A Dinner Table Conversation

Re The Birth of the Continuing Church, March 2015

I read with interest the article on Church Union. I was a boy growing up in the early 1920s and I became well aware of the bitterness of the issue.

Our minister was the Rev. Robert Pogue, a genial Irishman who was well respected and liked. He was an excellent speaker and had a great appreciation for the English language. He used to embellish his prayers with quaint phrases such as “like cattle grazing on the thousand hills.”

He was an ardent and persuasive supporter of Church Union and had a substantial following. But opposition was growing. My parents were against Union; my mother was convener of the recently formed Presbyterian Women.

In those days it was customary to invite a guest minister and soloist for anniversary Sundays. On a particular occasion, probably 1924, the minister and soloist were both known to be very active supporters of Union. At the morning service the minister used the occasion to espouse the cause. The soloist sang two solos. She had a beautiful soprano voice. She was billeted at our home.

At Sunday dinner, after church, I looked across the table at her and, much to the chagrin of my parents, blurted out: “How can such a lovely person be in favour of Church Union?” I don’t remember her answer, if any, or the reaction but I did notice her gentle smile.