Anniversary Sunday – “That All May Be One”

ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY,

June 12, 2022

“That All May Be One” (John 17:20-26)

For Grade 9 Home Economics, we were to make ourselves a dress. Not just any dress, mind you. It needed to have darts, a placket and buttons, set in sleeves, a zipper and belt. We had the entire year to try to do everything perfectly from the taking of our measurements and adjusting the pattern, to cutting out, to each stage of construction. The final step would be a fashion show in which we would parade our creations. I stewed and sweated. I used the seam ripper almost as much as the sewing machine, but finally, my dress was complete. Hallelujah! Then I tried it on. The waist was up around my rib cage. You guessed it: age 13 to 14 was a prime growing year for me. I never got to wear that dress.

I recognize and appreciate my teacher’s wisdom in having us learn all these different techniques. But couldn’t we have made shorts with a zipper and pockets, a blouse with buttons and set in sleeves, a gathered skirt with a placket? Each would have taken a shorter time, and I might have had a chance to wear them. Why did they have to be combined in a single garment?

Jesus on the last night he is to be with his disciples prays not only for them, but also for all those, including us, who will come after that: “they may all be one.” But does this mean his followers should aim to create one organization encompassing the world? When the United Church of Canada was formed in 1925, the motto chosen for this combination of Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and local Unison churches was: “ut omnes unum sint” -“that all may be one”. Our founding fathers – and they were all men – had a clear understanding of the advantages of union. In a geographically far flung, and sparsely populated nation, Presbyterians, Methodists and Congregationalists would no longer need to compete to build, staff and maintain places of worship in every little settlement. They dreamed that some day, all Protestants in Canada would be part of the United Church. They could imagine: politicians sitting up and taking notice when the leadership of the United Church spoke because so many voters and potential voters claimed the United Church as home. We would be a force for good as we strove to live out Micah’s teaching: “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”. God’s realm of justice and peace would move closer to reality.

So from the beginning, the United Church talked with other Protestants. In 1958, the United Church intentionally re-engaged in union negotiations with the Anglican Church. This appeared to be a good possibility. After all, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, started off life as an Anglican priest. The Methodist church can be seen as an offshoot of the Anglican. Add to this: that in the post-war era, churches in general were flourishing. Christendom still seemed to be in full sway. In 1971, this joint Anglican / United hymn book was produced and introduced with great fanfare. It tried very earnestly to meet the needs of congregations in both denominations, but at least in my opinion, failed to really satisfy either. Still, we looked forward to the day we would be together. In Richmond Hill, the United Church’s minister, Bob Smith, who later became our moderator, talked with his Anglican neighbour about moving in together. Why make extensive and costly repairs to the steeple of the United Church when union was just around the corner? Then in 1975, negotiations totally broke down when the Anglican House of Bishops proclaimed the Plan of Union unacceptable. All that time and effort on both sides, and no results. This ended any desire for further talks.

As Christendom started to crumble around us, organic union seemed less and less possible or desirable. Still, the leadership of the United Church clung to the idea that amalgamating congregations was a good plan. Why have, for example, a four point charge when you could have three – saving the minister time and travel, eliminating the need for one building, and one set of elders and stewards? About thirty years before I arrived on Valley Charge in Manitoba, the Ridgeville congregation had been folded into Greenridge whose church was just a few kilometres up the road. I spotted evidence of this amalgamation right there at the front of Greenridge United Church – two, identical paintings of Jesus’ knocking on the door, one originally from Ridgeville. I saw the impact when a young adult told me, he had never set foot in the United Church, and never would because Ridgeville, his parents’ congregation, had been forced to close. It was a sanctuary they and their neighbours had built. For them, it was a holy place. Presbytery hadn’t listened to their objections. The United Church didn’t care. This man wasn’t even born when this took place, but the bitterness and resentment lived on; the hurt remained. Our motto may be “ut ones unum sint”, but does that mean we have to push people together who would prefer to remain apart?

Is it possible that Jesus’ prayer is less about organic unions and more about working together? When I moved to Coldwater pastoral charge, one of my three points, Waubaushene, was shared with the Anglicans. One week, I would lead the service; the next week, the Anglicans with the clear understanding that members of both denominations were welcome. One Sunday, we tried to expand this further by including the choir from the local Catholic Church. The women were happy to receive communion from me, but their very conservative priest was not amused. There was one Bible Study group in Waubaushene with both Anglicans and United attending and my facilitating. We had some great discussions. The Anglican curate became my good friend. She named me as godmother for her first child. That did not mean, however, that we agreed on theology. As a self-described Anglo-Catholic, she was offended when I broke a loaf of bread for communion, scattering crumbs on the carpet. Her discomfort was compounded when I told her I used the leftover bread to stuff my turkey. Neither did we agree on polity. She was shocked by the way I walked right up to her bishop to complain about his delay in appointing a new priest to the parish. I informed him that this vacancy made mission and ministry more difficult for all of us in the area. She almost dragged me away as she hissed in my ear: “this is not the way one speaks to a bishop!” I apologized, but explained: this is just the sort of approach a leader in the United Church would expect. We both recognized we would never have the same views, but we could and did work well together – sharing worship services, advocating for justice and supporting people on the margins.

Is it possible that Jesus’ prayer is less about organic unions and more about working together? Locally, as you are with Innispirit, Christmas for Kids and Teens at Risk. As Five Oaks, originally a United Church retreat centre, is as it partner with Muslims and First Nations. Nationally, as the United Church is doing with the Canadian Council of Churches, formed in 1944 to bring Christians in Canada together, to among other things, advocate for peace. Internationally, as the United Church works with over 100 global partners in God’s mission for wholeness of life. Some of these partners are national churches, others ecumenical organizations, still others are church or civil society organizations. With all of these, the United Church sees itself as one partner among many, journeying together in humility just as the prophet Micah urged.This week as I was mulling over this sermon, I was also helping to facilitate a workshop with a ministry team. To begin, we did a lectio divina with this prayer poem by Ruth Burgess, called “Grapes”:

You need the grapes

to make the wine

the grapes that grow

together on the same stem

drawing the same life-giving sap

from the vine

tended by the same vinedresser

but growing together

touching

ripened by the same sun.

Together- in a bunch

shielding each other

protecting each other

supporting each other

yet each grape a complete unity

a whole fruit.

These are the grapes

that make the wine

the joy

the celebration -these grapes that grow

together.

It struck me that grapes – remaining separate, unique, but also growing together son the same stem -might be an image for us as we celebrate the anniversaries of Churchill and Gilford and the United Church of Canada. May we remember what draws us together, what we share – the same vine, the same vinedresser – while recognizing and appreciating our differences and varied gifts. May we shield, protect and support one another on our ongoing journey. Amen.