REFLECTIONS FOR WORSHIP SERVICE MAY 29, 2000

THEME CONVERSATION TIME:

In a few weeks we in The United Church of Canada will be celebrating our 75th anniversary. In today's service we will be using our church crest to help us remember and gratefully acknowledge our heritage so that we might more fully celebrate our life together on the occasion of our anniversary.

The United Church is the largest Protestant denomination in Canada. We minister to over 3 million people in 3820 congregations across the country. Ours is a rich history closely entwined with the development of Canada itself.

The United Church was inaugurated on June 10, 1925 in Toronto, when the Methodist Church, Canada, the Congregational Union of Canada, and 70 per cent of the Presbyterian Church in Canada entered into what has been called an "organic union." It was the first union of churches in the world to cross historical denominational lines and hence received international acclaim. Since that time, other countries have also seen similar unions of denominations. Impetus for the union arose out of the very pragmatic desire of the various churches to share their resources in order to more effectively serve our huge country and provide overseas mission work. Each of the uniting churches, however, had a long history prior to 1925 which we will hear about in our service today.

OUR CONGREGATIONALIST ROOTS

The symbol of the open Bible in The United Church crest symbolizes the Congregationalist church. The Congregationalist church came to Canada from England, where it had grown out of the Puritan movement of the 1600's. The two principles of Congregationalism were "independence" and "fellowship." As its name suggests, each congregation had complete independence and freedom with regard to the development of their own doctrine, administrative structure, and the ordination and hiring of their clergy. Though there was not a formal creed or administration which bound the individual congregations together, there were none-the-less regular gatherings of congregationalist churches for fellowship, worship, and the sharing of their common faith in Jesus Christ.

Until they became a part of the United Church, Congregationalists had never before shared a common doctrine or national administrative structure and regulations, thus many believed by joining the United Church they were giving up some of their congregational independence and freedom. They did however influence the United Church policy by ensuring that members not be required to adhere to a specific set of doctrinal stats, but rather simply profess faith in Jesus Christ, and that even ordained ministers need not be in complete agreement with every detail of United Church doctrine, but only profess to be "in essential agreement" with the United Church Basis of Union.

Though the Congregationalists represented the smallest number of the founding churches of the United Church of Canada, the present freedom, independence, and autonomy of congregations within the United Church to choose their own administrative structure, Christian education materials, worship style, and to call their own clergy, is a direct result of the Congregationalist influence. Those of you who knew a previous member of our congregation, Rev. Dr. Clifford Knowles, may remember that he was originally Congregationalist before he became a part of the United Church. The open bible was used on The United Church crest to symbolize the Congregationalist church in recognition of the Congregationalist emphasis on the importance of individuals to choose their own beliefs based on biblical teachings rather than the adherence to specific doctrines.

Our next hymn is one that was usually used by Congregationalist churches when ordaining their ministers, "Come, Holy Ghost," number 201.

OUR METHODIST ROOTS

The Methodist church grew out of a movement by the same name led by Rev. John Wesley, a minister in the Church of England during the 1700's. Wesley did not intend to form a new church, but rather to revive the Church of England through a renewed emphasis on the personal experience of divine forgiveness and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, as witnessed to by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Wesley accomplished this partly through small group meetings which became known for their "method" of a very disciplined approach to spiritual growth. Outdoor evangelistic revival meetings were an early hallmark of the Methodist movement, yet Methodism has also emphasized education, social service, and other missions and outreach work, which comes from the Methodist belief that personal faith in Christ must be accompanied by a person's positive interaction with the world around them. Many social movements which sought to improve human life, including public education, grew out of Methodism.

The early Methodist church was less concerned with the development of new doctrinal statements, or the building of new churches, than it was with encouraging people to develop their personal faith, and have a constructive influence on the lives of others. In Canada, early Methodist preachers were often called "Circuit Riders," as they rode by horseback from one town to another preaching and leading worship in schools, or private homes. In fact, before the development of Bytown, (later to become Ottawa), Methodist preachers travelled from New York State to Nepean as early as the 1820's, meaning that Methodists were first Protestants to hold organized worship services in the Bells Corners area, though they never constructed a church here.

John Wesley's brother Charles wrote hundreds of hymns, which were used not only to express reverence in worship, but also as a means of teaching truths of the Christian faith, a practice they learned from the Moravian church. Methodists largest component of the United Church.

The Methodist church as a whole joined in the formation of the United Church of Canada. Though some individuals chose not to join the United Church, Methodists none-the-less represented the largest component of the United Church's initial members. The Methodist influence on the formation of the United church is seen less in the development of the doctrine of the United Church than in the polity and administrative structure of the church, such as in the power of the Conference to ordain clergy. The Methodist church is represented in crest by a dove, symbolic of the working of the Spirit of God in individual lives, and through the outreach of church into the world. Our next hymn was written by Charles Wesley, number 333, "Love Divine."

OUR PRESBYTERIAN ROOTS

Presbyterianism is one branch of reformed Protestantism and it traces its roots back to the French Protestant Reformer John Calvin. Different forms of Presbyterianism developed in several European countries, as well as in Scotland under the direction of John Knox in the 1500's. At times the Presbyterian Church has been known for its emphasis of Calvin's doctrine of predestination, that God has planed in advance everything that happens. The element of Presbyterianism that has probably most influenced the United Church is the belief that congregations should be governed, not only by professional clergy, but also by elected lay elders. Presbyterians also did not believe the church is best governed by bishops who were appointed from outside and who may not know the needs of the local congregations, nor did they believe that congregations should be totally independent of one another, but rather can benefit from each other's wisdom and experience. They therefore developed a form of governance which gathers together local groupings of congregations into Presbyteries whose membership includes the clergy and elected representatives from each local congregation. The form of governance in the United Church is largely based on the Presbyterian model.

The Presbyterian church has also been called a "Confessional Church" due to its emphasis on the requirement for its members to adhere to a particular doctrinal statement which would define and guide the theology and practice of all of the members of the church. Partly due to this emphasis on doctrine and theology, Presbyterians also placed a great deal of importance on the education of their clergy. Though the doctrine presented in the Basis of Union of the United Church is largely based on Presbyterian confessions of faith, many Presbyterians none-the-less believed the doctrine had been negatively altered by Methodist influences, and by the Congregationalist influence that no longer required individuals to be in total agreement with the doctrine. Within the Presbyterian structure, each congregation voted on whether or not to join the United Church, and 30% of the congregations did not enter into Union, but continued as the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

The fore-runner of Bells Corners United Church was Drummond Presbyterian Church, which met in the building that is presently the Health Spa on Richmond Rd. between the Second Cup and the Bell Mews. On December 22, 1924 a vote was held at Drummond Presbyterian on whether or not to become a part of the United Church. The vote was 26 in favour of Union, and 7 against, apparently including the minister at the time, and as a result of Union there was an initial loss of members for the new Bells Corners United Church.

The symbol on the United Church Crest representing the Presbyterian Church is the burning bush, because it is hoped that, like the burning bush in which Moses met God, the church will be on fire with the Spirit of God, but not consumed. Our next hymn is attributed to John Calvin, and is number 393 "I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art."

FINAL REFLECTION

Though most of us may not have memories of the early days of the United Church, we all continue to be influenced by the vision and faith of those who have gone before us in our congregation and our denomination. And though there may be times when we are frustrated by our church, there are also times, many times when we are blessed by it. God is indeed at work in this United Church of ours, and through each of us, and all of us together, God will continue to be at work in our community and our world. As an expression of our common faith and desire to serve God, I would invite you to turn to #918 in our Voices United hymn books, and to stand as we join together in saying our creed.