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Connection
REFLECTIONS
Home is Where the Heart Is
presbyterian.ca
FALL 2018
PRESBYTERIAN
25
By the Rev. Shelly Chandler, Knox Presbyterian, New Westminster, B.C.
It’s been a nine-year journey. Nine years since I first felt a call to minis- try. I won’t bore you with the details, but I will say that the journey began in beautiful Vancouver, B.C., nes- tled between the Coastal Mountain Range and the Pacific Ocean. And just last week, the road I’ve been walking on for these long years led me up over the peak of Mount Thom to a place on the Atlantic Ocean called Pictou, N.S.
As with any journey, this one was filled with many transitions. A first call means an exciting new begin- ning: new people, new community, new home, new ministry. But new beginnings mean endings as well. Emotions compete as we look to our
future and extract ourselves from our current lives and communities. For me this meant trips to special places in my life: the lake I spent many summers on, the fishing community that meant so much to my grandmother, the Abbey where I met God on many occasions for discernment. It also meant visiting each worshipping community that I have been a part of since becoming a Christian. From the church where I was baptised to the retirement community that I’ve been serving for four years, I needed to honour each community and their contri- butions to my faith formation.
Although the journey to this place has been long, I’ve never been alone. God has ensured that I was accompanied by many, many people along the way. Say-
The worshipping community at Dunwood Place, a retirement community run by the Presbyterian Senior Citizen’s Housing Society in New Westminster, B.C. Dun- wood celebrated their 40th anniversary serving the seniors in New Westminster in September 2017.
ing “thank you” and “goodbye” (for now) was an emotional experience as joy and sadness mixed together. I have been richly blessed by the relationships that God has provided me with and when I was ordained earlier this month it was a wonder- ful celebration of Christ’s love and community.
These West Coast communi- ties have taught me much about Christ’s love and mercy. They have taught me that if our hearts are in Christ, then we can face the chal- lenges of life together as a commu- nity. They have taught me that each
small action, done in love, can have enormous impacts on the lives of others. They have taught me about the heart of Christ. And so, if home is where the hear t is, and my hear t is in Christ, then, though I left my home on the West Coast I am now at home on the East Coast. For Christ has now called me to serve the good people of First and St. An- drew’s here in Pictou, Nova Scotia. I am excited to begin my ministry in this place and learn what the good people in these communities have to teach me as we grow together in the love of Christ.
Ordination of the Rev. Shelly Chandler on July 8, 2018, at Gordon Presbyterian Church, Burnaby, B.C., along with the Rev. Dr. Patricia Dutcher-Walls (left) and the Rev. Cal MacLeod.
You Give Them Something to Eat
By the Rev. Hugh Appel, retired minister living in London, Ont.
The encouraging front-page article of the 2017 summer edition of the Presbyterian Connection, about St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Bra- malea, Ont., caught my attention. The congregation was looking for a special way to celebrate their 50th anniversary and had come up with a plan to reach out to those who didn’t know Christ or who had dropped out of church.
Their goal was to bring in 50 peo- ple who would consider making their church a place to worship. On the day of the celebration not only 50 people but 61 people came forward to profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Can you imagine the joy in that congregation?
When I read about this I couldn’t help but think, with all the talk about a declining denomination, that I needed to talk to the minister, the Rev. Barb Molengraaf. She explained that it was not an easy task, but that all the hard work done by dedicated people was blessed in a great way. As a result of
the increase, they have started two morning services.
When I graduated from Knox Col- lege 42 years ago I was appointed to a church in Burnaby, B.C. The congregation had great people to work with and they were supportive. Although the building was only 12 years old, the roof was leaking and destroying the interior. The mort- gage had not been paid for some years and the Presbytery wanted to close it. My question was, how can church growth be possible in an area
where less than 4% of the population worships, including Christmas and Easter?
At my ordination a friend preached and had chosen the text Matthew 14:16: “You give them something to eat.” The miracle of Christ feeding over 5,000 people. The large crowd wanted to hear Jesus and no doubt witness some miracles. It was get- ting late and the disciples thought it was time to break it up and for the people to go home. However, they soon learned that Jesus had a differ-
ent idea, which to them seemed im- possible. He asked them, “You give them something to eat.” No doubt the disciples thought, “Are you kidding, Jesus? We just don’t have that kind of money.”
Just send the people away? Can you imagine future leaders in the church sending the people away? Is the task of the church not to feed the people? Is Jesus Christ not the living bread?
It was something we had to learn in Burnaby. Jane, my wife and partner would say, “There is a reason why God brought us all the way across Canada to serve him here.” How true. While I was cutting the grass in front of the church one evening, a man walked by with his dog and asked, “Is this church open again?” It had been closed for some months prior to our arrival. I told him it was. The next Sunday he showed up with his wife and they stayed. I baptized him sometime later. We realized that the feeding had started, which I be- lieve is the most important part of my ministry. To share new hope in Jesus Christ, who offers us the gift
of salvation.
Today, we look at the church and
realize that growth is not happening too much. While serving the con- gregation in Burnaby, things were far from easy, but the congregation kept growing. We received a congre- gation of about 16 people. We sold the building and were able to pay off the debts. The congregation kept growing as Christ blessed the living bread. We served that congregation for four years instead of the two-year appointment.
I remember visiting a church in the village of Leaskdale, Ont., where they were getting close to closing. How- ever, God sent them a minister who served the worshippers with the liv- ing bread. A few years after his arriv- al they were blessed with the building of a new church and an attendance of over 500 people, plus a Sunday school of 150 children. We need to pray that God’s Holy Spirit will help us to grow and feed the people, mak- ing sure they are fed instead of going home empty. “You give them some- thing to eat” should be our calling in Christ.