WHEREAS the divisions within the Presbyterian Church in Canada have become more pronounced, and have both widened and deepened over the last decade; and WHEREAS the matters of disagreement include many aspects of faith and life, belief and practice; and WHEREAS by its own admission in a report received by General Assembly in 2019, there … Read more
Category Archives: Response to the Remits
PCC Restructuring Call to Action
Recent years in our denomination have been turbulent. Some fear that our denomination may not, in its entirety, find its way back to authentic Biblical thinking, powerful Spirit-led prayer, and effective Gospel witness. Several of our members have been working on a way forward that was proposed by the Special Committee ... Read more
A Dangerous Precedent
A Joint Statement from PSALT and the Renewal Fellowship. Since the denomination’s beginning, there have been unofficial groups gathering within The Presbyterian Church in Canada. They have been structured to pursue particular goals of Christian ministry. Some have been of an ad hoc nature, with both leadership and focus changing regularly. Others have been organized … Read more
PCC Covenant Opening Worship
I once posted in social media a picture of me wearing a Toronto Blue Jays cap, and my cousin posted along the lines that I look like “a thug from the hood", to which I replied, “I didn't choose the thug life, the thug life chose me.” Most of us here could say something similar about our denomination. We've been born into or have been a part of the PCC for a long time. I, however, like many of you did have the special opportunity of really affirming our denomination through my ordination vows, as I pledged myself and swore to uphold our subordinate standards ... Read more
Gracious Dismissal Final Report
This week, Assembly Council published the minutes of its October 27, 2020, meeting in which the report of its Gracious Dismissal Committee was on the agenda. A majority on the council voted not to receive it "until at least after the General Assembly has dealt with Remits B and C." Notwithstanding this decision ... Read more
Victory On The “Losing” Side
As we wait for the next General Assembly, many of us in PCC orthodoxy are praying, listening, discussing, discerning, and planning. It appears that a future General Assembly will approve the proposed parallel definitions of marriage in which “faithful, Holy Spirit-filled, Christ-centred, God-honouring people can understand marriage as a covenant relationship between a man and ... Read more
We Need to Create New Wineskins
It’s time for the church to issue its own marriage licences. This writer is old enough to remember the burning of draft cards to protest the Vietnam war and bras being burned to somehow advance a feminist agenda. Similarly, as both a protest and affirmation, he would have no difficulty shredding his government-issued marriage licence ... Read more
The Real Battle Is Local
“The world has a mission – to capture and assimilate the church,” said apologist R.C. Sproul. “If the church becomes an echo of the world, the mission of the world is accomplished.” In the minds of many who adhere to orthodoxy in The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC), the battle is lost on a denominational ... Read more
Grace Orleans Overture re: Governance Model Protection
Whereas the discussion of human sexuality issues has been before the Presbyterian Church in Canada for at least the past thirty years; it is time to bring it to a conclusion that protects congregations with a traditional understanding of the Bible; and whereas the Session and congregation of Grace, Orleans ON, has yet to see a definitive response to an Overture submitted five years ago regarding Gracious Dismissal, having experienced significant pain both in the congregation and the loss of its pastor of many years, and significant conflict over this issue ... Read more
One Man’s Holy Dissent
Any member of a court who has voted on a question and who disagrees with the outcome may register a dissent. The following was written in response to the Presbytery of Hamilton's decision to support Remits "B" and "C". Rev. George Anderson All things in the church start and end with Jesus Christ who is … Read more