Happy Endings

Rev. John A. Ross turns the first sod for Pine Ridge while Herb Carson rings the bell

Last year I received a letter from Florence Venier, a member of Pine Ridge Presbyterian on the outskirts of Metro Toronto, which my father, Rev. Dr. John A. Ross, helped to establish in the early fifties. Unfortunately, the church was sold to another congregation, and Florence invited me to send a short message to be read at their final service on Father’s Day, June 19, 2011. My sister and I worked hard to put together the attached letter for Florence to read on that occasion. As bits of information were gradually added, the story became more and more amazing and miraculous, and gave us a lot more insight into what a great person my Dad was and what an amazing God we serve.

Although nobody knew it at the time, Pine Ridge in North York, Ont., began on Feb. 4, 1951, at four o’clock in the afternoon. The story involves three people, all having now passed away: Elsie Carson, who lived in Humber Summit, Rev. Dr. John A. Ross, my father, then the minister of Woodbridge, and my mother’s younger sister, Eleanor Cosens.

Eleanor was working in an insurance office in Toronto, and at four o’clock on that afternoon, she was insistently told by God, “Pray for John. Pray for John.” The only place she could go to be alone was the washroom, so she went there and sat on the toilet. The only thing she could think of to pray for was Dad’s total healing. Dad had been turned down for service in the Second World War because of a heart murmur, caused by a defective valve, which meant that he was also turned down for life insurance.

Elsie Carson was a Girl Guide leader, and she was planning a Brownie Fly-Up Ceremony. Because she and her husband Herb were attending Woodbridge, she got the idea of asking Dad, her minister, to be the guest speaker for the event. Although there was a blizzard brewing that day, she felt she should phone Dad that afternoon. However, not having a telephone in her own home, she knew that she would have to dress warmly and go to the community payphone, so she resisted for a long time. But God continued to prod her. At four o’clock, when the urge became too powerful to resist, she got ready and trudged through the snow to make the call.

Meanwhile, Dad was sitting at his desk in the manse at Woodbridge trying to study for a lecture to be given in the evening to Sunday school teachers at Knox Church in Vaughan Township. He had his Bible open at the story of the woman at the well, in John chapter four. His eyes seemed to be bothering him.

Though he was wide awake, suddenly, the presence of the Lord surrounded him and he saw a remarkable vision of Christ in salmon-coloured robes with a blue sash, standing on a ridge of hills. He clearly saw himself lifting people out of the miry clay, cleaning them off, and sending them on their way, rejoicing. This brought him to a new understanding of his ministry. Love was unlocked in his heart towards God’s world. Then the Lord said, “You’ve been doing a good job, John,” and took him into his arms.

Dad burst into tears, because he knew in his heart that he hadn’t been doing a good job. He called out, “Lord, if this is you, speak to me,” whereupon he looked down at his Bible, where the words in verse 26 leapt off the page: “I that speak unto thee am he!” Overcome with emotion, Dad ended up on his knees, more deeply moved than he had ever been. Like the Apostle Paul in Acts 9:6 Dad asked him, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

At that very moment, the telephone rang. When Dad answered the phone and heard Elsie’s request for him to speak, he answered, “There isn’t anything that I would love to do more!” She recalled later that she had been pretty surprised how eager Dad was to come! Circumstances following that phone call and the Brownie Fly-Up Ceremony led to discussions about starting up a church in Humber Summit.

As a sidelight to the miracle of that day, not long afterwards, a life insurance salesman persuaded Dad that he should go for a new medical exam. A top heart doctor in Toronto could not find any trace of valve trouble, and Dad concluded that he had been healed that same afternoon. In many respects, the healing of Dad’s heart marked the beginning of God’s commission for his lifetime of service as a minister.

In the early days of the start-up congregation, services were held on Sunday evenings in the basement of the local fire hall. My sister and I both remember attending these services, and that they were held below ground level.

In January of 1952, a request went before the Presbytery of West Toronto for permission to organize a congregation: Pine Ridge. Pretty soon, land was purchased and a cinder-block church was built, largely by volunteer labour. Many in the community became drawn into the project, and Dad used to remark that through working on building the church structure together, they were really building the church community as well.

One thing that stands out in my memory was the work party when the vinyl tiles were laid in the centre aisle. It was decided to lay them diagonally, and after the exact position of the first tile was marked on the floor, everyone present signed the back of that tile, including me as a 10-year-old child. My sister remembers that shortly before the dedication of the church, when the baptismal font was installed, one of the guys who had worked hard at building the church said he felt badly that he had never been baptized, and so he couldn’t be among the founding members of the church. So Dad baptized him right there on the spot, with the rest of the guys standing around. On Oct. 16th, 1955, the newly built church was opened and dedicated by the presbytery. As I recall, the signpost they used to announce the new church actually took root in the sandy soil and grew into a tree!

Our family looks back fondly on those days in Humber Summit. In 1957, we moved to Vancouver where Dad became the first dean of St. Andrew’s Hall. We were aware that the Holy Spirit had been moving powerfully in the lives of both my Dad and the new congregation. Dad sometimes said he felt like he was moving in the middle of a swirling, white vortex of the Holy Spirit! Times change, and now we’re bringing to a close this chapter in the life of Pine Ridge. The Ross family wishes all God’s blessings on those who will now be attending Albion Gardens or wherever the Lord may lead you, and also on the congregation which will be taking over this building and continuing the Lord’s work in this community.