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PRESBYTERIAN
FALL 2018
presbyterian.ca
Connection
REFLECTIONS
A Meditation for Canada Youth on Exodus 3
And the Story Continues
By Stephan Goslinski, a student, artist and member of Melville Presbyterian Church in Toronto. Stephan was a participant at Canada Youth.
His blog can be found at brokenmirrorsart.wordpress.com
In a morning keynote at Canada Youth, Andrew Root directed me and a roomful of other youth minis- try workers to a surprising example of youth ministry: Dietrich Bonhoef- fer. Specifically, he talked about one instance where the incredibly intelli- gent-bordering-on-arrogant Bonho- effer was rendered speechless and “small” in the face of a crying child’s question about heaven.
Root’s point was that, while some of us may be expert theologians, the act of ministering to another child of God can make us sense the holy ground we’re standing on—and make us feel small in relation to God’s majesty. What really struck me, though, was how this sense of smallness is not negative.
Thinking back on times when I’ve felt similarly, this feeling often comes with fear, and it also comes with wonder. Just like looking up into the night’s sky, in comparison to which
Original artwork by Stephan Goslinski.
we are a tiny speck, looking at God’s majesty encourages us to wonder about the mystery of life, and to ul- timately take solace in the fact that that same unimaginable bigness is infinitely invested in wee tiny us.
Like Moses, a shepherd, hiding his face from a burning bush, we aren’t worthy to be in the same place as something that awesome, but we are. This is holy ground, and Jesus has called us to stand here with him.
By Patricia Schneider, elder at Forbes Presbyterian Church, Grande Prairie, Alta.
Today, a young lady almost didn’t stop at my dining room table at my Senior’s Residence. But I recognized her and called out, “Courtney, is that you?” Yes, it was. And clinging to her hand was a small child of about two or three.
I’m afraid my eyes filled with tears and I asked her: “Do you remember sitting with your mom in church and a man nearby making faces at you, trying to make you smile?” At the time, she had been about the age of her small daughter beside her. “That was my husband,” I said. “And I gave him a talking to about not paying any attention to the sermon, but he just couldn’t resist trying to make you laugh.”
She did remember, and I looked down at the little one beside her. How my husband would have loved to try to make that one giggle. He just loved kids.
It is sometimes scary for the el- derly in the church to see fewer and fewer children and middle-aged ad- herents walking through the doors. We all worked so hard in the past and our energy level has diminished
so much... Who will be there for this new little one?
I thought back to a man I met on the street patting his dog. It was one sweet dog and I asked if I could pet it, too. He nodded and then looked at me and said, “You taught me Sun- day School years ago.” I couldn’t remember his face, for I had taught dozens of little boys and girls. We had a great chat before we parted. It gave me hope for the future and a be- lief that trusting the Lord needs to be applied a bit more to our lives. It is a somewhat disturbing world out there.
Teary-eyed, I laughed with Court- ney as we shared a few stories. It was such a special moment. It made my day as I recalled those Sundays when I sat in the choir and looked down on my husband as he leaned over a church pew, grinning and laughing at that little girl—a girl all grown up with a babe of her own. I was glad he had been part of her memories of the church. Life does go on, and although as seniors we cannot do what we used to, we must continue to do what we can do by placing our complete trust in the Lord; that his purpose will be re- vealed, and the church will survive as long as families keep alive his mes- sage of love and redemption.
Locking Up and Looking Back
By the Rev. Robert Adams, Knox Presbyterian Church in Mitchell, Ont.
Standing on the lawn beside Knox Presbyterian Church, we looked up and imagined what it must have been like to work on the roof of the church when it was being built 125 years ago. We have been doing a lot of looking up at Knox recently— and looking back. Over the past two months we have been engaged in the process of replacing the roof on the church building. Today, roofers use lifts and harnesses to ensure that they are safe and secure as they work. Standing on the lawn that afternoon, however, we imagined what it must have been like to work 50 or more feet up in the air with no safety equipment at all. So many things have changed in 125 years!
In June 1893, the cornerstone for a new church was laid on the north- east corner of the foundation of what was soon to become the new home of Knox Presbyterian Church. Traditionally, the cornerstone was an impor tant element of any build-
ing. The masons would take great care to ensure that the cornerstone was square. Once this square stone was in place, the builders would use it to ensure that the rest of the build- ing was square and true by taking measurements off the cornerstone.
Celebrations such as a 125th anniversary of a building make us mindful of how things have changed over the years, but also how they have remained the same. In 1894, when Knox Presbyterian Church was completed, Mitchell would have been a bustling industrial centre with mills and small manufacturers, with horses as the main source of con- veyance for both people and goods around town. A photograph taken shortly after the building was com- pleted shows boardwalks lining the streets around the church. As we note all that has changed in the past 125 years, we are also aware of all that remains the same: 92 St. An- drew Street is still the home of Knox Presbyterian Church, and much of the building remains unchanged from when it was completed in
1894. Step through the doors of Knox Church today, and your eye is still drawn heavenward by the high, arching ceiling; the pastel-coloured windows still glint like jewels in the sun.
What faith those people must have had to construct such a build- ing—their very best dedicated to God, who gives us every good thing. Surely it was a leap of faith to pro- duce a building that, when it was originally constructed, sat over 500 people. The price tag of $10,000 would have seemed like a king’s ransom back in the day; and yet, in faith, the members of Knox Church moved forward to build a home where God would be worshipped and praised—and we are the ben- efactors.
In those 125 years since the pre- sent Knox Church was built, there have been two World Wars, the Great Depression, other lesser eco- nomic shocks, the FLQ Crisis, and the events of Sept. 11. Yet through it all, Knox has remained the source of hope for many who have gathered
Replacing the church roof.
to hear the testimony of God’s great love for us, revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Faith is that sure foundation, upon which many people have built their lives—the one sure thing in a changing world.
With faith in God, people have found a sense of hope and purpose within the walls of Knox Church and have been inspired to go out into the world and touch the lives of others with the love of God. Through every change, this one thing is true: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to- day and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
The sanctuary of Knox Presbyterian Church in Mitchell, Ont.