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CATHIE OSTAPCHUK
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Cathie Ostapchuk is an author, speaker, leadership coach and founder of Gather Women, a Canadian ministry equipping women to live and lead with courage, clarity and faithfulness. She serves globally with the World Evangelical Alliance Women’s Commission and has contributed to conversations and gatherings focused on women, leadership and the Church in Canada and around the world. Cathie is the author of Brave Women, Bold Moves: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Conformity and is currently developing her next book, Holy Mortals: Building a Life That Can Carry Your Calling. At the heart of her work is a desire to help women discover who God has created them to be, discern what He has entrusted to them, and build lives that can faithfully carry their calling.Cathie and her husband, Stephen, have been married for more than forty years. They have three adult children and are delighted grandparents.
SESSION ONE — Brave Enough to Become
Leaving behind the lives we think we should live
Before we ask what God is calling us to do, perhaps we need to ask who He is calling us to become. Together we will explore the voices, expectations and false narratives that can quietly shape our lives, and what it means to recover the particular identity, gifts and story God has entrusted to each of us. This is an invitation to lay down borrowed armour, rediscover what God has already placed
in our hands, and find the courage to live from who we truly are.
SESSION TWO — Brave Enough to Carry the Calling
Building a life that can hold what God has entrusted to you
We were created to bear the image of God, but we were never created to be God. We are holy and mortal — called and finite, entrusted with meaningful work and given very real limits. In this session, Cathie will explore a different kind of bravery: the courage to discern what is ours to carry, release what was never ours to hold, and build lives that can sustain our calling with faithfulness, freedom
and joy for the long haul.
Work Shop Sessions & Leaders:
Grace Botres:
Hard Feelings, Good God
What do we do with grief, anger, anxiety, disappointment, doubt, sadness, and pain when we also believe in a good God? Hard Feelings, Good God is a space for women to explore the intersection of mental health and faith. It is a space to honestly wrestle with and explore the tension of trusting in God in the midst of hard things.
Grace Botres is a Registered Psychotherapist who has spent the past seven years working in community mental health with children, adolescents, and young adults. She is passionate about the meaningful places where pain, mental health, and faith intersect. Outside of her work as a therapist, Grace can usually be found making something creative, writing, spending time in nature and with family, or rewatching Mulan for what is probably the thousandth time. She also occasionally writes for the Christian blog, The Monday Christian, where themes on faith, life, and everything in between is explored.
Kathryn Chambers:
Brave Choices at the Table
Why do certain foods feel so difficult to resist—and why is willpower often not enough? Registered Dietitian and Registered Practical Nurse Kathryn Chambers explores food addiction, the engineering and marketing of ultra-processed foods, and what GLP-1 medications are teaching us about appetite and “food noise.” Discover how understanding the forces shaping our food choices can help us move beyond shame, question cultural messages, and make brave, informed choices at the table.
Kathryn Chambers is a Registered Dietitian and Registered Practical Nurse with extensive experience in clinical nutrition, nursing, education and healthcare leadership. Her career has included work at SickKids, community nursing, long-term care, teaching and operating a retirement home.
Kathryn has a particular passion for helping people understand food addiction, ultra-processed foods and the complex influences behind our eating behaviours. She brings together professional knowledge, lived experience and Christian faith to offer practical information with honesty, compassion and hope.
Bianca Schaeffer:
The Power of Thoughts
Your thoughts are more powerful than you may realize, and they may be influencing your habits, relationships, confidence, and choices every single day. Together, we’ll uncover what Scripture says about the power of our minds and explore practical ways to recognize and shift thought patterns that may be holding you back. Discover how renewing your mind can lead to greater freedom, confidence, and intentional living — and how changing the way you think can change the way you live.
Bianca Schaeffer is a Certified Life and Business Coach, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, and author of The Wellness Whisperer: Discover the Way to a Healthy Body and Soul.
She is passionate about helping women transform the way they think and live so they can rediscover their health, confidence, and purpose.
Through coaching, speaking, and writing, Bianca empowers women to break through limiting beliefs, embrace their unique strengths and gifts, and create meaningful change in their lives. Her work is grounded in whole-person wellness and her faith in Jesus, encouraging women to deepen their walk with Christ and boldly become the women God created them to be. Her work has been featured in publications and blogs across Canada and the USA.
Bianca lives in Ontario with her husband, Phil, and dreams of one day trading Canadian winters for sundresses and flip-flops by the beach.
Laura Scarborough:
Praise and Worship
Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.” This workshop is an invitation to come and worship the Lord through song, scripture, and prayer. Join Laura Scarborough and journey together into God’s Presence where He meets us in the fullness of His unfailing love.
Worship Lead Laura Scarborough describes herself as a ragamuffin diva – a woman who recognizes her need for a Saviour and celebrates the fact that she is a daughter of the King. At her piano, she leads worship with the desire to bring us into the presence of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Laura is married and has two children. She lives in Uxbridge and attends St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Leaskdale.
Schedule of the Day:
8:00 AM Doors Open – Registration Check-in; Coffee, Juice & Muffins
9:00 AM Program Starts – Welcome & Book Table Information
9:15 AM Praise & Worship – Laura Scarborough
9:30 AM Cathie Ostapchuk – Session 1
10:45 AM Praise & Worship – Laura Scarborough
11:00 AM Coffee
11:15 AM Morning Workshops
12:15 PM Lunch & Browsing/Shopping (Cornerstone Bookshop; Gather Table; Books – Cathie & Bianca)
1:30 PM Afternoon Workshops
2:30 PM Praise & Worship – Laura Scarborough
2:45 PM Cathie Ostapchuk – Session 2
3:45 PM Closing Comments & Benediction
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