What is the Chaplaincy Centre?
The Chaplaincy Centre offers spiritual guidance from three Christian Orientations: Ecumenical, Christian Reformed, and Catholic. However, we are available to anyone whether part of a religious community or not. We all deserve and desire to be treated as whole human beings. Chaplaincy is about caring for one another in this way. We call it "spiritual care".
In partnership with the University, the Chaplains help students, staff, and faculty with the challenges they experience. Feel free to drop into the Centre (MUSC 231) or make an appointment to meet with one of the Chaplains.
What do we do?
The Chaplaincy Centre is a place where we aspire to care about you as a whole person. We are a drop-in office where anyone can come in to receive support for any concerns they have. We also collaborate with other services on campus to help students, faculty and staff with issues affected by academic, relational, spiritual and practical concerns. The personal support we seek to offer also can lead to a wide variety of programs ranging from prayer to social justice, community connections to self-care of mind, body and spirit.
Meet Our Team
Rev. Charles Meeks
Charles is our Ecumenical Chaplain, which means that he's here to serve everyone—not just people who find themselves at home in Christianity! Charles wants all seeking spiritual care to feel welcome to visit and explore their faith and is committed to helping folks focus more on what we have in common than what divides us.
Charles has worked both in church and academic settings for nearly 20 years. He is ordained in the Anglican Church of Canada, and serves part-time at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Westdale. He is also an online adjunct professor of theology for Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York. Charles earned a PhD in theology from St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto, and loves to write and read about the early church.
When he isn't working, Charles is a huge fan of Formula 1 racing and disc golf, tries very hard to keep his houseplants alive, and is happy to relax on the couch in front of British game shows. He is overjoyed to be a partner to his spouse Amy and a father to his son Edwin.
Dr. Michael D. Fallon
Michael is our Christian Reformed Chaplain. The Christian Reformed Church (CRC) is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes God’s sovereignty who loves to discuss the challenges, pitfalls, and joys of life. One of the things he relishes the most - meeting students over a cup of coffee and listening to their stories.
A lover of learning, and the University, Michael believes that all of life is sacred and that the truths that arise out of the university have their origins in the person of Jesus Christ in whom all things cohere.
In addition to loving the Creator and His son, Michael is passionate about the creator’s beautiful but broken creation. A mountaineer, ORCA Expedition Leader and Wilderness guide, Michael has a passion for the outdoors and enjoys introducing students to some of the beautiful places that he has discovered in his wanderings.
Michael is the Director of “All Things” - the CRC Ministry at McMaster, and the mentor to “Fully Alive” - a McMaster Men’s group. Michael has a Ph. D from the University of Guelph and an M.A., from the University of Toronto.
Gregory (Grzegorz) Ogorzalek
Gregory (Grzegorz) Ogorzalek is our Roman Catholic Chaplain for McMaster University and lives across the street at the Canadian Martyrs Parish and Student Centre. He was born and raised in Poland and arrived in Canada in August 2021.
Gregory has worked with students in a variety of settings. In 2015 he completed his doctorate in the Theology of Spirituality at the Catholic University of Lublin. His area of research focused on the life and legacy of Henri Nouwen, the Dutch/Canadian spiritual writer and speaker.
Gregory is interested in the honest spiritual search for meaning and God in the modern world. He is also trained in psychodrama and has had the opportunity to experience pastoral life in parish settings in England, the USA and Canada.
His hobbies include photography, film production and editing, modern film and social media.
jason greig
jason greig is the campus minister for the McMaster Catholic Chaplaincy. Originally from Manitoba, he currently resides in Kitchener after having sojourned through such places as Taizé, Indiana, Germany, and Cape Breton Island.
jason lived in L’Arche for over 14 years, sharing life with and accompanying young people and people with cognitive impairments. Much more than a place for “service provision,” L’Arche was a place that called jason to ministry both in forming others spiritually and witnessing to faith through daily living. jason worked with many university-aged students to discover their own gifts and the gifts of people with disabilities.
Life in L’Arche eventually led jason to graduate theological studies, receiving a Master of Divinity degree from Anabaptist Biblical Seminary and a PhD from VU Free University of Amsterdam. jason’s research focused on how the practice of faith in L’Arche communities could contribute to the church’s mission to witness to and live God’s peace in the world.
jason wishes to bring his own desire for God into contact with all those seeking truth and the integration of faith and reason. He believes that the richness of religious traditions has much to offer the great challenges within our hearts and in the created world we abide in.
jason enjoys reading – particularly non-fiction – playing boardgames, and watching (and studying) movies.
To learn more about jason and the McMaster Catholic Chaplaincy, journey here
Biscuit the Therapy Dog
Biscuit is a fully-trained Therapy Dog. She is available for any students who want to say hi! Studies have shown that patting a dog reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and has many other benefits! For her hours, check the Therapy Dog Poster just outside of the Chaplaincy Office. The dates hanging on the poster will be the dates she is in that week.
Dogs are tested for aggression by grabbing or pulling at the dog, creating a noisy or chaotic environment, presenting loud sounds like yelling or blaring horns, taking food away and just generally doing things that dogs don’t like and watching carefully for any signs of aggression. Then the dog is tested for basic obedience like sit, stay, down, off, settle, leave it etc. If the dog passes all these tests, it may be designated a therapy dog for a particular institution.
Contact Us
DROP IN OFFICE HOURS
Monday/Friday: 10am-3:30PM
Tuesday: 10am-3:45PM
Wednesday: 10am-4:00PM
Thursday: 12pm-4:30PM
We’d love to hear from you! If you have any questions about the Chaplaincy, an upcoming event, making a donation, or just want to get connected, please fill out the form below. If you’d like to contact our office administrator, or a particular chaplain, feel free to reach out to them with the information below!
Office Administrator
chaplain@mcmaster.ca
905-525-9140 ext. 24207
Charles Meeks
Ecumenical Chaplain
meeksc@mcmaster.ca
905-525-9140 ext. 24127
Michael Fallon
Reformed Chaplain
fallonm@mcmaster.ca
905-525-9140 ext. 24123
Father Gregory
Catholic Chaplain
gogorzalek@hamiltondiocese.com
905-525-9140 ext. 24208
jason greig
Campus Minister
campusmincanadianmartyrs@hamiltondiocese.com
905-525-9140 ext. 24208
McMaster University Student Centre - RM 231
Hamilton, ON
1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 4S4
