The origin of the expression, “the real McCoy” is very interesting. Trained as a mechanical engineer in Scotland, Canadian-born Elijah McCoy could only find work as an oiler for a railroad in Michigan. As he performed his duties, McCoy became convinced that there had to be a better way to oil a locomotive’s machinery than by bringing the engine to a full stop and oiling the parts by hand. His solution: an automatic, steam-powered lubricating device that oiled the machinery while the engine was in motion, enabling train locomotives and other steam engines to run more efficiently. Many knock-offs of McCoy’s invention were later manufactured, but they broke down easily. So, railroad-purchasing agents always asked for “the real McCoy.” What began as railroad jargon soon passed into the common vernacular.
It’s truly a remarkable story. But it is made even more remarkable when we learn that McCoy was an African American, the son of slaves who had fled to Canada from Kentucky via the underground railroad. Ironically, even though racial discrimination prevented McCoy from landing the type of job for which he was trained and qualified, his hands-on experience oiling the train’s machinery provided just the impetus for his fertile mind to devise an alternative method of lubrication. Just think, the railroad company had “the real McCoy” on their payroll, and didn’t even know it!
We are an ethnically diverse nation, but it is still primarily the faces of white males we see in the boardrooms of our corporations and companies. According to the Canadian Board Diversity Council’s 2010 Annual Report Card, women only hold 15 per cent of board seats, visible minorities 5.3 per cent, persons with disabilities 2.9 per cent and aboriginal peoples only 0.8 per cent. What we see in the boardrooms of our nation’s companies is what we also tend to see in the courts and committees of our denomination.
It was this concern that prompted the Presbytery of Ottawa to overture the 135th General Assembly, requesting the Life and Mission Agency to establish a task force to “study [the issue] and offer a strategy to help the church at all levels … to appreciate and welcome racial and ethnic minorities and to value the skills and spiritual gifts they have to offer.” We’ll hear the results this June at General Assembly in London, Ont.
February is Black History Month, the month set aside in Canada and the U.S. to celebrate the achievements of people such as Elijah McCoy who have contributed so much to the fabric of North American society. Within the PCC, the third Sunday of February has been designated as Heritage Sunday, a time to remember our Reformed history as a denomination and to celebrate our rich heritage.
But we would be mistaken if we assumed that meant we can only celebrate our heritage with bagpipes and tartan. For while the Presbyterian Church in Canada has a rich Scottish heritage, we are an increasingly diverse denomination composed of people who have come from many cultures and nationalities.
The face of the Presbyterian Church is changing. On any given Sunday across Canada one will hear God’s name praised in at least 17 different languages. One of the great challenges and opportunities for us as a denomination is how we can incorporate this rich diversity into the life, ministry and decision-making structures of our church. I’m not exactly sure how we will do it or what the church will look like, but I trust in the One who beckons us forward and invites us to fall in line behind Him. He is the Lord of the dance, and He is the real McCoy!
Blessings.
