The Presbytery of Algoma and North Bay is very big — not in number of churches or ministers but in sheer physical size. The challenges are obvious — to cover a lot of real estate with a handful of people. The five constituent ministers have taken on many roles this past year, with one three-point charge, a two-point charge and five single charges. Several retired ministers have come forward to help churches in their community. “They are all hard-working and dedicated people,” says clerk of presbytery Don Laity. “Because of our small presbytery and the vast area that we deal with, they are meeting the challenge.” Even regular meetings are difficult so they use e-mail and telephone conference calls to keep each other informed.
Rev. Dan Reeves is a minister at Calvin and interim moderator for the other two churches in Sudbury. Described as “bursting at the seams,” Calvin often needs more seats added to the pews for services. Calvin is a multicultural and family-oriented church. The youth group, the group calls itself “C-SIS: Christians Serving in Sudbury” is thriving with around 25 members. The youth, ages 12 and up, have recently raised money for World Vision. Besides the need for more room, the church faces another challenge in that the building is not accessible for handicapped people, Reeves says.
Reeves started a Wednesday night fellowship in 2001. He admits it has poor attendance, but says it is something he and the other two committed musicians “need to do.” The idea was to attract people in the community and those in nearby public housing, but the outreach was not successful. “So now, it has carried on and basically we just get together with our instruments and we play contemporary Christian music,” he says. “We do an awful lot of laughing, which I think is important.”
Knox, Sudbury, is a downtown church that is looking at its future. Rev. George Hunter is retired, but active in the church, providing pulpit supply for the congregation.
In Sault Ste. Marie, St. Paul's and Victoria is a two-point charge under Rev. Deon Slabbert. After a five-year vacancy, the churches celebrated the arrival of Slabbert and his family from South Africa in 2004. These two churches have different characteristics, but both have century-long histories.
Victoria is a small country church whose congregation helps maintain the building. The congregation began in the homes of pioneers in the 1860s. Thirty years later, members decided to build a church, with construction in the early 1900s. The community enjoys socials put on by the church, such as the pasta suppers and WMS teas. This year over $700 was raised by Sunday school projects for the building and mission fund, benefiting Mist Kraal Primary School in South Africa.
The St. Paul's congregation began meeting at a local butcher shop in the late 1800s. The church was built near the end of the century and had a large attendance in those early years, as the Algoma Steel plant flourished. By 1920, a building expansion plan was underway. Today, St. Paul's faces the challenge of declining numbers. Now focusing on a future direction, the church is not giving up faith. The congregation is changing with new members and elders who will help refresh the life of the church.
St. Paul's has many programs to offer. The WMS has renamed itself The Jean Wilson WMS of St. Paul's to commemorate a former member. The M&M's: Mary and Marthas is a new women's group. There are Bible studies and plans for a second course of the Alpha program this year.
Both St. Paul's and Victoria share children's groups that feature Bible studies, crafts and discussions. The boys' group calls itself Cadets and the girls are Gems: Girls Everywhere Meeting the Saviour. Together these groups aim to reach into the community to young people who do not attend church. With congregational support, both groups were successful in numeric growth during their first year.
Westminster, Sault Ste. Marie, has been under the leadership of interim minister Rev. Ian Johnston. Founded in 1925 by a congregation a couple of blocks away, the church has experienced growth and decline along with the changes in the local steel industry. Johnston has helped to unofficially re-open Knox Bar River, a small church built in 1892 (closed in 1983), for monthly services.
Rev. Leslie Drayer has a three-point charge in the southeast corner of the presbytery in the towns of Burk's Falls, Magnetawan, and Sundridge. Drayer says Knox, Magnetawan and Knox, Sundridge are both growing, while St. Andrew's, Burk's Falls, is declining along with the town (population 940).
The three towns are about a 20-minute drive apart. Drayer says he gets help from previous ministers and a retired clergy couple, who assist each church to have a Sunday morning service. All three towns attract summer cottagers, which greatly increases the number of people at the Sunday services. The churches each had 125th anniversary celebrations recently that filled their sanctuaries. “All three churches support one another's events,” says Drayer, who has been a minister there for seven years.
Drayer is the presbytery's moderator. “With our presbytery being so spread out as it is, we do a lot of Internet communication,” he says. He notes that e-mails and teleconferences have worked to ensure communication is efficient. A fall retreat for the clergy and commissioners in the presbytery has fostered communication each year. “It's helped to build relationships between us all,” says Drayer. “The retreat experiences have been really good.”
The mission statement for the three churches is Growing Together, Sharing God's Love, which describes the congregation's life and mission. As a joint effort, the congregations have been sharing God's love internationally. The Presbyterian Church in Malawi has been a focus for the three churches. Rev. Wally Little and his wife, Audrey, are members of Knox, Sundridge, and were interim missionaries to Malawi in the past. The Littles helped establish the Nemo Secondary School for Girls in Malawi, and since have brought this project to their home presbytery.
Four members of Knox, Sundridge, will be going to Malawi this fall on a mission trip to help with projects. The congregations are showing their support of this trip, which will further the connection to the girls' school. WOMEN in the church have been working on a quilting project, “with the idea of trying to make a quilt for every girl in the school,” says Drayer.
Youth and children's programs at Knox, Magnetawan, include a youth group and annual Vacation Bible School. This summer, Drayer says the VBS attracted around 45 children.
There is one Presbyterian church in North Bay, led by Rev. David Jones since January 2006. Previously a minister in Brockville, Ont., Jones says he felt called to the group of people at Calvin, whose congregation has around 300 households. Though North Bay (population 52,771) is a long drive from the Sault Ste. Marie churches (about six hours), the presbytery supports its members. “When I was inducted here they came from all over the presbytery,” says Jones, “so there is a real sense of congeniality.”
The young people at Calvin are very active. This fall, the downtown church is hosting a Presbyterian Young Peoples Society event, for ages 14 to 25. The Cry of Passion is a young people's band. Though the church is struggling to appeal to young people, Jones says this music group plays once a month during the service. “There's a willingness and a flexibility to try some new things,” says Jones.
An annual August work camp in support of local mission is a community success. Around 30 members lend a hand in the one-week event to help North Bay residents who are personally unable to build or renovate their homes.
With continued projects reaching out to many people and nations, the churches in the Algoma and North Bay presbytery work towards their mission statements, while looking at future plans.
Calvin's motto is Continue the Caring of Jesus, and Jones says the congregation fully embraces this statement. He says it is found in worship, it's found in fellowship — it's even brought up at meetings for every decision.
“The motivation is to try and do things for others in the name of Jesus.”
