Conference Director

The Rev’d Colin Nicolle has served as Rector in the Parish of St. Mary and St. John (PEI) since September 2016. He holds degrees in Classics, Journalism and Theology from King’s College, Dalhousie University and the Atlantic School of Theology (all in Halifax).

He’s an avid photographer and fly-fisherman and lives in Summerside, PEI with his wife, Shannon, and their dog, Bramble. Fr. Nicolle, originally from Nova Scotia, likes tea, dogs and hunting.

He is the Rector of the Parish of Summerside & St Eleanors’, and Priest-in-Charge of the Parish of Alberton & O’Leary, PEI.

He made his summer camp and Conference Director debuts simultaneously at the 2024 St Michael’s Conference. He’s now a ‘pro’ and looking forward to his third SMYC in 2026 - seeing returning conferees and welcoming new ones.

Instructor Year 1: Bible - Introduction to the New Testament

Archbishop Edwards was born and educated in Shropshire, England. He studied at Loughborough University and Homerton College Cambridge and worked as a high school history teacher prior to completing diplomas in Religious and Evangelism Studies followed by a Master of Arts in Applied Theology at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Both prior to and following his ordination in 1995, Bishop Edwards served in ministry in the Chelmsford Diocese in England, including as Bishop's Advisor in Evangelism and in the Parish of High Ongar. He moved to New Brunswick in 1998 to be Principal of Taylor College of Evangelism. He has since served in parishes in Saint John, as Parish Development Officer for the Diocese of Fredericton and as Vice-Chair of Safe Harbour Transitional Youth Services in Saint John.

Edwards was elected coadjutor bishop May 10, 2014 and, subsequently, installed as the tenth Bishop of Fredericton September 20. He became the 25th Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada (Dioceses of Montreal and Quebec and those in the Atlantic Provinces), and, as a result, an Archbishop, on August 1, 2020.

He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from Wycliffe College (University of Toronto) in May 2015 and now serves on the College's Board of Trustees. On behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada, he also serves as Liaison Bishop to Mission to Seafarers Canada.

Bishop David enjoys reading, walking and has been a lifetime supporter of the Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (the Wolves).

Instructor Year 1 Theology - God: Who is He? What has He told us about Himself? How do we respond by faith?

Archdeacon Perry Cooper was raised in the small fishing village of Trinity East, Newfoundland. One of four boys, he along with his other siblings grew up in a home where family life and church life were intertwined. In 1987, as young adult, he entered the Church Army College of Evangelism and in 1989 was commissioned an Evangelist in the Anglican Church of Canada.

Ordained a Deacon in 1997 and a Priest in 1998, he currently serves as Rector of the Parish of Chatham in the Diocese of Fredericton and as the territorial Archdeacon for the Archdeaconry of Chaleur-Miramichi. For the past few years he has also served as vice chair of Anglican Renewal Ministries of Canada.

Over the years he served the Church in Manitoba, Newfoundland, Ontario, Northwest Territories and Yukon. His theological training from Church Army College of Evangelism, Thorneloe University and Education for Ministry - University of the South.

Perry’s favourite book of the Bible is John's Gospel with his favourite verse being John 1:12 " But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God."

Perry is married to Kallie, his wife of over 30 years, and they have two adult children living in Newfoundland.

Perry is an avid outdoorsman and conservationist. His hobbies include hunting, fishing, canoeing, hiking, camping, and mentoring youth through organizations such as the Baden Powell Service Association and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Year 1 : Spirituality: Introduction to Prayer

Introduction to Prayer: how do we worship, know, and serve the God of heaven and earth?

Elizabeth King is well-experienced with St. Michael's. She has attended as a Michaelite and a counsellor. 2025 is her third year as an instructor.

A scholar, she studied the Liberal Arts at St John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland, and Classics at Cambridge University. She also has an MA in Classics from Dalhousie University where she wrote on Plotinus’s fourfold gradation of virtue and its relation to the soul of the world.

During Lent 2025, she led Quiet Days on the Psalms at St George’s Anglican Church and the University of King’s College Chapel, both in Halifax. This class is an outgrowth of those events.

She brings joy and enthusiasm to everything she does. A mother of three, she and her husband currently make their home in Nova Scotia.

Instructor Year 2: Bible - Introduction to the Old Testament
The Old Testament Jesus

The Right Reverend Dr Stephen Andrews retired as Principal and Helliwell Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Wycliffe College, Toronto, in 2025. Before he took on that role in 2016, he was the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Algoma, headquartered in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. Consecrated as Bishop in 2009, he was previously the President and Vice-Chancellor of Thorneloe University, Sudbury, Ontario, a post he took up in 2001.

He studied Classics at the University of Colorado and Theology at Regent College, and Wycliffe College, where he received his M.Div. He was ordained in the Diocese of Nova Scotia in 1986 and went on to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University in 1995. His research looked at Jewish interpretation of the Bible in the Second Temple Period, and focussed on the story of Eden in Genesis 3. Dr Andrews was the Rector of The Cathedral Church of St. Alban the Martyr and Dean of the Diocese of Saskatchewan, in Prince Albert, where he was also Principal of the James Settee College for Ministry, a training initiative for First Nations church leaders. He taught in the Joint Department of Religious Studies at Laurentian University and was the Director of the Thorneloe School of Theology program. Wycliffe College honoured him with a D.D. in 2010 and Thorneloe University with an S.T.D. in 2016. Bishop Andrews has served in the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada in a variety of roles in the last thirty years, including as Prolocutor, and as member of the Anglican Consultative Council. He was Chair of the Faith Worship and Ministry Committee, and is a former National Chaplain to the Royal Canadian College of Organists.  He was a member of the Primate’s Theological Commission with Father Thorne. He was Chair of the Ontario Provincial Commission on Theological Education.

Bishop Andrews is married to Fawna, a psychotherapist, and they have two married daughters and two grandsons, all living in the greater Saint John area.

Instructor Year 2 Theology: The Creeds

Biographical information to come

Instructor Year 2 Spirituality: The Sacraments

Gary Thorne graduated from Saint John High School along with Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, Victor Frankel, and Carlos Castaneda. They introduced him to the vast expanse of the inner life from which he has never escaped. Nonetheless, along the way there have been accidental appearances in the real world, beginning with a gap year in Mexico and followed by study of philosophy at Acadia and metaphysics in Aberdeen Scotland. Next he was awarded graduate degrees in both Philosophy and Classics at Dalhousie University.

The Anglican Church then was kind enough to fund the next forty years of his exploration of the inner life, to be journeyed with countless others. Twenty of those years were as a university chaplain (in Halifax and London, Ontario). In 1994 he was pastor of an historic church in Halifax that was set afire by three children. He oversaw the 6-million dollar restoration, and along the way established a community youth mentoring organization and a barrier-free university programme for the poor and marginalized. Both programs are going strong decades later. Oh yes, there is also that doctoral degree in Byzantine theology at the University of Durham, England.

He retired LCol after 23 years as chaplain in the CAF. Responsible for army chaplains throughout Atlantic Canada, he was involved in the burial of 23 Atlantic Canadian soldiers killed-in-action in Afghanistan. He has received three honorary degrees from universities in Canada, and both the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals. He is a member of the Military Order of Merit. He is married to an artist.

Gary and Sandra have a daughter who proudly serves as a military pharmacist and a son with trisomy- 13 who should not have survived his birth but has beat the odds for over 35 beautiful years.

Fr Thorne is currently Rector (for the second time!) of St George’s Anglican Church (The Round Church) in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Instructor: Year 3+ Bible
“...and that rock was Christ”: Jesus in the Old Testament?!

The Rev'd Gerry Laskey was born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He studied history at the University of New Brunswick before going on to earn a Masters of Divinity at Trinity College, Toronto.

Ordained Deacon 1983 and Priested in 1984, Gerry currently serves in the Parish of Derby and Blackville on the Miramichi River in New Brunswick. Previously he has worked in the Parishes of Ludlow and Blissfield, Gagetown, St. Martins and Black River; served as a hospital chaplain and worked with Corrections Canada in Community Chaplaincy.

His first connection with St. Michael’s Youth Conference (SMYC) was as the parent of Michaelites when his three daughters attended some the early conferences. In 1998 he first became part of the teaching staff and has continued that involvement through to this year’s conference. In the past his courses have included, “The Temptations of Christ”, “John’s Gospel”, “The Psalms”, “Martyrs Ancient and Modern”, “Christ and Quarks: Science and Religion”, “A Short Course in Spiritual Combat (based on CS Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters and other works)”, “The Hard Sayings of Jesus”, “Pluralism, Tolerance and Revealed Truth” and others.

In SMYC he finds the coming together in community to celebrate and develop enduring faith and life-long friendships that encourage, challenge and educate us to be more of who Christ calls us to be – each and every day. He also finds it to be a whole lot of fun!

Fr. Gerry and his wife, Siobhan, are the parents of four children and have also enjoyed many years at SMYC with their two granddaughters.

Instructor Year 3+ Bible
No Other Gospel: Finding Our Way in Galatians

Fr. Chris loves Jesus and his Church and has spent most of this adult life sharing the love and gospel of Jesus Christ, serving first in youth ministry, but also in community outreach and parish evangelism. He was ordained to the diaconate in June 2014 and appointed deacon-in-charge of the Parish of Kent. On June 28, 2015 he was ordained a priest and has remained in the Parish of Kent since that time.

Fr. Chris and Laura (his wife and a high school teacher) currently live in rural Kent County, New Brunswick. Chris serves in two part-time parish ministries - one in Kent County, the other in Saint John NB. He has also been a substitute teacher and a volunteer firefighter.

Fr. Chris has many professional interests. He is interested in how a new monasticism might form the heart of a parish; how priests might transition into bi-vocational ministry as a way to secure and perpetuate this essential ministry within the life of the Church gathered; the role that missionary clergy and lay leaders might play in the future of the diocese; and how the Church might get involved with community development and renewal as a fresh expression of Church.

Fr. Chris and Laura are foster parents and they remain passionate about youth ministry in general, and camp ministry in particular.

Fr. Chris enjoys reading and writing (including microfiction) and playing video-games. He collects vinyl records and DVDs.

Fr. Chris is very comfortable with silence.
SMYC is very pleased Fr Chris was able to coordinate the demands of his cross-province parish responsibilities to be part of SMYC 2026. He is well respected for the example he brings to staff and Michaelite alike of a Christian who is always seeking to follow our Lord in all he does and says.

Instructor Year 3+ Theology
What is love? More exactly, what does the New Testament have to say about  Love?

Dr. Hebb has, over the years, been a very popular instructor at SMYC. He not only brings a lot of knowledge to his classes, but also a great enthusiasm to help Michaelites explore the subject with him. His teaching style encourages Michaelites to ask questions, dig deeper and create connections to their own lives.

Dr. Hebb is a native of Nova Scotia’s South Shore who has served in a number of parishes in the Diocese of Fredericton. A graduate of King’s College and Dalhousie University (both in Halifax), he received his PhD from the University of Wales, Lampeter in 2002.

Along with books on Maritime Church history, he has also written about the golden age of shipbuilding at St. Martins on the Bay of Fundy, and has written a few books on WW I and the Maritime provinces, including, "Letters Home: Maritimers and the Great War 1914-1918", "In Their Own Words: Three Maritimers Experience the Great War" and "A Canadian Nurse in the Great War The Diaries of Ruth Loggie, 1915-1916".

Dr. Hebb is well regarded by our Michaelites for his great advice, listening and conversations shared with them.

Instructor Year 3+ Theology
I Will Remember Their Sin No More - better understanding sin and God’s transformative love.

Eric Edward is a cradle Anglican and grew up attending St. Peter’s Cathedral in PEI.  His older brother Gethin was an original (OG) St. Michaelite’s and Eric soon followed (where he met Lisa, his dear wife). Eric is now the Director of Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project, in PEI, and a dedicated environmental forester with more than 25 years of experience helping to restore the Wabanaki-Acadian forest.

A passionate educator, Eric created the Sharing a Love of Nature summer camps and School of Woodland Ecology at Macphails. In 2024, he authored, Supporting Teachers: A Field Guide to Nature Education, and founded the Reimagine Nature Education teacher's conference. Eric is equally passionate about Christian education and served as a Sunday school teacher and superintendent for many years at St. Peter’s. 

Eric is thrilled to be back at St. Mike’s, where the prayer, people and shared love of Jesus have been of profound impact in his life. This year he will be joined by two of his three children - true second generation campers. If anyone needs tips and tricks for finding true love at camp - he will be available to provide wisdom and insight. 

Instructor: Living in God’s Creation: The Spiritual Significance of Christian Ecology

Jane grew up playing in the fields and woods of New Ross, NS as one of six children of an Anglican priest. Jane’s spiritual life began at an early age, often asking to go to church a second time with her father on Sundays and accompanying him to services. She was also deeply influenced by her mother’s spiritual life who suggested to Jane at a young age that she read her own books from childhood on the lives of the Saints. These works on St Thérèse of Liseaux, Bernadette of Lourdes and the story of Fatima raised many questions which her mother helped Jane think through. Jane deeply appreciates the time she spent with her parents discussing her questions about the nature of God and Jesus, the sacraments, temptation, sin, the devil, the Saints, church history, etc.  In university, Jane studied and researched Anglican Church history at every opportunity. 

Jane’s love of the outdoors was nurtured by both her parents who frequently took their children into the woods for camp fires, hiking, camping, and to beautiful Kingsburg on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, where one could hike completely around the point, accompanied only by sheep and birds, which is no longer possible due to development.

Jane’s mother was her first teacher of plants, teaching her on hikes and walks in the woods about what was edible and inedible. Her mother was also her first teacher of how to live a more “natural” life, without toxic chemicals, and how to grow and preserve food. All of these early influences had a lifelong impact on Jane’s thinking about the relationship between humans and the visible and invisible world.

St Michael’s holds a special place in Jane’s heart. She attended St Mike’s as both camper (her first year was back when it was still being held in Crapaud, PEI!) and counsellor. St Mike’s was always the highlight of Jane’s year, where many lifelong friendships began and she is delighted to be finally able to return.

Jane is a school teacher who has recently returned home to NS after living in the incredible territory of Nunavut for much of the past 20 years.