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Rev.
Ross Carson's Message – 110th Anniversary Seagrave United Church
September 25, 2016
Rev. Parker, Members and Friends of the Seagrave United Church.
It was February 1997 when I arrived on the pastoral charge. I
followed the Rev. David Shepherd. And, I am still following him!
It was good to hear your account of your memories, David …. As
you listen to my account of my memories of ten years service
here I hope you will recall the verse from Scripture, “God gives
the growth….” The Corinthian church was in turmoil: some wishing
to belong to Paul and others wishing to belong to Apollos, but
the apostle’s counsel is, “What then is Apollos? Wat is Paul?
Servants through whom you came to believe…Paul planted; Apollos
watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3: 4b, 5, 6,
7c). It is wonderful to return after nine years away and see the
growth that God has given.
One of the ministries that David had begun was the Seagrave
Men’s Group. The group met monthly on a Saturday morning for
breakfast and programme. One of the stipulations was that the
members had to take turns making the breakfast. I had a
breakfast casserole recipe which was well appreciated, but in
the move away from you it was lost. So, if anyone has the
breakfast casserole recipe I wouldn’t mind having a copy of it.
I always thought that helping men with cooking skills was a
ministry of the church.
During my time the Seagrave Men’s Group sponsored a “walkathon.”
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we would walk from the
Greenbank Church through the marsh to the Seagrave Church and
then in the early days onto Pinedale. The purpose was to raise
funds for the Local Food Bank and the Canadian Food Grains Bank.
Indeed, one year David Shepherd returned to the Men’s Group
Breakfast to give a description of the work of the Canadian Food
Grains Bank. At another time there was a report from the Local
Food Bank representatives. Walking the eleven kilometers to
Seagrave wasn’t too harduous, but walking the remaining eight to
Pinedale that was tiring. Eventually, all felt the 11 kilometer
walk to Seagrave alone was enough. What revived us were the
muffins and hot coffee we enjoyed in the Seagrave kitchen
together. And, all the members of the Men’s Group participated.
Fred Puckrin and Bill Prokopchuk would drive their cars alone
the route and offer us water and apples when required. Church
groups should have a service component and once a year the Men’s
Group sponsored the Walkathon. I was proud of the Men’s Group
and the Walkathon.
Other walks occurred. There was the Good Friday Walk through the
streets of Port Perry. The Scugog Ministerial Association
functioned well and for Good Friday each of the congregations
involved would send representatives to carry the Cross and read
verses from Jesus’ Passion and lead in the singing of the
various verses of the hymn, “Were you there when they crucified
my Lord?” Large crowds would assemble. Evangelism is not only
for the individual: that is one beggar telling another where
there is food; but evangelism is also for the collective: crowds
of like-minded and like-hearted people open to the Spirit of
love and truth. On this pastoral charge the pattern was to
participate in the Good Friday Walk in Port Perry and then drive
to Pinedale for the evening worship. May I add my memory of two
civic events: one was the Memorial Service on September 11, 2002
that was held in Palmer Park in Port Perry and which remembered
those who were killed in the attacks of the year before. The
other was the protest march that occurred in the streets of Port
Perry in March 2003 against the war about to begin against Iraq.
About the congregation I was honoured to be your minister during
your year long celebrations of your 100th Anniversary in 2006.
This history booklet was published. It is a fine recollection of
your origins and comments from contemporaries. That year the
Rev. Mark Curtis, the “Singing Priest” both preached and
performed in a spring concert at which Gretel Cameron
participated too. On the September Saturday of the Centennial
Celebration there was a Beef Barbeque in the park with music and
children’s activities and tractor-pulled wagon tours of the
village. At the church there was a memorabilia display and an
array of bridal gowns from brides married at the church. At the
Sunday Service the Rev. Nancy Knox spoke. At Presbytery this
month I spoke with Nancy that I was being asked to reminiscense
here this day and she kindly sent to me a copy of her sermon.
Her words are not only suitable for the archives but also
formative for your ministry even now. At the end of the year a
“Re-dedication and Re-consecration” service was held with Rev.
David Shepherd as the guest speaker.
The study series held in the winter of 2005 about the blessing
of same-sex unions led to the decision by the Seagrave
Congregation to have an inclusive marriage policy. The quality
of those conversations was excellent. We shifted from thinking
of holiness as something restrictive – as that which a person
won’t do, to something magnanimous – as that which a person will
do. Your willingness to develop a policy to bless same-sex
unions is a holy gift to those who had little or no trust that
they would ever be accepted by Christians. Over the years I have
yet to preside at a service blessing a gay or lesbian couple.
But, I have participated in a process to discern if a presbytery
was willing to join Affirm United, an organization that is
encouraging believers to be more public, intentional and
explicit about their support for gay and lesbian individuals –
it is called, the PIE mandate: public, intentional, explicit.
Speaking of pie, who can forget the cupboard built especially
for stacking pies at the Turkey Supper. Your three-sitting
regime for feeding folks is a legend. The Turkey Supper was
about fund-raising, but it was also about community development.
Washing dishes and singing our way to the conclusion of the
clean-up was an experience unique for me in the church.
Thank you for such a wonderful send-off party in the fall of
2007. The Rev. John Brown attended and he said later that he had
never been at such a fine tribute occasion for a minister.
Ministering with you gave me confidence that I had more to give.
And, to end on a humourous note: The occasion was the wedding of
Kevin Huestis and Catherine Real at the Crestwell Golf Club.
After the service the reception was held in a big tent at Don
and Marg Real’s home. During the speeches Clark Ross rose to say
some words to his grandson. He said, “Kevin, you might think you
know what are the most important three words in a marriage: that
they begin with “I” and end with “you.” But I am here to say
that those words aren’t the most important words in a marriage.
The three most important words in a marriage are, “Perhaps
you’re right.” I have repeated this wisdom frequently. May God
bless you with servants of the gospel and growth!
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