Life in the Margins

Reformed Presbyterians played an important role in Canadian history, argues Rev. Dr. Eldon Hay in his recently published book The Covenanters in Canada: Reformed Presbyterianism from 1820 to 2012.
“The freedom to worship, the freedom to speak freely, to hold views that are contrary to what is more publicly felt—the Reformed Presbyterians helped bring that into our culture,” said Hay, a United Church minister and former professor at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B.

Reformed Presbyterians, more informally known as the Covenanters, became a marginalized denomination in the 17th century after Irish and Scottish members opposed the Stuart kings’ claims to be head of the church.

They continued life in the margins after immigrating to Canada, where their particular conviction about Christ’s kingship led to various forms of public dissent, often including a refusal to vote.

Hay’s interest in the Covenanters was piqued 20 years ago when he visited what New Brunswick locals referred to as “the Presbyterian cemetery.”

The site seemed an anomaly: there were no Presbyterian churches around. After asking more questions, Hay learned these Presbyterians at rest were Covenanters—their stories largely untold in written historical accounts.

“I didn’t start out thinking I’d write a book. I was simply curious about an old cemetery. But the stories simply grabbed me.”

After publishing The Chignecto Covenanters: A Regional History of Reformed Presbyterianism in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 1827 – 1905, he realized there were still many more untold stories. The Covenanters book expands the canvas, looking at Covenanter communities across Canada.

While Covenanters, both then and now, tend to hold more conservative theologies and stances on social issues than Hay, he said he has a real admiration and respect for them.

“To understand another person means not to forget my convictions but to bracket them for a time to be really open to what this other person is saying and what truths they espouse.”

When asked why this history is important today, Hay responds: “It’s a case study in how people persist. But it also shows us that in order to survive we need to be open to new models and new ways of doing things.”