Staff

Marlene Britton, Principal

Marlene Britton is  African by descent, Jamaican by birth, Caribbean by vocational designation, and Canadian by life choices.

She is a diaconal minister who has been serving in ministry since 1993. Twenty of those years were served in the Caribbean, 4 years in Belize, and 16 years in Barbados. Since 2013, Marlene has been serving the United Church of Canada, having lived and worked n two provinces before moving to Manitoba in November of 2025. Currently a diaconal minister in the United Church, Marlene was ordained to diaconal ministry by the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA).

Her experiences in the Caribbean context have been in areas which have promoted community development as well as individual growth, and  include teaching, curriculum development, military chaplaincy and social work. When she immigrated to Canada, she first lived in northern Alberta, serving the two point, St. Paul-Ashmont Pastoral Charge, before moving to Thunder Bay, Ontario, serving the then Knox (Shuniah)  Pastoral Charge. With the restructuring of the United Church in 2019, Marlene joined the newly formed Office of Vocation (OV) of the National Church, serving as a Vocational Minister, then as Program Coordinator for Admission and Pastoral Relations, and then in 2022 as Director of the OV, the post she held until October 2025.

Marlene has worked with wider diakonia all through her ministry, having served on the executive of the Wesley Methodist Diaconal community and on the central of Diakonia of the Americas and the Caribbean (DOTAC), participating in various educational, or awareness raising programs while  serving in those roles.  In July 2025, when  the Diakonia World Federation held their world assembly in the African continent for the first time, Marlene was elected to serve as President.

Growing up in Jamaica allowed Marlene to have a strong love of nature, and she followed this through by completing her first degree in Marine Sciences and Geology. She loves to hike, and when the water is warm enough, to swim. Dancing is another favoured pastime, along with gardening. Pursuing her theological studies in an interdenominational, residential setting was the beginning of Marlene’s serious exposure to ecumenism, a theme which has continued throughout her ministry, and now finds expression as she serves as Chair of the Interfaith Committee of Canadian Military Chaplains. 

Marlene has been a member of the CCS community from the time she participated in a program review in 2016 and then as a mentor, and later participating as invited by the CCS staff. This African, Jamaican, Caribbean Canadian, has crossed many rivers, oceans and mountains, to be in this time and space, serving as principal of the CCS.

Janet Ross, Program Staff

Janet joined the CCS community as Program Staff in 2016, coming from Emmanuel College and McMaster University where she taught in the areas of Contextual Education, Religion and Culture and Biblical Studies. Janet’s past work experience includes Interim Director of the Teaching Fellows for Ministry Programme at Emmanuel College, Program Coordinator, Intercultural Education and Engagement at the United Church of Canada General Council Office in Toronto, and Asst. Professor at Clark Atlanta University (an Historically Black College and University, Atlanta, GA). In her doctoral work at Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia), Janet majored in Jewish Scriptures and minored in Christian Testament and Islamic Studies.

Janet has published and written on such topics as “The Biblical Basis of the Friends’ Peace Testimony”, Ancient Near Eastern Adoption Formulas and Hebrew Theology, “Hidden Manna, Hidden Meanings: Unveiling Revelation”, the Hodayot (Thanksgiving Psalms) from the Dead Sea Scrolls, W.E.B. Du Bois and Apocalyptic Themes and Interpretations in Christian History.

Janet’s areas of interest focus on religion and social change—including Indigenization and ecology, apocalypticism, ancient and modern monsters/the ‘other’, and practical ethics. Janet is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). She enjoys hiking with her spouse and their charismatic miniature Australian Shepherd. If Janet had her choice of super-powers she would be a time-traveler.

Alcris Limongi, Program Staff

Alcris is an ordained United Church minister who has most recently been serving as Minister of Pastoral Care at Parkdale United in Ottawa, ON. She has also served the church as Racial Justice, Gender Justice and Sexual Minorities Coordinator for the United Church of Canada’s General Council Offices. In her leadership of Racial Justice training she draws on the principles of “courageous conversation.” She is an educator at heart.

Alcris has a passion for transformative pedagogy, intentional community, compassionate and inclusive ministry, pastoral care, social justice, and contextual theology. Her theological boundaries have broadened, from theological and biblical studies in Venezuela to her MDiv and her years of Doctoral studies at Emmanuel College and the Toronto School of Theology. While at Emmanuel she studied with Latino professors and theologians across the US, affirming her identity as Latino/Canadian and, as she says, “the gift of my brown eyes to the church.”

Marcie Gibson, Program Staff

Marcie is a graduate of the Centre for Christian Studies (2013), and a diaconal minister with the United Church.  She is passionate about diakonia, transformative educational praxis, social justice, and inter-religious dialogue. Joining the CCS Program Staff part-time in 2017, Marcie works remotely from Hamilton ON, and travels to Winnipeg as needed.  Primarily she is responsible for the Integration Year component of the diploma program. Marcie co-facilitated the 2014-16 CCS Program Review and Redesign Process and appreciates the multi-denominational affiliation of CCS, as she grew up in the Anglican tradition. She served as Interim Principal of CCS from 2024-2025.

Marcie is a current PhD student in Practical Theology with the Graduate Theological Union (Berkeley CA), focusing her studies on the interaction between diakonia and pedagogy for theological education.  She holds an MA in Spiritual Disciplines and Ministry Practice (U of Winnipeg), a Graduate Certificate in Community Economic Development (Concordia, Montréal) and a Bachelor’s in Social Work and Women’s Studies (McGill, Montréal). With a passion for community engagement, pastoral relations and equity, Marcie was co-researcher on the United Church Thriving with Equity in Pastoral Relations Research Project (2022-23), and lead researcher on the Shining Waters Pastoral Relations Equity Research Project (2021).  She has served four Communities of Faith, two of which were ministries with Indigenous communities of the All Native Circle Conference.  Marcie has taught United Church Polity courses and been involved with Presbytery, Conference, Regional, and Office of Vocation pastoral relations governance.

When not engaged in education, she is likely celebrating something with her large queer interfaith family, in Hamilton or in a canoe or kayak.

Scott Douglas, Program Coordinator

Scott is an award-winning playwright, and co-editor (with Nanette McKay) of The Unofficial United Church Handbook. His plays include The Touring Test (winner of the Rintoul Award for best new Manitoba play at the 2012 Winnipeg Fringe), Treading Water(performed at the 2009 Winnipeg Fringe Festival),Undiscover’d Country (produced in Edmonton at the Catalyst Theatre in 2005), as well as Maybe One?, A Christmas Karl, and Strange Angels. He has written plays for various church gatherings and social justice resources, many of which can be found in his bookStrange Angels and Other Plays published by Wood Lake Books. From 2006 to 2008 Scott served as overseas personnel for the United Church, working with the Ecumenical Centre for Research, Education, and Advocacy in the Fiji Islands. Scott currently works part-time at the Centre for Christian Studies, providing admin support and comic relief to the Program Staff. He looks after student records, student resources, website, communications, and the CCS library.

Robyn Cruz, Finance and Administration Coordinator

Robyn joined the CCS staff in 2025, coming to us from her previous work as a manager with the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Council, working with high performance Indigenous sports teams and coaches and facilitating participation in national and international events like the North American Indigenous Games. A huge advocate for Indigenous people, Robyn has a deep appreciation for the way that Indigenous sport weaves together physical activity, community involvement, and spirituality.