“Known to locals as "the pink church", St Andrews Presbyterian in Hamilton, Bermuda is a charge within the Presbyterian Church in Canada and is a part of the presbytery of West Toronto.”
Bermuda Minister Joins Toronto Presbytery Meeting
Rev. John Fraser has generally been forgiven for skipping presbytery meetings. More than 1,700 km—a good chunk of them covered by the Atlantic Ocean—stand between his church and the rest of the presbytery. But at the October 2011 meeting, he joined his fellow presbyters without leaving home.
Using the popular videoconferencing program Skype, Fraser was able to see and be seen among members of the West Toronto presbytery. All it took was a pair of laptops—one in Toronto and one in his home office in Hamilton, Bermuda—and a wireless internet connection in the church where the meeting took place.
It was only the second time Fraser had been able to participate in presbytery since he was called to St. Andrew’s in Hamilton, Bermuda, in August 2009.
Known locally as the “pink church”—for pink it is—St. Andrew’s is the only non – Canadian church in the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
“It was different being a member of presbytery from over a thousand miles away,” Fraser told the Record from his office. There were some glitches, he noted, including a time lag that seemed to turn his “yes” votes into “no” votes by transmitting the image of his raised hand only after the moderator had called for “those opposed.” But he found a low tech solution: writing “yes” and “no” on pieces of paper and raising those instead.
Yet the experience was so positive, the presbytery has decided to do something unprecedented. A worship service at the March meeting, which includes communion, is to be led by Fraser and “hosted” by St. Andrew’s via Skype.
Fraser said the plan for March involves more work than previous meetings, as he and members of the congregation intend to set up cameras in the sanctuary. The service will feature the St. Andrew’s choir, and a minister will help administer communion in Toronto as he presides in Hamilton.
“We want to do it in a way that’s meaningful,” he said. “We’re not just playing with computers here; we’re conducting a worship service and the sacrament of Holy Communion.
“If it goes over well, it’ll open a lot of doors. It brings a spirit of closeness; we’re not as far away as we sometimes think we are.”
The question of whether a minister can conduct communion from afar via webcam or a program like Skype without another minister present with the congregation is being examined by the committee on church doctrine, and will eventually be presented to General Assembly. ¦ —CW
Violence Reaches Doors of Presbyterian College
A clash between police and demonstrators at Montreal’s McGill University was too close to home for staff and residents of the Presbyterian College.
Violence erupted Nov. 10 when riot police deployed against a large crowd of students and supporters protesting tuition hikes at an administration building near the college.
“[P]rotesters moved and/or were pushed east where violent confrontations between police and protesters occurred immediately in front of and around our building,” Rev. Dr. John Vissers, principal of Presbyterian College, wrote in a submission to Daniel Jutras, dean of the university’s faculty of law. Jutras was in charge of an investigation into the events. Vissers, who was not on campus at the time, based the submission on the report of the college’s dean of residence.
“Significant numbers of police from the riot squad were present on our property. Student protesters who sought refuge inside our building were pepper – sprayed. McGill students housed in our residence and Presbyterian College students, faculty, and staff felt threatened. Thankfully, it appears that no one was seriously hurt; and there does not appear to be any significant damage to property.”
The police presence on campus seems to have begun earlier in the day, when campus security called police to help dislodge protestors occupying the offices of the principal and provost in the James Administration Building. A number of police on bicycles were allegedly pushed off campus by the large crowd that had gathered outside. The university insists it had no part in summoning the riot squad to deal with the protestors. ¦ —CW
Protest Chaplains Update
In a growing number of cities worldwide, law enforcers have dismantled the tent cities of protesters who had been occupying public spaces to protest corporate control of western democracy. As protesters seek ways to remain viable without their permanent encampments, they are still supported by the protest chaplains, an interfaith group of pastors, seminary students and other men and women who feel called to walk with the occupiers.
Rafael Vallejo, pastor at Queen Street East, Toronto, has been active with the Occupy Toronto protest chaplains since the group was formed in October. When Toronto’s tent city was removed from St. James Park on Nov. 23, he and fellow chaplain Rev. Alexa Gilmour acted as mediators between police and protesters. They also negotiated for permission to stay with the 11 protesters who were arrested as they were taken into custody, processed, and later released.
Protesters continue to organize events, both in cities where encampments still exist and in cities where they have been removed. These events include demonstrations, movie nights, flash mobs, committee meetings, general assemblies and panel discussions. The protest chaplains also continue their ministry, each group adapting its support to the needs of protesters in its area. “Faith and Occupy” meetings are being held at local and national levels to discern the future of the protest chaplain ministry. ¦ —EW
News from the Life and Mission Agency
The three – day November meeting
of the Life and Mission Agency brought committee members up to date on the work of its various departments, as well as the Women’s Missionary and Atlantic Mission Societies.
• The committee granted a request from the amalgamated office of Canadian Ministries/The Vine to shorten its name to Canadian Ministries. Although the double name “functioned well during the transition period to assure the denomination that the responsibilities of the Vine continued,” the office’s report noted, it proved cumbersome.
• The funds already set aside for a pilot employee assistance program should be enough to extend the project into a third year, the Ministry and Church Vocations office announced. The program, which launched Sept. 1, 2010, offers professional church workers and their families confidential psychological and social support, counseling, and referral services. The contract with the service provider, Sheppell.fgi, has been extended until the end of Aug. 2013. The service is paid for with funds from the sustaining pastoral excellence fund, which was established in Nov. 2009.
• Building on the success of their May 2011 Women’s Conference, the WMS reported plans to hold another national conference in 2014. That year will also mark the society’s 100th anniversary. The group has also decided to shorten this year’s May council meeting by one day and shift it to a weekend instead of holding it during the week.
• Following an evaluation, the church has renewed its internship program with the Waterloo – based peace organization Project Ploughshares for another three years. The yearly eight – month internships offered to university graduates are funded by undesignated bequests. The newest peace and security intern is expected to begin work this September.
• The Communications office is working to replace the current donation system used on the Presbyterian.ca website with a simpler, more secure one which is better able to handle complex donations such as Presbyterian World Service and Development’s Gifts of Change projects. Online donations have reached the $250,000 mark. Although there is no official launch date for the new system or a reworked version of Presbyterian.ca, both are expected to appear early this year. ¦ —CW
Assembly Council Discusses GA, Future and Funds
The Assembly Council spent a large portion of its November meeting in visioning work. In helping the Vision and Mission Committee in its quest to garner as many ideas about the church’s future as possible, the Council split into groups and brainstormed about what the PCC could and should be. Images about partnerships, authenticity, inclusivity, and service surfaced repeatedly.
Council also split into groups to discuss the days and design of General Assembly. It was agreed that all board and committee reports to the 2012 assembly will follow a consent agenda—a process whereby certain recommendations are grouped together and passed all at once. Commissioners may ask that any recommendation be debated separately. The consent agenda was given a trial run last year.
The schedule of the 2012 assembly will also be different, commencing on Sunday and ending Thursday at noon. A proposed schedule was passed, whereby (among other things) informal, job fair – style briefing groups will be held on Sunday afternoon, Monday morning will be devoted to an orientation for the entire assembly, and a regular business sederunt will commence Monday afternoon. The local planning committee is able to alter the schedule if needed.
The church’s finances continue to be a concern. As of June 2013, the church will need a $3 – million increase in contributions to maintain its operating budget. The finance committee is currently looking at the issue, and more information will come to assembly in June.
Council decided to retain the church’s missionary residence, a 50 – year – old, 12 – unit apartment building located close to church offices and used mainly to house missionaries on furlough. A proposal to sell the building and buy three new condominiums that would need less maintenance was denied. A new motion asking that the committee examine property management of the building and rental of the units was carried.
Council debated at length about directing funds left by George van Beek, benefactor of the Experimental Fund, to that fund following his death last January, or to the church’s undesignated bequests. Van Beek originally left his estate to the fund in a will drawn up in 1984. However, a will created 20 years later said the money would be an undesignated bequest to the PCC.
According to a policy endorsed by Assembly Council in 2004, undesignated bequests siphon portions of the monies to the church’s operating fund, a bequest stabilization fund, the colleges, and the five funds handled by the Life and Mission Agency. The remainder (the total amount of the estate is anticipated to be around $1 million) is then directed to wherever the Assembly Council deems fit.
Not wanting to try to interpret what van Beek intended, Council endorsed the exact wording of the latest will, directing the money to undesignated bequests.
The fund’s name will change to the Avondbloem Experimental Fund of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, as requested by van Beek. Monies in the fund currently sit at $553,000, and are used to support new and unique projects within the church. ¦ —AM
Moderator Nominees Announced
There will be five names on the ballot for moderator of the church’s 138th
General Assembly:
Rev. John Borthwick of St. Andrew’s, Guelph, Ont.
Rev. Peter Bush of Westwood, Winnipeg
Rev. Gordon Haynes of the Life and Mission Agency in Toronto
Rev. Dr. Andrew Johnston of St. Andrew’s, Ottawa
Rev. Dr. John Vissers, principal of the Presbyterian College in Montreal.
Ballots were sent to presbyteries in December 2011, and votes will be tallied on April 2. The new moderator will be inducted at assembly, which begins June 3 in Oshawa, Ont.
