Three postulants in the Diocese of Kootenay, John Graham, Nicholas Bone, and Philip Benmore were ordained to the transitional diaconate on Sunday, September. 21, 2025 at the Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Kelowna.
John Graham is a life-long Anglican, Professor and former Director of the School of Social Work at UBC, Okanagan Campus. He has been an academic for 31 years, and a social worker for 37. Prior to the PhD, he was a psychiatric social worker at the Clarke Institute of Toronto, rehabilitated ex-convicts with the John Howard Society, and worked with street-involved youth and adults with the Anglican Church. He heads the Kelowna Homelessness Research Center at UBC, and before UBC was Director of the School of Social Work in Boca Raton, Florida, and before that a research chair at the University of Calgary, where he worked for 17 years.
He has also published on mental health services with Arab communities in Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, and other parts of the Arab Middle East, and has done development work in that region and in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Barbados, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and several other countries. He grew up in Ottawa and Hudson Heights, Quebec, and is called to be a non-stipendiary priest, working in homelessness prevention and pastorally as a preacher, celebrant, and caring person of faith.
Nicholas Bone is currently preparing for ordination in the Diocese of Kootenay. He completed his Master of Divinity degree at Trinity College in 1996, followed by doctoral coursework in ministry. After completing a Master of Science degree, Nicholas worked in the field of developmental disabilities and later taught undergraduate courses in disability studies. In 2014, a brain injury brought that chapter of his life to a close and opened the door to a renewed sense of call to ordained ministry.
Rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, Nicholas brings a pastor’s heart, a deep love for the sacraments—especially the Eucharist and reconciliation—and a reverence for the beauty and rhythm of the liturgy. He finds great joy in proclaiming the gospel and walking with others in faith. At home, he shares life with his spouse and their two affectionate, comically energetic doodles. He enjoys reading theology, studying Koine Greek, hiking, staying active, and long walks in the forest.
Philip Benmore has been an Intern at The Church of The Messiah with Supervisor, The Rev’d Tay Moss. He also had opportunities to work with Canon John Hill, Honourary Assistant. He reported learning a lot about what happens as a parish shifts and changes culture, seeking to become more missional to the immediate neighbourhood.
