased loved one, or create a cherished Child Naming/Dedication for your child(ren).
With his academic background in theology and philosophy, psychology and spirituality and adult education, Alex has been an adult educator for most of his life. He brings a life-long commitment and involvement in spiritual growth and development to his lay chaplaincy.
After his early retirement in 2001, he volunteered for ten years in the Day Program at the Hospice at the Maycourt. Music has always been an important part of his life, and he sings in two choirs at the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa.

Lisa Boulay
Lisa has been a member of the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa since 2018 and has quickly become involved in many aspects of the Congregation.  She is a retired Family Counsellor who for twenty years provided both individual and group counselling. In addition, she has developed and delivered several workshops and training programs on substance use, mental health, trauma and recovery. Before becoming a counsellor, Lisa worked in the corporate environment and brings a background in training/course design, and communications to her work.  Currently, Lisa is a facilitator for the Ottawa Pastoral Care Training Program.  Lisa is also a Reiki practitioner and certified Yoga teacher. 
 As a Lay Chaplain Lisa is happy to offer her talents and abilities to support you in creating a meaningful and sacred ceremony to celebrate with reverence, compassion and gratitude the rites of passage and milestones of your life.

Some wonderful words for our Lay Chaplains

"Thank you so much for officiating our wedding. Everything at the church was absolutely perfect. We were so impressed at how smoothly everything ran throughout the entire process of planning the ceremony. You are very good at what you do and made planning the ceremony effortless, meaningful, and fun! From the first emails and meeting you we had such a positive impression of you, your professionalism, and that you seem to truly live the values you preach. Thank you for everything. We feel very lucky that we found you to share in such an important day in our lives".
-J & A

"On behalf of the entire family I want to thank you for your participation and guidance throughout the difficult process of organizing and carrying out the funeral services. Your meticulousness, eloquence, and your calm and caring presence was appreciated by all of us. Thank you ! May you find happiness and the root of happiness."
- AB

From the knot.com:
This church is very accepting of ALL types of people - religious or not.
We met with our officiant, Alex, months prior to our wedding to discuss what we were looking for in our ceremony. He also asked a few questions about our relationship so he could get to know us better and make the experience more personal! We were assisted the whole way through planning the ceremony. We opted in for a rehearsal as well the day before. and it ran smoothly. On the day of the wedding, our officiant did everything in his power to make sure everything went according to plan! We did a candle ceremony with our parents and it went perfectly. We couldn't have had a better experience. I recommend getting married or having celebrations at this church.

"Our wedding was beautiful - just how we dreamed and with (your) guidance was truly representative of both our spiritual beliefs and secular views."

Church - Posted 2014-11-05
"We didn't want religion to  be the center of our ceremony and this is why we decided on a Unitarian church, which allows people of any faith or belief system to be married there. Our lay chaplain was amazing. She was warm, welcoming, and sincere. She allowed us to develop or wedding ceremony the way we wanted and she was on board with all of our ideas. The church includes a one hour rehearsal, meeting with the chaplain, and a sound technician in the rental cost. You can have live music or recorded music. Our ceremony was beautiful and we were so happy we picked this location..."