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Sharing Our Faith: Unitarianism and Universalism
in Canada
Meg Roberts, Intern Minister,
Unitarian Church of Edmonton, January 27, 2002
Reading
In the 1980s, Rev. Mark DeWolfe, then minister of the South Peel
congregation in Ontario, wrote these words:
" Every part of Canada is touched by the sense of the presence of majesty.
My grandfather DeWolfe grew up on the Minas Basin off the Bay
of Fundy, where the tides daily rise in gigantic waves which swell the
rivers in gigantic bores... The fisherfolk of Atlantic Canada
know the power of the cold winter ocean, the wild northern storms. Across
Central Canada we confront the mystery of the Shield, with its
glacial memories, its eerie light, its old stones,...its endless chains of
lakes... Prairies people know the vast majesty of open space,
of land which opens to the sky without barrier, know a world shaped
by cloud and growing grain. In the Rockies and up the Pacific
Coast, women and men sit between mountains which rise savagely out of the
ocean, and walk among trees which dwarf the merely human. To
live in Canada is to be confronted with majesty.... Canadians are by and
large not an individualistic people. We trust collectivities
more than rugged individuals. Could it be that this trust in the collective
and dependence on collective responsibility comes from - or at
least is reinforced by - the fact of living in this majestic land? Living
in a land which constantly reminds us of how small we are, are
we not likely to huddle together for mutual protection? . . . Could
it be that we share with other northern peoples . . . a commitment
to togetherness born out of the harsh reality of Northern life?"
The Past, Present, and Future
Canada: The Country Where My Heart Lies
The news release from last May reads:
" Delegates to the annual general meeting of the Canadian
Unitarian Council (the CUC) voted on Saturday to radically transform
their
current relationship with the continental Unitarian Universalist
Association (the UUA), increasing Canadians' autonomy as a
religious organization."
This landmark decision means that starting in July of this year,
the CUC takes over responsibility for delivering various services
that were formerly delivered by the UUA (services such as support
for religious education, for congregational growth, social justice
activities, and for lay leadership training). Brian Kiely, minister
of this church, is heading up the CUC's Implementation Team--it's
a group planning for how these services can be offered to congregations
in Canada. Increased autonomy means services geared towards the
Canadian context.
So what is a Canadian Unitarian context? How does the particular
pieces of land that we live on affect our religion? Does Canadian
culture have an impact on how our congregations function? What are
the possibilities for our movement in this country?
Before we can look to what might be, let us consider what has been.
For those of you who may be newcomers to our community today, let
me explain that this is in many ways an in-house sermon, considering
information and concerns about Unitarianism and Universalism in
Canada. I hope you may learn something about our history and our
values.
So, the Canadian context:
What can we say about Canada as a country?
Prime Minister Mackenzie King once remarked that while some countries
had too much history, Canada had too much geography. Canada is
now one of the largest countries in the world. And the physical
diversity
of the country is remarkable: towering mountains, great plains,
fertile grasslands, northern tundra. The feeling of vastness in
many parts
of this country is highlighted by how sparsely populated it is.
There is a thin line of human settlement along the southern edge
of the
country; yet four-fifths of the land has never been settled permanently.
Part of this country's sense of identity comes from
this strong sense of isolation among Canadians, and our driving need
for survival.
And yet we live in a country which the United Nations considers
one of the best countries to live in. Many of our cities share
a metropolitan mentality, with many diversities — multicultural,
multilingual — creating a mosaic of people. We are
affluent (relatively speaking). In this basic sense, we do not
struggle like those who came before us. There are characteristics
we use to define ourselves, to express a distinct Canadian identity.
As a middle power, Canada's role in the world scene has been as
peace-keeper (although now in Afghanistan we may be a peace-enforcer).
As a country, we have tried to establish a society where there
are social democratic values within a capitalistic economic
system. Of course, there's hockey, and our dry sense of humour.
We love satire--like
Wayne & Shuster, The Royal Canadian Air Farce, and This Hour
Has 22 Minutes. We do know how to laugh at ourselves! And there's
the CBC, and our attachment to shows gone by like Peter Gzowski's
Morningside; I sure teared up several times over the past couple
of days since Gzowski's death, re-hearing excerpts from his show.
These shows and these writers help us to articulate who we are here
in Canada.
There are both light and shadow sides to Canadian society. There
exists a creative tension between cultures and visions of who we
may be and who we may become. There is the tension between aboriginal
peoples and the dominant European-Canadian culture, a tension between
the French and the English in Canada, between the dominant heterosexual
culture and the gay/lesbian/bisexual/and transgendered cultures.
We've all experienced the tension between the east and the west,
between the north and the south. And there are struggles between
the rich, the middle class, and the poor. Although we strive to
live our social democratic values, we have inherited an imperialistic
attitude, embedded in our institutions and our dominant culture--there
are power imbalances that need to be addressed, as far as access
to resources and to power.
Characteristics of UUism in Canada: Hardships among the grandeur
So how does this country influence how Unitarianism and Universalism
are expressed on this land? In thinking about the history of Unitarianism
and Universalism in Canada, I can't help but think of two themes
that arise from our sparsely populated land and our survival attitude;
they are: ‘Try Try Again' and ‘With a Little Help >From
My Friends.'
It took time, and repeated efforts, to get both of these liberal
religious movements established in this country. In the early 1800s,
Universalist preachers came up from the United States to Lower Canada,
preaching this new religion about love and universal salvation. This
message came repeatedly across the border. The first Universalist
church was built in Huntingville, Quebec in 1845 (this was before
Canada's confederation in 1867!). Universalist congregations were
also formed in Halifax (in 1843) and in Olinda, Ontario (in 1880).
As for the Unitarians, in the Montreal newspaper, The Gazette, in
1832 one writer stated that Montreal had had Unitarians for "more
than a quarter of a century." Yet it took repeated attempts
to start a congregation in that city (including with the help of
the secretary of the American Unitarian Association, and with letters
of recommendation from the British and Foreign Unitarian Association).
Finally, in 1842, the first liberal religious congregation north
of the American border was formed in Montreal, largely due to the
persistence of several American women. (Isn't that always the way,
women know how to get things going in the church?!...) The congregation
was partly British and partly American. Benjamin Workman, the patriarch
of Unitarianism in Montreal, suggested a minister from his own
homecountry of Ireland in the hopes that he would be
seen as comparatively independent and impartial (being neither British
nor American). The Rev. John Cordner arrived from Ireland, and served
the Montreal congregation starting in 1843, remaining there for 35
years. On New Year's Day, 1860 (prior to confederation), Cordner
wrote: "Undoubtedly a nation is growing up here... which promises
to hold no mean place in the future annals of civilization, . . .
Our nationality as it grows must savour of the soil on which it grows."
Rev. Phillip Hewett, in writing about the development of Unitarianism
in Canada, says: "Apart from short-lived causes and the rural
Icelandic groups on the Canadian prairies.... [early on four groups
were founded] (Montreal, 1842, Toronto, 1845; Ottawa 1898 and 1904,
and Vancouver 1909." From Phillip's analysis of the growth
of Unitarianism and Universalism in Canada, compared to their growth
in Australia and New Zealand, it is evident that the Unitarian
movement does not generally flourish when there are missionary
activities (sending in a person who does not know that context
and is only there to begin churches and will then leave). The Unitarian
movement was grounded in Canada through immigrants bringing their
Unitarianism with them and then staying to see the movement grow.
There was however a moderately successful project by the AUA and
the BFUA to help grow the movement in Western Canada. In 1908, they
hired Frank Wright Pratt as the field secretary in Western Canada.
He established the Calgary congregation in 1911, as well as exploring
other possibilities in the west, including here in Edmonton. Progress
was slow and took years for many congregations to take, but they
finally did.
About the same time as the Calgary congregation was established,
Edmontonians gathered to help build a church. By 1911 they had
installed Rev. Charles Francis Potter as their minister, and
by 1915 they had secured a building. The church continued until
a
dispute arose about Canada's involvement in World War II; the
subsidy towards Potter's salary was cut by the American Unitarian
Association
so Potter left, and, with the loss of many men going to war,
the church reverted to being a fellowship, then disbanded in
1938.
It was resurrected in 1950 by layperson Dick Morton, and by 1954,
the UCE was born again. As I said, ‘Try, Try Again.' (The
responsive reading earlier in our service is from this church's
first minister after the re-birth, Charles Eddis, here from 1953-1958.)
UCE has been going and growing since then. It even birthed Westwood
Unitarian Congregation as a planned extension project in 1982.
Westwood has seen its own good times and hard times, and with a
little help from their friends here at UCE, the UUA, and the CUC
over the years, it also has survived, waxed and waned, and is growing
again. Westwood was called by someone "The Little Church that
Shouldn't Be" (despite its numbers, it owned its own building
and had professional ministry for a number of years); it deserves
the name a former Long Range Planning Committee gave it: "The
Little Church that Can!"
Between 1945 and 1961, sixteen new congregations came into being
in Canada, mostly as lay-led fellowships. And there was a growing
awareness that to keep Unitarianism satisfying and dynamic, was
to have these three ingredients: buildings, ministers, and vision.
Vision is what it took for the CUC to come into existence (vision
and some needs not being met by the larger continental organization--it's
no wonder, Canadians only make up 3% of its constituency). The
Canadians had been gathering at the annual meeting of the American
Unitarian Association, and after discussions about their unmet
needs, ‘The Canadian Unitarian' newsletter was created; and
in May 1961, just when consolidation was happening between the
American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America
to form the new Unitarian Universalist Association, the Canadian
Unitarian Council was founded. As one person wrote: "Ironically
to meet as Canadians from across the land and to found something
for Canada we had to meet in Boston!"
These associations create
a vital network for often isolated religious professionals; they
help Canadian Unitarians create services our
congregations need to stay healthy, growing and surviving. Here
in Canada, congregations have received both financial support as
well
as services to help establish congregations here in this country.
Without the support from both these American associations and the
British and Foreign Unitarian Council, I'm not sure how many congregations
would still be in existence today in Canada.
At present in Canada, there are 52 congregations, including 4 emerging
groups. There are a total of 5,200 Unitarian members in Canadian
congregations (well, 5203 with the 3 people who joined this church
last Sunday!). We are a small but dynamic group, influential beyond
our numbers.
Issues, Fears and Hopes
The history of this land and the history of this movement suggest
themes that will shape our future. Three themes come to mind:
- our relationship with the land;
- being on the margins;
- how to develop a vision of where we want to go.
- Our relationship with the land. Our struggle with the
land and our love of it combine to inspire an approach to
an integrated religious view that is a gift to the world. Our understanding
of
the interdependent eco-system acknowledges our human impact
on
the land, plant-life, and species around us.
- We are on the
margins, both as a nation living next to a superpower, and
also as Unitarians in society. This view from
the
margins can also be empowering, since we can from this
angle get a clearer view of what may need to be changed or addressed
in our
society; being at the margins also offers us opportunities
to increase our compassion and understanding for other minority
groups
around
us --such as people of different racial backgrounds,
different
economic status, also our children, youth, and young adults.
We need to hear
their voices.
- We also need to develop a vision for Canadian Unitarianism
and Universalism that can inspire constructive action.
Part of this, in
my mind, will involve being clear about our history, our values, and
about our re-defining our relationships with other Unitarians
and Universalists
world-wide.
In understanding ourselves, we need to face our fears and share
our hopes.
Fears
I have a fear that we'll shift blame onto
others in a time of transition rather than doing our own spiritual
homework. This applies
to
our faith here in this congregation, and in developing the
Unitarian movement in Canada. I've asked myself recently in observing
my
own reactions to the shift away from the UUA to the CUC, "When
I have a fear of being overwhelmed as a minority--such as in the
UUA--how can I respond that is not anti-American? (Anti-Americanism
is like a virus in Canadian culture--those of you who come from
the U.S. could tell us about this, I'm sure!) How can I express
that I do not feel heard without getting defensive, or overly frustrated,
and walking away from the table? Where do I see that I am also
not paying attention to the needs and concerns of minorities when
I am part of a dominant culture?" I can look at Canadian
history, and our legacy with various immigrant populations,
with interring
Japanese and German people during WWII, and the damage done
to the aboriginal communities by the residential schools program.
We can become aware of how to use our privileges to help those
who are on the margins of power today.
Hopes
I am excited about the special gifts our movement can bring to
other people in Canada. It gives me hope in connecting up to
people in
the world-wide movement, and to other people in our world:
I have hope for our movement in Canada:
- The Unitarian worldview is a gift to our increasingly
secular society: Unitarianism does not contradict scientific
knowledge, but
instead affirms both a scientific and a religious/spiritual
understanding. It attempts to be holistic.
- As Unitarians, we have developed strong lay leadership.With
our immigration history, it hasn't been long since
we experienced the need to work together as collectives, to offer
our skills
to the larger community.
- I hope that we will learn to be ever more inclusive as a
religious community. Now is the time to more beyond
only tolerance towards acceptance and celebration of difference.
Gregory Baum,
the keynote speaker at the CUC meeting in May last year,
described this
process as a "blessed restlessness": not resting while
others remain excluded, yearning for another kind of world (where
not just individuals but humans as a collectivity of individuals
tied by cultures). We are called to hold the mirror up to Canadian
society and to transform it by our actions and our words, nourishing
our social justice with spiritual practices (so that we can persevere).
This includes looking at policies around multiculturalism in Canada,
and how it preserves the power imbalance in society between haves/have
nots, singling out certain groups as "exotic," as "the
other."
- I hope that as collectives we will work to preserve in
a reasonable fashion the social net, maintaining
universal access to
health care, education, and to providing a minimum
living income. Believing that we are all equal, that we all deserve
basic
human
rights, puts us in a prime position to creatively
re-fashion these treasured institutions in our country. Yes,
we face challenges,
and
yes we have the will and the resources to develop
a society that we can continue to be proud of.
When we are living our values in the world of justice, wisdom, and
compassion, people will come to us. We will grow in maturity and
in numbers.
In closing, I want to read a quote from the radio play "Turning
Points," created for the 1999 CUC AGM in Thunder Bay: "The
winds of change are grasping and challenging us. They demand a response.
How will we as Unitarians contribute to the ongoing developments
in this land? How will we be faithful leaders as this time and in
this place to encourage ourselves and others to embrace the full
diversity of the human family and be enriched by the rainbow of peoples
and cultures and confessions. We are called to be leaders in this
dialogue. Let us enter the future strong and confident so that others
will know of our distinctive voice in the spiritual and social questions
of our day."
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