Page 21 - pc_Issue6_Summer2018

Connection
RENEWAL
Growing Stronger Through Diversity
presbyterian.ca
SUMMER 2018
By Jen de Combe, Associate Secretary, Canadian Ministries. Jen has
been involved with Montreal West Presbyterian Church since 2011
Like many parishoners, I used to imagine church renewal as a lateral shift. The church would continue to function very much like the congre- gation I was worshipping in—but now it might be bigger and with more people and programs. The story of Montreal West Presbyterian Church challenged what I understood to be God’s plan for renewal. Through their story, I learned that renewal often comes as a surprise and can trans- form congregations into very differ- ent worshipping communities than the one they imagined they would become.
To truly appreciate this story you have to know a little about the back- ground of Montreal West. Established in the late 1800s, it is a congregation located in a historically affluent An- glophone neighbourhood of Montreal. Despite this setting, which in many towns would create invisible barri- ers, in 2004, as a result of declining membership and a self-diagnosis, the church stopped looking inwardly and at the past and instead enriched itself by reaching out to the multicul- tural city blossoming around it. And, among others, several members of the Cameroonian community reached back.
I asked the minister, the Rev. Samp- son Afoakwah, what he thought paved the way for the transformation to oc- cur. He named the congregation’s approach to outreach. Outreach was never a matter of sending cheques or serving meals, it was about relation- ships and enjoying time together while responding to needs.
For years, the congregation shared in worship services and meals with the participants and staff from Tyn- dale St. Georges Community Centre, a place that works with people facing challenges associated with exclusion and poverty. Congregation members volunteered on a regular basis at the centre. This history of developing re- lationships that overcome differences established the congregation as a community that truly welcomed new- comers into their midst.
It began slowly at first, with just a few new members who joined the choir and developed friendships, but it quickly grew to include whole families wanting to be part of a wel- coming community. These changes were exciting, but also brought chal- lenges. Everyone had to learn how to do things differently. The newcomers
learned to appreciate traditional Ca- nadian Presbyterian worship and the original congregation learned new ways of running programs and show- ing hospitality. Some parishioners left the church as it evolved, but those who stayed grew spiritually, and ulti- mately the community grew stronger in its diversity.
This strength came through in more than one way. As God began the work of renewal, the congregation called a minister from Ghana to lead them. This openness to change and com- mitment to relationship building that formed the DNA of the church is now being carried forward by newer mem- bers. The congregation is responding to the recent influx of Nigerian refu- gees coming into Quebec. This time, it is the Cameroonian members who are going out and visiting homes of refu- gee claimants and inviting them into the Montreal West community. Friend- ships are being built and people’s lives are being improved all because of an ongoing commitment to rela-
The Montreal West Presbyterian Church youth choir.
PRESBYTERIAN
21
The Rev. Sampson Afoakwah at Montreal West Presbyterian Church.
tionship building and service. Through this transformation, the congregation has grown from a small group to a worshipping community of over 150 people and a vibrant Sunday School program with nearly 60 children.
As I was winding down my con- versation with the Rev. Afoakwah, I asked him where he saw God’s story in the life of Montreal West. Without hesitation, he spoke of God’s faithful- ness. God began the work of transfor- mation and God will not abandon the work that was star ted. The depar ture of some of their members has re- sulted in the congregation struggling
financially. Despite this struggle, God continues to provide and the congre- gation has been able to maintain their outreach relationships. Now, with support from their presbytery and Ca- nadian Ministries, the congregation is well on its way to financial sustainabil- ity. And more than this, Christ’s min- istry is flourishing, the gospel is being preached and people are being wel- comed as they are into a community that lives in grace and grows in love.