People

Bishop Sam was born on Bell Island, Newfoundland & Labrador where he was also baptized, confirmed and ordained a Priest in his home Church of St. Cyprian.

He is a graduate of Memorial University and Queen’s College. He has served the Church in the parishes of Battle Harbour and Cartwright (Labrador), Indian Bay (Diocese of Central Newfoundland), All Saints in Conception Bay South, and St. Michael and All Angels in St. John’s. He was Editor of the Tri-Diocesan newspaper Anglican Life for several years and most recently was the Diocesan Executive Officer and Administrator of the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland & Labrador.

He is married to Jill (nee Mercer) a Teacher and Professor, and they have two teenagers: Amy and Samuel. The newest addition to the Rose Family is a Standard Poodle named Ollie who takes the Bishop on walks every day!

Bishop Sam is an avid landscape painter in watercolor and acrylic which has become a source of inspiration and has grown into a spiritual meditation on the beauty of God’s Creation.

His vision for the Diocese and the wider Church is that we develop a deeper awareness of God’s presence in all aspects of life and to respond to where God is calling us to serve, even in the most challenging of circumstances, in hope and faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dean Roger first came to the Cathedral as a Choral Scholar in the late 1980s, while studying Music at Memorial University. After completing his B.Mus degree at Memorial he went on to complete his M.Div. at Wycliffe College, Toronto School of Theology. Ordained in 2003, he has served in the Parishes of Labrador West, The Holy Trinity, St. Augustine’s, and as Chaplain to Memorial University for six years. He is humbled and honoured to return to the Cathedral as Rector and to serve during what promises to be an exciting time in the history of our Cathedral and our Diocese. His wife Sharon (the real reason he came to the Cathedral over 30 years ago) is the Director of Music and Organist at the Cathedral. Sharon and Roger have a teenage daughter, Beth.

Prior to arriving in the Diocese of Eastern NL in January 2017, Rev Kay served in the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. For eight years she was assigned as Curate at the St. James Cathedral. She balanced her role at the Cathedral while serving as the Chaplain at St. Jago High School and teaching Religious Education. For three years she was assigned as the Director of Hillcrest Diocesan Centre, where she also balanced the role of Chaplain and Guidance Counsellor at St. Hilda's Diocesan High School.

Sharon Whalen was born in Corner Brook and holds a Bachelor of Music, and Bachelor of Music Education from Memorial University as well as a Master of Arts in Gifted Education from the University of Connecticut. Other studies include the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England and course work in education from the University of Western Ontario. She has held a number of church musician appointments within the United and Anglican traditions in Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario. While living in Labrador West, she also conducted the community choir and was an inaugural director of the Labrador West Music Festival and Labrador West Summer Music Conservatory. She is married to Roger (the Rector), and they have one daughter.

David Bell, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in now Canon Theologian for the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, the Dean of Theology at Queen’s College, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He retired as Head of the Department of Religious Studies at the end of 2011 and is now completing various projects which he did not have time to complete during his headship. The Holy Spirit then took charge, and instead of leaving him to enjoy his retirement in peace, demanded that he offer himself to the Anglican Church of Canada for ordination to the diaconate. This was certainly not his intention when he retired, but the voice of the Lord was not to be gainsaid, and the rest, as they say, is history.