Page 14 - Presbyterian Connection

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PRESBYTERIAN
WINTER 2022
presbyterian.ca
Connection
MISSION AND OUTREACH
Legacy of Faith and
Hope Lives on in Exeter
Front from left are: Jessica’s House coordinator of volunteer and bereave- ment services, Grace Winbow, Donna Perry, Bill Wheeler, Dorothy Henderson, Bernice Thompson, John Henderson, Keith Strang and Jessica’s House com- munity relations and fund development coordinator, Bre Thompson. Back from left are: Barb Dalrymple, Sandi Strang, Marten Dykstra, Laurie Dykstra, Carol Finlayson, Murray Finlayson and Elsie Willis. PHOTO CREDIT: EXETER LAKESHORE TIMES-ADVANCE.
age is a hero in The Presbyterian Church in Canada is no exaggera- tion. Her courage, determination and indomitable faith left a legacy of hope and healing. Although the congregation in which she was nurtured is now dissolved, it gives the former members comfort and encouragement to continue her healing ministry by suppor ting Jessica’s House Hospice in the community where Margaret grew up.
Equally satisfying to the former Caven members is the aware- ness that they’re able to offer help to Camp Kintail after the im- mense difficulties of Covid restric- tionsoverthepasttwoandahalf years.CavenChurchhadalong and meaningful relationship with Camp Kintail; several former min- isters served on the board, and the women and children of Caven par ticipated in many Kintail events.
In a letter of appreciation, Kin- tail’s Executive Director, the Rev. Theresa McDonald Lee, said: “Having spent a few years at Caven, I know how much children, music, and gatherings mattered in the life and ministry of the congre- gation. We will sing the faith all day long and we will gather groups of children, young adults, and adults to learn and grow together. In these and many ways, we will work to continue the strong legacy of faith found at Caven with the campers at Kintail.”
The liturgy is shaped by the nightclub experience. The main audience is those who have left the church or have no experience with it but are comfortable in the nightclub. The music is loud, and the talks are biblical, pointing to Jesus as the clearest demonstra- tion of God’s love. The discus- sions are rich!
Jeremy and Austin were im- mediately supported by St. An- drew’s, and have partnered with Cyclical, The Presbyterian Church in Canada’s church planting arm. They are also generously sup- ported by the Presbytery of Van- couver Island.
Austin says, “The first official UpperLVL Worship gathering landed exactly one year after I got sober by grabbing the Hand that pulled me out from that busted well of sin.” Already, we’re start- ing to see signs of people open to Jesus Christ as the One who had been reaching out to them all along.
Please pray for UpperLVL, that many more may discover God’s love in Christ. For more informa- tion, visit upperlvlworship.ca.
By Dorothy Henderson, member of the former Caven Presbyterian Church in Exeter, Ont.
When the members of Caven Presbyterian Church in Exeter, southwestern Ontario, made the painful decision in 2021 to close their church because of declining membership and resources, there were tears and sadness.
For 158 years, the solid yellow brick building, with its imposing steeple set high over the Ausable River, had been home to hundreds of joyful worshippers and lively children in Sunday School pro- grams and day camps. The church walls had embraced joyful couples in weddings, seen the baptisms of their children and heard the cries of mourning when a beloved member died.
While a church may be de- scribed as “only a building,” it is so much more: church buildings
provide sacred space where in- sight, comfort and God’s care are evident. Caven Church offered fellowship, Bible study, spiritual nourishmentforpeopleofallages, hundredsofsharedmeals,music, benevolent gifts and laughter. Is it any wonder that the members mourn this loss in their lives and community?
It brings some comfor t to know that the proceeds from the sale of the church building are helping three groups: the national church, Camp Kintail and a local hospice in Exeter called Jessica’s House, named after a local university stu- dent, Jessica Hamather, who died of a rare form of cancer in 2015 at the age of twenty-two.
On Sept. 22, 2022, members of the former church gathered at Jessica’s House to present a cheque for $74,374.72. Several people from the church continue to volunteer at the hospice, bring-
ingcomfortandpeacetothosein thefinalstagesoflife,andoffering grief and bereavement suppor t to residents and their families.
The gift to Jessica’s House was inspired by the legacy, courage and example of a former Exeter woman, Dr. Margaret Strang Sav- age, whose life was defined by healing and faith. Margaret grew up on a farm outside Exeter where her nephew, Keith Strang, and his family—all of whom were mem- bers of Caven Church—still live.
Margaret’s faith was nur tured both in her family and within the embrace of Caven Church, where her grandfather was a founding member.
After graduating from medical school in 1929—the only woman in her class—Margaret Strang
was appointed by Presbyterian HomeMissionsasthephysician for Alberta Peace River Country where, it is repor ted, this diminu- tive woman with an unquenchable spirit, made her rounds on horse- back.
In the mid-1940s, she was appointed by the Women’s Mis- sionary Society as a doctor to John Neil Hospital in Cold Lake, Alber ta. In addition to her medical duties, Dr. Strang Savage served as a minister and established youth groups: Sunday School, Trail Rangers and Wolf Cubs. Her awareness and knowledge of the plight of abused women led to the establishment of the Dr. Margaret Savage Crisis Centre in Cold Lake, Alber ta, in 1982.
To say that Margaret Strang Sav-
Worshipping in a Nightclub
By Austin Penner and the Rev. Jeremy Bellsmith, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Nanaimo, B.C.
In September, a new worshipping community started in a Nanaimo nightclub. UpperLVL is the result of a nightclub deejay who came to know Jesus Christ.
Austin came to Nanaimo to play college baseball. After graduating, he became a land- scape crew leader by day and a deejay/music producer by night. For over five years, he deejay’d at a local nightclub until the pan- demic closed things down. Dur- ing his years of deejaying, Austin developed an alcohol addiction and started abusing drugs. They numbed his constant striving and the heavy emotional baggage he
carried. He neglected his mental health until a heartbreak broke him. That rock bottom was in the summer of 2021.
From the bottom of that well, he started hearing echoes from above. These hints were meta- phorical breadcrumbs he could follow. Some of them were co- incidences too incredible to be random. Other happenings were so beyond his control they were difficult to ignore. For four months he experienced synchronicities, signs and wonders that led to clearer and clearer spiritual in- sights, until he began to read the Bible. Then he started to under- stand that One being was at the source of these things: God, re- vealed in Jesus Christ.
Finally, on a dark December day, Austin surrendered himself.
Austin Penner at UpperLVL nightclub.
He’d never stepped foot in a church, except maybe for wed- dings and funerals. But after mov- ing to a new house, he passed St. Andrew’s Presbyterian every day on his way to work. He felt a pull to go there. After watching the live stream over Christmas break, he took the plunge and walked through the door in January.
That’s where he first met the Rev. Jeremy Bellsmith. They con- vened every week for months af- ter that and have become spiritual friends as they talk about God and pray together.
Austin’s heart still felt heavy for his friends, and for those in the nightclub scene who were
having spiritual experiences but didn’t know it was Jesus they were experiencing. He couldn’t just walk away, and in talking with Jeremy, they began to wonder if they could bring the gospel into the nightclub scene.
Austin and Jeremy floated ide- as like a group Bible study with Austin’s close friends or hosting a “Gospel Night” at the club. But soon it became clear that church planting really is the most effec- tive form of evangelism. It would allow them to walk alongside others and gently point them to Christ. So, they began planning for a church in a nightclub—Up- perLVL was born.