Page 18 - Presbyterian Connection

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PRESBYTERIAN
FALL 2024
presbyterian.ca
Connection
New Beginnings in Stouffville
By Jim Mason, Elder,
St. James Presbyterian Church in Stouffville, Ont.
The congregation of St. James Presbyterian Church in Stouffville, Ont., faced several harsh reali- ties coming out of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Attendance and do- nations were both down dramati- cally. Federal government grants that helped us weather the storm had expired.
In late 2021, St. James began the process of self-examination with the creation of a Futures Committee. Attendance at meet- ings was impressive.
Stouffville is a commuter town one hour northeast of Toronto with a population of roughly 50,000. The congregation was founded in 1859, and the current church building was constructed in 1894.
The committee looked into New Beginnings, a program facilitated by The Presbyterian Church in Canada, and the congregation voted to participate in it.
With the blessing of Oak Ridges Presbytery, the PCC approved St. James entering the program, even
covering up to 90% of the costs. The New Beginnings program is a 12-month process. During this time, the congregation is expected to gain a better under- standing of its context, explore options and make an informed decision about its future direction. Next, repor ts were prepared by employees and other officials at St. James. Our assessor, the Rev. Mark Lewis of Hamilton, met with the congregation and church officials, toured the com- munity and our church and filed
an assessment.
A New Beginnings “Transforma-
tional Weekend” was followed by a series of “visioning” house meet- ings attended by 22 members.
The hopes and dreams of the congregation were condensed into a report and a future story for St. James. The congregation chose a two-pronged approach to the future: being more missional in our community and redevelop- ing our property.
Our home on Main Street has made us the envy of many con- gregations. Our spot on the main drag on the east end of the down- town core provides maximum ex-
posure. We have parking and lots of it. And we have unused real es- tate, including the vacant lot to the east of the church and, possibly, some of those parking spaces.
But what should we do with that land? And where do we start?
We have no people in our church with a background in this industry. So we turned to our community and our neighbours.
The members of the Redevel- opment Team have had a busy 2023–24, listening, visiting and asking questions, including:
• two meetings with our mayor, who encouraged St. James to investigate building housing.
• an on-site meeting with our municipal director of plan- ning and local councillor.
• meetings with town coun- cillors and our MP. Support and offers of assistance in dealing with government in- centive programs have been encouraging.
• touring housing projects built by church-based organiza- tions in Markham and Brad- ford, Ont.
• meetings with two developers who have recently completed projects in our community.
• a series of meetings with the Markham Inter-Church Committee for Affordable Housing (MICAH), which has constructed four pro- jects 20 minutes south of St. James. With its experi- ence and the connections in this field, MICAH has been an invaluable resource, right on our doorstep.
We’ve learned that a five- or
six-storey building would cost roughly $30 million and gener- ate enough income to be self- sustainable. (We may be able to build up to 10 storeys, according to some municipal officials. In- tensification seems like a moving target. We are a five-minute walk from Stouffville’s downtown GO Train station, which could also affect accepted building heights.)
Energy efficiency and con- servation through technologies such as geo-thermal heating and cooling, insulated concrete forms and triple-glazed windows make sense now and for the future.
We could put the sanctuary and Morris Hall under the umbrella of the property management com- pany hired to manage the apart- ments. We’re talking cleaning, maintenance, security and other week-to-week duties currently managed by St. James.
So what’s next? Members of our redevelopment team are to meet with officials from a Toronto consulting firm that specializes in projects like the one we envision
in August. The congregation also voted to sell the church manse in early 2023. With our minister liv- ing in a neighbouring community, the manse, located behind the church, was being rented. The receipts from the sale have been invested and the interest is being used to help defray monthly oper- ating costs.
For more information about the New Beginnings program, contact the Rev. Paul Kang, pro- gram coordinator, at pkang@ presbyterian.ca.
places where we can embrace Indigenous identity and study our teachings adhering to Indigenous boundaries and according to prin- ciples of Indigenous identity. Cree Indigenous author and educator Margeret Kovach wrote about the importance of taking seriously Indigenous ways of doing things but also academic approaches that are helpful in Indigenous Methodologies: Characteristics,
Continued on page 19
Members of the congregation meeting with town officials.
Indigenous Studies at VST
By the Rev. Dr. Raymond C. Aldred, Director of Indigenous Studies Program, Vancouver School of Theology
The Indigenous Studies Program (ISP), formally known as the Native Ministries Consortium, resulted from like-minded organi- zations and individuals coming together to answer the call from Indigenous people to hold to- gether Indigenous Spirituality and Identity with the Christian faith. Indigenous communities asked Vancouver School of Theology to help design and implement a way for Indigenous people to earn
an accredited MDiv in an Indig- enous way. Over the last several years we have done over 23 in- community training events with Indigenous communities. In al- most every one, the desire is for accredited training and VST has answered the call for this accredi- tation.
The ISP provides a place where Indigenous communities can send people to further the spir- itual capacity of Indigenous com- munities. As a result, since 1984, Indigenous Summer School has been a wonderful experience when ISP students and other visit- ing Indigenous ministers come to
share life for two weeks. Students come from Hawaii, New Zealand, across Canada and the United States, all intent on loving God and one another wholeheartedly. Summer school is a chance to be taught by the land and the Univer- sity of British Columbia, situated on the traditional territory of the Musqueam and coastal Salish peoples; like all of creation, it is full of beauty and provides a rest- ful place. Most of our Indigenous students are already working in their communities in a spiritual capacity. Their respective ordina- tions have ordained some, but all are imbued with gifts that educa-
tion draws forth.
Steve Charleston, an Indig-
enous clergyperson and Indig- enous scholar, wrote that there needs to be places where Indig- enous understanding and spir- ituality can share the same space as Western Christianity, to hold together Indigenous perspec- tives and newcomer perspec- tives (see “The Old Testament of Native America”). Vine Deloria wrote there needs to be places of higher learning where Indig- enous ways of knowing and be- ing are appreciated and examined (see “Philosophy and the Tribal Peoples”). It’s important to have