Who We Are
our Mission
“The Ottawa Campus Chaplaincy creates hospitable spaces for students, faculty and staff to explore Christian faith and to practice justice and mercy in God’s world.”
We hope to create spaces that you can call home, spaces where you can explore, discover and flourish in ways that maybe you didn’t even realize were possible. Home should never be a space where you are alone. Whether it’s a connection to friends and/or a connection to God, we want your time on campus to be one in which you’re developing rich relationships that help you engage with Christ, with community and with culture.
The OCC operates under 4 core values: care, belonging, discipleship & leadership.
The role of a chaplaincy is to provide spiritual care and religious well-being. We want to take that call seriously and work with our campuses to love students, finding ways to nurture them in their spiritual wellness. Within the structures of the institutions and the services they provide, we endeavour to further the place of spirituality as crucial to the educational environment. We also want to be the presence and sign post of Jesus Christ within the university and will do so through pastoral care and friendship in a variety of settings. Learn more.
Relationship and a sense of belonging are central to the community of Christ. He is the head of a body which has many parts. We want to build relationships with people and hospitable spaces of belonging where all feel loved and welcome. Belonging, friendship and community are central to our campus body. This includes creating hospitable spaces of belonging where people, regardless of belief or no belief, find themselves at home within an environment of curious inquiry. Learn more
We want those who find belonging in our community to experience Jesus and become his disciples. They experience Jesus through outworking of justice and mercy in the life of the community. We invite discipleship through small groups, spiritual disciplines, mentoring and faith filled scholastic inquiry. We endeavour to encourage spiritual growth that understands academic study as a discipleship path to future callings. Learn more.
As students grow as disciples of Jesus, they are invited to consider the calling of God upon their lives.
We invite students to consider how God is calling them to lead in the different spheres of life, be it work, friendships, school or home. We want to help students consider how they might use their gifts to bear witness to Jesus Christ in all areas of life, including their campuses, and to love the Creation as their Creator. Learn more.
May you find a welcoming community ready to embrace you in the journey!
our chaplain
Rev. Ryan Farrell
Ryan loves to workout and run (hurray for the trails along the Rideau Canal and Ottawa River). He thinks cooking is fun. In the summer he can be found camping or canoeing alongside his wife, Mickeelie. Ryan considers himself an “outgoing contemplative.” Most of all Ryan is a stumbling-forward apprentice of Jesus.
Ryan’s vocational background include serving in the areas of youth work and pastoral care at a local churches and working in part-time chaplaincy at Queen’s University. Ryan’s educational background involves a Master of Divinity from Tyndale Seminary, certificate studies a Calvin Seminary, and undergraduate studies in theology and pastoral ministry. He is ordained.
Ryan is available during office hours or by appointment throughout the week to talk about faith, Scripture, questions, doubts, and the day-to-day struggles of university life. He aims to create a space of openness and careful listening. Ryan has wrestled with his own spiritual and mental wellness at times and wants to journey with you. He works to make Ottawa Campus Chaplaincy a space of hospitality and apprenticeship to Jesus for Ottawa area students.
our FAMILY
While the OCC is supported by the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Presbyterian Church of Canada through the local Ottawa Presbytery, and that shapes our understanding of faith and life, the campus chaplaincy is a community of people made up of a diversity of people from different backgrounds and theological traditions.
If you wish to understand some of the traditions we were born out of, you can find the statements of faith for the CRC here and PCC here.
If you wish to connect with one of our local church partners you can look here for CRC churches and here for Presbyterian churches.
