100 years of United Church in Canada and its importance for the Sackville community
The United Church of Canada (UCC) celebrated its 100 year anniversary since its establishment in 1925 earlier this summer on June 10. Ever since its founding, UCC has been bringing people together of different backgrounds and values, providing a safe space and a hand to the members of the community who are in need, advocating for marriage equality, as well as promoting inclusive language within its religious communities and outside. With this monumental centennial milestone, exploring the story of the United Church in Canada, the community of Sackville, and highlighting its contribution to the communities of different scales.
Let us return to 1829, when the Methodist Book and Publishing House was founded in Toronto. According to the United Church of Canada Archives, the publishing house “was responsible for the Christian Guardian, Sunday-school papers, textbooks, and undertaking jobbing printing.” In 1874, “the Quebec Diocese of the Church of England appointed a committee to promote church union,” followed by active union discussions and a series of church unions from 1875 to 1968. As a result of these discussions and more churches forming unions, it led up to 1925 when “on June 10, in the Mutual St. Arena in Toronto, The United Church of Canada [was] formed by a union of Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational, and the General Council of the Local Union Churches.”
The UCC advocates and acts towards equality and inclusion within the UCC and in broader Canada. As stated on the UCC website, in 1962 “the Women’s Association and Woman’s Missionary Society joined to form the United Church Women,” and by 1963, “the [UCC] [approved] the Married Women Working recommendations, which include pushing the government to provide daycare homes, day nurseries, and equal pay for equal work.” In 1978, the magazine Women’s Concerns was launched, publishing texts on issues from a “Christian feminist perspective.”
In the 1980s, the UCC began a discussion about inclusive language and marriage equality that would shape the history of Canada. In 1980, the UCC approved the Contraception and Abortion policy, taking the side in supporting a woman’s right to choose, and concerning itself on “the disciplines of opening our language, identifying exclusive language and implementing changes in new publications.” In 1984, the UCC “[declared] and [confessed] its complicity in sexism.”
In 1994 the UCC “[urged] the federal government to ensure that female circumcision and sexual orientation are identified as grounds for gender persecution as outlined in the Immigration and Refugee Board’s guidelines.” In 1997, the church published Just Language: A Guide to Inclusive Language in The United Church of Canada. In practice, using inclusive language in a church setting meant, for example, using ‘folks’ or ‘everyone’ as opposed to ‘ladies and gentlemen.’
To this day, the United Church of Canada stands the centre of community for many people in Sackville and beyond. Worshipers from around Canada and the world have found community at the Sackville United Church (SUC). To Harris McSheffery, a local musician, a SUC choir member, and Mt. A. alumnus, “the SUC is important because I feel loved here and in solidarity where we get to practice what we preach. We support each other financially, skill wise, time wise, and otherwise.”
Eva Lucas, youth faith exploration coordinator at the SUC, also shared their experience at the SUC. They note they are “relatively new to the UC community, I’ve recently taken a position here,” mentioned Lucas, “but so far it has been nothing but full of love, respect and acceptance of who I am and what I represent. I think having a community that upholds those values is an incredible asset for Sackville. The Sackville community is full of like-minded people that all care about making this community a better place.”
Alongside Reverend Lloyd Bruce, works Julia Yee, who moved from China to New Brunswick last year and works as a student minister. “I did not get to spend as much time in Sackville as I wished,” Yee shared, “but I can see how vibrant the community is and the spirit of hospitality, how welcoming and inclusive it is, and the post-modern approach to the sermons.”
If you would like to learn more about the SUC and UCC, visit https://www.sackvilleunitedchurch.org and https://united-church.ca/community-and-faith/welcome-united-church-canada respectively. You can also join the weekly service either in person on Sundays at 10:30 am or watch the online stream at https://www.sackvilleunitedchurch.org/videos.