Living Skies Regional Council offers its congratulations to Dr Bonnie Morton and Dr Peter Gilmer, recipients of Honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from St Andrew’s College in Saskatoon. The degrees honour their decades of skilled, informed, and passionate advocacy alongside people living in poverty. Through their ministry at Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry, a United Church of Canada ministry, they accompany those living in poverty, listen and learn, share advocacy and expertise, and speak truth to government and other powers.
Together they and RAPM proclaim and believe: The existence of poverty is shameful – to be poor is not!
Bonnie was raised on a farm outside Gananoque in eastern Ontario. She moved to Saskatoon where a relationship became abusive and she fled to Regina. Because of the kindness of a cab driver, a motel operator and a social worker -— and a lot of hard work — she got back on her feet. Once she was able to extricate herself from poverty she started advocating for others and has never stopped.
Peter grew up in Melfort, SK and received a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Saskatchewan and a Master of Theological Studies from St. Andrew’s College. For the past 23 years Peter has been a minister and advocate for the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry.
Their work with the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry involves providing support for low-income individuals and families to ensure they are receiving the benefits to which they are entitled. They also frequently make presentations to politicians and other government representatives as well as providing educational workshops and producing education resources on anti-poverty issues. Thank you to CTV for this story on Bonnie and Peter. You can watch their convocation here.
