About Valerie
Rev. Valerie Peyton Kingsbury (B.A., M.Div)
Ordained Minister in the United Church of Canada
Author; Songwriter
Storyteller
Singer
Valerie is story teller, song writer, singer, and author. Her passion lies in her connection with the Divine and her relationship with the Christ. Ordained in 1990, she began her ministry in rural Nova Scotia and has served the last 34 years in cities, towns and villages throughout the province. She recently moved back to her home province of Newfoundland and Labrador and currently celebrates ministry with the congregation of Newville United Church.
In her journey she has experienced the presence and power of the Divine …
in the children and youth who have called her to rethink her understandings, to be open to possibilities and to be inclusive;
in the dying who have enabled her to know the certainty of the resurrection;
in the elderly who have shown her faith at its deepest level; and
in all who have been open to the call of the gospel to seek justice, know God and serve others.
Valerie’s work in Palliative care led her to write her book “Creating Spaces For Healing and Hope”.
In an experiment to connect with the members of her congregation in another way she began “Wednesday Wonderings” which is a weekly reflection covering everything from prayer to issues of justice. That experiment expanded into a weekly blog, open to all who might like to follow. One of her most recent book, Soul Songs, is a selection of morning meditations inspired by the Psalms. Worship Ready II, a resource of more than 70 church services, was published in 2022. Link to the Bookstore for more information.
Her love of Music and her belief that music is key to worship led her to join forces with her ministry partner, Christopher Bowman, to create new liturgical resources and hymns for a changing world. This resulted in the establishment of Tidal Bore Music. Their first song book “Singing Faith Today“ was published in 2015. Their second song book “Beyond the Darkness” and CD of the same name were published in 2016. Since then they have published several other books such as, This is Our Story, Walk the Walk, and Worship Ready. The complete collection of music can be found on www.tidalboremusic.ca.
Valerie’s life partner and companion in faith is Rev. Mark Kingsbury. Together they have three daughters, Terri, Sarah and Kaleigh, and three grandsons Liam, Jase and Riley.