Biography
The Rev. Dr. Irina Dubinski is the incumbent of St. Timothy’s Anglican Church in North Toronto. Over more than a decade of ordained ministry, her professional experience has included parish ministry, school and long-term care chaplaincy, spiritual direction, theological education, and the use of visual arts as a vehicle for spiritual formation.
Before entering ordained ministry, Irina trained in linguistics, speech-language pathology, child development, language acquisition, and rehabilitation sciences. She holds a BA in Linguistics, a PhD in Speech-Language Pathology, a Master of Divinity, and a Diploma in Spiritual Direction. Her academic and clinical work included developing language interventions for bilingual children and administering rehabilitation services for children with complex chronic conditions. These experiences continue to shape her understanding of how children learn, communicate, participate, and form relationships.
At St. Timothy’s, Irina has developed an intergenerational model of children’s faith formation that integrates worship, theological learning, the arts, life skills, and meaningful participation in parish life. Her approach is grounded in both contemporary understandings of child development and a theological conviction that children are not merely the future of the Church but full members of the Body of Christ in the present.
Website: https://irinasart.ca/
Workshop
A Clergy-Led, Community-Based Model of Children’s Faith Formation
Children’s ministers are difficult to fund and even harder to find, especially individuals who combine theological training, an engaging presence, classroom management skills, artistic or musical ability, and a commitment to remain long-term in a parish. This workshop presents a model of children’s faith formation developed at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church in North Toronto. Rather than relying on a single children’s minister, responsibilities are shared among clergy, a children’s programming coordinator, volunteers, teen mentors working towards a co-op high school credit or volunteer hours, and external professionals. In this model, the clergy provide theological teaching and pastoral oversight. Each Sunday, children participate in the main worship service, hear a children’s message connected to the lectionary, and receive a take-home resource, tied to the message, designed to continue faith conversations throughout the week. A coordinator, who is ideally a high school student, serves as the primary point of contact for families and reviews the lesson with the children during their time outside the service. Professional artists, musicians, cooks, gardeners, and other instructors then lead hands-on arts-based and life-skills activities that reinforce the theme. Teen leaders are mentored into increasing responsibility, while adult volunteers provide relational support and continuity.
At the heart of the model is the conviction that children are not separate from the worshipping community. They are never removed from the liturgy entirely but are formed through a rhythm of participation, reflection, and hands-on response. Children read Scripture, create liturgical art, serve in worship, engage in discussion, and return to the congregation for Communion. The goal is not simply to teach children about faith but to help them practice faith as active members of the Church, which becomes important when they age out of “Sunday school” yet by then feel fully at home in the nave.
Participants will explore the theological foundations of the model, practical staffing structures, inclusion of children with diverse needs, volunteer development, partnerships with community professionals, and ways to create sustainable programming that is both financially realistic and deeply formative.
Target audience: Clergy, children’s ministry leaders, Christian educators, parish staff, and volunteers.
Workshop format: Lecture, case study, discussion, and resource sharing.
Date & Time
Date | Saturday, November 7, 2026
Time | TBA
Location | TBA
