Unity Vancouver Island Ministers

The Board of Directors of Unity Vancouver Island is delighted to announce the appointment of Thomas DeSchutter as Senior Minister effective July 1, 2024. 

Thomas first discovered Unity in 2017 and knew immediately that he "wanted that" and began his studies almost immediately.  Six years later, he completed his studies with Unity Worldwide Ministries and was ordained in June, 2023 and served as Assistant Minister,  responsible for the technical aspects of  our online and in person programming as well as social media and marketing.

Thomas brings a wealth of experience  and expertise in the world of business and finance and has proven to be an excellent member of the Board of Directors including serving as Board Chair, showing outstanding leadership skills

In his younger years, Thomas played drums in a rock bank and he shares that passion and talent with us on Sunday mornigs

Thomas and his wife Leslie have 18 year old twin daughters, Brook and Tatum. , 

Vicki Vanderhorst first came to Unity in 1980 in Victoria, BC. She was inspired
and supported by the Unity principles and after experiencing how they made a
difference in her life, made a commitment to be part of the Unity movement in
some way. She was an active member of Unity Victoria for about 20 years,
serving in a variety of roles including Spiritual Leader. She became a Licensed
Unity Teacher in 2001. In 2009 Vicki moved to the Comox Valley, entered the
ministerial training program and was ordained in June 2015. Vicki serves on the
Unity Canada board and is an associate minister for Unity Vancouver Island.
She is committed to living the spiritual principles, being kind to herself when she
falls short, and encouraging others to find ways to express their own unique
divine expression.
Before finding Unity Vicki bused, drove, hitchhiked and flew around the world.
Her experiences include volunteering at the first ever crisis center in New York
City, living in a Theosophical ashram, and living for a year in a small village in
Kenya as a rural health care provider. After driving a Land Rover across Africa
to Nigeria (loads of adventures there!) she came to Canada and fell in love with
the land, the sky, the ocean and the people. She homesteaded on an island,
opened a second hand store and was instrumental in founding three alternative
schools. Being a Unity minister has not diminished Vicki’s love for exploration
and adventure. She has made five trips to India to live for months at a time,
volunteering with the Tibetan Buddhist refugees, teaching English to Buddhist
nuns and attending teachings with HH the Dalai Lama. She started a non profit
society to help impoverished Tibetan refugee children access education. She
also travelled to Vietnam with U.S. and First Nations veterans as they sought
healing and reconciliation with their war experiences.

Rev. Patricia was introduced to the New Thought philosophy in 1979 when she attended a wedding and a memorial in a New Thought church in rapid succession.

Although she was raised without a spiritual tradition and was disillusioned with mainstream religion, she had, since childhood, yearned for a spiritual aspect to life; she instantly knew that this philosophy, with its reference to "The Universal Mind" and "The Infinite" was for her, and that her calling was to become a New Thought minister.  She immediately began studying through The Ernest Holmes College, with Edmonton's Dr. Jacquie Darby and many other self-directed studies.

In 1999, Patricia was appointed Spiritual Leader of the Positive Living Centre of Victoria and in 2001, she was ordained by Dr. Jacquie Darby of the International Alliance of Churches of Truth, Canada.

In 2008, she answered the call to co-pastor the Centre for Conscious Living in  Winnipeg and was licensed as a Religious Science (Science of Mind) Practitioner and Minister. She served 3 years in Winnipeg and 2 at the Centre for Spiritual Living in Kamloops before "retiring" back to Vancouver Island in 2013.  Shortly thereafter, she was invited to Unity of Nanaimo as a guest speaker. Over the next 2 years, as her relationship with the congregation deepened and grew, it became clear that she was "not done yet" and on April 1, 2016 she was appointed minister.  Ushering in many changes and being a part of bringing together the Unity Communities of Victoria, Comox Valley and Nanaimo into a unified Unity Vancouver Island has been a great joy for her.