Willow Park Church

Louise and I and Pastor Mark had the privilege of attending the Gathering of Mennonite Brethren from across the country held in the Four Points Sheraton Hotel near the airport in Montreal. Our gracious hosts, the ten churches that call Quebec home, treated us royally providing us with a great experience of their beautiful city and culture.

The Quebec experience of church is different than that of the rest of the country. Visiting them in their own city gave us insight into the challenges they face. They look back to a period of time after WWII when the Roman Catholic Church and the government of the day collaborated to control the lives and minds of the people - strongly infl uencing the education, health and culture of society. In 1960, a Liberal government brought in reforms that separated church and state, freeing the people from “the yoke of the Church and the Anglophone domination of the time.” Thus, the “quiet revolution” was born which still infl uences their thinking today. Though this opened doors to other denominations and other sects - the MBs began with church-planting efforts in 1965 - there is still a resistance to anything ”Christian.”

We had the privilege of visiting a new work in a poor neighbourhood in town. The “church-planting” couple have moved into the neighbourhood and intend to just ”be” a witness. Any mention of “church” or ”Jesus” will be rejected so they will be the hands of feet of Jesus and trust God to work in the hearts and minds of those He has chosen to call to Himself. A church may form but it will likely look quite different than anything we have in the West.

I had to think that this may be our strategy in the future as well. Quebec may just be a microcosm of the culture in our society in the future  People have heard the Gospel and many have experienced church enough to be inoculated against it. We, too, need to earn a hearing by being a positive presence in our neighbourhoods.

The conference accepted a program called ”Regenerate 21-01 - a Process of Change.” It will focus on renewing church health using the ReFocusing process, developing leaders through coaching and internships, and reaching out through Key City Initiatives and Parent Church Networks. We want to build on our heritage by looking back to a fi rst century model (01), assessing the present through dialogue and collaborating for the future to be an effective 21st century church in our communities. May God grant us wisdom and grace for effective kingdom growth.

Louise and I thank the church for the opportunity to represent you at this gathering. We would encourage others to take the opportunity to attend the next gathering in Vancouver in 2010.