Nagging

Good morning, I am so honored to be here!  Of course, it’s been quite a few years, so I will introduce myself anew to you! I am Mrs. Nellie Letitia McClung, but you can call me Nellie. I see that some of you have my books, and I will be quite willing to autograph them after the service.

The last time I was here was back in 1917.  I said at the time that “the conference made a wise choice of a minister when they sent Rev. H. Bosomworth to take charge of Athabasca, for he has the sane optimism which is so badly needed in a town which has been through the hard experiences of this one. He knows how to face difficulties and he has a saving sense of humour which will see him through many trying situations He carries on a splendid work with the boys club, which meets every Wednesday evening in the basement and makes good use of the well-equipped gymnasium. Mr. Bosomworth can do many things. He can put up hay, cut his own wood, plant his own garden, mend the lights when they go out of order, or do a carpenters job if necessary. But he is, above all things, a preacher, a philosopher, and a lover of humanity. (Source: Athabasca Archives, -Nellie McClung, speaking on the qualities of Rev. Η. Bosomworth of the Methodist church following her lecture there in 1917)

What a delightful scripture you have chosen for this morning’s homily!  Some of you will remember that my four friends and I were often accused of nagging like the widow to the unjust judge when it came to getting the vote for all women.  My dear friends Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby nagged politicians into giving us what was our natural dues, the right to be considered persons, to be senators or even judges like my dear friend Emily, God rest her soul.  There are times when we women, and men too, have nagged and cajoled and written and protested.  We did this because “in Canada we are developing a pattern of life, and I know something about one block of that pattern.  I know it for I helped to make it, and I can say that without any pretense of modesty, or danger of arrogance, for I know that we who make the patterns are not important but the pattern is.” [1]  But although we now have the vote as God intended us to, we come to another grave challenge, my brothers and sisters in Christ.  You may think of the crushing despair farmers in your area are struggling with after so many years of poor crops and dust bowl conditions.  Or you may be worrrying about the rise of fascism and the rumors circulating that our new premier, William Aberhart, is entertaining Nazis in order to learn how to make Alberta prosperous again.  These are indeed worrying.  Bible Bill might promise to take over the banks, and make Alberta only money, and promise everyone $25 a month to stimulate the economy, but his own constituency is gathering signatures to recall him, including farmers and oil workers and I don’t think he will last much longer in politics.  I digress.

No, I am here to remind you that we need to work hard on one outstanding problem that exists right in the midst of this new United Church of Canada we all worked so hard to create 10 years ago.  No, I am not referring to poor Mrs. Dorothea Palmer being arrested last month for distributing birth control pamphlets to people in the poorer districts of Ottawa.  I am going to help with that, as you can well imagine.  Again, I digress.

Sadly, we need to continue to nag our own church leaders about clergy!  Our clergy have been poorly paid because of the dire circumstances, and there were more churches closed than opened since the stock market crash of 1929.  If it were not for the generous maritime churches  and their shipments of food and clothing, I dare say some of you would be showing up in rags or staying home for having nothing to wear or eat.  Someone quipped recently, “the bootleggers have gone, the movies have gone, credit is gone, social life is gone, but thank God the Church remains.”[2] This shows that while we are too poor to entertain ourselves as we did in the 1920’s, we have kept the important priorities.  Our survival as a national church despite all odds proves that Union is a calling from God himself!  And while there is still much to do to help the young people who are not able to find work and the farmers unable to sell their crops, there is also the need to think about leadership in our Church.

We have a shortage of young men who can afford to go to theology school because of this great depression.  And if rumors are to be believed, they may once again be needed in Europe to stem the tides of growing communism and fascism.  Now that women have joined men in becoming doctors and lawyers and politicians, and proven skilled in doing so, it is time for us to ordain women, the likes of my dear friend and confidant, Miss Lydia Gruchy.  Thank you all for your hard work in passing last year’s remit on ordaining women with 79 presbyteries in favor, 26 against, and nine abstaining.[3]

It is time, ladies and gentlemen, to raise our voices again.  Our General Council is meeting next year, and there are no more excuses to bar women from the pulpit.  One man said women are too fragile for the horse and buggy trips around the countryside, but dear Miss Gruchy has been doing that since union, and is none the worse for wear.  One preacher said that “women would have to be very attractive before they could qualify”.  To which I respond, It’s a good thing looks were not a qualification for men in the past.  If you don’t believe me look around you at the picked delegates [we are sending to General Council]. I’ll grant you they are all intelligent men, excellent men, but you would never mistake it for a beauty show!” [4]

Saskatchewan Conference is convinced that Miss Gruchy, modest as she is, is worthy of being ordained.  She has been preaching quite admirably for several years.  It is time for our leaders to recognize that women are equal to men in all aspects, including the God given right to proclaim the Gospel.

So, my dear friends, be like the nagging widow with the corrupt judge.  But I would be sadly remiss if I did not remind you that this is not only about bold justice, it is also about faith.  Miss Gruchy has been serving God and the church modestly and quietly working in the vineyard of the Lord for 13 years with deep spirituality and shows through her life that prayers, offered humbly and sincerely, are answered in God’s good time.  Let us pray and nag even God himself for justice and equality across this great land of ours.

[1] Patricia Wotton, “With Love, Lydia”  2012, Pg 120

[2] Don Schweitzer The United Church a History, 2012 P 47

[3] Wotton, p 139

[4] Wotton p 132

Suffering and Endurance, Ew Ick!

“We know that affliction produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and character, hope. And such a hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” - Romans 5:1–5 

Ew yuck! Who wants to suffer for any reason?  Who wants to have to endure anything? In our quick fix world, pain, physical, emotional or mental pain, is to be avoided at all costs.  Pain should be drowned or denied or ignored or ended.  Endurance? Give me a break!

One man knew how affliction led to hope, not just for himself, but for many.  Despite our society saying otherwise to him, he was determined endure for the sake of his faith, and even the United Church of Canada. The Very Rev. Dr. Wilbur Howard is a name you might not be familiar with, but to many who knew him, he was unforgettable and inspired great hope! Dr. Howard was born on February 29, 1912, in Toronto, a leap year baby. Like many African Canadians, his father and brothers worked as porters on the railroad, for low wages and long hours.  They were often called “George” instead of their real names, and were banned from the union until they founded their own. As a child, Howard was invited to go to the United Church by a neighboring white family and went faithfully for the rest of his life.  He discovered that he was called to be a minister but racism was rampant.  The Canadian Armed Forces were just starting to accept people of African origin as soldiers.  While the rest of his classmates went off to preach in churches during the summer, Howard was sent to a church camp as a counsellor, even though there was a dire shortage of ministers due to conscription. In 1941, when Howard was 29, he became the first Black person to be ordained in The United Church, but for the next 24 years, no one would take him. Instead, he was administrator for a Boy’s organization similar to the YMCA, and edited Sunday school resources, including the controversial New Curriculum of the 1960s. Then, in 1965, at the age of 53, he finally got the call — to team ministry at Ottawa’s Dominion-Chalmers United.

Howard worked hard for the church and for Canada, often focusing on children and youth ministries.  He was also a member of the Refugee Status Committee for the Federal Government. He was President of the John Milton Society for the Blind in Canada, and Chairman of the Ontario Advisory Council on Alcohol and Drug Concerns. In 1974, Howard became the first, and to date only, Black Moderator of The United Church of Canada. In 1991 he was received into the Order of Ontario and in 2001, he  passed away.

The Broadview Magazine article written in 2018 said:

“He … exhibit[ed] a renowned wit. When elected moderator, for example, Howard quipped, “They had to decide when the commissioners vote ‘Black’ on the ballot whether they meant John Black [a fellow nominee] or me.” Some say this sense of humour is what helped Howard cross racial boundaries.

“He had a respected place in the life of the United Church. And if there were some congregations that didn’t choose to give him a chance, he didn’t dwell on that,” says Very Rev. Bruce McLeod, 89, who served as moderator before Howard and knew him well. “He was a private person. He certainly wasn’t a crybaby. He wouldn’t appreciate his story being used to say, ‘Oh, wasn’t that awful about Wilbur Howard.’ He wouldn’t appreciate that because he didn’t think it was that awful.”

But this isn’t the only opinion that exists on Howard’s silence. “I can see that he had been bruised in terms of racial prejudice and that there was a vulnerability there,” Douglas Lapp told the Globe and Mail after Howard’s death. “Maybe that was why he was so private.””

Talk about affliction producing perseverance! It must have been hard to be both a respected leader of a large denomination and also a person who faced racism on a daily basis.  And while Howard didn’t dwell on it, other ministers have been speaking out about how it is still difficult to this day.  That same article said “Rev. Marlene Britton … moved to Canada from Barbados in 2013 and first settled in Alberta. During her search for a ministry position, she sat before a church’s three-member hiring committee and took part in an interview that she felt was normal. She was later told she did not get the job because the committee thought the congregation was not ready for a woman. But a few months later, she learned the same congregation had hired a woman — and the new hire was white”  Rev. Paul Walfall, also from Barbados, who has preached in this very church when he was president of Alberta North West Conference, spoke out at the last General Council three years ago about the racism that he and other ministers were experiencing not just from Canadians but from the United Church.  For this year’s meeting in Calgary, all commissioners had to take rigorous training on equality, diversity and equity, with six facets: Challenge Assumptions, Question Biases, Notice who’s missing, Value All Voices, Aim for Equity, Live Out Our Commitments.  Each of these is thought-provoking and not something we can find quick fixes or easy answers for.  They may even produce some affliction while we wrestle with how to nurture hope for everyone in our communities of faith in the future.

Rev. Walfall also has spearheaded an ambitious project, “Here from the Beginning”, a travelling exhibition that quote “showcases the contributions and experiences of Black people within the United Church, amplifying voices that have long been overshadowed by the dominant narrative. This is a celebration of faith, history, community and The United Church of Canada.” End Quote.  It will be unveiled in Edmonton from July 27 - August 2 at Pilgrim United Church before travelling across Canada as part of the United Church’s commitment to becoming an intercultural church. If you are in Edmonton, please check it out.

The many stories of people like Walfall, Britton and Howard can inspire us and help us also live into a deeper commitment to being intercultural, to being more aware of our assumptions and more curious about those who are missing in our pews. They show us the spirit of Truth and how it really does lead to great change.  Howard did not father any children, but in some ways he fathered a deeper understanding of what it means to persevere in the face of great injustice, and his example can inspire hope for us all in these dark times.  “And such a hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” May this be so for us all!