“In 27 years of ministry, I have never been able to work in a building so well suited for native ministry, that we could call our own,” said Rev. Stewart Folster, director of Saskatoon Native Circle Ministry, referring to the new building in downtown Saskatoon.
The Marxists were right about some things. Sixteenth century Geneva under Calvin was the storm centre of the Bourgoise revolution against the Feudal order, much as Moscow was the gathering point for Communist revolutionaries in the twentieth century. It was certainly not the only factor in the birth of the modern world but it was one of them. Robinson Crusoe is the patron saint of mercantile Puritanism and it is no accident that the cities in which the Reformation took firmest hold – Amsterdam, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow – became centres of early global capitalism.
Eventually this affinity would have consequences for Canada. The Presbyterian Scots who dominated the 19th century Montreal business community and built the C.P.R. conformed to type.
Only God can make the seed grow,” observes Rev. John-Peter Smit, “and only God can make the church grow.” Smit made his comment before getting into the details of an ongoing survey on the health of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
The details aren’t pretty. They suggest that if the church is soil for the seed, it is sorely in need of some tender care.
In all categories, Presbyterians ranked themselves poorer in spiritual health than other Christians in Canada. The lowest ratings are about how people live out their faith on a daily basis, what the survey calls “passionate spirituality,” and an ability to discern and meet the needs of people outside the church, what it labels “need-oriented evangelism.”
The survey results were compiled over a seven-year period under the auspices of Natural Church Development. NCD’s program is designed to help churches assess their own organizational health through a benchmarking survey of church members. Smit is congregational development consultant for the Synod of Central, Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda and the national church’s staff liaison with NCD.
Seven years ago in an editorial for this magazine, I quoted the following passage from Prof. Reg Bibby’s then latest book, Restless Churches. “I am convinced,” he wrote, “that the resources and the will exist for ministry to take place that touches people who are not actively involved in the nation’s churches. … What is required, however, is a clear-cut strategy that is informed by sound research and sound congregational input.”
The buzz from Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers has been about the 10,000 hours of diligent work required to be a success in one’s chosen field. Diana Butler Bass, speaking at Rosedale, Toronto, in late February, mentioned the 10,000 hours while speaking of successful churches she had studied. Gladwell gives the example of the Beatles and Bill Gates, amongst many others, who through a combination of luck and grace were able to spend an extraordinary amount of time perfecting their craft.
The Saint John’s Bible follows in the tradition of the painstakingly crafted manuscripts of the Middle Ages. The seven volumes took a decade to create, and feature the work of artist and calligrapher Donald Jackson, who works in the Scriptorium in Wales.
In the 1970s, Jackson expressed his lifelong dream to create an illuminated Bible. The Saint John’s Bible was officially commissioned by Saint John’s University and Saint John’s (Benedictine) Abby in Collegeville, Minnesota in1998, and its first lines—the opening sentences of John’s gospel—were penned on Ash Wednesday in the year 2000.
The Death Of Adam: Essays On Modern Thought
By Marilynne Robinson
Mariner Books
“Then felt I like some watcher of the sky when a new planet swam into his ken.”
– John Keats
Yes, that has been my reaction to Marilynne Robinson’s collection of essays. This work was first published over ten years ago but has only recently received public acclaim because of Robinson’s highly successful novels. Her novel Giliad won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 and her more recent parallel novel Home has received many favorable reviews.
These Essays On Modern Thought are deserving of similar attention, and more! Adherents of Reformed Christianity should be especially grateful that at last, among public intellectuals, we have a champion. Her essays on Calvin are both revealing and revolutionary. After generations of Calvin and Calvinism’s being denigrated and ridiculed, finally Calvin and even Calvinists are being carefully reread.
The Master Teacher: Sermons From Mark by Roy Sheldon MacKenzie Fairway Press A sermon is an oral/aural event that takes place in a specific time […]
Dear Lord,
this bread you break and offer
to my greedy body
Serves only to swell already bursting cells,
Excite demand for after-worship brunch:
“all you can eat.”
Religion began both East and West long before the Hebrews appeared. Before their covenant and law, myth-and-ritual emerged around the globe with evolving humanity. In Mediterranean lands the great mysteries arose, with liturgy and sacraments and union with the god (the books of Ephesians and Colossians have them in mind: Christianity is the true Mystery). Then came a different sort of faith, a response to certain traumatic events in the life of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The call of Abraham to leave home and journey to the promised land becomes a metaphor for three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Abraham’s sons Ishmael and Isaac feature in the drama in which God made covenant promises that both should beget many faithful children, and father great nations. (You can read all about it in Genesis 15-18).
John Calvin’s influence on the Korean church is enormous. The largest Protestant denomination in Korea is Presbyterian, and there is not just one, but hundreds of Presbyterian denominations. Presbyterianism has become a big part of the Korean Christian spirituality. This tendency continues on with Korean immigrants in Canada. The majority of Korean Protestants in Canada have a Presbyterian background.
One of the most profound influences of Calvin on Korean Christians is his emphasis on the supreme authority of the word of God which is characteristic of the Korean Presbyterian spirituality. The preached word has been the most important aspect of the Korean Christian life. All church activity starts with worship and the preached word is a necessary part. Every worship must have some kind of scriptural reflection or meditation, for without it, it is not considered worship.
May 10, Fifth Sunday of Easter
John 15:1-8
Let every one of us stay in his own parish, where he will discover more useful work than in all the making of pilgrimages, even if they were all combined into one. Here, at home, you will find baptism, sacrament, preaching, and your neighbour; these are more important to you than all the saints in heaven. — Martin Luther
When Jesus talks about a vineyard, what do we see? Acres of neatly tended vines in the Okanagan? Compact and tidy plantings in the Annapolis Valley? Jesus knew tiny and densely planted vineyards, bounded by high stone walls. Vines growing low, spreading out, tangled.
When our children were young, my wife and I began watching and praying for suitable mates for them. We even took to carrying pictures of our two sons and daughter in my wallet, primarily to barter with other parents. Many were eager to participate in dowry negotiations. I once haggled with a couple in Oregon who were willing to sign papers betrothing their two daughters and son to ours, but when they asked for my house, the talks broke down. (Don’t worry, Jim and Jean, I won’t mention your names.)
I say we start an organization called Arranged Marriages Work Awesome Eh? (AMWAE). Our slogan will be “Save money! Your honeymoon can double as your first date!”
Here are a few of our credos:
The current match-making model is broke. Let’s tinker with it.
You think we don’t know and love you? We changed your diapers.
Living Faith declares the mission of the Presbyterian Church is to recognize and act on the truth: “As God sent Christ to us, so Christ sends us into the world. We are here to proclaim Christ in word and deed.” It goes on to say that mission is evangelism, the offer of salvation to all people in the power of the Holy Spirit, to be received through faith in Christ.
The question we all need to ask as Presbyterians is: How are we doing? According to the statistics printed in the Acts and Proceedings of the General Assembly, every year there are fewer people being baptised and fewer new members. These are the signs of people making a faith commitment. The stats can be interpreted to mean that we are doing a poor job of fulfilling our mission of getting the word out. I know there are those, even amongst ministers, who in spite of what the Bible and our confessions teach, feel that people don’t need to actually confess their need for salvation in Christ. They think that Jesus will save everyone.
There are more than 100 major biblical commentary series, some of which are far better than others. Below, I have compiled a list of my favourite series along with some evaluations for any of you out there thinking about delving a little deeper into your Bibles.
For those of you who live in milder climes, the news of spring may not be so special. But for most of us real Canadians, it is glad tidings as good as the safe delivery of a newborn child. You suddenly feel the energy to clean the mess left in the middle of your garden conveniently covered by snow. You continue planning the gardening, cleaning up inside and outside the house, changing a few appliances, repairing leaky taps and pipes, and maybe putting a new floor (oh, but, you have to wait till there is new paint on the walls). As the list gets longer, your house gets more life in it. Why not a new kitchen and new bathrooms? Maybe you should renovate the whole house. Oh well, you should move to another house this year. You have waited long enough and you deserve it. So you grab the newspaper. Alas! Headlines remind you of what you have forgotten. We are in the midst of the worst recession in decades.
I know it will seem a bit odd, like a guy dressed in jeans, Pendleton wool shirt and a Stetson hat listening to Mozart. But I can’t help it; my favourite spring pastimes are bird watching and bear hunting. I guess you could call me oxymoronic, a word I concocted to describe myself as a character of contradictions. But to me, bear hunting and bird watching are completely compatible. I always do them together. And so early one May morning, I found myself sleuthing around the edge of one of my favourite meadows, bird-watching binoculars slung around my neck and bear-hunting cannon slung over my shoulder.
Rev. Harvey Self of Tweedsmuir Memorial, Orangeville, Ont. is the moderator-elect of the 2009 General Assembly. His nomination will likley be affirmed on June 7 when assembly begins in Hamilton, Ont.
Self said he was excited and honoured by the opportunity, and by the vote of confidence from “a church that I’ve served for 28 years and have loved all my life, and that has been a huge part of my family.”
He hails from a long line of Presbyterian ministers, elders and chaplains, and served nine years as a military chaplain himself. As moderator, he hopes to make contact with the Presbyterian chaplains serving in the regular forces and reserves. It will be a challenge for the church, he said, “to find a way to speak as one to our military chaplains and others who are going through difficult times on our behalf. To say something meaningful, when saying nothing would be more comfortable.”
A week-long “friendraiser” challenge launched by the communications office in late April sought to double membership in a Presbyterian Church in Canada group on Facebook, a popular internet network. The impromptu campaign fell short of its goal, garnering 145 new members—an increase of 51 per cent. But it’s never too late to join.
“It was partly a social experiment and partly trying to get more critical mass in the group,” said Colin Carmichael, associate secretary of communications. “When you look at the stats on Facebook, especially in Canada where one in three Canadians has an account, it seemed strange that there would only be 200 Presbyterians on Facebook.”
This year, “it all comes down to Presbyterians Sharing,” Stephen Roche, the Presbyterian Church’s chief financial officer told Assembly Council in March. “How 2009 unfolds will be reflective of the mindsets of people, but will also be reflective of the messages we give. It all comes down to, are there personal stories in congregations about Presbyterians Sharing?” Contributions to the national fund are voluntary.
Roche stated that the church has not suffered unduly from the economic downturn. He assured members that the church’s funds are invested conservatively, and although total net investments lost $4 million between the end of 2007 and 2008, the unrealized losses can be recovered as markets improve in the coming years.