A Blast from My Past

Recently my dear old mother moved from an independent living residence to one with a higher level of care. It meant moving from a fairly spacious apartment to one room, and downsizing ensued. We are discovering that she kept everything, everything, EVERTHING, related to her work as a travel agent for decades, as well as mementos from nearly nine decades on this earth. Sifting through this stuff has been an, um, challenge.

Yesterday I discovered a copy of the United Church Observer from July, 1980. I know that she kept this issue because it mentioned the ordinations of that year and while none of us were named, I was amongst the ordinands from Bay of Quinte Conference. There were more than 100 men and women ordained and commissioned across the country in 1980, including a remarkable 28 in Toronto Conference. I would be interested to know if there has been a year with those numbers since -- certainly not in the past couple of decades. One conference petitioned for French to be added to the crest, which did happen, and now it includes Mohawk as well. Another conference rejected a motion to exclude homosexuals from ordination. Remember this was years before the national church changed its mind on the issue.

Bye the way, the cover of that Observer was on the rise of cults, including the Hare Krishna -- remember them? It is quite thoughtful rather than alarmist, a signature of the United Church. There were eight candidates named for the moderator to be elected at the upcoming General Council, including a feisty woman named Lois Wilson.

The issue reported on protests by Anglicans against the Monty Python film Life of Brian because of its irreverence.


There is also a piece on a task force recommending that one level of governance be removed from the cumbersome four that existed then. Unfortunately here we are in 2014 wrestling with the same issue, from a position of weakness, if not desperation. If only we had acted then. Another report suggested that we must rethink urban ministry or risk fading away. Both of these were prophetic, weren't they? 

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the vigour and forward-thinking of the church into which I was ordained 34 years ago. Maybe I will keep this issue myself!

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