In the common parlance ministers are called to their profession. The call comes from God. This divine interception is the only way to explain why anybody would want the job: an awkward mixture of parent, sibling, therapist, counsellor, CEO, writer, philosopher, theologian, adviser and preacher. It is a lot to ask of one person, and the financial compensation is not necessarily equal to the demands. It can be a very stressful profession.
It can also be very fulfilling. In the Presbyterian Church we are blessed with many adventurous souls who want to take on the mantle of this responsibility. They are as varied as the church itself, representing its changing nature, and its complicated demographics.
These are snapshot portraits of a handful of students from the PCC's three colleges. Each of them comes to their new life after some experience of the world, and a great deal of spiritual meditation. They represent a quick peak into the future of our church.
Bruce Yeates
Vancouver School of Theology, 3rd year
Born and raised in Guelph, Ont., Bruce Yeates is an elder and life-long member of Knox, Guelph, the same church his great-grandparents, grandparents and parents attended. Yeates spent 24 years living in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, where he worked as a professor of social work and later, dean of faculty of arts at the University of Papua New Guinea. Drawn to ministry at a very early age, Yeates' call was reawakened upon returning to Canada and being ordained an elder.
"I will continue a ministry of social justice and action, a ministry that has been part of my life since childhood. I also have an interest in hospital chaplaincy, international ministry and congregational ministry that seeks a balance of worship, pastoral care and mission and outreach.
"The church can make a difference by witnessing the fact that our society is losing touch with caring for others and the environment and by bearing witness to the injustice and oppression that our consumer-oriented economic and political system causes in the global world."
Lisa Aide
The Presbyterian College, Montreal, 1st year
As a young girl in Scarborough, Ont., Lisa Aide attended a number of different churches. It wasn't until her family happened upon a Presbyterian church that they finally felt welcome enough to choose a place for regular worship. With a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies from York University, Aide was drawn to ministry because of "the amazing love that God has for his children." The 24-year-old hopes to work with youth in a more contemporary congregation.
"I have to start the battle against apathy. People no longer want to take the time to help their brother, they just choose to turn a blind eye. There are also those who are confused about what true religion is and use it to prove an argument that separates and segregates people rather than brings them together. People use religion to start wars and as justification to commit horrible, inhumane actions. The difficulty will be opening people's eyes so that they will be able to see that true religion is not about separation between people, but rather the uniting of all people.
"We are still in need of the grace of God to be able to keep on living in this world, for there is a time in everyone's life where they will be brought to their knees. There has to be something that helps them — we have to have something stronger then ourselves to be able to fall back on. We are not strong enough to exist without God's help. For without faith, there would only be hatred and greed, bigotry and anger. Without God's presence there would be no life that was worth living, for it would be one without hope, love, faith or charity."
Paul Kang
Knox College, Toronto, 2nd year
Named after his older brothers' favourite hockey player, Paul Henderson, Kang grew up in Etobicoke, Ont., where his Korean parents settled after immigrating to Canada in 1967. From the ages of 25 to 30, Kang worked in investment banking in Toronto and Chicago. He left that career to pursue an entrepreneurial business but was happily sidetracked by his love for the church. A fourth-generation Presbyterian (his great-grandfather was part of the early wave of Christian converts in Seoul, South Korea), Kang, 33, hopes to be "part of a church that looks for opportunities to integrate the many new faces of Toronto into the church community."
"Helping to establish programs such as dinner services at Evangel Hall, fundraising for mission events and Bible studies, I discovered how fulfilling church work could be. More importantly, I realized that the satisfaction I derived from church work far outweighed the fulfillment entrepreneurship provided me because of the spiritual dimension involved. In addition, I came to discover that the skills necessary to become an entrepreneur were also highly compatible to the skills required in the church: innovation, creativity and calculated risk-taking.
"Religion provides people with the bearings to orient themselves when asking difficult questions like: 'What is the meaning of my life?' When I asked myself this question while I was disillusioned with my career in Chicago, I decided to return to church after 13 years removed from it. I believe that my exposure to church as a child instinctually guided me back as an adult, remembering it to be a 'safe' place. Thankfully, I found a faith community that was very warm and where I could ask those tough questions."
Dennis Wright
The Presbyterian College, 2nd year
Wright spent close to 20 years in the cable TV industry working as a technician and, later, in middle management. Though he wasn't brought up in the church, Wright joined in 1988, when he married for the second time. From Scarborough, Ont., but now living in Montreal, Wright, 49, hopes to find a suburban or rural ministry.
"We must be a viable presence in the community, not just the building where 'those Christians' meet on Sundays. There must be a sustained effort to be actively involved in the local and surrounding communities. Those communities need to know what our strengths are so we can be a real presence to them. It only happens through real involvement. We need to be that light of hope they will turn to when they are spiritually hungry, but we need to also help them sense that hunger in themselves. We can't do that from inside a fortress of walls. We must also move toward working in a trans-generational way that brings people of all ages together so they develop the sense of church family and community. We should help them develop a sense of ownership in the church and in its services. We need to help facilitate that desire in them.
"The face of Presbyterianism is changing; it is no longer a particular ethnic or cultural face, but one that is global and represents reformed thought throughout its multi-ethnicity and multi-cultural backgrounds."
Susan Moore
Knox College, 3rd year
A former elementary school teacher, office manager of a fuel distribution company and owner of a bed, bath and gift boutique, Moore has been involved in ministry since she was a teenager. She grew up on a farm, just east of Exeter, Ont., and after her marriage, transferred her membership from the United to the Presbyterian church. She's been a ruling elder, presbytery representative elder, Sunday school teacher and superintendent, choir director and on the ministry committee of Presbytery, worship committee and board of managers.
"The world has changed dramatically over the last few decades. We now live in a multi-cultural, multi-faith postmodern environment that brings new challenges to the role of pastoral leadership. This generation is growing up with constantly changing technology and methods of communication that bring the world and all its differences to our doorstep. We are a society driven by consumerism and a focus on individual needs and desires. So many things are available to us and we have so many choices. One of those choices is religion. The traditional religion of one's ancestors is not automatically accepted. This generation has questions for the church and wants it to be a place that is open enough to ask them.
"Many of this generation are not attending formal worship gatherings, but it does not mean that they are not searching for a sense of spiritual direction, moral guidance and a place to find peace and stability. Therefore, I believe, mainline churches must stop hiding behind the four walls of our cherished buildings and reach out to the community and the world. That means that the church, its leaders and its members have to be willing to re-examine what it means to be a Christian in this complex context of our multi-cultural and multi-faith world so that we have a vision for the future by taking action in the present."
Bart Alexander
The Presbyterian College, 2nd year
Fluent in English, French and Mandarin, Bart Alexander is a member of the Taiwanese Robert Campbell Presbyterian Church in Montreal. Originally from Nova Scotia, Alexander spent just under two years in Beijing where he met his wife, Wu Kui. Two years ago, the elders of his church asked Alexander to consider ministry — a secret dream of his — and it's been a busy two years. Concurrent to his M. Div., Alexander is also working on a M.A. in theology at La Faculté de Théologie Évangélique. In 2003/2004, he was president of the student society at the college and this year was elected to the committee on Theological Education. He is also "helping out" at Montreal West Presbyterian.
"I'm presently organizing a renewal troupe to help out Montreal West. So far, I've put together a team of six Presbyterians who are willing to help build up the congregation. The idea is based on a model used in the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. In Taiwan, however, Presbyteries have permanent troupes that move from one congregation to another, as they are needed, to get programs started and build up these churches. In Montreal the troupe will have members from more healthy churches in the presbytery committed to help Montreal West for a fixed period of time, after which they will return to their home churches.
"Freedom of religion is the big issue facing the church in Canada today. We can see this manifested in the restrictions placed on simple acts such as the distribution of Bibles. The issue of same-sex marriage is also a problem that ministers will face in as much as they are agents of the State when they perform weddings, which are both religious and legal in nature.
"Being Presbyterian, to me, means, first of all, being a Christian. It also means being a Christian within the Reformed tradition, not isolated from church history but rooted in the Word of God, contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments."
Jeff Lackie
Knox College, 3rd year
Jeff Lackie didn't expect to enjoy his weekly visits to the big city of Toronto but that's just another happy discovery on his spiritual journey. Living in the small community of Petrolia, Ont., with his wife and two young daughters, Lackie spent fifteen years working in the parts and service department for agricultural equipment dealerships. Lackie was 28 when he first thought about a career in ministry. Now, at 41, he hopes to pursue congregational ministry in a rural or multiple nature.
"We have to stop counting congregation numbers. When our focus is on some magic number to ensure survival, we are doomed to fail. Spend the energy on a project, community assistance or outreach of some kind. It doesn't need to be monumental — do what you can with what you have. Show others that there is activity and integrity in the church. We are told that "consumers" of religion need to see value — then we need to show them value. Not flash, not elaborate programs but real work, meaningful contribution in the name of Christ."
