In 2021, General Assembly decided that The Presbyterian Church in Canada would offer a public confession to all individuals and congregations that have been harmed by the church’s exclusion and marginalization of LGBTQI people. A special committee was appointed to prepare the confession, which will be considered for adoption during the 2022 General Assembly.
The proposed confession acknowledges the church’s responsibility for harm done, seeks forgiveness from God and from those who have been harmed, and commits the church to a true change of heart and behaviour. A service of worship to give public expression to the confession is scheduled to be live streamed on Tuesday, June 7 at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern). Live streaming takes place on the PCC’s YouTube channel. Click here to subscribe and be notified when live streaming begins.
General Assembly also instructed the Moderator to write letters of apology to the Rev. Darryl Macdonald and the congregation of St. Andrew’s Lachine, for the harm The Presbyterian Church in Canada caused to Darryl and the congregation during the 1990s.
In 1995, the congregation of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Lachine, Que., sought to call Darryl Macdonald as its minister. The Presbytery of Montreal’s decision to sustain Darryl’s call to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Lachine, Que., was overturned by General Assembly in 1996 because he disclosed that he was in a same-sex relationship. The members of St. Andrew’s had supported Darryl’s call understanding that he was in a committed relationship with a man. After General Assembly overturned the call, the congregation decided to leave The Presbyterian Church in Canada so they could continue their ministry with Darryl as their leader. In 2005, Darryl was ordained in the United Church of Canada and St. Andrew’s joined with Summerlea United Church.
In August 2021, the Rev. Dr. Daniel Scott, Moderator of the 2021 General Assembly, met with Darryl to apologize on behalf of The Presbyterian Church in Canada, and in May 2022, an apology was offered to the congregation of St. Andrew’s Lachine. The following are the Moderator’s reflections on the experience of conveying these apologies:
The first meal that my wife Kelly and I had with someone outside of our “Covid bubble” was in Montreal with the Rev. Darryl Macdonald. When I saw last August that COVID-19 related restrictions were being eased, I reached out to the Rev. Sarina Meyer (minister of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Montreal, Que.) as the commissioner who introduced the motion at General Assembly that the apologies be written to Darryl and the members of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Lachine. After a helpful conversation with Sarina, I phoned Darryl. He was already aware of the decisions made at our assembly and knew the purpose of my call. I suggested it would be helpful for us to meet in person and asked if he would be open to joining me for dinner.
Darryl’s husband, Chris Maragoudakis, along with Sarina and her husband, Professor Brett Meyer, arranged a time for the six of us to meet. At the restaurant, Brett took the lead and offered a toast to new beginnings. I then explained to the table that I would like to extend an apology to Darryl on behalf of the 2021 General Assembly for the harm he experienced. Darryl was gracious in response, and I assured him that a more formal written letter would follow shortly. Brett then asked if he could pray a blessing on our meal and our time together. We spent about three hours talking about ministry, life and Covid.
As part of the conversation, we discussed how best to arrange for a letter of apology to be shared with the members of St. Andrew’s at their new church, Summerlea United. Because of the pandemic, Summerlea was only meeting online, and we agreed to set a date when the congregation could gather in-person to hear the apology.
A few weeks before Easter, I learned that the congregation was planning to return to in-person worship. I reached out to their minister, the Rev. Dr. Christine Marie Gladu, and Darryl—who is now the minister at Roxboro United Church—to see if we could schedule a time for me to travel to Montreal and join in a service of worship. We agreed on Sunday, May 1. Unfortunately, I came down with Covid and was not able to make the trip. Since he was present during the initial apology to Darryl in August 2021, I asked Brett if he would be willing to read the letter of apology on my behalf.
The service was live streamed, so I was able to participate in worship and witness the apology virtually. Christine and Darryl led the service together. Darryl preached, sharing parts of his story as well as reflecting on the meaning of the apology and the work the church still has to do. Professor Brett Meyer did a great job of reading the apology with sincerity and grace. Moments of grace have occurred throughout the experience of offering the apology to Darryl on behalf of the church. Darryl showed graciousness again later that day when he wrote to express his gratitude.
Read the moderator’s full reflections in the Summer edition of the Presbyterian Connection newspaper, available in July 2022.
Apology to Rev. Darryl MacdonaldApology to St. Andrew's Lachine (Summerlea United)