Meet Our People
Rev. Dr. Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson came to Charleswood in 1994 after five years at the Birtle-Isabella-Miniota Pastoral Charge in Western Manitoba. For both Michael and his wife Maureen, this was a move to their hometown.
Michael studied science at the University of Manitoba and theology at Emmanuel College in Toronto before ordination in 1989. In 2001, he graduated from Chicago Theological Seminary with the degree of Doctor of Ministry.
Michael’s involvement in the wider church has included ministry with children and youth, membership on the National Division of World Outreach, supervision of campus ministry, and the Ten Days for Global Justice National Committee. He has been blessed by the opportunity to represent the United Church of Canada in the Bahamas, Cuba, and Africa on different occasions. Michael has taught at the University of Winnipeg – Faculty of Theology and is past President of the Conference of Manitoba and North Western Ontario.
Michael and Maureen share a love of sports, theatre, the arts, and most especially for their three children, Aidan, Benjamin, and Leah.
Michael is particularly appreciated for the passion, energy, and exceptional talent with which he delivers his sermons. He brings the Scriptures to life by drawing parallels between the text, current events and everyday life. His great sense of timing and keen sense of humour serve to hold the attention of the listener and deliver the message.
Shauna Sperry
Shauna graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Music (Ed) in 1984 and continued to study Nursing there until 1986. She received a Diploma in Music Therapy in 1988 from Capilano College in North Vancouver.
During her time as the Youth Choir Director at CUC, she was involved in several musical productions as musical director. In 1996, Shauna was appointed Choir Director. Shauna’s study of the piano and accordion and her love of singing, have lead her to participate in several musical groups. She currently plays in a jazz group. Several times a month she performs at both private and club functions at the St. Charles Country Club. Shauna spends the bulk of her time at Radiance Gifts, working in partnership with her sister Lisa.
As part of the Tjaden family, who play such an important role in our church family, Shauna has been a part of the Charleswood United Church family for her entire life. Married to Wayne, they have three musically inclined sons; Adam, Eric and Luke.
Shauna’s musical talent and pleasant personality are much appreciated by the members of the CUC Sr. Choir and the congregation.
Jacquie Craigen
Jacquie Craigen joined the staff at Charleswood United Church in the summer of 2023 after the retirement of long-time CUC bookkeeper, Nancy Jeffrey.
Prior to joining the staff, Jacquie worked for fifteen years as the administrative assistant at Charleswood Community Church. She also volunteered as the bookkeeper for several non-profit organizations.
She and her husband, Doug, have lived in the Charleswood area for the past thirty years. Their favourite activity is spending time with their four adult children and one son-in-law. In her spare time, Jacquie loves to do karate, bike, solve puzzles and read.
Janet Ammeter
Janet joined the staff at Charleswood United Church in October 2013. After working at Wal-Mart for six years, following the sale of the family dairy herd, Janet returned to school at Winnipeg Technical School and graduated with a Business Administrative Assistant Certificate in June 2013.
Janet is very active in her faith community of Trinity Lutheran in Starbuck, which is closest to her heart. She is a faithful member of the vocal and hand bell choirs and she is active as an accompanist on Sunday mornings and with the Sunday School choir. She also enjoys working at community events at the hall, rink and elementary school.
Along with riding her bike, Janet can be found with Sudoku and crossword puzzles on the go and a needlepoint project in various stages of completion.
Janet is enjoying all the challenges of this new position and we are grateful that she has found her way to CUC.
Rosalie Finch
Rosalie is a valuable addition to Charleswood United Church, accepting the position of Director of Children’s Ministry in September 2016.
She comes from deep country roots as she grew up on a farm in Crystal City. While attending Mennonite Collegiate Institute, she loved drama and singing.
Over many years, Rosalie has been involved in a variety of things. She worked at the Salvation Army in the Crisis Stabilization Unit, caring for the mentally ill. It was enjoyable for her to work at Mennonite Elementary in the before & after school program while her son was in the early years. After studying to become a Level 2 Teacher Assistant, she worked at Linden Christian School for 5 years. She has been working with children for over 25 years.
Rosalie enjoys being outdoors whenever possible. You will not be surprised to see her spending time in nature, biking down the road and holidaying by the waters of Manitoba. Rosalie spends her free time engaged in her own business, Roses Reflexology, public speaking and is currently working on her first book.
Faisal Alsaidi
Faisal Alsaidi grew up playing piano from a young age, having studied through Royal Conservatory of Music with his piano teacher, Geoffrey Owen for the better part of ten years and one year with Dr. Thomas Green. He was offered the position as CUC’s pianist in mid-June during a fundraiser concert hosted by Geoffrey Owen and has been playing for the church since September 2022.
Having just graduated high school, Faisal is currently studying in his first year of engineering at the University of Manitoba and hopes to become a computer engineer specializing in embedded systems. His love for computers started at a young age, albeit beginning with video games, but has since developed into a love for programming and creating interesting devices, including repurposing receipt printers into fax machines, creating lights that dance along to music, and developing computer programs that can autonomously play a game of Snake.
When he’s not busy with school, Faisal can usually be found playing online games with friends or reading through his seemingly endless collection of books.