By Helen Hinchliff
Driftwood Contributor
On June 8, Salt Spring Island United Church will celebrate the 100th birthday of the United Church of Canada (UCC).
The year 1925 saw the merger of the Methodist Church of Canada, the Congregational Union of Canada and 70 per cent of Canada’s Presbyterian congregations. We have much to celebrate locally, and we hope islanders will be inspired to join us.
The United Church, which seeks to be a bold, connected, evolving church of divergent, courageous and hope-filled communities, has long been known as a leader in its aspirations to seek social justice for all peoples. The UCC has always been the first to take bold action in trying to assure everyone equal justice and Salt Spring United is proud of the part it has played.
First Female Minister. Lydia Emelie Gruchy was the first woman of any denomination ordained as a minister in Canada in 1936, and Salt Spring Island called its first female minister in 1960. The Rev. Norah Louisa Hughes was notable in being the fourth woman in Canada to be ordained by any denomination and two years later, in 1962, while still serving Salt Spring United, she was elected president of the B.C. Council of the United Church of Canada, the first woman in all of Canada to serve as president of a provincial council in any denomination.
First Affirming Ministry. The UCC was the first major Christian denomination in Canada to officially affirm 2SLGBTQ+ individuals and to begin an Affirming Ministry program. In 1984, the church affirmed its acceptance and welcoming of all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender.
First Openly Gay Minister. In 1992, Rev. Tim Stevenson was ordained in Vancouver and the United Church became the first Canadian denomination to ordain an openly gay person. The UCC also elected its first openly gay moderator in 2012, Rev. Gary Paterson. In 2012, Salt Spring United Church called the Rev. Clark Saunders, our congregation’s first openly gay minister. Now retired from ministry, Clark sings bass in the choir and is the lead volunteer in helping to raise funds in support of those who need a little extra financial help when using the Salt Spring Laundromat.
Reconciliation and First to Apologize for its Part in the Residential School System. In 1986, the UCC was the first institution in Canada to apologize to First Nations Elders for its role in having operated 13 residential schools on behalf of the Government of Canada. It read as follows: “We tried to make you be like us and in so doing we helped to destroy the vision that made you what you were.” The Elders present received the apology, holding that to accept it would make the apology outdated, while receiving it meant that further work needed to be done.
Among the work being done at Salt Spring United is our support of the Stqeeye’ Learning Society and our continuing First Nations Connections project. Among other activities, we will be sponsoring an Indigenous market in the United Church Meadow later in June.
We welcome all to celebrate with us on June 8 for any or all of our celebration, including:
• A special Centennial service with Rev. Faye Greer will be held at 10 a.m., followed by coffee and tea.
• Hot dogs and cake will be served starting at 11:30 a.m., with an official cake cutting of an Embe Bakery extravaganza at 12:30 p.m. This will be a time of thanking the larger Salt Spring community.
• Beginning at noon and through until 2 p.m., there will be tours of our stained-glass windows (most created by the late Jack Clements) with Clark Saunders, musical stylings by our music director Ron Klusmeier and presentations by our community outreach groups.