Page 5 - Presbyterian Connection, Spring 2020

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SPRING 2020
Connection
FEATURE
Hamilton, Ont. Despite the neediness of the area, there was little interaction between the churches. Together with the Baptist minister, we established NECA (Nor th End Christian Action). It broughttogethermostofthechurch- es in the north end and, among other things, we established The Listener, a 24-hour phone answering service for those in need. Later, when Telecare was established throughout Hamilton, The Listener was folded into it.
Interestingly, our ecumenical activi- ty got a shot in the arm when the Men- nonites established a store-front mis- sion. It was during the Vietnam War and Mennonites, as pacifists, came from the United States to do alternate services in our area.
PRESBYTERIAN
5
My Life as
An Ecumaniac
In many ways, I look back on the 1960s as the golden years for the Ecumeni- cal Movement. The Canadian Council of Churches, formed in 1944, embraced most denominations and provided leadership to the local churches in many areas. A number of church coalitions, such as Ploughshares, were born and helped the church work to- gether toward justice and equality through- out the world. Presby- terians in that period supplied more than their share of ecumen- ical leaders—people like E.H. Johnson of
the Board of World Mission, and the Rev. Wilfred Butcher, who was general secretary of the Canadian Council of Churches. The Presbyterian Church in Canada had become a char ter mem- berofthecouncil.ButsomePresby- terians, remembering the formation of the United Church in 1925, remained suspicious of the council, believing it would work for some kind of organic union of the churches. In the 1960s, when organic union was actively dis- cussed, Presbyterians did not par tici- pate. Many young Presbyterians were against this resistant stance. Some, like David Hay of Knox College, ex- pressed alarm at this isolationist at- titude arguing Presbyterians needed to be involved both for their own sake
and for the wider church.
But what I sensed over the years
was that the ecumenical spirit was a minority movement in the Presbyte- rian church found mostly, with a few exceptions, among the clergy like David Hay. As an interim moderator, I learned that when a congregation sought a new minister there was only one area that ranked lower in the congregation’s priorities for their new minister than presbytery and General Assembly. That was interest and action in ecumenical activity. Ecumenical activity was labour in- tensive and most congregants were content to concentrate on their own congregation.
Today, it seems to me, ecumeni- cal activity is born usually out of necessity—fewer financial and hu- man resources—rather than a joyful response to Christ’s prayer that be- lievers should work to become one (John 17:11, 21–23).
Having said that, I would in no way want to denigrate the wonder- ful examples of denominational co- operation to meet human needs, especially considering the national and international scene in the present generation.
But sadly, I conclude that despite the wonderful vision of Presbyte- rian inclusion that I first encountered when I became a Presbyterian, we have not lived up to our reputation. And, at least during my time here on earth, Presbyterians have not moved substantially closer, nor have they of- fered serious responses, to the chal- lenge of Jesus’ prayer that Christians should be as one.
By the Rev. John Congram, former editor of the Presbyterian Record magazine
I became a Presbyterian when I was a teenager. I like to think it was di- vine intervention, but some might describe it as an accident of fate. Sometimes the two are not so dif- ferent. When I was 10, our family moved from Toronto to the home- town my parents had grown up in, the small town of Wingham in West- ern Ontario. Not wishing to become involved in the disputes in the con- gregation they had grown up in, my parents decided to temporarily attend the Presbyterian church.
This move lasted for months, then years and finally became permanent. In my late teens, when I decided I wantedtobeaminster,Iwasbaptised and became a member of The Presby- terian Church in Canada.
Having come from a denomination where only members of the church could par ticipate in communion and where membership in other denomi- nations was not recognized as valid, I resonated with what I felt was the ecumenical spirit of Presbyterianism. Again, I liked to believe it was God’s Spirit speaking to my inner being. I learned that Christians of any denomi- nation were welcome to par ticipate in
communion, and that Presbyterians recognized their baptism and their membership in whatever denomina- tion they came from as valid. I found this belief both exhilarating and free- ing.
In 1962, I graduated from Knox College and was sent to Biggar, Sas- katchewan, to be minister of St. An- drew’s Presbyterian Church. At that time, John the 23rd was the Pope. With his reforms came a new open- ness in the Roman Catholic Church to other Christians. I became friends with the local priest, but discovered that among the many churches repre- sented in the local ministerial the Ro- man Catholics were not included. The local minister of the Church of God objected to a priest’s presence, but when I insisted he had more in com- montheologicallywiththelocalpriest than I had with either him or the local priest, he agreed to give it a try.
By the time I arrived in Hamilton in 1965, Pope John the 23rd had died and relationships between Roman Catholics and Protestants had once again cooled. I felt a personal loss when Pope John died, recognizing the attitude of the Pope had a tremen- dous influence throughout the Roman Catholic Church.
I soon became the minister of two small churches in the north end of
United in Prayer
By the Rev. Matthew Sams, Willowdale Presbyterian Church in Toronto, Ont.
Do church signs litter the streets of your community saying, “Come wor- ship with us”? Other than for local tragedies, do you ever worship to- gether? What might the early apos- tles say about that?
There are four Presbyterian churches in a small Ontario city where I once served. Whenever one of them held a dinner, people from all four churches would attend. Some had left one church for another and vice versa; these dinners were com- mon ground where they could recon- nect in Christian fellowship. Finding common ground, holy ground, to stand on strengthens our bonds as
members of the Body of Christ. Christian churches have made a habit of fracturing and re-forming. Yet we come together at times to worship and serve. Our local com- munity of Willowdale at the north end of Toronto has a church coalition with more than 30 congregations as members across many denomina- tions. It’s not your usual ministerial that meets regularly. It’s more elas- tic. The coalition shares news and acts together when the need arises. But we don’t often worship or pray together. So, we decided to pray to-
gether.
Week of Prayer
The Canadian Council of Churches (councilofchurches.ca) has been an
A special event marked the World Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on January 23 in Toronto. All participants were worship leaders from: Cummer Avenue United Church, Faith Church, A House Church, The Peoples’ Church, St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, St. George on Yonge Anglican Church, St. Theodore’s of Canterbury Anglican Church, Vaughan Community Church, Willowdale Baptist Church, Willowdale Christian Reformed Church, Willowdale Pentecostal Church and Willowdale Presbyterian Church. PHOTO CREDIT: ABEL PANDY
active part of the Canadian church and advocacy landscape for more than 75 years. If you’re a Christian
in Canada, your church is probably a member or an observer. The CCC develops worship and study group
resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity based on the an-
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