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Chapter Ten A Look at Ministry: Diversity and Ambiguity Charlotte Caron The history of ministry in The United Church of Canada is not uniform or definitive. The question “What does ministry mean?” has arisen over and over again. Forms of ministry and theological perspectives about them have varied in the United Church since 1925. Nevertheless, three primary views of ministry dominate reports to the General Council through the years: an ontological view (ministry as a unique way of committing to lifelong dedication as a representative of Christ in the community), a functional view (emphasizing the tasks of ministry, with diverse workers enriching the ministry of Christ in the world), and a professional view (ministry as a career option with professional education and ethical standards). Some reports jumble the perspectives together into puzzling theologies and inconsistent recommendations. General Councils have not always been clear in their approach, either –– adopting policies but not acting on them, accepting motions in principle, or sending items for further study, many of which never re-emerge.1 Procedures are often confused in the midst of many discussions on what ministry is about, who is eligible, and what kinds of leadership the church needs. Reports are considered, passed, rejected, and reopened,and this process is mingled with reflective study,candid opinions , fears, and hopes about the church and its ministry.2 Betsy Anderson elaborates, As the church in Canada is moved out of the social and cultural centre, ministers are seeking their bearings in a post-Christendom church and culture.... An anticipated surplus of ministers has turned into a significant shortage. As congregations call forth lay people to function as ministry personnel, the ordained question their role and value to the church. Issues of authority and authenticity 203 204 C H A R L O T T E C A R O N swirl around us as we seek to understand the roles and relationships of ministers and the laity in the institutional and congregational settings of our church in these times.3 The twentieth century embodied rapid social change. For a responsive church in a changing world, this required continual adaptations to ways of being the church and doing ministry. It has meant, and will continue to mean, flexibility and ambiguity in understandings of ministry. Forming the United Church Varying understandings of ministry existed in the founding denominations of The United Church of Canada. Presbyterians stated that a minister was to pray, read the Scriptures, “feed the flock,” teach, preach, bless, “dispense other divine mysteries,” and “take care of the poor….”4 Methodists referred to an inward call of God to the individual and the outward call of the church. Ministers were to preach, evangelize, and administer the sacraments, or “feed and provide for the Lord’s family, to seek for Christ’s sheep...that they may be saved.”5 Congregationalists elected their ministers from the local congregation and laid on hands after hearing that person preach and knowing their Christian character.6 All three groups stressed that ordination is to the universal church, not only to one denomination or location. The polity of the new United Church of Canada indicated that ministers were to be examined on the Statement of Doctrine of the United Church to be sure they were in essential agreement prior to ordination.7 A degree of openness existed, expressing hope that the three groups could live together and that some variety would enhance the church. The years around the formation of the United Church were heady ones for the churches in Canada. An expanding country with large waves of immigration led to much missionary zeal. Missionaries came from the British Isles as well, and earlier settlers in Eastern Canada went to Western Canada as missionaries. Many theologies of ministry were based on a conviction that the country would be Christianized “in our generation.” Edmund Oliver’s book, His Dominion of Canada, begins by stating “[Christ] must reign from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.”8 He describes the early 1900s as a time of explosive growth and great change, shaped by immigration from Europe to the Prairies, economic growth as a result of agriculture and natural resource development, establishment of the provinces, expansion of railways, Farmers’ Movements, increasing automobile use, the outbreak of the Great War, more stringent control of the liquor traffic, votes for women, and the introduction of income tax. In the midst of this expansion, the churches and their missionaries hoped...

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