Life and Living (& perhaps attending church)…

On Monday I had lunch with the one cousin I have kept most in touch with over the years. Perhaps it’s because he is older (and I only have one other cousin that is older than I am) or maybe it is because he is wise or maybe it’s just because he responds to my communications. In any event, we got together in a quaint little village on the Rideau Canal in a quaint little bar.

While the food was great and the beer was from a neat little craft brewery I like (Beau’s) the really amazing thing was that we talked for over two and a half hours, and I am sure we could have talked longer had we each not had a drive to undertake before dark.

There were many things that I learned during our conversations and I think I also was able to share some significant stuff as well. First was about an operation he had undergone. I’m not going to get into the details – that’s a personal matter; but, what is shareable, especially in this time when we spend a great deal of time trashing the health system, is the timing. While it took the medical community quite a while to actually determine the problem, once they did they had him in to the hospital almost immediately. In fact they called him one afternoon and asked if he could be there in less than an hour. After assuring them that he could, he arrived about 3:45 p.m. (Admitting shut down at 4:00 p.m.!!) After being greeted by successive key medical professionals (each going over the procedures that would be followed!!), he was wheeled into the OR, given a wee anesthetic and the next thing he knew it was almost 8:00 p.m. and he was being awakened as they wanted him to go home. In slightly more than five [5] hours from when he left for the hospital he was back home and ready to resume normal life. I still am amazed…

We then decided it might be more uplifting to talk about recreational approaches in our lives. This evolved from a comment made that many of our world are leaving (my mother being the most notable exception) and that perhaps re-unions and other gathering moments are quite important now because we truly never know when/if we will see someone again. The theme of recreation went beyond our youthful experiences of summer holidays to things we now acquire to assist in our recreational moments. We discussed the value of a boat versus a cottage including my near miss/not miss of acquiring an ocean-going twin V8 powered yacht while living on PEI. While the cottage seems like a better (and a less expensive option), I decided that my final (& thus actual) approach (living on a creek, in a community with proximity to two [2] lakes with multiple beaches, and little more than ½ hour away from a ski hill in winter) was even better (even though I do have my operator’s license for that ocean-going boat!!). He, of course, disagrees as he has a wonderful cottage and still has access to golf and skiing in the appropriate seasons.

The most significant conversation however dwelt on the state of being for the PCC (Presbyterian Church in Canada). I must admit that my tour of pulpits I had served road trip had awakened me to the reality that the PCC was in serious trouble. But further research had actually deepened this concern. A ZOOM conversation with a previous Moderator of the PCC gave me new insights:
• PCC is bleeding 3,000 members a year (well over 3% now)
• actual membership is now less than 100,000 (census results are wildly inflated as people will say they are Presbyterian when they probably couldn’t identify any nearby churches and haven’t been in one, except for a relative’s funeral in a decade!!)
• PCC is selling 15 churches a year now
• by the end of the next generation there may only be two [2] congregations between Northern Ontario and the Rockies: Grace (Calgary) & First (Edmonton)
• almost one hundred [100] years ago, when church union occurred and one third of the Presbyterian Church remained outside the newly created United church, the primary motivation, particularly on the prairies, was one of anger: how dare those bankrupt Methodists and dwindling Congregationalists take our church apart? Anger is hardly a sustaining emotion or viable foundation to maintain let alone grow a church concept.

This became the launch point for a very serious analysis between us as to the long-term viability of the PCC. He is, as I am, an ordained ruling elder in the PCC (he remains active, within his congregation – me, not so much). As we have a long history within the denomination (he has also served as a lay supply minister on occasion) the conversation was able to draw on a wide variety of experiences alongside deep learning and observation. [Note: while my father was an ordained minister, his dad was a very effective Sunday School superintendent and we both shared a Grandfather who was a pillar in the PCC ministerial cadre!] What somewhat surprised me as the topic began to unfold: his sense of doom was very similar to mine. While the church he attends is still alive, it is not drawing young people into membership in numbers equal to those who are dying or moving away. He had no qualms about the data I presented – in fact, based on the Presbytery within which he lives, he thought that perhaps the numbers were optimistic.

We discussed ways that we could at least slow down the death march and sadly we had no really brilliant solutions. We agreed with the former Moderator that the PCC needs to start taking some risks again; but we also felt that it was time for the church fathers to recognize that we are in dire straights… For one thing, even the challenge of recruiting new members has a downside – just as soon as an individual indicates an interest, s/he is overburdened with committee work, volunteer needs and related demands on her/his free time such that the individual has almost no time for spiritual renewal or refreshment let alone quiet & restorative moments.

We also noted that ours is not the only denomination that is in trouble. There are other churches closing, some being turned into condos or offices, others into wedding & funeral chapels, even the occasional concert hall or playhouse. There are even those that are being levelled as the real estate is too valuable not to build something contemporary. We noted two very good looking church buildings in central Merrickville are now re-purposed. In Penticton the big blue United Church has closed (although it is used occasionally for musical concerts) and some of its remaining members have drifted over to the Presbyterian church which itself is only hanging on because it sold some property and now has a bit of cash to keep paying the minister. Maybe, though I never thought I would say this, the PCC and the UCC need to do more than share corporate headquarters space. Perhaps as was done a few decades ago in the USA, there needs to be a reformulation of the reformed church such that there emerges a United Presbyterian Church in Canada. Not sure I have any other bright or otherwise recommendations; I just know that time is of the essence, if we want a vibrant Reformed/Presbyterian church in Canada in 2050…

We said goodbye and shook hands; as he said, we do not know if we will pass this way again.

So now, it’s back to work… I have to translate my most recent sermon into another Chapter and explain why!

g.w.