ABOUT US
WHO WE ARE
We are a non-denominational, spiritual community with a rich history in Victoria that goes back over 100 years. At VTC, we focus on mindfulness, intention, and ongoing spiritual exploration and growth in order to lead a happier, more fulfilling, engaging, connected life. Regardless of where you are on your journey, or what you have believed until now, you are welcome here.
Our foundational beliefs and teachings are rooted in New Thought, a global movement rich with philosophy, spirituality, metaphysics, and mysticism that explores the concepts of oneness, divinity of all, and personal responsibility in creating our life experience.
VTC is governed by a Board of Directors, who work in partnership with the spiritual director and brand steward to serve the needs of Victoria’s growing and ever-evolving spiritual interests.
OUR TEAM
Rev. Lesia Kohut
Spiritual Director
Rev. Lesia looks for the beauty, harmony, and love in everyone and everything. A speaker, award-winning author, podcaster, and coach, she enjoys seeing every moment as a brand-new opportunity to heal, grow, expand, and connect, and revels in embracing the mysticism of spirituality and infinite possibilities of the quantum realm.
An accredited minister of New Thought (Religious Science), empowering the conscious awakening of humanity while cultivating a global community founded in Love is her raison d’être.
Rev. Lesia is thrilled to be part of the new, dynamic leadership team at the Victoria Truth Centre. She is enthusiastically committed to helping usher in more vibrant, engaging, relevant ways to experience spirituality while empowering everyone to “live life lovingly.”
Her first book, Soul Excavation: An Exploration and Discovery of Self Through Fear, Failure, and Quantum Physics, won the 2023 Canadian Book Club Awards in the Spirituality/Health and Wellness category. Rev. Lesia is eternally grateful for and continually inspired by her husband Glenn, daughter Mylana, and Mercury the cat.
Kelby MacNayr
Band Leader
Drummer/composer/band leader Kelby MacNayr performs in an array of musical styles both at home and abroad. Collaborating with leading musicians in every musical genre imaginable, Kelby makes his home where soul, creativity and passion connect.
MacNayr has honed his skills performing with some of the greats in Jazz, including John Clayton, Neil Swainson, Misha Piatigorsky, Phil Dwyer, Louise Rose, Larry Fuller, Gary Smulyan, Terrell Stafford, Brad Turner, Ingrid Jensen and more.
His own working supergroup, The Kelby MacNayr Quintet features five of the west coast's top jazz musicians creating innovative sounds, singable melodies with bold rhythms. Featuring tenor saxophonist Phil Dwyer, trumpeter Dan Lapp, pianist Miles Black and bassist Tom Wakeling, all bringing their musical mastery to the creative imagination of Kelby MacNayr.
MacNayr also leads the Great American Songbook trio featuring legendary pianist and vocalist Louise Rose, and bassist Joey Smith as well as the Kansas City-inspired Swing Rhythm Kings celebrating the music of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong. A featured performer on CBC radio and television, National Public Radio in the United States and at festivals across Canada and the US, MacNayr also serves as Artistic Director of concert series and workshops and as a composer for theatre and dance.
Kelby also serves as the Band Leader for the Victoria Truth Centre, where he has the chance to bring his love of the spirit, the spirit of the music and his passion for community together in joy.
Leslie Hodgkinson
Admin Support Specialist
Leslie brings more than 15 years of administrative experience to her role as Admin Support Specialist at the Victoria Truth Centre. Throughout her career, she has developed strong skills in organization, client support, and operational coordination, with a natural ability to create efficient, welcoming, and well-supported environments for both staff and community members.
In addition to her extensive administrative background, Leslie recently completed training as a professional counsellor. This training has deepened her capacity for compassionate listening, emotional awareness, and holding supportive space for others. She approaches her work with empathy, respect, and a genuine commitment to supporting the well-being of those she serves.
A deeply spiritual person, Leslie is drawn to spaces that nurture personal growth, healing, and authentic connection. She values mindfulness, kindness, and the importance of creating environments where people feel seen, heard, and supported.
At the Victoria Truth Centre, she is grateful for the opportunity to combine her organizational strengths with her heart-centred approach to service, supporting the Centre’s mission of spiritual growth, community, and transformation.
Brooke Nelson
Creative Services Partner
Brooke is a graphic designer with over 18 years of experience in visual communication and brand development. Based on the Canadian prairies, she has collaborated with clients across North America, helping organizations share their work through thoughtful and engaging design.
She enjoys helping clients share their message in ways that feel clear, authentic, accessible, and impactful. Brooke believes that thoughtful design can help meaningful work reach the people who need it most, and she approaches each project with curiosity, care, and attention to the story behind the work.
Brooke’s background as both a designer and yoga instructor informs her collaborative and heart-centred approach to creative services. Her mindfulness practice shapes how she listens, communicates, and works with others, bringing presence and intention to both the creative process and the final outcome. She values creating designs that not only communicate effectively but also reflect the purpose and care behind the message.
When she’s not designing, Brooke enjoys strength training, baking something new in the kitchen, and exploring local nature trails with her partner and pup.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
April 2025 - April 2026
Chair, Sheri Hauser
Vice-Chair, Ari Martinez*
Treasurer, Mary Wallace
Secretary, Sandy Sherrill
Board Member, Stephanie Rabbers
Board Member, Cathy Chamberlain
Board Member, Rev. Lesia Kohut
Digital Producer: Daniela Verona
Band Leader: Kelby MacNayr
Wednesday’s Jazz Trio: Kelby MacNayr, Pablo Cardenas, Peter Dowse
Grateful to volunteers who greet our guests, run point on technology, and help to make our events run smoothly.
* Ari served as Board Vice-President from April - October 2025.
WHAT WE DO
We Transform. “We consciously experience the Infinite Potentiality of our being.”
We Connect. “We nurture relationships and curate experiences to cultivate Wholeness.”
We Know. “We live with the certainty that Love is our true nature.”
We Relate. “We welcome and inspire community with enthusiasm and joy.”
Our Brand Culture Compass™ is a reflection of you — the VTC community. Last year we invited all our members, guests and volunteers to join us in a series of visioning forums. We listened deeply to what you had to say and learned more about how our community sees us.
Beyond offering a physical, sacred space to gather and celebrate the Infinite Potentiality inherent in all, we aim to lead by example in everything we offer, embodying our motto:
LIVE LIFE LOVINGLY
HOW WE DO IT
Through dedication to our core Values:
Authenticity
Love
Openness
Commitment
It became clear after summarizing the input from the Visioning Forum series that how we engage with our community is equally as essential as what services we provide.
The values that rated the highest with repeat mentions have embedded themselves into the Board of Directors mission for how we conduct ourselves and make decisions.
Our desire is to support people in rediscovering the infinite creativity, resilience, and Love they truly are so that they can live their most engaging, fulfilling, extraordinary life.
WHY WE DO IT
Embodiment.
We know Love is all there is. If you’ve joined us for Celebrate on Sunday or Elevate on Wednesday then you know that Rev. Lesia always talks about how there is only ever ONE THING going on, and that is LOVE.
We believe this with every fibre of our being, and so it feels good and right to dedicate our time on this planet to be in connection with other beings who want to explore this birthright of LOVE.
When we gather in community and experience rituals of meditation, song, storytelling, and discussions we deepen our understanding of what it means to be, to belong, and to be seen.
It is in the knowing that we are Love - that we embody the Love we truly are - and so, our Purpose, our reason for being is to support embodiment within each member of our community.
and so it is.
WHO WE DO IT FOR
Ourselves. Each other. Our world.
We do it for all of us!
We do it for ourselves because when you believe that “the meaning of life is to find your gift, and your purpose is to give it away”, then using your gifts to be of service to the greater good is the manifestation of a divine life.
We do it for each other, because when we show others loving kindness, compassion, and grace, we remind others of their worth, value, and capacity to love.
We do it for our world, because there is only ONE. We are all reflections of each other, individual elements of a kaleidoscopic rainbow of Spirit expressing. The more we shine brightly together, the more the consciousness of our world is elevated, allowing for greater experience of harmony, beauty, peace and love that is our natural state of being.
To learn more about VTC’s philanthropic interests, click the button.
LIVE LIFE LOVINGLY!
LIVE LIFE LOVINGLY!
OUR HISTORY
We’ve been a lot of things to a lot of people over the years. Our origin story dates back to 1921 when our ancestors called us New Thought Temple.
At the peak of our spiritual community, we thrived at our expansive 1201 Fort Street property under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Rev. Emma Smiley for nearly fifty years. A pioneer in her day, Emma (as she preferred to be called) purchased the property from her brother in 1948 (because women weren’t entitled to get bank loans of that size back then). With her passion and commitment to community and spirituality, she built a legacy that impacted thousands, until her passing in 1983.
In 2017, the Fort Street property was sold. VTC moved to 2815 Cedar Hill Road, a former Lutheran church built in 1914, now a welcoming beacon of love, with its recently-updated bright, cheery yellow and raspberry trim exterior.
SUBSCRIBE