Media
Queen's University welcomes first female chaplain
The Whig-Standard, July 29, 2013Print
URL: http://www.thewhig.com/2013/07/29/queens-university-welcomes-first-female-chaplain
Kate Johnson, who graduated from the Queen’s Theological College in 2006 with a Master of Divinity, is set to begin on Aug. 19. She is succeeding Brian Yealland, who served as chaplain for 32 years. She will be the first chaplain to not explicitly identify with Christianity as a religion.
Privatizing the prison chaplain: A view from the inside
CBC News, June 15, 2014Online
URL: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/privatizing-the-prison-chaplain-a-view-from-the-inside-1.2673301
Kate Johnson is a Quaker and the former chaplain of the Pittsburgh Institution, a minimum security prison north of Kingston ...
Chaplain Dan Haley's house of forgiveness
The Toronto Star, April 6, 2014Online
URL: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/04/06/chaplain_dan_haleys_house_of_forgiveness.html
Kate Johnson, now Queen’s University’s chaplain, explains why she has referred parolees to Haley’s service. One key difference between the palliative care inside Pittsburgh, and what’s offered to residents at the transition house, is Haley’s volunteers. Inmates “get the attention they need,” Johnson says. “The volunteers go and sit with the men if they’re dying in hospital.”
Chaplain fears profit prison possible
Guelph Mercury, February 18, 2015Online
URL: http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/5345308-chaplain-fears-profit-prisons-possible/
Prison reform advocate Kate Johnson told an audience Wednesday she fears Ottawa may consider privatizing aspects of the prison system as the Americans have done.
Biography
Kate Johnson, the third Chaplain to Queen's University, came into office in August 2013. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Lakehead University School of Social Work and holds a Master's of Divinity with a concentration in restorative justice from the Queen's University School of Religion (formerly Queen's Theological College). Johnson's social work includes working with Deaf and hard of hearing communities, Young Offenders and mental health treatment. Johnson currently serves as a member on the board of directors for the Kingston Community Chaplaincy, which supports recently released prisoners in their re-entry to the community. With a diverse career and a breadth of experiences, Johnson has served as a chaplain for the Correctional Services of Canada for five years. Prior to that, she worked in the Spiritual and Religious Care department at Kingston General Hospital for four years. Johnson has also spent four seasons tree-planting outside of Armstrong, Ontario and 3 summers living and working on a forest firefighting base in Red Lake Ontario. For added adventure, Kate has had the pleasure of spending two summers in a territorial campground outside of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories.
Johnson is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Quakers are convinced that "there is that of God in everyone" and that the Divine speaks to each of us in a very personal way. Her openness towards other people's spiritual experiences allows her to serve in an advisory role to students of all faith backgrounds. As a firm believer in the value of interfaith dialogue and community-building, Johnson has co-facilitated a number of workshops and events to bring together people from a wide variety of faith communities in her hometown of Peterborough, Ontario and in the prison system. Johnson is continuing that tradition at Queen's University with the introduction of interfaith events including sporting events and board games. Her dedication to religious freedom and social justice shapes her ministry to the Queen's community.