Did you know that James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, was a graduate of the Presbyterian College, Montreal? Or that Cairine R. Mackay Wilson, the first woman to sit in the Senate of Canada, was a Presbyterian and benefactor of our theological school in Montreal?
These are two of 13 individuals profiled in a new book produced to mark the 150th anniversary of the Presbyterian College, Montreal (1865-2015).
Still Voices—Still Heard tells the stories of graduates, faculty and benefactors chosen to represent something of the college’s wide influence.
As Rev. Dr. Stephen Farris notes in the foreword, this is a “collection of essays gathered both as a celebration of and a theological reflection upon the one hundred fifty years” of the college’s “service to the church and world.”
Let me begin with a confession: I am a biased reviewer. From 1999–2012, I served as the Presbyterian College’s seventh principal. So, although I had nothing to do with its publication, I read this book with the keen interest of an insider. That said I am delighted to report that this is a very fine volume from which I learned an immense amount. A good read and a fitting tribute to the college’s life and legacy, it deserves to be known widely across our church.
That’s because this book not only accomplishes what it sets out to do: to tell the story of PC and celebrate its rich history and extensive influence; it also gives glimpses into the lives of notable Presbyterians who have made important contributions to church and society in Canada.
Let’s be clear. This is not a standard institutional history. It does not tell the story of the Presbyterian College using a strictly chronological narrative. Rather, as principal Dale Woods notes in the preface, this book tells the story in a more dynamic way that tries “to capture the spirit and passion of those who helped shape the life of the College and those who graduated from the College” in the past by letting them “speak in their own words.”
The 13 chapters are divided into three sections historically spanning the college’s history. Each chapter presents a sermon, address, letter, or report introduced by a brief biography and followed by a commentary. Thus, the title is both creative and as Stephen Farris notes, clever: “All the voices are ‘still,’ that is, all the subjects have died. But through the sermons and addresses included in this volume, those voices are also ‘still heard.'”
So, whose voices are still heard in these pages? Well, in addition to those noted above it begins in the mid-19th century with John William Dawson, scientist and principal of McGill University, instrumental in PC’s founding and its longstanding association with the university. Donald Harvey MacVicar the first principal. Jane Drummond Redpath, benefactor, tireless advocate for missions, and member of the powerful English-speaking community of Montreal in the 19th century that shaped the early life of the college. A. Daniel Coussirat, the professor who pioneered French work for the college and the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
Other chapters focus on Andrew S. Grant, medical missionary to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. George C. Pidgeon, the first moderator of the United Church of Canada. W.G. Brown, anti-Unionist Prairie church leader who for a few short years was a member of the Canadian parliament just prior to his death.
The collection is rounded out by essays on John Foote, recipient of the Victoria Cross, and well known for his courageous ministry as a military chaplain during the Second World War. C. Ritchie Bell, PC’s professor of pastoral theology during the 1960s and 1970s who, perhaps more than anyone else, is responsible for the college’s focus on the practical preparation of ministers for congregational ministry.
Alison Stewart-Patterson, among the first women graduates, whose commitment to mutuality in ministry left a lasting legacy following her untimely death from cancer. And bringing us into the 21st century, R. Sheldon MacKenzie, noted preacher and longtime professor of New Testament at Memorial University.
Why should you read this book? Well, it touches on topics that are still important for the church today: the role of women in church and society, the place of Protestants in Quebec, the meaning of mission in Canada, the influence of leading Presbyterians in shaping the public life of our nation, including education, business, and government. The many sermons provide a rich resource for the study of preaching in Presbyterian pulpits, spanning generations.
By looking backwards this book reminds us that theological schools matter. Those who founded and supported the Presbyterian College had a passion for a theologically literate leadership. This book reminds us that well-educated, deeply faithful people make a difference. This book bears witness to the national and global reach of a small, focused denominational school, against all odds, over many years. For Presbyterians in 21st-century post-Christendom Canada, that’s worth remembering and celebrating, perhaps now more than ever.
