remit 6 study session #1 - symons valley united church 6 study session 1.pdf · remit 6 study...

Remit 6

Study Session #1

Introduction

•United Church of •United Church of

Canada Union History

•Counciliar System

•Doctrine

•Remits

How to Form the United Church of Canada

1. Travel back in time to the early twentieth

century.

2. Gather like-minded denominations.

3. Do a trial run in the west. 3. Do a trial run in the west.

4. Sell the idea.

5. Make it official.

6. Sing, pray, and thank God.

The Unofficial United Church Handbook Editors: Scott Douglas & Nanette McKay

United Church of Canada

Union History

Date of Union: 1925

Churches that joined together:Churches that joined together:

•Congregationalists

•Methodists

•Presbyterians (2/3 voted to join)

•Union Churches (Western Canada)

Congregationalists (General Council)

•Congregationalist church governance

oEach congregation independently and autonomously runs

its own affairs

•Nonconformist religious movement during Puritan reformation

of Church of England

•British government offered free land to move to NS (1759)

•Power of people without priests to intercede between them and •Power of people without priests to intercede between them and

God

•Congregational governance fulfills description of early church

and allows most direct relationship with God

•Churches established in Massachusetts Bay Colony (New

England)

•In Canada (first foreign field) all 31 churches joined Union

(some left in 1988 when members felt UCC was moving away

theologically & in practice from Biblical Christianity)

Who Would True Valour SeeCongregationalist

Lyrics John Bunyan, Music English Traditional

Who would true valour see

Let him come hither

One here will constant beOne here will constant be

Come wind, come weather

There's no discouragement

Shall make him once relent

His first avowed intent to be a pilgrim

Verse 1 of 3



Whoso beset him 'round

With dismal stories

Who but themselves confoundWho but themselves confound

His strength the more is

No lion can him fright

He'll with a giant fight

But he will have a right to be a pilgrim

Verse 2 of 3



Hobgoblin nor foul fiend

Can daunt his spirit

He knows he at the endHe knows he at the end

Shall life inherit

Then fancies flee away

He'll fear not what men say

He'll labour night and day to be a pilgrim

Verse 3 of 3



Who would true valour see

Let him come hither

One here will constant beOne here will constant be

Come wind, come weather

There's no discouragement

Shall make him once relent

His first avowed intent to be a pilgrim

Verse 1 of 3

Methodists (Conference)

•John and Charles Wesley & George Whitefield systematically

set about living a holy life

•Attempted reform within the Church of England by way of a

return to the gospel

•Separate denomination created in 1791

•First Great Awakening in colonial America•First Great Awakening in colonial America

oMade Christianity intensely personal, encouraged

introspection & a commitment to a new standard of

personal morality

•Father of Canadian Methodism: William Black, began

preaching in NB in 1781

•Known for its missionary work

And Can It BeMethodist

Lyrics & Music Charles Wesley

And can it be that I should gain

An interest in the Savior’s blood?

Died He for me, who caused His pain—

For me, who Him to death pursued?

Amazing love! How can it be,

That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Amazing love! How can it be,

That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Verse 1 of 6



’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies:

Who can explore His strange design?

In vain the firstborn seraph triesIn vain the firstborn seraph tries

To sound the depths of love divine.

’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,

Let angel minds inquire no more.

’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;

Let angel minds inquire no more.

Verse 2 of 6



He left His Father’s throne above

So free, so infinite His grace—

Emptied Himself of all but love,Emptied Himself of all but love,

And bled for Adam’s helpless race:

’Tis mercy all, immense and free,

For O my God, it found out me!

’Tis mercy all, immense and free,

For O my God, it found out me!

Verse 3 of 6



Long my imprisoned spirit lay,

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

Verse 4 of 6



Still the small inward voice I hear,

That whispers all my sins forgiven;

Still the atoning blood is near,Still the atoning blood is near,

That quenched the wrath of hostile Heaven.

I feel the life His wounds impart;

I feel the Savior in my heart.

I feel the life His wounds impart;

I feel the Savior in my heart.

Verse 5 of 6



No condemnation now I dread;

Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;

Alive in Him, my living Head,Alive in Him, my living Head,

And clothed in righteousness divine,

Bold I approach th’eternal throne,

And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Bold I approach th’eternal throne,

And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Verse 6 of 6

Presbyterians (Presbyteries)

•Reformed theology and polity

• church governance: rule of assemblies of presbyters – each

local church governed by session (board), groups of local

churches are known as presbyteries

•Authority flows top down & bottom up•Authority flows top down & bottom up

•Decently and in good order

•Scottish settlers & French Huguenots late 16th and early 17th

centuries

•~70% voted to join UCC union

•1939 Presbyterian Church of Canada regained name by those

non-concurring Presbyterians

All People Who On Earth Do DwellPresbyterian

Lyrics Psalm 100, Music Old 100th

Voices United 822

All people that on earth do dwell,All people that on earth do dwell,

sing out your faith with cheerful voice;

delight in God whose praise you tell,

whose presence calls you to rejoice.

Verse 1 of 4



Voices United 822

Know that there is one God, indeed,Know that there is one God, indeed,

who fashions us without our aid,

who claims us, gives us all we need,

whose tender care will never fade.

Verse 2 of 4



Voices United 822

Enter the sacred gates with praise;Enter the sacred gates with praise;

with joy approach the temple walls.

Extol and bless our God always

as people whom the Spirit calls.

Verse 3 of 4



Voices United 822

Proclaim again that God is good,Proclaim again that God is good,

whose mercy is forever sure,

whose truth at all times firmly stood,

and shall from age to age endure.

Verse 4 of 4

The United Church Crest

•1944 Rev. Dr. Victor Mooney

•Fish

•X

•Open Bible•Open Bible

•Dove

•Burning Bush

•Alpha & Omega

•“That all may be one”

•1980 French translation

What is the Reformed Tradition?•One of the strands of the Protestant Reformation of the

16th century

•Presbyterian & Congregationalist formally identified

as Reformed

•Methodist tradition espoused Reformed principles

•“Once reformed, always reforming”

Reformed ChurchesReformed Churches•World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC)

�75 million Reformed Christians in 214

denominations in 107 countries

�Member churches: Congregational, Presbyterian,

Reformed and United Churches

•June 2010 WARC merged with Reformed Ecumenical

Council to form World Communion of Reformed

Churches

Congregation / Pastoral

Charge

Presbytery

Conference

General Council

Write on slips of paper:

•Duties and Powers

•Structure

•Membership

Doctrine: A belief or set of beliefs held

and taught by a church, political party, or

other group.

What does the word “doctrine” mean to you in regards to What does the word “doctrine” mean to you in regards to

your faith, your sense of organized religion. How about in

terms of the United Church of Canada? Symons Valley United

Church?

The Nicene Creed – 325 CE

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is seen and unseen.of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,true God from true God,

begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

by the power of the Holy Spirit

he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,

he suffered, died, and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in fulfillment of the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the

dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and

glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets.He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of

sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Apostle’s Creed – late 5th century CE

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he arose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints;

the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body;

and the life everlasting. Amenand the life everlasting. Amen

•Joint Union Committee – 1915

•in the tradition of Reformed communities throughout

the world the church’s formal beliefs can be

expressed anew in each generation in ways

that are both faithful to scripture and reflect

the language and meaning of the time.

•subordinate standards to

•a subordinate standard (major statement of faith)

�one that is “in substance agreeable to the

teaching of the Holy Scriptures”

�subordinate to scripture,�subordinate to scripture,

�broadly consistent with other faith statements

acknowledged by the Reformed tradition

�reflecting the Reformed commitment to

engaging the present time and age.

United Church Doctrine

Basis of Union

1940 Statement of Faith, The New Creed, A Song of Faith

Have these statements touched our hearts?

Have they taken on meaning in our daily lives?

Have any or all become cherished, honoured, and living?

•Primacy of scripture: “We affirm our belief in the

Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the

primary source and ultimate standard of Christian

faith and life” (Basis 2.0)

•test the will of the church to add additional

subordinate standards to the existing Doctrine

section of the Basis of Union

•One implication of acknowledging more than one

subordinate standard is that the standards would be

seen to be “in dialogue” with one another.

•Another implication of acknowledging more than •Another implication of acknowledging more than

one subordinate standard is that the United Church

would be declaring its openness to affirming other

subordinate standards in the future.

•They reflect the limits of human concepts and

words for expressing profound truths about God.

They invite a dialogue of faith between the present

and the past and between expressions of faith that

are different in their language and concept, but they

always point beyond themselves to deeper truths.

Implications of the

Remit?

What’s a Remit?

•Basis of Union=UCC constitution

•By-Laws – General Council can change

•For Constitution to change, majority of

all sessions must vote in favour

•Category 1 Remit: wording or editorial

changes

•Category 2 Remit: significant changes

but not denominational-shapingbut not denominational-shaping

•Category 3 Remit - changes that affect the Articles of Faith, alter

significantly the structures of the United Church, redefine our

understanding of ministry, or alter our understanding of who is a

member of the church. Therefore longest period of study and

pastoral charges & presbyteries vote.

Looking forward:

March 7th: Basis of Union

March 14th: 1940 Statement of Faith

March 21st: 1968/1980/1992 The

New Creed

March 28th: 2006 A Song of Faith

Thank you for coming…Thank you for coming…

See you next week!

remit 6 study session #1 - symons valley united church 6 study session 1.pdf · remit 6 study...

Documents