There to Here - A Trinity History 1953 to 2018

ere to A History

1953 - 2018 researched, compiled and written by Robert

C. Campbell

Note of Appreciation

Sincere thanks are extended to Robert C. Campbell for the great amount of time and effort he has given to bring to life 'There to Here.' The book is a mere reflection of Colin's immense commitment to Christ and His Church and most especially how he has made that commitment real and lasting within Trinity.

The book, like the man, exhorts us 'going forward' to be those who in faith, hope and love heed these words:

"Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8

Thank you so much Colin. Your gift to Trinity is received with deep respect, admiration and affection.

The Rev. Kirk T. Summers Spring 2018. Toronto, Canada

2737 Bayview Avenue

Toronto, ON M2L 1C5

A Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, in the Presbytery of East Toronto

Our mission is to worship and serve God through faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

THERE TO HERE

A HISTORY

1953-2018

DEDICATED WITH PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THIS CHURCH, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

researched, compiled and written by Robert C. Campbell

Jesus said; And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18 NRSV and

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Luke 21:33 NRSV

THERE TO HERE

A HISTORY

Prologue

Canada’s First Presbyterians

What’s in a Name? 6 Trinity 1953 - 2018

10 Try. Try. Try again.

13 The Way We Were 15 Over-viewing

17 Generosity of Heart

18 Memories of Trinity

26 The Kirk Session 28 Board of Managers

28 Committees, committees, committees

30 The Hyphen Years

31 May I Be of Assistance?

31 Communications

32 Extracts from Annual Reports

39 Some Insights on the Neighbourhood

41 The Times They Are A Changin’

43 Worship - moving with the times

45 Cultural Shifts Affecting the Church

46 And in Closing

47 End Pages

47 Credits About the Researcher, Compiler and Writer About this History

48 In the Beginning - before Trinity was.

51 Lists of Trinity Groups A Poem about 1991-92 construction

52 Worship Order Comparison

53 Lists Founder Members, Ministers, Students, Music Directors

Session Clerks and Office Staff

54 Trinity Buildings Floor Plan

55 The Chronological Trinity Time-line

History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days.

Winston Churchill 1874-1965

Prologue

It is a good thing to take a look back, sometimes. It can generate encouragement, perhaps nostalgia, but it can also bring remorse or guilt. When looking back, it is best to remember that the past is forgiven and over, even if it is not forgotten. History can be learned from; it can help show the progression leading to the present. But the past belongs in the past and should be left there.

Perhaps this is related to Churchill’s “flickering lamp”, but there is the old and hackneyed joke question asking, “How many church members does it take to change a light bulb?” The answer is, “Just one - to change the bulb - but it takes the rest of the congregation to mourn the passing of the old bulb and extol its virtues.” Kindling “with pale gleams the passion of former days.”

Over time, congregations grow together. Members share in worshiping God week by week. Through Jesus they learn of God. Through bible teaching and reading, they grow in understanding and in grace. Members share fellowship with other Christians, meet for coffee, or dinner, or just sit and talk. Friendships develop. Some members grow apart, then disappear. Given time, all members of a particular time eventually fade into history, leaving others to fill in the empty spaces.

History is subjective, from the perspective of both writer and reader. With the exception of the “Memories of Trinity” segment, every effort has been made to maintain ‘neutrality’ in following pages. Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills does not have a particularly long history, relatively speaking. Nearby, St. John’s York Mills turned 200 in 2016. Trinity’s has not been an especially exciting history either; at least, not to the world beyond its walls. No truly world-famous members. No biblically proportioned catastrophes. But such is not what the history of a church congregation is all about.

Christians believe that God touches this world and its people, holding them in His hand. Although the texts, herein, may seem inadequate, they illustrate the enduring labours of those countless people who have built Trinity, over the course of sixty-five years. Countless people who have had the hand of God upon them. Not just the fine buildings, but the congregation, which is the body of Christ. This is a story of Trinity’s enduring witness, made in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The story of what God has done through all those people who have been part of Trinity, during these past sixty-five years. It remains for the reader to stumble “along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes.”

Looking back can be a real encouragement, when looking at it in regard to what God has done and has been doing, up to the here and now. However, imagine driving a motor vehicle on a journey. If the focus of the driver is only on the rear-view mirrors, it will be an extremely brief journey. Look behind, certainly, but to reach the intended destination, the driver must concentrate on the direction being travelled. Living in obedience to its calling, the church and church members must listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and follow in the direction in which it leads. As Paul informed the church at Philippi, the Church needs to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus”.

13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 NRSV

Canada’s First Presbyterians

It began around the middle of the 18th century, with several denominational variations on a theme of ‘Presbyterianism’ that arrived almost simultaneously. Some were imported by those expatriate Scots who began crossing the Atlantic Ocean into that part of what was Lower Canada and now recognized as ‘The Maritimes’. The year 1773 saw the arrival of 186 Scots at Pictou, Nova Scotia, aboard the sailing ship Hector. This marked the first significant migration from that country. Most were involuntary exiles, resulting from atrocities perpetrated during the ‘Highland Clearances’. Back then, there was a choice of seven Presbyterian denominations in Scotland and there still is today. Other Presbyterians were among the ‘Empire Loyalist’ exiles that began flooding into Upper and Lower Canada, around 1775, when the American Revolution was getting under way.

From those beginnings, variations on a Presbyterian theme gradually immigrated to Upper Canada, depending upon the theological mood of the local populace. Eventually the Presbyterian Church found toe and sometimes footholds across the entire country.

Then came a time when the old wounds of trans-Presbyterian denominational partitions that caused these variations healed sufficiently. In the wake of this, came the first General Assembly of a recently amalgamated Presbyterian Church in Canada. This took place in Montreal on June 15, 1875. The first sederunt (sitting) was held, of all places, in the Victoria Skating Rink. The remaining sederunts were held, more appropriately, within Erskine Church, which had been around since 1833. Fifty-four years

later, new animosities surfaced, when about two-thirds of all Canadian Presbyterians decided to join ranks with most of the Canadian Congregationalist and Methodist Churches, to form the United Church of Canada.

That happened in 1929, and the present-day Presbyterian Church in Canada exists, in large measure, due to the tenacity of the one-third who adamantly declined church union. It began, close to midnight on June 9, 1925, the day on which Church Union had been enacted. This took place at the General Assembly, held in College St. Presbyterian Church, Toronto. After it, a latenight meeting was convened. At it were around 77 dissenting Clergy and Elders, representing the one third of Presbyterian congregations which did not concur with the act. They had gathered for prayer in nearby Knox Presbyterian Church. Later, in the early hours of the morning, they were duly constituted as the “continuing” General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. A second sederunt was held later, on June 10th, this time in St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. From then until 1939, the denomination was known as the Continuing Presbyterian Church in Canada and that, in a nutshell, is how the Presbyterian Church in Canada came into being.

Presbyterian theology and beliefs find much of their basis in the doctrines expressed by John Calvin, with emphasis on themes such as justification by faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the importance of the Bible. Also evident in Presbyterian teaching is the strong belief in the sovereignty of God, held by Calvin. He developed a volume of Ecclesiastical Ordinances, set forth regulations on issues related to church order, religious training, gambling, dancing, and even swearing. Strict church disciplinary measures were enacted to deal with those who broke these ordinances. John Knox brought his slant on “Calvinism” to Scotland on his return from exile. About 200 years later, Presbyterian immigrants brought their versions of Calvin’s teaching to Canada. Although much modified across the intervening years, echoes of John Calvin remain in Canada’s Presbyterian congregations even now.

By the early 1950s, the once supposed Scots monopoly in the Presbyterian Church was becoming a thing of the past among Canadian congregations. By then, the denomination had absorbed significant ‘ethnic colour’ from English, Dutch, French, German and Hungarian Protestants, along with various other immigrant and some indigenous Presbyterians. Perhaps the most noticeable legacy of those bye-gone ‘Scottish’ days is to be found in the ‘old-country’ names that the original preponderance of Scots Presbyterians gave their places of worship. From coast to coast, for example, there is an abundance of churches called St. Andrew’s [Scotland’s patron saint] and Knox [after John, ‘father’ of the 1560 Scottish Reformation]. Then there is the proliferation of Scottish names given to the towns and villages, littered across the entire country, where expatriate Scots and their descendants planted Presbyterian churches. Although much of the foregoing has little to do with Trinity York Mills, it serves as a brief background to the genesis of Presbyterians in Canada.

What’s in a Name?

TRINITY – Although there are now around seven Canadian Presbyterian Churches bearing the same name, for many years after its inception, “Trinity”, in York Mills, was unique. This likely says something about the cross-cultural mix among its founding members; otherwise, there is more than a fair chance it would have been another St. Andrew’s or a Knox. It may also say something of the theology in the minds of these founding members. Was no person’s name good enough, saint or otherwise? Were the ideals so high, and the inspirations so bold that only God, the three in one, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, could encapsulate them, in the Holy Trinity?

The Trinitarian theology is one that is frequently discussed and occasionally argued, probably as a result of its terminology having no specific biblical roots. It is alluded to, but never stated, yet it has almost universally achieved the status of doctrine, in the Christian church. It was the prolific author, Tertullian c. 160 - c. 225 AD, who lived out his days in Carthage, a suburb of Tunis, North Africa, who created the earliest known Trinitarian theology. Among his writings, he formulated the expression Trinitas Sanctus, which he described as tres Personae, una Substantia, the Holy Trinity - three Persons, one Substance. All three components became embodied in the creeds, dating back to the Council of Nicaea, in 325 AD.

That aside, the early Christian church was quick to grasp the concept, giving great importance to God, as one in three and three in one. In fact, it is said the early Christians believed in and prayed to all three, before there was a “Trinitarian” doctrine. God, the Father who created us and all the earth; God the Son, Jesus Christ our Saviour, who was crucified, died and arose again, that our sins might be forgiven and the Holy Spirit, our comforter and advocate, particularly in times of trial; ever three, yet ever one God.

PRESBYTERIAN – The origins and implications of the word “Presbyterian” refer to the form of government that is used by a church or a group of churches. It derives its meaning from the Greek word presbuteros, which is used throughout the New

Testament in connection with the rule of the church and is usually translated 'elder.' Presbyterian churches find their roots, during the Protestant Reformation, in mid-16th century Switzerland, with expatriate French cleric, John Calvin 1509-1564. Reformers believed that the sole head of the Church was Christ Himself, who works through offices, which He has clearly instituted in His Word, and not a single leader on earth. They also believed in maintaining a sense of unity and purpose with other churches, especially in matters of appeal and denominational policy. While exiled in Geneva, Scottish Protestant cleric and former Roman Catholic priest John Knox 1505-1572 became a disciple of Calvin. Upon his return to Scotland in 1560 Knox worked to reform the churches in Scotland to the Presbyterian governmental form. Many other churches throughout Europe also reformed their church rule according to this New Testament model. Only the Scottish churches and some others elsewhere in Britain used the name 'Presbyterian’, before spreading it to other countries around the world.

A Presbyterian church governs its congregations with both teaching elders (the minister) and ruling elders (spiritually mature Christian men and women in the congregation, gifted accordingly). Both are ordained (set apart) to their different offices. Together they make up the ‘Kirk Session’ of a congregation. When joined with ‘Elders’ of other local congregations from their denomination they form “Presbyteries”, “Synods” regionally and “General Assemblies” at the national level. It should also be understood that the minister does not belong to nor is a member in the congregation, but to the Presbytery. Often misunderstood to be a democratic government form, the Presbyterian system is really “theocratic”. That is, the governance processes are undertaken by those who have been set apart to serve and govern in the name God. In this capacity and in their actions, they are regarded as being divinely guided. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.” Psalm 115:1 NRSV

The role of the Elders or collectively, the Kirk Session in each church is to promote and protect the purity and peace of its members. Its rule is of an ecclesiastical (pertaining to the church) and spiritual nature. Those ordained have been charged to watch diligently over the flock in their care by being a good and humble example, by teaching, exhorting, and encouraging the congregation with sound doctrine, by praying continually for its people, by visiting the sick, by administering the sacraments, by disciplining the disobedient and unrepentant, and by governing the worship service and church gatherings in a manner which reflects the love and care of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.

CHURCH – The word “church” means a “building for public Christian worship”, according to the Oxford dictionary. Its roots come from the Greek word kurikon or kuriakon, or ‘Lord’s house’, and it is from those roots that the Scots, Germans and some Scandinavians brought the word Kirk into their languages. This survives, in the present-day Canadian Presbyterian Church, as the Kirk Session. This, as already illustrated, being the full title of the body elected and ordained to govern each of its congregations. More commonly it is referred to simply as ‘The Session’.

‘Church’, of course, can mean many things to many people, not just ‘The Lord’s house’. Individual congregations use it to identify themselves. It can also be used corporately, as in the Presbyterian Church in Canada, by way of identifying the entire denomination. For some, who follow church hymnody, as in, “I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together! All who follow Jesus, all around the world! Yes, we're the church together!” Richard K. Avery & Donald S. Marsh, 1972. For them, the church is also the people.

Strictly speaking, the hymn is incorrect. The members and friends who belong to/attend a particular place of worship form a church congregation. This introduces a second Greek word, ekklesia, meaning ‘assembly’. The meaning, if not the word, worked its way into Latin, were it became congregatio. From that comes ‘congregation’, which is a group of people assembled for religious worship, or regularly attending a particular place of worship. So, there is ‘The church’, or ‘Lord’s house’ together with the ‘congregation’ who assemble, or gather in the Lord’s house, to praise and worship the Lord and to do the Lord’s work.

YORK MILLS – There are at least two possible sources for the name of our city. One comes from the Seneca word Giyando, meaning “on the other side”. Another is the Mohawk word tkaronto for which a majority claims the meaning ‘where there are trees standing in the water”, while others suggest it is Huron for “meeting place”. For a while, it was Taronto and in 1695 it became Toronto. Along comes John Graves Simcoe 1752-1806, Lieutenant General of Upper Canada, who renamed it York, in 1793. This was by way of honouring Prince Frederick, Duke of York, second son of King George III. The name reverted to Toronto in 1834, with the incorporation of the city. The original York is the name of a city in north-east England. Its name comes from Old Norse Jóírvík, derived from Latin Eboracum, meaning “boar” or “wild swine”.

York Mills takes its name from the three or four grist and saw mills that operated in the valley of the West Don River, from 1804 until 1926. These originally served the town of York. During this period of industry, York Mills was a busy place. In addition to

the mills, there was a distillery, tannery, blacksmith shop, three churches, a school, post office, tollgate and two hotels. One of them was the York Mills Hotel, built in the 1860s. This later became the Jolly Miller Tavern and is now the Miller Tavern, at 3885 Yonge Street. The rural hamlet began transitioning to a residential neighbourhood in the 1930s. From the post WWII 1940s, through the 1950s, local developer E. P. Taylor was responsible for subdividing much of York Mills east of Bayview Ave. Before then the land in the area had been Bayview Farms. Mr. Taylor was also responsible for creating the York Mills Plaza, at the corner of Bayview Ave. and York Mills Rd, in 1952.

Trinity 1953 - 2018

The 1950s saw Canada’s post-WWII population booming. In Toronto, people from the rural surroundings were relocating in the city, while new immigrants were arriving by the boat-load. The population was pushing west, north and east. In anticipation of this, in 1949 the Toronto Presbytery had split into the East and West Toronto Presbyteries. Between them, they built 15 churches during the decade. Three of the 15 were built only a few kilometers distant from the Bayview Avenue plot of ground that would become Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills. This placed it sort of in the middle. To the west and south was Armour Heights Presbyterian Church, established on Wilson Avenue in 1951. North and west, although Willowdale Presbyterian Church had been around, in various forms and locations since 1925, in 1952 its present building was constructed on Ellerslie Avenue. South and east, St Mark’s Don Mills Presbyterian Church was established on Greenland Road, also in 1952.

Depending on where, why, by whom and when the clock was started; either on October twelfth in the year of our Lord, two thousand and seventeen, or April nineteenth two thousand and eighteen, the sixty-fifth anniversary of Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills was marked. This suggests that it might be a reasonable time to compile some of the evidence concerning the past, even as today’s congregation looks eagerly to its future, while hopefully enjoying its present. As almost all of the earliest Trinity members have either moved elsewhere, or have died, by and large, it is left to the buildings and for a few people to tell their stories. Incidentally, the preceding ‘long-hand’ dates recognizing the presence of God in time, is how the handwritten church documents of 1953 began. The long-form expression is a translation of the much shorter Latin expression of anno Domini.

Just as there was pre-history before history, there was something before Trinity. It began with an idea, a hope, and a prayer. It was the “Yorkminster survey”. In time, it became known as the “Bayview Truman Charge” and other variations thereof. In the End Pages there is a detailed account, from congregation’s conception to its inception and early gestation phases. Here, in abbreviated form, is how Trinity began. A letter was sent by East Toronto Presbytery, in November 1950, addressed to the Kirk Session of Glenview Presbyterian Church. Session responded positively, as did the Congregation, on January 17th of the following year. Consequently, a survey of the Yorkminster district was conducted, with a view to establishing a Mission Church. Approximately, that was the neighbourhood bounded by Yonge St. to Bayview Ave. and south of Sheppard Ave

In April of 1952, the Glenview Kirk Session appointed an Extension Committee, chaired by Mr. George McRae. Its function was to liaise with Presbytery, the Home Mission Board of the National Church, lawyers, real estate agents and North York Township, in arranging for land purchase. An Organization Committee chaired by Mr. Tom Dutton was created in June and arranged for temporary worship accommodation. In September of that year, this committee met with a small group of interested residents from the rapidly developing Bayview-Lansing community. The fact that, on October 12th of that year, worship services commenced in Harrison Road Public School, speaks volumes on the success of the meeting, the Organizing Committee and the small group or residents.

Mr. Walter Donovan, then a student in his final year at Knox College, was placed in charge of the new mission work, assisted by Miss Jessie McDonald, who was a Deaconess. Four and a half months later, on February 17th, 1953, East Toronto Presbytery installed the Rev. Robert H. M. Kerr as Minister in Charge. Under his guidance and with the assistance of Elders from the Kirk Session at Glenview, the Congregation was established on April the 19th of that year. With a Charter Membership of 33*, the name “Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills” was adopted. *Their names are listed in the End Pages.

The name did not just happen, although Trinity was the first suggestion. It was offered by Mr. A. Shanks and was then moved by Clive Williams and seconded by Mr. C. W. Gibson. Someone else suggested the name Bayview and it gained some ground, in discussion. Mr. J. Allenby suggested that the location York Mills be added. The J. Allenby amendment was accepted by the mover and seconder of the original motion and the current name was carried by a majority vote. At a call of the Moderator for unanimity, an appropriate motion was made and the name of the new congregation “was unanimously adopted and ratified.”

Trinity is indebted to Glenview Presbyterian Church, for the foundation work of its Extension and Organization Committees. The Glenview Mission Fund provided financial assistance. Glenview members donated the pews. It was Elders from Glenview who

formed the Kirk Session, during the earliest, formative phase of the Congregation. Christians believe in a generous God. Christians reflect that generosity and give, through faith, because they love God and believe He will do great things. Without the generosity, diligence and powerful belief of Glenview Presbyterian Church, there may never have been a Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills. The Congregation of Trinity recognizes that, through its neighbours at Glenview, The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Psalm 126:3 KJV

On April 3, 1955, when the congregation had 65 communicant members, the original [250 seat] Sanctuary was dedicated, at 2737 Bayview Ave., North York. Trinity ceased to be a ‘mission charge’ exactly one year after the sanctuary dedication, at which time; Mr. Kerr was inducted as the minister of Word and Sacraments, into the ‘self-sustaining charge’. This was on the upper level of what is currently known as “The Kerr Wing” and has since been renamed Founders Hall. On the same level and dating from the same time, were the Minister’s Study and Church Office. Next to the Office was the Board Room, which, with a set of ‘concertina’ folding doors, could be opened into the sanctuary, to provide additional seating.

The narrow stairway between the Atrium and the upper level is original to the building, as is the stairway adjacent to it, leading to what has since become the first lower level. Originally, at the foot of these stairs was a pair of side-by-side washrooms, about where the elevator is at present. To the east of them was a kitchen and accessed from the same area was a small Nursery and what was then the South Hall. The ‘foot-print’ of this Hall is the space currently occupied by Classrooms 1, 2 and 3, plus the corridor connecting them and providing access to the Jubilee Room. From 1955 till 1960, the South Hall was the only meeting room space, other that the Board Room. Prior to 1978, the door at the south end of the Hall led to a small Choir Room, on the east wall of which was a closet, which served as a change room for the choir ladies. On the west side of this Room a door gave access to narrow stairway, leading up to the main door of the Sanctuary. The South Hall was the venue for Trinity’s Church School and Bible classes. It was also the centre of all social activities. Pot-luck dinners were held here, as were concerts, performed on a little stage set into the north wall. For five years, over which Trinity had grown from 33 to well over 400 members, this was the Trinity church home.

To better serve the growing congregation, on September 11th of 1960, the North Hall, together with its associated kitchen, washrooms and other facilities were completed and linked to the existing building. Major funding for this development phase came from 10 members who each signed promissory notes valued at $1,000.00. Although used as a multi-purpose space, the design of the North Hall is very much that of a gymnasium. The vinyl tiled floor was laid out, from its beginning, with markings for basketball and badminton courts and has been replaced once. Until relatively recently, a hinged basketball hoop, with hoisting and lowering mechanism, was attached to the north wall. Another was attached on the ‘proscenium’ over the stage at the south end. There came a time when one generation of roof shingles over the North Hall had given up the ghost. With assurances of longevity and solid guarantees, a decision was made favouring a metal replacement. During the replacement process significant patches of rot were discovered in some of the underlying roof boards and the necessary repairs were made. Since 2005, the roof has been structurally sound and weather-proof.

A few years later, the electrical wiring for the North Hall and its original ‘gymnasium-style’ lighting system was showing signs of aging. It was decided that incandescent lighting was inefficient and expensive, so the old system was removed. A new electrical panel was installed, together with new wiring for the fluorescent lighting system currently in use. Despite its utility appearance, lack of insulation and acoustic attenuation, the North Hall has been the venue for multiple Church School classes, various games, meetings of all sorts, concerts, processions of craft and rummage sales, countless breakfasts, lunches, teas and dinners. It has been a valued asset for the congregation, throughout all of its 58 years.

The radiant hot water circulation heating system, along the east and west walls, originally served the Kitchen and North Hall, in that order. At that time the heating boiler was at the south end. In 1991, to permit construction of the Atrium and Centre Court associated with the 1991 reconstruction, a new heat source and circulation pump was installed on the mezzanine floor at the north end of the Hall. A second modification took place during the kitchen upgrade. At that time, the hot water circulation piping was capped off at the North Hall and an independent heat distribution source was installed in the Kitchen.

In the section, Extracts from Annual Reports and 1955 Annual Report - The Kirk Session, it was noted that progress had begun of construction of “the First Unit of our Church Buildings.” This was the concept envisaged by the congregation. From the outset, the original sanctuary building would become the Christian Education wing of a significantly larger building. This is shown on a set on plans for the 1955 building. By 1968, a proposal to build a larger sanctuary was being given serious consideration. This would have been parallel with Truman Rd., backing onto Bayview Ave. At its beginning, there was direct motor vehicle access to Trinity, from Bayview Ave.; hence the current street address. In addition, there was an access driveway behind the original building, connecting with Truman Rd., and this has since become the sole entrance and exit.

The new sanctuary discussions, around the First Unit ideal, took place when there was a budget deficit and there was $2,200.00 in the Building Fund. These were tough financial constraints. More importantly, due to the unfortunate expropriation of some land, ideas of new construction were set aside. North York, Metro Toronto and Ontario roads and highways departments had decided to widen Bayview Ave. from 2 to 4 lanes each way, add an access ramp to east-bound 401, on the west side and realign Truman Rd. to more effectively match with Fifeshire Rd. Trinity lost land from the west and south of its property. Because the original entrance from Bayview disappeared under the road-works, part of the expropriation repayment was the construction of a paved driveway from Truman Rd., in front of the original building. This, in turn, disappeared in 1992, beneath the newly constructed facilities. Approximately ten years after the expropriation took place; the land forming the present northern section of parking lot was given to Trinity as compensation, by the Borough, City and Province.

From the late 1950s through until mid-1992, from September to June there were two Sunday worship services at Trinity. These being conducted at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m., with the Church School appropriately organized to accommodate parents and children at both times. For some years during this phase, there was a single weekly service during July and August. These were conducted ‘month-about’ with Forest Grove United Church, with which, Good Friday and other special services were also shared. Later, some Good Friday services were shared with Oriole York Mills United Church. Its name changed to Bayview United Church in 2014, following amalgamation with Lansing United Church. Since mid-1992, Trinity has conducted a single worship service, at 10:30 a.m.

The idea of converting the North Hall into a larger capacity Sanctuary was discussed around 1974. To achieve this, consideration was given to having the chancel at the north end, with a 30-seat choir. The knave would have seated 280 and south of it was to be a narthex running the full width of the hall. Above that would have been a meeting room space. Upon further reflection, as the proposal offered only 30 additional seats and had a $200,000 preliminary budget, this was shown not to be cost effective. The plan was set aside, and the focus was turned upon making the improvements to the existing place of worship. 1978 was Trinity’s 25th anniversary. At the Annual Meeting, in January of that year, it was reported that a building project “was successfully brought to completion and crowned in the dedication of the Narthex.” This would have taken place during 1977 and moved the south wall of the original building ten feet to the south. This project doubled the width of the narrow entrance Narthex to the original Sanctuary. An elegant new front entrance was part of this project, as were wider stairways to the upper and lower floor levels. Also included was a cloakroom, on the half level of the upper stairs.

Shortly thereafter, the Narthex became the location for the Church Library. Appropriate to the anniversary year, the expanded space below this addition was named the Jubilee Room, plus a new Choir Room. Around this time, oak paneling was added to the walls of the Sanctuary and dedicated to the memory of the Rev. R. H. M. Kerr, the first minister. The new paneling covered over the west-side windows of the sanctuary, reducing, by half, the available natural ventilation. This was already woefully inadequate, during summer’s most humid heat. Much to everyone’s relief air conditioning was installed, as part of a new HVAC ducted air system.

Beginning in March of 1980 another project was embarked upon. This was a much-needed upgrade of the washroom facilities, adjacent to the North Hall. The objective was not only to enhance their aging appearance and apparatus, but also to make them wheelchair accessible. As most of the furnishings were custom made, project completion was not until late August of that year. Formerly one of Trinity’s darkest, dingiest corners, upon seeing the new brightness after ‘opening day, one young Church School student was heard to say, “God must be in there!”

Anticipating the arrival of a full-time Assistant Minister in 1982, office/study space had to be found. The ‘Board Room’, which had been located next to the Church Office, opened, via full-width folding doors into the original sanctuary. Access to the Sanctuary disappeared with the 1987 installation of oak paneling. The Board Room was reassigned and remodeled to accommodate the Assistant. After 1991, as this was no longer required and as the functions of the Church Office were expanding, the partition wall was removed to provide a larger space, accommodating two work-stations.

In 1988 a Visitation Committee from East Toronto Presbytery charged Trinity, “to articulate what their purpose is as a congregation at this point in their life, and that this be a prelude to a careful evaluation of their site and facilities and plans for its redevelopment that will best meet their potential for future ministry.” The congregational introduction to this process began on December 4, 1988, with an evening event called The Dream Machine. Here, an opportunity was provided for the membership to share their dreams and explore Trinity’s mission in the community. A February 5, 1989 follow-up, The Dream Unfolds introduced the concept of a multi-purpose facility for both church and secular use.

At a meeting held on February 26, 1989 the congregation was invited to give consideration to six choices facing the existing Trinity buildings: 1. was to do nothing, 2. renovate the current building, 3. again bring forward plans for a new Sanctuary, 4. replace the North Hall with a modest multi-purpose housing and Christian education facility and upgrade the Sanctuary, 5. sell the site and move, 6. develop a new multi-purpose building on the site with a ministry of outreach. Also, at this meeting, a substantial majority voted in favour of a formal motion to form a non-profit corporation. This was named “Trinity Place (York Mills)”, enabling Trinity to apply for an allocation under the Ontario Ministry of Housing HOMES NOW program, for option 6. While exploring this avenue, the Planning and Development Committee also undertook to examine the other options and report back to the Corporation.

In addition to requisite church facilities, the preliminary planning process for the multi-purpose building also included 100 affordable housing units and/or care facilities for disabled, senior, hospice, or children. On August 15th, there was considerable disappointment. Although the Trinity application, for option/avenue 6, had been pronounced suitable, the Provincial Housing Ministry placed it in a pool of 18,000 other applications. Rather than waiting for the application approval, the congregation abandoned that option and chose option 3 instead. I.E. “bring forward plans for a new Sanctuary”.

Shortly after a formal ‘sod-turning’ ceremony in June of 1991, construction of the present [400 seat] Sanctuary began. Participating in this ceremony, with the Rev. Gordon Beaton, was the Rev. Dr. John F. Allan, who had been minister at Trinity from 1968 to 1987. Dr. Allan was also the outgoing Moderator of the 116th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. During this development phase, it is worth noting that there was no disruption to worship and little to other congregational activities. This took place in the face of a fairly massive construction project that was physically joined to the existing building. On Sunday June 21, 1992, during 11:00 a.m. worship, the congregation processed from the old to the new building while singing hymns. While leaving the old church, Praise, my soul, the King of heaven lifted spirits high. Then, when coming to the new place of worship the voices raised to the swell of the new organ and we sang All glory, laud, and honour to Thee, Redeemer, King. A service of dedication, conducted by the Presbytery of East Toronto and officiated by the Rev. Dr. Earle F. Roberts, was celebrated on September 27th of that year.

Together, with the more spacious and modern sanctuary, came several associated additions and enhancements to the existing facilities. These included a full basement (the West Hall) beneath the sanctuary, the ‘Doig Room’, plus the ‘Centre Court’ and Atrium’. The old South Hall area saw the installation of an improved nursery, three classrooms and new washrooms. At the same time, an elevator was installed to service the four floor levels between the old and new buildings. Thus, the entire building was made ‘wheel-chair’ accessible. The Doig Room is tucked between two westward extensions of the original building. The larger of these was part of the Church Office. The other was the main, front entrance to the Sanctuary. For a humorous reflection on this construction phase, there is a poem in the End Pages.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish:” Proverbs 29:18a KJV In tandem with aspirations for the church buildings, in September 1989 the Kirk Session established a “Vision Task Force”. This was to provide leadership in the creation of a “clear statement of Vision and Purpose to see our congregation into the 21st century.” Following deliberation by the Planning & Development Committee and approval by the Kirk Session, the following statement was adopted by the 1994 Annual Congregational Meeting that “Our mission is to worship and serve God through faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.” Strangely enough, 15 years later, this appeared in the 2009 Annual Report, “At this juncture, the development of a new mission statement was temporarily set aside”. It was a stand-alone, without introduction or afterthought. Nine years on from that, the 1994 mission statement remains.

In February of 2001, conversion of the original sanctuary into a smaller, more intimate worship centre and meeting room was completed, and it was renamed Founders Hall. This renaming acknowledges the sense of gratitude in which the present membership of Trinity holds its founding forebears, who began the sixty-five years of Christian witness that has been at the core of Trinity’s history thus far. Similarly, naming the original [1955] building the Kerr Wing is in tribute to the first Minister, recognizing his 15 years of service, establishing, building up and sustaining the community of believers that is Trinity. Likewise, the Doig Room commemorates almost 20 years of service given to Trinity by the third Minister on that list, the Rev. Dr. Howard A. Doig, who was an Honourary Associate Minister, at Trinity, between 1972 and 1991. Following his retirement in 1975, he voluntarily assisted the Minister with pastoral visitation. The size reduction of Founders Hall was accomplished by the construction of a wall immediately in front of what had been the original chancel. Between 2016 and ’17 following conversion of what had been the office area, into a meeting/waiting room, the Church Office was relocated to the former chancel area.

There come times when the facilities of an aging, well-used building begin showing signs of wear and tear. Having, for too long, endured leaking roofs, with attendant bucket brigades, coupled with as many heating failures in the chill of winter, as cooling

failures in the sticky heat of summer, 2009 became an expensive year for Trinity. That year saw the reroofing of the pitched and flat roof areas for Sanctuary and Kerr Wing. To everyone’s relief, the old HVAC units were replaced with new installations. The years between 2013 and 2017 will be noted for their industriousness. It began when the 1960 Kitchen was stripped to the walls and entirely remodeled. This included re-configuring corner access to the washroom corridor, disconnection from the old hot water heating system and the installation of a ceiling mounted gas-fired heating unit, plus new flooring, back splashes, cabinets, stoves, refrigerators and dishwasher.

Last to happen was the installation of an audio/video control booth in the Sanctuary. In between these, new floors were installed in the Atrium, Centre Court, North Hall Washrooms and adjacent hallways. Doors, frames and some walls were repainted. A Reception Area was installed in the Atrium. The Church Office was relocated to the “Chancel Room” and the original Office Area reconfigured to become an Ante-Room. The Doig Room was reconfigured, repainted and refurnished. The Parking Lot was resurfaced. Repairs were carried out on the HVAC systems. The Sanctuary was repainted and re-carpeted and, in the Chancel area, pews were removed and replaced by chairs and the floor area was given a faux-wood, hard vinyl surface.

Those unfamiliar with the Trinity layout are to be forgiven if they find it to be a confusing place within which to move around. Having four levels only enhances the confusion. Even those who have been around for a while may experience difficulty, especially if headed for ‘uncharted territory’, beyond the main floor. Not just for that reason, but also for posterity, a floor plan of ‘The Lord’s house’ at Trinity is included in the End Pages.

It would be inappropriate, here, to extol the virtues of the six Ministers called to Trinity. Although people of God, all of them; they were also human. As such, together with their positive aptitudes, there were also imperfections, just like regular people. Each of them answered the call of God. Each of them, in their own time and in their own way, has built upon the foundations laid down, not only by those whom they succeeded, but also those countless lay members, leaders and teachers with whom they served. Through them and in their service to Trinity, God has shown His gracious providence.

There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Trinity has been many things to many people, across the last sixty-five years. To most, it has been a spiritual home. A place in which, through the means available to them in their time, to enrich the Christian pilgrimage through life, a place to more clearly understand the Word of God and themselves and to walk more closely with God, through faith in Christ Jesus. It is a place where lasting friendships have been made, where common interests have been shared in service to the church and to the community.

Perhaps most importantly, the congregation of Trinity has been invited to worship over 4,000 times, when it has heard the gospel read and proclaimed and has liberally supported the maintenance of its ministry. For somewhere over 400 times, ministers have invited the congregation to share in the celebration of Holy Communion, when the members of God’s family were united in remembrance of what He did for us, through Jesus Christ, His Son and connecting, not only with the Holy Trinity, but also with church family members, past and present.

Countless families have witnessed to the miracle of new life, at the Holy Baptism of their children; as many have celebrated the happy unions of brides and grooms in Holy Matrimony. Then, there have been the funerals, those happy sad times for saying goodbye to parents, siblings, family members and friends; times for committing them to eternal rest in the Lord; the shared sense of loss and emptiness in loving hearts. The congregation has celebrated. It has mourned. Its members have shed innumerable tears of joy and of sorrow. God willing, and given the willing investment of congregational time, talent and treasury, Trinity will continue to witness for Christ, in the service of God.

Try. Try. Try again.

As will have been observed, Trinity has spent a ton of money, time and energy, building and maintaining its facilities. With justification. After all, the house of God should be up to par for those who worship God and learn about Him within it. It is the place from which they serve God, where fellowship and pastoral care are shared and exchanged. In those areas of church life, by and large, Trinity has been successful, borrowing when necessary and paying off indebtedness in timely fashion.

Less successful, in more recent decades, have been those areas of building up the church and maintaining the congregation itself. This is not to say it has been unfaithful to the God from whom it takes its name. Trinity has been ever faithful. Since the beginning, the Kirk Session and Congregation have faithfully supported its ministers and their ministry, ensuring that the Good News has been preached, week-by-week. Even when bent beneath burdens of debt, Trinity has ensured its allocations to the General Assembly Budget, (Presbyterians Sharing) and to Presbytery have been met. Trinity has faithfully contributed to

missions and mission projects, here at home and around the world. In times of man-made and natural disaster Trinity has been right there, with exceptional generosity. It has shown compassion in assisting oppressed refugees from Vietnam and Syria to resettle in the freedom of Canada. However, generosity and compassion aside, building up the people of God, in quantity, has been a more difficult proposition,

In 1969 the L.A.M.P. Report was brought before General Assembly and was accepted. The letters meant Life and Mission Project. This report covered just about every aspect of “the Church” and even its relationships with the world beyond it. Among the several recommendations, one asked the Church to take steps that would ensure all members and adherents of the church, whether youth, adults, or older adults, have an opportunity to share fully in the church’s life and mission in whatever ways they may be qualified by their gifts and experience. Right after that recommendation came this one: urging the Church to seek out and bring in to the policy and decision-making bodies of the church, women who are willing and able to serve. A further recommendation was directed to Kirk Sessions that they might better plan, supervise, and execute the affairs of the congregation, a series of committees should be elected from the congregation, including committees of Policy and Planning, Nurture and Worship, Mission and Outreach, together with any other committees required by the local situation.

Trinity was quick to respond to this. It already had a Christian Education Committee and went on to add the others. All of them were chaired by Elders. Some committee members were also Elders, but most were men and women from the congregation. And the Minister was an ex officio member in all of them. This came at a good time for Trinity. Together with the National Church, membership had taken a dip. After 1974, Trinity’s membership steadily increased for the next 9 years. Among other things, the “new” approach to executing the affairs of the congregation might just have been the right thing at the right time.

To honour the denomination’s 1975 centenary, the Presbyterian Church in Canada introduced an initiative called Second Century Advance for Christ. The intent was to extend mission work at home and overseas and raise $3 million for that purpose. In parallel, the Church announced, “that the gospel of Christ be advanced in new areas across Canada and overseas” and “That by the power of the Spirit of God we make a Second Century Advance For Christ in prayer, Bible study, witness, fellowship and stewardship of time, talent and treasury.” Several Trinity members enthusiastically contributed to prayer and study materials that were published for nation-wide distribution. By and large, these materials by-passed Trinity, for it had turned a corner. The almost steady trend in membership decline Trinity had experienced, since 1966, had been reversed and would continue to rise for another nine years. The future was looking good. Perhaps, as in the story of Joseph interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh, in Genesis 41:13, Trinity could have been preparing for the lean years ahead. However, the benefits of 20/20 hindsight are likely myopic to the signs of what were, then, the times.

The General Assembly in 1978 adopted the Report on the State of the Church. It recommended that during the 8th decade of the 20th century every effort be made to double the membership of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. To this end, a Special Committee on Doubling Membership and a Joint Task Force on Church Growth were formed by the 1979 General Assembly. A year later, both committees were merged into the Committee on Church Growth to Double in the Eighties. Trinity eagerly followed suit and formed a Church Growth Committee. Its mandate was to acquire knowledge and information and make recommendations to Session that would help bring about growth in membership.

The national Growth Committee admitted defeat four years ahead of its ten-year mandate. However, in 1988 a Research and Church Growth committee was given a mandate to continue operations until the end of 1990. Trinity followed suit, the Growth Committee was amalgamated with the Mission and Service Committee. Part of the problem was that membership had been growing steadily and continued doing so until 1984. Church Growth likely seemed superfluous. Thereafter, instead of growing, Trinity’s membership joined the national trend of decline. Trinity may not have succeeded, but it was not for want of trying.

The ComPAC Stewardship Programme had been doing the rounds among Presbyterians for some time when Trinity decided to embark upon it. This took place over the latter part of 1985 and continued into 1986. A note in an annual report from around then said, “This has been used successfully by other congregations and we believe it will produce good results for Trinity. I hope you will respond to its challenge with willing participation.” The Congregation did just that. The program was not just about monetary stewardship. It covered just about every aspect of congregational life. Still there was no reversal to the declining trend. However, in an indirect way, this programme did lead to the Dream Machine and from there to the ‘new sanctuary’ building project.

From early in 1997 until late in 1999, the Kirk Session spent considerable time and energy, in addition to its regular responsibilities, reshaping itself and planning for the future of the congregation. First, the number of its committees was reduced, and they were restructured for Mission and Ministry. Following an intense study day, a draft report was produced,

encapsulating A Vision for Ministry. This was followed by the introduction of a three-year plan called The Way Ahead. Throughout this process, Session was led and encouraged by the Moderator and several of the Elders. Unfortunately, circumstances changed and much of what had been accomplished was set aside.

Three years later, Session enthusiastically endorsed a motion that a group by the name of Potentials be engaged to conduct a Visioning Consultancy at Trinity. This happened late in 2002 and the process began in September of the following year. Throughout its progress all members and adherents were invited to participate and share in it. Potentials promoted the idea that church is not necessarily like a business, where policy and planning is usually generated at its upper levels and filters down. In the process it encouraged the development of policy and planning for Trinity’s future, from among the “grass roots” of its membership. Those who participated did so with high levels of enthusiasm. Many great ideas were generated, but little happened to grow membership. However, Trinity had entered a decade when, even with a few bumps along the way, membership remained stable.

American writer, speaker, and lay evangelist Andrew Weeks came to Trinity in 2009, to lead The Magnetic Church. This was a weekend workshop on successful evangelism and newcomer welcoming, His entertaining presentations covered a vast array of practical and proven ways to revitalize the Church's ministry of welcome and spreading the good news. Throughout the weekend diverse issues were discussed. One addressed the question: “Is your church property evangelizing itself effectively?” Others were: the placement of legible, informative signage, inside and out: clearly identified guest parking; the attractiveness of church grounds; simple amenities, such as baby-changing tables in washrooms; the need for well-written and professional-looking welcome brochures, worship bulletins and newsletters designed for today's visually oriented public; trained greeters, who can respond with information and compassion. All of these and more were addressed throughout the weekend and those in attendance left with armloads of practical ideas. Trinity learned that the only effective way to increase membership in churches is to focus not on growth, but rather on responding to the needs of searchers and visitors. Perhaps the polarity was reversed, for the weekend made little impact.

Having been less than successful, in the 1980s “Church Growth” became a bad word, particularly in Presbyterian circles. In its place, Congregational Development became the new norm. An international organization took the name “Natural Church Development” which it underscores with the tag-line Measuring and growing biblical fruitfulness. It is a congregational survey system, based on the understanding there are eight ‘health’ characteristics essential to every church. The survey results produce the diagnosis, as it were, and show, in measurable ways, which characteristics are ‘healthy’ and which are deserving of ‘treatment’. Between 2009 and 2013, Trinity joined with the over 54,000 church congregations, world-wide, who had done so before and invested in the NCD survey, three times. The suspect characteristics were identified, prescribed treatment and responded well. To date, however, no significant numerical development has taken place in membership

The Kirk Session has ‘gone on retreat’ at regular intervals. It has ‘retreated’ in such places as Crieff Hills Retreat & Conference Centre (Presbyterian), the Convent of the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine (Anglican) and St. Gabriel’s Passionist Parish (Roman Catholic). Most retreats have been held “at home”. Additionally, over that past 10 years or so, annual one-day retreats have been held specifically for the Congregation. All of these have been held to help bring about renewal and discover fresh ideas, to develop unity and fellowship and to revive spirits. Also, to share key truths, while discovering new perspectives and equipping the lives of congregational leaders and membership, on their Christian pilgrimage. While, undoubtedly, these retreats have positively impacted those who attended and, most likely, the Trinity organization as a whole, they have shown little impact on membership.

Off topic, but related, is a story about Robert the Bruce, which has become the stuff of legend. Scotland wanted to be independent of England and Bruce the warrior was in line to be the Scottish king. His army had fought the English six times in all and the Scots lost, every time. Sometime around the year 1307, he was in temporary exile and considering leaving Scotland altogether. Then, as he was hiding in a cave one day, Bruce noticed something. It was a spider, attempting to spin a web. The poor creature wasn’t having much success in one particular area. Bruce watched as the spider spun more and more ‘thread’, trying again, then again and again. Finally, the web was completed. Bruce saw the significance, went back, fought another day, won, so, seven years later, he was King Robert I of Scotland.

Some suggest that the saying, If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again. originated with the spider story. Trinity, like the spider and Bruce, has tried, tried and tried again. But, most assuredly, Trinity has never given up. At this point, the following quotation seems appropriate “God does not require that we be successful, only that we be faithful.” Mother Teresa 1910-1996. Trinity has been faithful. More to the point, it is faithful. It can honestly stand with the Hebrews, to whom the apostle Paul wrote, “We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul *” Trinity is both sure and steadfast, in its faith and is facing

The Way We Were

In the history of any organization there is difficulty in avoiding the “good old days”. Taking Trinity, as an example, between 1964 and 1966, membership was just over 600, having grown from 35 in under 10 years. Things took a bit of a dive till 1984, when membership climbed back to 590. These were days when the 250-capacity original sanctuary was 80 to 90% full at both diets of Sunday worship. There were around 350 young folks in Church School. At one point it was divided into 12 seniors, 4 juniors and 6 primary classes. There were lots of baptisms and weddings and, being a relatively ‘young’ congregation, there were fewer funerals then than now.

The ministers of the congregation, students and lay members have led countless Bible study groups, covering just about every aspect contained in it. Sometimes groups have read and studied books, such as C. S. Lewis’ Screw Tape Letters. Invited guests have led groups in study series. Among them was the Rev. Dr. Stanley D. Walters who led a series through the complexities and pitfalls in understanding the book of Revelation. At the time, he was Professor of Old Testament, Knox College. Another was the Rev. Brant Loper, who was the Parish Planner for the Board of Congregational Life. He led a biblically based series on Marriage Enrichment. Presbyterian Women was, for a time, the name given to the Trinity branch of Women’s Missionary Society. They actively engaged in mission education, within their own group and also among the young folks and adults of the congregation. Once a year, they also conducted worship on “Mission Sunday”. Tuesday Morning Group organized Bible study and prayer groups for younger women. The current Prayer Chain grew out of this group.

Among the activities at Trinity, for young people, there were Scout and Guides troops, along with Cubs and Brownie packs. One member ran the afternoon post-school Trinity Drop-In Group for neighbourhood youngsters. They played basketball, other games and socialized. For a few years there was a Raptorball programme for young, aspiring basketball players. There were also Youth Groups, as an out-growth from Church School. The Board of Managers had a sort of ‘women’s auxiliary’, known at the Women’s Association. At one time, the Association had six groups who met mornings, afternoons or evenings and were actively engaged in fundraising activities and in organizing a host of social events for the congregation. Younger women of the congregation formed the “Forward Group”, which also came under the Association umbrella. They met in member’s homes and organized family and congregational social events. In the earliest days and even up until 1992 when the new facilities came into being, many congregational groups met in the homes of members. The limited facilities at Trinity were not conducive to smaller group meetings. Trinity Fellowship Group catered to the interests of younger adults, while Trinity Social Club, which became the 50+ Group, catered for those of more mature years. For several years, Wednesday Afternoon Movies were a monthly hit with Trinity seniors and their friends.

“Man is by nature a social animal;…” is part of a larger quotation from Aristotle, translated from Greek, of course. A little over 300 years later, Jesus said “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.” John 13:34a NRSV, also translated from Greek. What better place for doing this, than at Church, among fellow Christians. From the previous paragraph, it can be seen that Trinity has created abundant opportunities for doing so. In addition to these, there have been rummage, garage, parking lot and craft sales and strawberry socials. Pot-luck suppers, choir concerts and the like, were annual events. A Men’s Group met monthly for Saturday breakfast and to hear speakers talk on wide ranging subjects. This group also conducted worship annually; usually around Father’s Day. Even Burns’ Suppers popped up, every so often, as did at least one St Patrick’s Day event. One member of the congregation organized and served Christmas Dinner for those who were alone. For some years, the Kirk Session has held regular, post-worship congregational lunches. A host of different types of groups and activities have come and gone, over sixty-five years. A list of these, comprehensive but probably incomplete, is in the End Pages

The meaning of the word nexus is connection or series of connections linking two or more things. It came into English in the mid-17th century from the Latin verb nectere. The same word, but with a larger “X” in the middle, was the name given a quarterly newsletter for the members, adherents and visitors of Trinity church. In this case, the “X” represented the symbol for Christ, from the Greek letter chi neXus ran for several years from the 1980s into the early 2000s. The publication usually contained about 20 pages per edition and among its editors were Margaret Maciver, Isobel Hutchison and Liz Albrecht-Bisset. This was a product of the pre-electronic media and was important in relaying information, on all manner of subjects, to its readers. It contained letters from the minister, reports on recent congregational events and information of others that were upcoming. This meant planning ahead, for which one example is of a September announcement from the Christmas Pageant producer, for first rehearsals in early December. Other inclusions were on subjects such as commentaries on church music from Directors of Music, announcements from the Kirk Session, letters of thanks from members and a “hatches, matches and dispatches” section.

Added to this were a children’s page and ‘editorial’ commentaries on subjects related to the broader Presbyterian Church and other Christian sources.

For several years, some of the Elders conducted monthly Services of Prayer and Praise on Sunday evenings. The form of worship included singing old favourite and newer hymns, along with praise songs. Prayer cards were placed in the pews for making requests, either named or with anonymity. A box for these was placed in the narthex. There were also monthly Family Worship Services for some years. There was no Church School on those Sundays and children and youth were invited to sit with their parents. On those occasions, prayers, hymns and sermons were suited for a trans-generational congregation. A group in Trinity organized Gifted Hands Craft Shows. Trinity members supplied a bake table and ran a cafeteria. The main part of these shows rented tables to craft vendors, who contributed 15% of sales to Trinity. One year, this paid for two kitchen stoves, 50 chairs and 10 ‘banquet’ tables.

It would be remiss not to mention that the Advent and Christmas seasons at Trinity have always sparkled, not just with decorated evergreens. For around 40 years, late afternoon candlelight carol services really were candle lit. The former Sanctuary would be ablaze in their warm glow and jammed packed with choir and congregation, there to lift their caroling voices, accompanied by Kathleen Williams, at the organ. For several years, in the present Sanctuary, Deck the Halls followed in this tradition. There was less flame, to satisfy updated fire regulations, but there was the resounding addition of a Salvation Army band. For several years Delores Wallace produced a Christmas pageant, for which she had written the ‘staging’ and text. Just over 30 years ago Dorothy Hunter, continued this tradition, when she wrote and produced a revised format for the pageant.

This version, slightly modified, continues its annual appearances courtesy of Karen and Mark Boucher. Through this medium, down the generations, it is the children of the church who have brought the age-old story of Christmas to life. Of course, Christmas time has not always been a happy season for everyone. Fond memories of Christmases past, saddened by memories of lost loved ones, inspired the Worship Committee to introduce Memorial Poinsettias, adding bright splashes of colour to the Sanctuary and to the lives of those who donated them. Since its beginning, on every Christmas Eve, the faithful of Trinity have come in the silent night, to celebrate that first noel, to raise their voices with the angels heard on high, when they come before the Infant holy, Infant lowly. For many, many years this has been a double celebration, earlier on the evening, with a family service, followed later by a candlelight Christmas Eve service of Word and Sacrament.

These, in the hearts and minds of many long-time members and friends of the congregation, were Trinity’s ‘good old days’. After 1984, when there were 590, members, Trinity entered a long period of slow decline, as has been happening in churches all over Canada. Yes, those were good old days. They were good, but they are old and in the past. The early days, with only 35 members, meeting in a school, were good days too. Two years later, there were 150 members and they’d moved themselves into a new church building. Although small in number, the congregation was energetic, ambitious and positive to be about building up the community of believers in the Holy Trinity.

In the surrounding society, the Sabbatarian laws of the early 1950s, allowed citizens to watch baseball games on Sundays, but not to attend movies, or even concerts of J.S. Bach’s music. The same laws kept pretty well all the stores and movie theatres closed on Sundays. Restaurants were few and far between, ‘fast food’ chains were nonexistent and provincial and municipal liquor laws were restrictive in the extreme. Purchases from the Ontario Liquor Control Board had to be signed for. They were not on display and were certainly not for sale on Sundays. Come to that, there was not a lot to do on Sundays, except go to church. Religious [Christian] education was a recognized subject in public and high schools, where every day began with prayers. It was a time when many considered religion to be an inseparable part of public life. Not for nothing did the city earn its epithet of “Toronto the good”.

Nostalgia, especially for “the good old days”, is trying to relive something that is departed, in actuality or in mindful longing. But nostalgia only pays off in sentiment, not necessarily in wisdom. On the other hand, history pays off in wisdom and insight. It encourages sober reflection on the past in a way that helps the reader know who they are, where they are, and how they got here. It affords a perspective on the present that helps avoid taking the same unnecessary detours two or three times. Indeed, by being clear-eyed about the past, those in the present are helped to move forward.

For the past sixty-five years, the status of organized religion in public life has been gradually eroded and began disappearing from public life and the school system. It disappeared altogether, amid significant controversy, in 1988, when the Lord’s Prayer, or any prayer, was banned in the Ontario public school system. The old Sabbatarian laws are pretty much a part of past history. In 2015, one of the more recent religious prohibitions was enacted, by the Supreme Court. The custom in Saguenay, Que., was for the mayor to open and close council meetings with the words, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy

Spirit.” Someone complained his freedom of religion was violated … and the rest is history. Trinity’s ‘good old days’ are well and truly gone, taking its forgotten bad old days with them. But what of the good new days, those of the present, together with those, lying, awaiting, in Trinity’s future?

Over-viewing

This segment contains overviews of some Trinity groups, as they were. These have been contributed by a Trinity member. Overview, in this case is not looking down upon. In fact, the reverse is true. In their time, they were held in high regard, as were the members in them. Some have gone the way of all good things. Others continue and do so with some differences. The comments appearing after each of the groups are those of the author.

The Pastoral Care Team at Trinity was formed in 1999. The team visited members of the congregation who were sick and incapacitated. Each Trinity member who was unable to participate in the life of Trinity was visited regularly by a member of the team. The team instigated the Spring Tea and re-instigated two special communions a year. Each December they held a special Christmas Tea for all members who had lost a loved one during the past year.

The original Pastoral Care Team dissolved some years ago, and was almost immediately re-formed, perhaps a little differently. The section Extracts From Annual Reports, for 2014 offers a fair synopsis of the Team’s current activities. The opening line “Trinity people are people of compassion who watch out for each other.” is a fair assessment.

Canadians for Decency was organized by two grandparents from Trinity who were very concerned with the proliferation of pornography and violence on TV. The group grew to include other churches. A member of the Toronto Police Service, Project P (for pornography) also met with them on occasion. The group had representation on East Toronto Presbytery and attended their meetings. A seminar was held each year, which drew a fair crowd. The founders also spoke at different organizations when requested.

Sadly, pornography and violence in the media are rampant and more readily available and now reach far beyond TV, radio and print. Sadly, there remains high demand for both, despite the significant damage caused to society by them. Just as sadly, the church, once a moral compass for society, has lost the ears of that society. Sadly, sadly, sadly.

Church School, met in the North Hall, pre-1992, due to lack of space. At 9:30 a.m., grades 1 and 2 met at the south end, with grades 3 and 4 to the north, while grades 5 and 6 met in the middle. At the 11 o’clock worship service it was challenging when one class was singing and another praying. It was finally settled by bringing the two groups together to sing during the last 15 minutes of class. Once a year the kindergarten class held a skit night, to which parents were invited. This was on the stage, in what was the South Hall. At Recognition Sunday, in June the Robert Raikes diplomas were presented. These represented a student’s participation and attendance, plus work during the class year.

At the present time, the entire Church School fits one small classroom, where six grades once filled the North Hall. “Sad”, some might say, but if there are only a few children, there are only a few children. Although detrimental, in some respects, this situation has permitted the huge reservoir of energy once expended on Church School to be directed elsewhere.

The Mission and Outreach Committee, in 1996, began taking sandwiches and clothing to Evangel Hall, once a month. This outreach continues to the present. In 1997 the Committee began taking supper to the Hall once a year. For a few years this annual outreach was discontinued but recommenced in 2005 and continues to the present. “Deck the Halls” was the name given a Christmas carol service organized by the Committee, in conjunction with the Choir and Music Director. The neighbouring community was invited to this event and for three years it filled the Sanctuary.

The Evangel Hall Mission remains the recipient of Trinity’s monthly sandwiches and annual dinner. The Mission also announces, from time to time, throughout the year, just what its clients really need, by way of non-perishable food and personal hygiene products, etc. Here, again, Trinity rises to the call. Trinity members have also played and still play a major organizing role with a long-running annual golf tournament, played on a course owned by a Trinity family and donated for the cause. In fact, over the 15 years to 2017, $1.3 million has been raised by the tournament, to help fund the Mission. The inexorable advance of secularization depleted the “community audience” for Deck the Halls and it slipped from the calendar. The Mission Ministry of the present time remains as active as it always has been, in some of the same areas and in some that are different.

The first meeting of the W.M.S at Trinity was held in January 1964, with 17 ladies present.

The first Thankoffering service was in April 1965. A few years ago, this was changed to Mission Awareness Sunday. The W.M.S. organized these services.

In 1970, it was decided to “modernize” and the group name became Presbyterian Women. This lasted for a few years and it was decided that a rose by any other name is still a rose, so the name reverted back to Woman’s Missionary Society.

In 1971, the Trinity W.M.S. became involved in the World Day of Prayer service and has continued to be an integral part of this service.

In 1973, the W.M.S. held its first pot-luck dinner for the congregation and 170 people attended. On a number of occasions, the boys’ choir from Fernie House entertained us. The group continued these dinners until 1982 when 200 attended. The dinners were discontinued that year as the group had reached its limit for organizing it.

The Glad Tidings magazine and the Presbyterian Calendar were made available through the W.M.S.

Once a year for a number of years when New Canadians received their citizenship certificates, the Trinity W.M.S. hosted a reception for them at Citizenship Court.

In 1984, the group started teaming up College and University students with W.M.S. members who became prayer mothers for a particular student. These students were upheld in prayer by the group, which also tried to encourage them with cards and e-mails throughout the year.

In 1985, the group began collecting food and clothing for Evangel Hall.

At group meetings the Mission Study materials produced by the Presbyterian Church were used.

In 1987, the group ran its first Mission Sunday for the Church School children and continued for a number of years.

The group knitted toques and pneumonia vests for premature babies in India and Africa.

An event known as “Desserts With Love” was organized once a year by the group; with proceeds going to support one of the W.M.S. projects.

The group supported Armagh, Fernie House and Evangel Hall over the years.

Some of our members served on Presbyterial, Synodical and W.M.S. Council.

The W.M.S. was the only group in the Trinity congregation to function continuously for 50 years.

It was with sadness that the Trinity W.M.S. group voted at their April, 2014, meeting to disband. Our membership was dwindling and for many reasons it was hard to fill leadership positions.

This was the report sent to East Toronto Presbytery when the group disbanded. It was sad to see this once actively dynamic group vanish in the mists of time. It truly did “run the straight race” and “finish the course”. But, as the group itself recognized, it was time to give thanks, then say goodbye.

The activities of this next group are noted elsewhere but not this. In 1969 and 1981 the W.A. published ‘Trinity’ cookbooks. Come 1997, Fabulous Fare was the third and final of the trilogy. Here, for posterity is the text from the book’s cover page.

Woman’s Association

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do it all to the glory of God.” I Corinthians, X 31

This cookbook is to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills. Trinity Church has always been a centre of faith, fellowship, family, fun and food. Forty years ago, there were five active groups in our Women’s Association, with a membership of over 100. Mrs. Margaret Shanks, the first president of the W.A. is still an active member of the church.

The ladies worked hard to finance the new church and assist in its furnishings. They held bake sales, afternoon teas, luncheons, banquets and catering. We have included many recipes from some of our earlier cookbooks (* beside name

of recipe). We are grateful to the members of Trinity and their friends who have contributed their favorite recipes to this 1997/98 book.

Special thanks must be given to those who have worked hard to make this cookbook a reality. Deborah Kerner, Gail Scott, Rhonda Flanagan, Marion Milner, Marilyn McClelland, Isobel Benevides, Natalie Chole, Doris Campbell, Betty Worthington, Prudence Kingwell, Dorothy Hunter and Sheila Adamson.

Church and other charity cookbooks are becoming things of the past, due in large measure to fear of recipe copyright infringement. This 1997 publication was also around the end of the era when ‘healthy food’ was still considered to be anything that was edible.

“I have seen all things pass, and all things go,” is a line, from the English opera The Immortal Hour1, sung by a very weary and very old bard. It is easy to imagine God feeling that way, at times. Things, most certainly, do pass and go, as witnessed by the list of groups shown in the End Pages. While being the salt of the earth is excellent; if salt loses its taste, it is time to move on. Time to find new salt2

1 From the song of the “Old Bard”, Composer, Rutland Boug hton, with libretto adapted from poems by William Sharp. 2 A paraphrasing of Matthew 5:13

Generosity of Heart

1 He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; 2 he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4 for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4 NRSV

True generosity doesn’t come from excess; it comes from sacrificial hearts. The beauty of this passage, from Luke’s gospel, is in Jesus’ enthusiasm to point out this woman’s magnanimity to the disciples. To think that God gets this excited when we’re openhanded is pretty inspiring. Throughout its history the Trinity congregation has shown itself to have generous hearts, sometimes sacrificially so.

As recently as late November of 2017, Trinity was praised for the high level of its continuing generosity for the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Blowing one’s own trumpet could be construed as ‘boastful’. It is quite something else when someone else, blows that trumpet on one’s behalf. This praise came from the Rev. Stephen Kendall, Principle Clerk of the General Assembly since 1998, on a Sunday when he preached to the congregation. As an addition, he spoke of Trinity’s generosity and of how it is known across the denomination. He was referring to Trinity’s contributions to Presbyterians Sharing, as already mentioned in the Try. Try. Try again. segment. Mr. Kendall also praised Trinity’s historic and continuing financial support of Presbyterian World Service and Development. This arm of the Presbyterian Church “undertakes development, emergency and refugee activities that restore human dignity, ease the pain of want, promote self-help and encourage community cooperation that benefits all.”

Mention is made in Memories of Trinity of Trinity’s early support of Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church, when it was being established in 1960 and was, then, in the Presbytery of East Toronto. Perhaps this was “paying it forward”, as it were, following the generosity shown Trinity, by Glenview Presbyterian Church, not long before. In addition to its support of the Evangel Hall Mission, noted in Over-Viewing, Trinity has also given long-time support to Fernie House, now called Fernie Youth, which was originally a Presbyterian outreach. It is a charitable not-for-profit that has been helping male youth who have lost their personal direction and lack positive influences in life, for 50 years. Trinity has also given long-time support to Armagh House, which also began as a Presbyterian outreach. This is a second-stage housing programme, offering secure and affordable housing to abused women, with or without children, for up to one year.

Noted elsewhere is Trinity’s generosity, providing compassionate assistance for oppressed refugees from Vietnam in the 1980s. Also, to refugees from Syria, a plan recently expanded to assist displaced members of the same family, to resettle in the freedom of Canada. Trinity financially supported one youth member to build a school in Africa. A Trinity couple generously underwrote construction and operational costs for a school in Malawi. A decade ago, one man from Trinity collected pennies (before they disappeared) from Trinity folks and friends. Added to his own generosity, these pennies fed hundreds of children in Malawi every day. In the early 1980s Trinity raised funds to renovate and refurbish a Church Hall, in Blantyre, Malawi. Trinity, through its Woman’s Missionary Society group generously supported missions in India, South America, Taiwan and other places around the globe.

Historically, generous congregational contributions to the Trinity Benevolent Fund have been used to fund a multiplicity of worthy causes. Part of this fund was also set aside for the discretionary use of the Minister, to assist people in need. Purchases for the long-running Christmas-time Peace Tree Project have provided countless gifts for the folks at Fernie Youth, Evangel Hall and Armagh House, plus individuals known to Trinity. For many years, the congregation generously donated non-perishable food to the Trinity Emergency Food Bank. Since its demise, these donations have been diverted to the food banks of other congregations. Christmas mission projects have seen thousands of dollars donated to deserving causes. Some has gone to purchase farm animals, providing income, plus vital nutrition to at-risk children and families worldwide. Some has been used to provide schooling for at-risk young folks. In support of its young people, the congregation has sponsored participation at Presbyterian Youth Triennium in Purdue, Indiana and Canada Youth in St. Catherines. Children and Youth have been given financial support to attend Christian camps at Glen Mhor and Camp Iona, in the Muskoka district (now Cairn), or Camp Kintail by Lake Erie or Dorothy Lake Camp, near Kirkland Lake, or at other Christian camps. Trinity has funded and organized summer Vacation Bible Schools and has sponsored daily Christian Arts Camps at Trinity.

There came a time, over 30 years ago, when the Kirk Session believed it appropriate to create the Trinity Memorial Fund. Members, family members and friends of deceased members were and still are given opportunities to contribute to the fund, in memory of the deceased person. The names of those persons are recorded in a publicly displayed Memorial Book, whose pages are regularly turned. Also recorded in this book are the many bequests Trinity has received from the estates of deceased members and friends of the congregation. The generosity shown to Trinity, through these memorial gifts and bequests has helped fund innumerable repair and refurbishment projects and the purchase of countless articles for the church. As importantly, perhaps more so, are those memorialized names. They are constant reminders of the foundations upon which Trinity is built.

So far, this segment has only addressed money, albeit money in addition to that needed to meet annual budgets. Wherein, too, Trinity has shown generosity of heart, although there have been ‘lean’ years too, where belt-tightening was necessary. It would be wrong to ignore or undervalue the human, non-monetary side associated with generosity of heart. Take a look at the Trinity Groups, in the End Pages. From across 65 years, over 50 groups are listed. They represent small armies of people who generously gave and still give their leadership, management and organizational skills to the going work of Trinity. Teachers, singers, committee members, Board members, and Elders. Add to them the countless Trinity folks who have spent time with the sick, the recovering, the dying and the mourning, and those who have shopped for, taken shopping and provided meals, for those who needed these, and many other kinds of assistance. Then there are those who make or repair things, those who fetch and carry, those who set up before meetings or events, then clear up after them. Many of them have been unsung heroes for Trinity, doing stuff without recognition because they wanted to and wanted to serve God in this way. The plain truth is that Trinity would be socially, organizationally and even spiritually bankrupt without them. They, too, are the foundations on which Trinity has been built.

Paul reminds the Church: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of Godnot the result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 NRSV The faithful people of Trinity, down though its 65 years, have shied away from boasting of their corporate or individual, financial and other accomplishments. Much rather, they have been constant, good stewards of the time, talent and treasure that has come to them, as gifts, from the grace of God.

Memories of Trinity

Several people, from the past and present Trinity were invited to contribute their thoughts and memories of their time with the congregation. These are intended to add personal notes to our history, for each of them, in some way, have helped shape our past, and some are leading us in the present.

Rev. Dr. John F. Allan

My introduction to Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills I was the minister of the congregations in Chateauguay and Beechridge in the Presbytery of Montreal, the General Assembly had put me on the General Board of Missions. I was made Vice Chairman of the Board and the Chair of the Home Mission Executive. The executive met monthly at the church headquarters at 50 Wynford Dr. I’d get on the morning train from Montreal, spend the day at the meeting and hopefully get the evening train back to Montreal.

At the meeting in the fall of 1967, Dr. Howard Doig, the Home Missions Secretary said, “Plan to stay over next month. The Hungarian ministers are having a conference in Hamilton, and we’ll drive over and have supper and meet with them”.

Dr. Alex MacSween, the Assistant Secretary was driving, Dr. Doig was in the front seat and I was sitting in the rear. We were driving on the Q.E.W., returning to Toronto when Dr. Doig turned to me and asked, “John, would you be interested in a call to Trinity York Mills, as Colleague and Successor to Bob Kerr?” I was completely surprised by this and the silence lasted long enough for Alex MacSween to laugh.

Finally, I replied, “Where is Trinity York Mills? Who is Bob Kerr? And what is a Colleague and Successor?”

Dr. Doig told me that Trinity was a 15-year-old congregation of Bayview Ave. and that he and his wife Anne attended. Bob Kerr was the first and only minister. He had been very ill and was within a couple of years of retirement. The congregation was anxious to support him until he could get his pension and had agreed to hire an assistant minister. Meanwhile Dr. Doig was preaching most Sundays and moderating the Session.

They had not been able to find an assistant in Canada and thought they had one coming from Ireland, but at the last minute he turned them down. Then Dr. Doig proposed they seek a Colleague and Successor, a minister who would be a colleague of Mr. Kerr and then automatically become the sole minister of the congregation when Mr. Kerr retired.

Was I interested? I’d have to think about that. “Good.” said Dr. Doig, “You think about it. I have a meeting of the search committee tomorrow evening, so give me your answer in the morning, before you get the train.”

I didn’t sleep well that night, in the Lord Simcoe Hotel. The more I thought about it, I became more impressed by a congregation that was willing to support an elderly and sick minister. So I phoned Dr. Doig and said, “OK, if the committee wants to meet me, I’ll be happy to meet with them.”

A date was set for the meeting. Later, Dr. Doig phoned to say Mr. Kerr was again seriously ill and in Sunnybrook Hospital. He asked that I go there, to see him, before meeting with the search committee. Which I did. The committee met that evening in the Board Room. The members were introduced to me and there were some pleasantries expressed. Then, Ken Anderson, sitting at the far end of the table said in a loud voice. “What this church needs is a good preacher! Mr. Allan, are you a good preacher?” That put me in a difficult spot. If I said “Yes.” I’d be boasting and they wouldn’t want me. If I said “No.” they wouldn’t want me. So I replied, “I’m not sure, but my Mother thinks I am.” Everybody laughed and we got down to business, talking about the church and ministry and me.

The committee recommended to Session that I be invited to preach for the call, which I did and was inducted by the Presbytery on April 25, 1968. I was his only colleague until November 10th when Mr. Kerr died of a heart attack.

The Reverend Gordon Beaton

In the summer of 1975 I was appointed as minister of the Word and Sacraments to Guildwood Community Presbyterian Church. I hadn’t been in Scarborough long, when I had a call from Dr. John Allan asking me to be one of the speakers at a Trinity York Mills event on a Saturday. It was Theos, an organization based in the U.S. for ministry to those who are bereaved.

Dr. Allan was acquainted with my late wife, through Presbyterian Young People’s Society in the Hamilton area. Knowing I was a widower he thought that it would be helpful to share something of my journey with the people attending the event. I mention this for two reasons. First, it reminds me of Trinity’s financial support of Guildwood along with that of Glenview congregation, back in the early days of Trinity’s story. Today Guildwood continues to be a strong and significant presence in the Presbytery of Pickering and in the local community. Secondly when called to Trinity in 1988, I was already familiar with the Theos program. By this time, it had evolved to a very similar congregational and community service and renamed Trinity Support Group for the Widowed, led by Elsie Eakin.

A highlight in the history of the congregation was an outreach to the local community. For some time, there was a Sunday afternoon basketball program open to the community. Mrs. Nancy Pollock was the key person in the support of this ministry. At a personal level she and her husband gave much of themselves in compassion and costly care for these young people. That this was the case was reflected in the very large attendance at Nancy’s funeral, held here in what is now Founder’s Hall.

Another memory of note! The Christmas Pageant was a highlight during my ministry here, even as it is today. Dorothy Hunter had a major role in the organization of this Advent/Christmas event. For several years now, Karen and Mark Boucher have continued to give leadership in this annual congregational event. What comes to my mind is the year that CFTO TV asked Trinity

to allow them to videotape the Pageant with a view to having it televised. A very special event it was to have this part of our story shared with a television audience.

An important happening in the life of the congregation for many of its 65 years was the Men’s Breakfast on a Saturday morning, which began with a hot breakfast, lovingly prepared by the ladies of the church and followed by a speaker.

I look back on one Breakfast in particular. Dr. George Sinclair, a member and elder of Trinity, invited someone to speak on this occasion. This was a friend and colleague, sharing their common background in electrical engineering. The speaker was Dr. Wilson Greatbatch.

What a privilege, as I look back on it, to hear this man share with us his work, along with that of Buffalo surgeon, William Chardack, in designing and producing the first implantable cardiac pacemaker and later the defibrillator. The ChardackGreatbatch pacemaker was eventually licensed to Medtronic company of Minneapolis. And the rest of the story is common knowledge today. Recognizing how many we know personally, who have had the benefit of a pacemaker, it is worth remembering that Dr. Greatbatch, standing in the North Hall, shared his story with a Men’s Breakfast circa 1989-1992.

Dorothy Hunter

These are a few of the special memories I have of Trinity:

In the early days, the community was growing rapidly, changing from rural to suburban. Trinity became the centre of activities and people came from many denominations.

By 1958, the Women’s Association had over 100 members with 5 groups. They sponsored many events, from bazaars, craft sales, auction sales, rummage sales, dinners, etc. and supported the work of the Board of Managers, financially. Girl Guide groups and Brownie Packs as well as Boy Scouts and Cubs met at Trinity and that was a great asset to the whole community.

The Church School grew rapidly too, reaching over 350! It was necessary to have 2 sessions, the seniors meeting at 9:30 a.m. and the juniors at 11:00 a.m. Where to put them all was the big question! Every nook and corner were used! By 1960, the building of the North Hall made a huge difference!

I especially enjoyed working with the grade 8 girls class and encouraged them to have input into all our activities. They had their own treasurer, bought their own supplies, chose their own mission projects, etc. One I remember well was to support a small community in northern Ontario called Kasabonika Lake, home to an Oji-Cree First Nation Band. Our contact was through their lay pastor, Jeremiah McKay*, who took on the responsibility of distributing what we sent and of corresponding with us. The boxes had to be dropped by air and so had to be well packed. We sent 18 large cartons of clothing, which were well checked before sending to be sure they were suitable. We also collected ice skates and sent all the necessities for a Christmas party for the children. It was much appreciated by our northern friends! We all learned a lot, too! For our study we chose to look at Christian denominations by learning about them and then visiting a service, meeting afterwards with members or clergy for questions and further discussions later. What a great learning it was! Then we went on to other religions in the same manner. It made them all want to learn more about being Presbyterian! What more could you ask for!!!

The Christmas Pageant is another highlight. In March, 1988, a small group of women gathered to plan an annual one for Trinity. A busy time followed, finding patterns for costumes, suitable fabrics, treasure chests, crowns, crooks etc. The sewing machines flew that year and by autumn we were ready with a script in hand and a committee in place. The highlight of all was in 1993 when CFTO chose Trinity for its televised Christmas broadcast. It was to be on Pageant Sunday! Everything had to be fine-tuned for timing was critical as were all the little details. About 40 children participated and it all went smoothly! In recent years, it is still going thanks to the leadership of Mark & Karen Boucher! Each year some new ideas add to the production.

Dedication of the new sanctuary took place on September 27th, 1992. Jack Holdsworth and I were asked to make the plans for a celebration. What a big challenge!! So much work had been undertaken by so many people that we decided on a whole weekend celebration! Friday night was a barbecue and games night for all ages. Saturday was open house for the community and friends, with conducted tours, displays in all the rooms, a trip down memory lane with pictures from bygone years, and a slide show of construction from beginning to end. Refreshments were served. A celebration dinner was held on Saturday night to pay tribute to all who worked so hard to make it all happen and also to our dear minister, Gordon Beaton, who worked under such difficult conditions with never a complaint!!! Sunday of course was the dedication service with special guests and special

music. At that same time, our new organ was dedicated. It was an amazing weekend. Everything went smoothly, thanks to everyone who did their part with great goodwill!

*Mr. McKay went on to become a respected Elder, was elected Band Chief and in 2010, the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) hostel, was named in his honour.

Russ McKay

The span of my experiences at Trinity covers over 48 years from the time when the McKay family moved to their current address at 24 Havenbrook Blvd.

I can credit my wife Barbara for searching out Trinity as our new church home. Our move occurred in June and I felt obliged to complete a term as chair of the Board of Managers at our former church to December, this gave her the opportunity to do the advance scouting. Trinity just felt right, and we were moving from the United Church to become Presbyterians.

Because of my life’s work as a chartered accountant, most of my early work was in the finance areas, serving on the Board of Managers and as treasurer. I felt better suited to the temporal side.

In 1990, I was appointed to the Building Committee, which was formed to build the existing sanctuary. My role was to establish a funding plan, which involved the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCIC) Building Committee and the Royal Bank of Canada. We managed to raise funds and bank financing to enable a capital expenditure of $2.4 million. On completion of the building, a long-term mortgage for $900 thousand was entered into and the congregation purchased Trinity Notes for about $500 thousand. One of the happier experiences, for me, has been to recently participate in the celebrations of both burning the mortgage and the full retirement of Trinity Notes.

It has been an honour for me to serve as an elder and trustee, now for some years, and to always have a vigilance for matters financial.

Through Trinity and my work with the PCIC (as above) I was asked to take the appointment as PCIC Treasurer in 1994, for a sixyear term, which involved an ex officio appointment to the Assembly Council. I was appointed to the Trustee Board for a sixyear term and, subsequently, for another six-year term to the Investment Advisory Committee.

Currently, I am completing another term as Treasurer of Trinity and have just been appointed Convener of the Finance Ministry, with the objective of involving others so I can finally retire from leadership roles.

My wife had wonderful instincts in the late ‘60’s in directing our family to Trinity. It has been our place of worship over the many years, but also has afforded us the opportunity to do meaningful work and no less importantly has been the source of the best friendships possible.

It has been an experience we can’t imagine not having.

Barb McKay

As Russ has said he left it to me to search for our new church home. Having grown up in a southern part of the city, we had just moved north, into a new home, on what had been the old George Henry Farm. Russ was busy with his career and setting up house, but Church life meant a lot to us then, and still does. My background was Anglican and United Church and although there was another church, closer to where we lived, I found Trinity. Maybe Trinity found me.

I was impressed by the welcome given me, also by the friendliness of those I met. The order of worship was easy to follow and straightforward. I told Russ. He came, and agreed. That was in 1969, and here we are, 48 years later. Back then, everyone came to worship in their ‘Sunday best’. Most women wore hats and gloves. Even those in the choir wore caps to match their gowns. We were quickly made to feel that we were part of the Trinity family.

Our children, Judy and Gary, grew up in the Trinity Church School. At that time, both Worship and Church School were held at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. As I remember, we usually attended the early services, which was in our time the smaller group. I seem to remember helping them, at times, with memory work Bible verses for the *Robert Raikes Diploma. This also required students to attend classes regularly, very different from now, but good times for our children none the less.

*Robert Raikes 1736-1811 was an English philanthropist and Anglican layman, noted for his promotion of Church Schools. There is a statue honouring him outside the Ontario Legislative Building, in Toronto.

Looking back, over the years, I have particularly happy memories of being part of the Forward Group. This was a group for young wives, most of whom were also young mothers. We had much in common. We shared with each other and cared for each other. We grew up and matured together, as women and as Christians. I also believe it made us better wives and mothers. Best of all are the long-lasting friendships I still share with so many of the group. Forward Group was part of the Women’s Association and for some time I was part of the executive committee.

When I was appointed as Church School Superintendent, it also meant being part of the Christian Education Committee. Among responsibilities were choosing curriculum, ensuring there were sufficient staff and someone to play piano, enrolling students, arranging for special Sundays, chairing staff meetings, ordering materials and equipment. For several years I was a member of the choir. In addition to singing for worship, the choir, like Forward Group, was, for me a very special place. I think singing in harmony helped us be in harmony with each other and friendships blossomed. That was how it was for me.

I became an Elder in 1987 and served the Session for 14 years, then was invited to return in 2010 and served for a further 6 years. On occasion, there were pretty tense discussions, but mostly just folks making good decisions and doing good work for the church. In my own quiet way, I think I contributed well to these good works. I most enjoyed making pastoral visits to the members in my district and got to know some really wonderful people.

Someone asked me recently how I came up with the idea for the Children’s Corner. I think it was because I noticed, at the time, there were lots of children around after the worship service. Many of them were left pretty much on their own, as their parents socialized and caught up with friends. All that was needed was a carpet, some toys, a few books that could be stored and were easily portable, and me, of course. I don’t know who enjoyed themselves more, the children, the parents who didn’t need to keep an eye on them, or me. We were equals, on hands and knees, in our corner of the North Hall, on first-name terms with each other. The friendships made with parents were also very special to me. For about five years, we ‘kids’ played games, read and told stories and, who knew Lego could be such fun!

My hope for Trinity would be an influx of young families eager to be part of this Christian family. Of course, there are so many other influences to be overcome. I would hope new people coming into Trinity would find it to be a refuge in time of need, a place that offers a warm welcome with open doors and loving arms when needed, as I have found it to be. I believe I am who I am today through the road I have travelled in life and much of that road has been travelled with Trinity Church. Laureen Evans

My memories of Trinity since 1954.

We started coming to Trinity shortly after our marriage in 1954. I can’t remember when we joined, probably in 1956. My earliest memory is of Mr. Allenby, the greeter on our first Sunday. We were amazed on our return the next week that he remembered our names!

I remember being involved with the Sunday School. It was so large we had to have two services to accommodate the number of children. Wonderful programmes and teachers, especially Dorothy Hunter who took her students to different churches to see first-hand what they were all about.

Who can forget the Woman’s Association, especially the Forward Group, which was a wonderful support group while our children were growing up. Someone had nearly always had gone through a similar situation and were great sources of information and help.

Wonderful Bible studies run by lay people, where you could ask anything and not feel intimidated.

Wonderful Social Club. Can’t forget receiving an invite, all the way from Hawaii, to a Luau held in the North Hall! Many sleigh rides, swim parties, corn roasts, car rallies and Board Nights in the North Hall.

Great friendships that have lasted through the decades and through many changes.

Scott Worthington

For as long as I can remember, Trinity has been my church home and family. My parents came to Trinity some 61 years ago when I was just 2 years of age. At that time, Mr. Kerr was our minister and, as a very young boy, he was the epitome of the stern, straight laced Presbyterian minister. Years later, however, my parents would relate numerous stories that humanized this wonderful first leader of our congregation. I remember a large and vibrant church school which took up the whole of the North Hall, with folding panels to divide the room into classes, after the opening devotionals.

In 1968, John Allan came to Trinity – my sister Lee was part of the search committee that year. The Allan’s became dear friends of our family and Janet and I were pleased to meet up with John and Margery, in Nanaimo, last summer. Since I had been dedicated at birth, it was John who baptized me (threatening to drown me if I wasn’t good – thankfully he was merciful). John led our youth group when I brought my then new girlfriend, Janet, to Trinity for the first time and he was the one who married Janet and me in 1977 and baptized our daughter Heather in 1981.

In 1982, Ron Archer came to assist John at Trinity my mother was on that search committee. Ron and I became good friends and played squash against each other virtually every Friday. Thankfully, we had twins in 1985, so both John and Ron could each baptize one of our sons.

In 1988, Gordon Beaton answered the call to take over from John Allan, after John’s 20 years with Trinity I had the good fortune to be on the search committee that year. Over the succeeding years, Gordon has been dear to all members of our church as first the senior minister and now as Minister emeritus. Gordon presided over the funeral of my father and participated in the funeral of my mother, with compassion, love and great warmth.

In 1996, Thomas Kay came to Trinity – Janet was a member of the search committee that year. During Thomas’ time at Trinity, I was chairman of the Board of Managers and worked closely with him on both building and finance issues and on renewal of the congregational leadership.

In 2001, Ferne Reeve was called to be Trinity’s minister –for the first time, since Mr. Kerr’s calling, without a Worthington on the search committee. Until her retirement in 2013, Ferne provided strong leadership for our congregation, as we passed 50 years in our congregation’s life. She, also, provided our family with great support when our mother fell ill and then passed away – visiting frequently and then presiding over Mom’s funeral.

This brings us to today. Kirk Summers is now Trinity’s minister - again, called without a Worthington on the search committee, but with our full and unwavering support. While Kirk’s proclivity for wearing a certain Blue and White sweater shows his great faith, patience and belief in the long-term commitment to a cause, it is his boundless energy and friendly demeanor which truly sets him apart.

Stepping back again, in 1956, three years after Trinity was formed, Highway 401 was opened from York Mills to Scarborough. “Slashing like a fawn ribbon across the fields and through the thinly populated areas north of Toronto”, this four-lane wonder was to provide a remote high-speed bypass of Toronto. While sparsely populated at the time, York Mills and Willowdale were expanding rapidly. My parents and their archery club would practice on the fields north of Sheppard, where the Bayview Mews now sit. I can remember looking out their window, watching cows graze on the hills that now are the site of Fairview Mall and the neighbouring high rise apartments.

A booklet published by Trinity, in 1958, speaks of the massive change. From the 7 people who first met in September 1952, to discuss forming a church, the congregation had grown to 407 members and some 210 adherents. There were 382 children in the Church school, 5 active Women’s Association groups, and over 100 members of Girl Guides, Brownies, Cubs and Scouts using the new facility.

Growing up, I remember regular potluck dinners, spring and fall rummage sales, bazaars, picnics and music nights. The most memorable event was the time that the gentlemen of the congregation (men who always wore suits and ties with freshly “spit and polished” shoes) decided to put on a women’s fashion show. Wearing wigs and dresses they paraded around the stage to the delight of the crowd, raising funds for another good cause.

In my youth, Saturdays often meant coming to rehearsals for the annual play to be presented on stage before a standing room only crowd in the North Hall. Later, youth group meant coming Sunday evening to first play basketball in the North Hall and

then have lively discussions with Mr. Allan and numerous dedicated Student ministers on a wide range of topics. We had a very active group that would make sandwiches for Evangel Hall, visit seniors’ homes and have various social events. Our youth group would put on the annual Easter Sunrise service. I can remember arriving at the Church at 5:30 a.m. to set up chairs outside the steps to the old Sanctuary and tuning my guitar before the arrival of the intrepid souls who would join us outdoors to worship and greet the sun.

In those days, Trinity was truly “the Church for the Community”. Made up of young families in this newly developing area, most congregants lived within walking distance of the Church building. Trinity was not only their church but to a great extent their social network.

Growing up, Trinity also meant outreach to me and welcoming new people to our community and our family. Over the years, my parents and many others would “adopt” young families and individuals who had left their former homes and countries to find a new life in Canada. From the Vietnamese “boat people” that Trinity sponsored to the new “brothers and sisters” my family acquired when my Mother and Father reached out to those from England, Scotland, Guyana, China and elsewhere, who were new to the area, Trinity cared about those in need.

Today, our congregation spreads to all reaches of the GTA and beyond, our membership is older and distinctly more diverse, but it is my belief, and my fervent hope for the future, that Trinity has maintained the best part of our history – being warm, friendly and caring for those in need, both nearby and throughout the world. This is my church home, together with my family and has been for sixty-one years. Janet and I look forward to many more years with our dear friends and fellow congregants at Trinity York Mills.

Diane Wells

Reflections on 55 Years at Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills

When I was 7 years old, my mother and I were invited by a neighbour, to attend church with her and her daughter. (Why fathers and brothers didn’t go is still a mystery to me.) For the next 8 years, York Memorial Presbyterian Church was a huge part of my life.

Then, in 1962 our family moved to Willowdale and Mom and I started attending Trinity. One Sunday afternoon, after only our 1st or 2nd week at Trinity, the minister, the Rev. Robert Kerr, stopped by for a visit. After chatting with my mother for a while, he turned his attention to me asking about my involvement at our previous church. I mentioned the usual things, Sunday School when I was little, then Presbyterian Young People’s Society, Canadian Girls In Training and when I was 12, the senior choir. Within what seemed like only hours, I received a call from Trinity’s Director of Music, Kathleen (Kay) Williams asking me to come and sing for her. That was 55 years ago and, except for a hiatus during the 70’s when I was busy with small children and a husband who travelled extensively on business, I have been in the choir ever since.

Kay Williams was a talented musician and dedicated Director of Music. I remember one Sunday, in particular, when she turned up with a cast on her arm, the result of a fall the previous day. We couldn’t believe she was there, but she assured us that she had taken something for the pain and that she was fine. And she certainly seemed to be, until it came time for that part in the service where we were supposed to sing The Lord’s Prayer and nothing happened. After a few awkward seconds we realized that the pain medication Kay had taken was really working well and she had fallen asleep at the organ. Someone in the choir eventually got her attention, told her what to play, and she carried on like the true professional that she was.

In those days, in fact for the first 40 years of its history, Trinity had two services on Sunday mornings, 9:30 and 11:00. The services were basically identical, and it was a tribute to our affection and respect for Kay that most members of the choir attended both services. Between services we would hurry to the kitchen for cheese, crackers and coffee. It was there that I first discovered that a dollop of jam on a piece of cheese is delicious. Kay served as our Director of Music for over 30 years.

She was followed by Anglo-Irishman, Alan H. Cowle, for just three years. In addition to being an accomplished director and musician, Alan contributed articles to Trinity’s newsletter and included backgrounds to choral anthems in the worship bulletins. Before coming to Trinity, he had served as Music Director at Knox Presbyterian Church, Oakville. He also served on the Music Committee for the 1972 revision to the Book of Praise. One of the Christmas hymns in that revision, Lawrence Housman’s devotional poem The maker of the sun and moon, is set to music by Alan H. Cowle. In an article by the Royal Canadian College of Organists, in addition to being a former church director of music, Alan was referenced as “one-time owner of our former International Music.” Failing health forced Alan’s early departure from Trinity and he died not long thereafter. Our present

Director of Music, Lenard Whiting came to Trinity in 1993. Imagine, more than 55 of Trinity’s 65 years of music ministry have been served by only two Directors of Music.

Lenard came to us, bringing with him not only his talent at the organ and piano, but also his beautiful operatic tenor voice. Growing up in Kenora, Ontario, Lenard honed his skills from a very young age, at St. Alban’s Anglican Cathedral, which is where he also acquired his great love for traditional church music. It is still his passion but over the years he has also embraced contemporary praise as well. For 25 years we have performed the great works of Bach, Handel, Stanford and many more traditional composers. However, we have also been introduced to the amazing anthems and cantatas by present-day composers, like John Rutter and Eleanor Daley.

Although the repertoire has been varied, the instruction has always remained the same; observe the punctuation and ‘Whiting lifts” on dotted eighth notes, no Canadian R’s, listen to each other, watch for cut-offs, and keep it moving. And we all know, no one can keep it moving like Lenard! During the summer of 2018, Lenard will be moving back to his home-town of Kenora and after 25 years Trinity will once again be looking for a new Director of Music. In many ways this will be a sad time, but I have no doubt that it will also be an exciting time for both Lenard and Trinity.

Linda Herron

Growing up at Trinity: My earliest recollection of Trinity Presbyterian Church is of a Sunday school class. We are sitting on the floor in the North Hall. We are in a circle surrounding our teacher who is sitting on one of those old wooden chairs. She is reading a bible story to us. In all likelihood it was long time member of Trinity, Mrs. Betty Chambers (Mrs. Lewis-Watts as she was then known). There are several “classes” with children of different ages arranged around the North Hall. Another memory I have is of the Sunrise Service held early in the morning at a local park. As the service proceeded the sun rose in the east. My sister Kathryn and I would be wearing Easter bonnets made by our mother. We would have our best dresses on with black patent Mary Jane shoes.

I have been attending Trinity since I was 4 years old. We joined in 1960 when we moved into a house a few blocks away on Birkindale Drive. For over 55 years it has been my church home. I have grown up worshiping God at Trinity. Initially I attended with my parents Matthew and Elsie McCluggage, my brother Robert and my sister Kathryn. Later I attended with my own family, my husband Tim and our two children, Laura and Alex. Tim and I were married, and our children were baptized in the old sanctuary, now Founders Hall.

My parents, Matthew and Elsie, were always involved in activities at Trinity. My mother would head out every Thursday evening to choir practice led by Music Director Kay Williams. I loved the names of some of her fellow choristers…Daisy, Lily. On Sundays Mom would head out early to sing in the choir at both the 9:30 and 11:00 services. I remember fun, and loud, choir parties taking place at our house.

My dad Matt was always involved with the finances of the church. Several years he was the Treasurer and for many years an elder. He was also the representative elder at the Presbytery of East Toronto. I am proud to have felt the call to serve as an elder and also as the representative elder. I served as Moderator of Presbytery in 2016/17 and welcomed the opportunity to serve God in this new and exciting way. My husband Tim has also continued our family’s joy of helping with the financial aspect of church life by serving both at Trinity and at the Presbyterian Church in Canada as Chair of the Trustee Board. We have had many blessings and continue to enjoy many more through our life at Trinity.

The Rev. Ferne Reeve

The words of a Celtic blessing capture my experience of Trinity in the 12 years I served as its minister. The blessing is entitled Spare us the Fall and goes as shown in the side-bar.

Spare us the Fall May the roof above Never fall in, May we below Never fall out.

What are we to do about the roof? This was the topic of many conversations as, despite many patch jobs, we watched the rain running down the inside walls or flow through the Doig Room ceiling into pails. The question recurred in our minds as we watched members of the choir move around during worship to avoid the latest leak in the skylight above. Finally, the decision was made. We must fix the roof, so we put our best engineer on it with some helpful friends and replaced the roof along with the furnaces housed up there.

Great was our pride and joy, until that first new leak appeared.

And then there were the raccoons who made life below chilly as they tore away parts of the roof dwelling furnaces to make a warm home for their families. What is to be done about the raccoons we asked each other as we watched them scamper up the gas line that fed the furnaces? The pest specialists were less than helpful but one of our number had the answer. He rubbed a thick coating of Vaseline over the gas line and that problem was solved for a time.

Making sure the roof above never fell in included focus in other areas. There was the regular cleaning of the large building. The tired kitchen was transformed. Outside, when the craters in the parking lot became un-repairable, repaving took place. It took steady work to maintain the comfort of those who met beneath that roof.

But the building was never the main focus, although its needs and repairs are so clear, so obvious, so easy to talk about. Those of us who gathered underneath that roof put most of our effort into the second clause of the blessing, may we below never fall out.

Trinity’s main objective was not the building, but the community within it and connected to it. We cared for each other. We laughed together, grieved together, worshiped together, ate together, prayed together, sang together, played and had fun together. We aired a variety of viewpoints on all topics. We tended to need, read and studied scripture, went deep in faith, nurtured spirituality, organized ourselves, worked for a safe environment for all who came through our doors. We looked beyond our walls and invested money and time into caring for people beyond our doors, as the folks at Evangel Hall and other places can attest.

The roof above never fell in and those below it treasured the gift of the community that is Trinity York Mills.

The Rev. Kirk T. Summers

Joining Trinity Church in August 2014 as its sixth lead minister was and remains a great privilege and a wonderful journey. Trinity is a kind congregation. Kindness matters so much to healthy church life. It is to me paramount as we live and move and have our being for Jesus. 44 months together have passed at the time of this writing and in this time I have come to know and cherish this kind, faithful flock. Building upon the shoulders of all who have gone before them, they are eager to do what is good and acceptable in the sight of the Lord and they want to be as generous in bearing the fruits of the Spirit as they possibly can be. One of the earliest things that transpired in my ministry at Trinity was the creation of the tagline: Amazing grace. Warm embrace – a statement about God and about us. I find it to be entirely accurate in relation to the people I am privileged to serve. Even as God is amazingly gracious to us, God asks us to be amazingly gracious to others. Even as God gifts us with a warm embrace in Jesus Christ, so also does God ask us to warmly embrace each other. Time and again I have witnessed this in the last three and a half years and I have every reason to believe that it will never cease. 65 years is a long time for a church to exist beside the ‘Toronto Bypass’ and now in a radically different world and in a radically transformed York Mills then when it first began in 1953. Yet, Trinity has survived and even more it has thrived. It faces many great challenges. Still, its future is blazing bright because Trinity exists and is at 2737 Bayview Avenue first because God wants us ‘here.’ Our plan is God’s plan and we are standing at the ready to follow it in real and relevant ways - all being well and as God wills for countless generations yet to come. Happy Anniversary! Thanks be to God for what was, was is and what shall be!

The Kirk Session

The origins of “Kirk” (or Church) have already been discussed, elsewhere. “Session”, quite simply, means to sit, that is, to sit and talk about the needs of the congregation. However, it is more than just that. The Kirk Session is also a court of Christ’s church. It is an ecclesiastical court, with jurisdiction in spiritual or religious matters, also those of discipline within the congregation. The term, “Kirk Session” dates back to the mid-16th century Scottish Reformation and is the lowest of the four courts in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The other three are Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly. Members of these courts are called Elders. There are two types of them. One type is the lay members of the congregation who are elected, then ordained as “Ruling Elders”. The other is the Minister, who is a “Teaching Elder” and is also the Moderator of the Kirk Session. The ordination of a Ruling Elder is a calling to serve a high office, through which Elders play a key role in the pastoral care and good government of the congregation. They are also responsible for giving good leadership and good examples for its spiritual wellbeing and working closely with the Minister.

This is not the place for detailing what a Ruling Elder is and what they do, etc., but every member of the Presbyterian Church in Canada should know. If not, ask an Elder, or check it out in the Book of Forms, which is the Presbyterian book of rules on how to do most things and can be found on the internet

It should be understood that, under God, all peoples in the church, ministers, elders, members, adherents and children are equals. There is no seniority. Also, the governance of the Presbyterian Church in Canada is theocratic, not democratic, although it covers most bases in democracy. However, the Church is bound only to Jesus Christ, who is its King and Head. In this way, those who govern the Church are ultimately responsible to its King and Head, not necessarily to the members.

Luke 18 is a chapter bearing the heading, “Repent or Perish”. It tells “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth …” One Sunday, a preacher was pounding the pulpit while angrily and repeatedly challenging the congregation about this, when one worshiper shouted, “What about those with no teeth?” With barely a pause, the fiery preached shouted back, “Teeth - will be provided!” So it is with Presbyterian churches. When there is no Kirk Session, one is provided. Such was the case with the first ever Kirk Session to preside over the founding members of what would become Trinity. It was constituted on Sunday, December 21, 1952, at Harrison Rd. School, during Christmas worship, when the Rev. Dr. J. Alan Munro, chairman of the Home Mission Board, had preached. He then invited the congregation to the Lord’s Table. To expedite this, he constituted Elders Lawrence Nicholson, John Penny, Alex Crane and Dr. Jamieson from Glenview. Therefore, when Trinity began, the “provided” Kirk Session was comprised of the Rev. Robert H. M. Kerr, as Moderator and the ‘Assessor Elders’, appointed by the Presbytery of East Toronto, from the Kirk Session of Glenview Presbyterian Church. This situation did not last for long, however.

Within two months of its formation, Trinity had its first two ‘home-grown’ elders. The First ‘Trinity’ Kirk Session Meeting was with the Moderator and the two new Elders, one of whom became Session Clerk and Representative Elder. That was on June 19, 1953; by November 1955, just over six months after the dedication of its new building, there were eight ‘home-grown’ Elders. They were, in order of ordination: Jack E. Allenby, Clive Williams*, W. Ross Grinnell, Aubery C. Lewis-Watts*, Kenneth G. Anderson, Albert Caunt* and Chuck W. Gibson. *These gentlemen became Session Clerks.

The first mentioned of those early ordinations became a Trinity treasure. Jack Allenby was a man with a personal mission, in addition to other Session-related responsibilities. This was to ensure that everyone who entered the main door on Sunday mornings received a friendly greeting. Not just a greeting, but to catch up on where the people of the congregation were at and what they were doing. More than that, almost without being aware of it, visitors had given up their names, addresses and phone numbers to this incredibly friendly man. Few folks ever saw a note pad, for this man’s memory was encyclopedic. He didn’t appear to intrude or seem nosey. He didn’t keep people for long. Within the week, however, the minister would have contacted the visitors. He would know all that Jack had told him and he would likely have visited the potential new member. Jack was an Elder for 33 years. During his time “at the door” and for years thereafter, hundreds claimed him as a prime reason for them becoming part of the Trinity family. Such was his easy, engaging style and the warmth of his greetings. A front-door evangelist extraordinaire.

For its first 91 years, the Presbyterian Church in Canada did not permit the ordination of women as ministers or elders. Although women were not discouraged from working in many fields within the Church and many obtained degrees in theology and other subjects from the Church’s colleges, they could not be ordained. Following June of 1966, that changed. It came, after years of deliberation, with a “declaratory act” from the General Assembly, opening the door to the ordination of women as ministers and elders.

It took Trinity a further seven years to ordain its first woman elder. This somewhat lengthy time-lapse probably had little to do with chauvinist sentiments. Rather, it was more likely related to the culture of the times, on both sides of the gender divide. Christian ministry had been ‘a man’s world’ since biblical times, and it took time for changes of heart to take effect. When it did, Trinity elected its first woman Elder in February of 1973. She joined 31 men. This was Dr. Margaret Webster. She served the Presbyterian Church in several positions: National Girl's Work Secretary, Organization Secretary for the Women’s Missionary Society, and the Canadian Council of Churches National Secretary for Canadian Girls in Training. Her outstanding contribution to the Presbyterian Church in Canada came through association with Ewart College. The function of the College was to prepare women for missionary service, diaconal ministry and Christian education. At the time of her ordination at Trinity, she had been Professor of Christian Education and Principal since 1958 and continued in this capacity until 1983. In short, she came to Trinity Session well qualified.

By 1984, when Dr. Webster left Trinity, she was one of 5 women Elders. The others were Dorothy Hunter, Jean Fullerton, Peggy Ausman and Helen McLaughlan. Seventeen years later Trinity called a woman minister. The Rev. Ferne Reeve was a graduate of Ewart College, where she had come under the tutelage of Dr. Margaret Webster. Thereafter, she served as a Deaconess*, with several churches. Ferne then entered the Master of Divinity programme at Knox College, from which she successfully graduated. In 1986, she began serving in north Oakville where she built up the new congregation of Trafalgar Presbyterian Church. She accepted the call to Trinity in 2001 and served at Trinity until retirement in 2013.

*In 1984 the Presbyterian Church in Canada changed the term Deaconess to the wordy, but gender non-specific, Member of the Order of Diaconal Ministries, at which time men were admitted to the Order.

Entering its 65th year, the Kirk session had 10 male and 12 female members. Of these 22 Elders, the longest serving was ordained to the office in 1995 and the most recent in 2012. They are, in order of their ordination: James Waddell, Diane Wells, Joan Kitchen, Russell McKay, Terry Kelly, Constance Townsend, Stanley Townsend, Mark Boucher, Jane Frederick, Elizabeth Wu, Elizabeth Albrecht-Bisset, Andrea Hagan, Linda Herron who serves as Representative Elder to Presbytery, Randal Phillips who serves as Session Clerk, Jack Slabe, Kathryn Anderson, Gerry Stephenson, Andries Van der Merwe, Alex McCormick, Ruth McCormick, Dawn Thornhill and Boon Chua.

Altogether, one hundred and sixty-eight Elders have been Ordained or Admitted to the high office of Kirk Session, at Trinity York Mills. From William G. Alexander (Bill), who at 48 years, has been the longest serving among them, to Norman W. MacLeod, who served for just four months, every Elder has given something of themselves. They have given that something to Trinity, to the Church at large, and certainly to God the Creator, in the service of their Lord, Jesus Christ.

Board of Managers

This is something of a retrospective, since the Board of Managers disappeared seven years ago, having been around for 59 years. It began on 16th November 1952, six months before the congregation got its name. Having been given due notice, a post-worship congregational meeting was convened by the Interim Moderator, the Rev. Dr. Kenneth M. Glazier, Minister of Glenview Presbyterian Church. At that time, Messrs. A. Shanks, L. A. Nesbit, C. W. Gibson, A. C. Dermody, J. Craig Taylor, A. S. Lewis-Watts and C. Williams were elected as managers. Although it had just begun worshiping in Harrison Rd. Public School, this was the beginning of a process that nurtured the young congregation to stand on its own two feet.

Unlike Kirk Session, Managers were elected to the Board by the congregation. Usually, this was for a three-year period, after which Managers could either rotate off the Board, or allow themselves to be re-elected for one further term. In this way, continuity and experience was assured

The work of the Board has often been overshadowed by Session, or any one among hundreds of congregational special events. On reading through the history, related in the Trinity 1953-2018 segment, there is evidence of the Board, hard at work. Yes, there were building committees, but there was still Board participation in the 1955, 1960 and 1991 building projects. The Board was involved in land expropriation and compensation. It has been involved in hammering nails, sawing wood, driving screws and every minor and major repair and refurbishment, since the beginning. Then there’s the money.

Preparing annual budgets, having them adopted, then, over-spending here, borrowing from there, while valiantly struggling to make ends meet and balance the books by year’s end. Then there is the reporting. Take a look at the segment Extracts from Annual Reports for 1965. This gives a true representation of the breadth and depth of Board involvement in congregational affairs. And they did visiting, way back then. Whether the budget is $48,000, as it was then, or around $480,000, as at present, the Board, or its unicameral equivalent, has been on hand to manage. From the Ushers at Sunday worship, those who count the weekly offerings, to the Envelope Secretary who accounts, collates and reports to the Board and to each one who contributes via Offering Envelopes, they manage financial resources.

In more recent times, the function of rental co-ordination has been added to the responsibilities. A necessity in sustaining congregational financial viability, this has required juggling the requirements of numerous tenants with those of the congregation. There was also a long time human resources responsibility. It was known as that for most of the Board’s life. This included looking after the employment conditions of a Church Officer or Custodian and a Church Secretary or Office Administrator. Add to these, working with the Session when engaged in financial stewardship activities, or other special fundraising projects and the full picture comes into focus. Come the time, in 2011, when the system changed to unicameral there was no less work to do and no less responsibility.

Committees, committees, committees

There is an ex-biblical creation story of God deciding to give a committee of the angels a task. He provided them with the necessary parameters, then left them to it with this instruction, “OK, create a horse.” The committee did what committees do. Wrestled with this and that, discussed, argued over some things, then found consensus. Thus, the camel came into being.

Presbyterian churches require two, distinct, governmental responsibilities to be served. The first is spiritual and the second is

temporal. From 1953 until around 1970, these responsibilities were exercised by two independent, yet linked organizations. Namely a Kirk Session and a Board of Managers. Call them what you will, these were two big committees. “How big?” you say. Well there were 33 Elders serving on Kirk Session, which must have made reaching consensus difficult on contentious issues. That was the number of Elders around 1970, when Session opted to implement the recommendations of the 1968 LAMP Report about creating committees. So, Christian Education, Worship & Nurture, Mission & Service and Business & Nominating committees came into being, with membership from the congregation, in addition to Session. From then, till now, variations on these, plus a few that have come and gone, have kept the wheels of Christendom, at Trinity, oiled and moving. These all reported to Session, as their newer generations still do.

Then there are, or were, the other committees. The Church School already had one. The Woman’s Association and Presbyterian Women had one each. Maybe the W.A. had more than one. These and many of the organizations listed in the End Pages had a committee of some sort. All of them were and are responsible to their parent committee of Session and, in turn, to the Kirk Session itself, to whom they are all beholden. Session, of course, is beholden through its Moderator, to Presbytery - and more committees.

Boards of Managers, on the other hand, are beholden to the Congregation, which elects them. Of course, the Session is responsible for the Congregation and so the wheel turns. Being responsible for congregational money, Boards’ have a Finance Committee. Session is responsible for stewardship of money and all else, a situation which necessitates co-operation between both organizations. The Boards also have responsibility for church property, except within the Sanctuary. Again, that is a Session responsibility, as is the organist and/or choir director. In case one or the other forgets, the Book of Forms cautions that Board and Kirk Session have a “duty to cooperate closely” in matters pertaining to stewardship. [BoF 162]. This includes special purpose fund raising.

In 2007 The Kirk Session got rid of its committees and those who chaired them, be they women or men. To avoid ambiguity, in an era of increasing political correctness, the people who lead these various groups became Conveners. In the thick of things, committee members, even Elders can start acting more like business executives, less like the stewards they really are. Of course, good business practices should be used, yet be tempered by the grace and truth of the Gospel. For this reason and to better reflect the nature of the work being carried out, on behalf of Christ’s Church, committees became Ministries.

The technical term for the dual type of Kirk Session/Board of Managers governance/management process is bicameral. Then came a time, in 2011, when prevailing circumstances made it expedient for a change to a unicameral system. Kirk Session absorbed those responsibilities undertaken by the Board of Managers. The ‘infamous’ 1968 LAMP Report had taken this into consideration, when promoting the formation of committees. Part of that recommendation included; “a committee entitled Finance and Maintenance which would fulfill the terms of the Board of Managers as described in The Book of Forms”

Currently the Kirk Session has eight Ministries. They are presented here in alphabetical order. With each, comes with a few descriptive words that are applicable to them. Education (Learn. Inform. Equip.), Congregational Life (Fellowship. Care. Pray.), Missions (Love Neighbour, City, World), Connections (Invite. Connect. Communicate.), Human Resources (Employees. Volunteers. Leading with Care.), Finance & Stewardship (Giving. Finances.), Property Management (Facilities. Grounds.), Worship (Praise. Thank. Inspire.). There is a ninth, but Session Advisory, is more of an internal business ministry.

The Kirk Session also has four Office Bearers. The Session Clerk is responsible for recording minutes at Session meetings and record keeping. The Clerk is also the voice of Session, relaying information to the congregation and beyond; either verbally or in written form. Representative and Equalizing Elders are also members of Presbytery, assuring there is an equal number of Teaching and Ruling Elders. They also serve on Presbytery committees. The ‘Equalizing’ Elder is necessary since, in the Presbytery of East Toronto, the Clergy of Knox College faculty and staff at the National Office create a numerical imbalance. The Roll Clerk maintains the list, or Roll of Members in Full Communion with the Congregation. They remove names from the Roll, or add them, at the request of Session. They also submit statistical records to Presbytery annually, for inclusion in the Acts and Proceedings of the General Assembly.

There are a lot of derogatory jokes about committees. There was a mild one at the beginning of this section. They can and should be a boon to the church, but sometimes they can be a bane. For Trinity, they have been around since close to the beginning. In fact, since before the beginning, for Trinity came about from the work of committees from Glenview Church, East Toronto Presbytery and the National Office of the Church. For them, as now, important, often complex issues arise. They may require research, consideration of alternatives, extensive discussion, and even brainstorming. Sometimes they produce camels,

but in the church, sometimes they produce viable Christian communities that have committees to plan, supervise, and execute the affairs of the congregation.

The Hyphen Years

On gravestones there are usually dates of birth and death, often with a dash “-”, or a hyphen, in between them. For the deceased, the hyphen is their life story. For Presbyterians, the hyphen is the ‘pulpit vacancy’ between calls. That is, those periods of time, following the departure of one minister, until another one takes over the ‘charge’. It happens like this. After a minister informs the congregation of intent to retire, resign, or accept a call elsewhere, an application to do so is then submitted to Presbytery. In the wake of this, Presbytery appoints an ‘Interim Moderator’ for the congregation. On the Sunday after the minister leaves the congregation, the Interim Moderator conducts worship and declares the pastoral charge vacant. The Interim Moderator moderates Kirk Session and congregational meetings. He or she also assists/directs the ‘vacancy’ or ‘search and selection’ committee appointed by the congregation and is with the congregation until the new minister has been inducted. Resolution of the pulpit vacancy process usually requires somewhere in the order of one year, although some may take more, and some less.

An entire year may seem a long time to ‘hire’ someone to fill a ‘job’, but ministers are ‘called’ not hired and Christian ministry is a ‘vocation’, not a job. It should be remembered that the word vocation comes from the Latin word vocare, “to call.” The ‘call’ is the call of God upon the congregation, with respect to a particular minister. It is also the call of God upon the candidate, to minister with that congregation. The hyphen year, is the time “between ministers”. This time affords opportunities for the congregation, with its search committee, to diligently and prayerfully discern the will of God. In this respect, Trinity has called six ministers in its sixty-five-year history, although it has had only four vacancies.

1967-1968 - It was recorded in the Kirk Session report to the January 1967 Congregational Meeting that the Rev. Robert H. M. Kerr had undergone surgery, from which he had recovered well. Additionally, that the Rev. Dr. Howard M. Doig had assumed much of the responsibility during Mr. Kerr’s absence. A year later, the Kirk Session report to the January 1968 Congregational Meeting said that Mr. Kerr had been “laid aside with a heart condition.” Also, that a Pastoral Support Committee had been struck, with respect to calling a Colleague and Successor to Mr. Kerr. Additionally, the Rev. Dr. H. M. Doig, who had again assumed much of the responsibility during Mr. Kerr’s absence, was offered an expression of sincere and heartfelt appreciation. In the first ‘change-over’, the Rev. John F. Allan was called, in April 1968 as Colleague and Successor to the Rev. Robert H. M. Kerr. For this reason, there was no vacancy when Mr. Kerr died, on November 10, 1968. In these two transitional years, Dr. Doig was the ‘hyphen’. Both he and Mr. Kerr had been Canadian military chaplains.

1987-1988 – the Rev. Dr. J. J. Harrold Morris who was then minister at Glenview Presbyterian Church, was the Interim Moderator between John Allan and the Rev. Gordon A. Beaton. During this vacancy, Trinity was blest by the continuing ministries of the Rev. Dr. Howard A. Doig who was Honorary Associate Minister at Trinity between 1972 and 1991 and the Rev. Ronald (Ron) C. Archer who was Assistant Minister from 1982 until 1990, when he accepted a call to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Sarnia, ON.

1995-1996 – the Rev. J. Patricia (Pat) Hanna who was then minister at Gateway Community Presbyterian Church, served in position of Interim Moderator between Gordon Beaton and the Rev. Thomas J. Kay. During this vacancy, Trinity relied on Stated Supply Ministers who preached at worship, administered the sacraments and also conducted wedding and funerals.

2000-2001 – the Rev. John D. Congram who was then Editor of the Presbyterian Record, served between the Rev. Thomas Kay and the Rev. S. Ferne Reeve. During this vacancy, Presbytery recommended that Trinity would be best served with an Interim Minister. In addition to his ministry of the Word and Sacraments, Trinity was richly blest at a difficult time, by the pastoral care of the Rev. Dr. J. J. Harrold Morris.

2013-2014 – the Rev. Timothy (Tim) R. Purvis who was then minister at Westview Presbyterian Church, served between Ferne Reeve and the Rev. Kirk T. Summers. During this vacancy Trinity was blest by the Interim Ministry of the Rev. Dr. James (Jim) F. Czegledi. Jim had been Program Minister at Trinity since 2008 and his ministry provided the congregation with continuity and stability in the interim. Also, as Mrs. Reeve had announced her intent to resign 6 months prior to her departure, the process of search and selection gained a head start and the actual vacancy lasted only a further 6 months.

These Interim Moderators, Interim Ministers and Pulpit Supply Ministers were, of course, more than just hyphens, filling space. They were stepping-stones, from one phase of ministry to another. Their leadership, teaching, mentorship and wise council

helped direct Trinity in its cross-over from comfortable familiarity, into the new and untried. And in the transition, they kept Trinity aware of the unchanging God and that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 NRSV

May I Be Of Assistance?

From 1972 until 1991 the Rev. Dr. Howard Doig was Honourary Associate Minister, and the honour was Trinity’s. Dr. Doig’s involvement and intercession during the latter years of Mr. Kerr’s ministry, into the early years of John Allan’s ministry were noted earlier. An irregular preacher at Trinity, he inevitably took the pulpit on the 1st Sunday of May, by way of commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic. He, together with his wife Anne, became something of a Trinity institution.

From 1982 until 1990 the Rev. Ronald (Ron) C. Archer became full time Assistant Minister at Trinity. This happened at a time when the Membership Roll was on the increase and it introduced the congregation to the up and coming concept of Team Ministry. Although perhaps not always appreciated by the entire congregation, the two, very different ministry styles of Mr. Allan and Mr. Archer were of great benefit to Trinity. Ron’s was a newer, less traditional style of ministry, well suited to many in the congregation who were like-minded. One example of a group that came into being, during his time was the Genesis Group. It was intended for those who were divorced, separated, or those who were going through the process, a different kind of pastoral care, appropriate for the times.

From 1991 until 1992 the Rev. Kathleen J. Brownlee became part time Assistant Minister. She came not too long after her ordination and, her time at Trinity was short. Kathy’s leadership in worship, pastoral care in visitation, skill in drama and facilitation of discussion in study were both a credit to her and a blessing for Trinity. She also possessed amazing powers of persuasion. None other, but she, before, or since, ever got the Kirk Session to open themselves to ridicule, on stage, in a blisteringly humorous skit comedy of the Cinderella fairy story! Upon leaving Trinity, she became Associate Minister at Armour Heights Presbyterian Church, in November.

From 2002 until 2005 the Rev. Gordon A. Beaton became part time Minister of Pastoral Care. Having recently retired from ‘parish ministry’, Gordon and Elizabeth, his wife, returned to Trinity and became valued members of the congregation. Gordon is very much a gentle man, a gentleman for sure, but also a gentle man. Kind hearted and understanding, with years of experience, he was well-liked by those to whom he ministered, and the congregation held him in high esteem. So much so, that when he felt called to engage in interim ministry, Trinity immediately appointed him Minister Emeritus. Gordon still ministers to Trinity, as leader, facilitator and mentor to a monthly lunchtime group of diversely opinioned ‘mature’ gentlemen.

From 2008 until 2014 the Rev. Dr. Jim Czegledi returned to Trinity, 21 years after his time as a student with the congregation. He became part time Minister of Programming and brought his outstanding people skills and brilliant sense of humour with him. During his time, among many other things, Jim introduced the Alpha course in which the basics of the Christian faith were introduced through a series of talks and discussions and Christian Explorers, he leads sincere studies of the Bible, in an intimate and friendly atmosphere, helping members learn to apply faith and knowledge in life. He introduced not one, but three Mariners Groups. These were ‘life groups’ of fellow Christians caring for and supporting each other as they grew in Christ, while sharing with the community beyond church. Some of that was spending time with North York Harvest Food Bank and preparing and serving meals at Evangel Hall. Jim’s introduction of English Conversation Classes was an introduction to ‘being Christ in the community’ and asking nothing in return. Innumerable folks arrived, inhibited by lack of English language understanding. They left, liberated from inhibition by patient teaching, quiet understanding and simple conversation. And they were thankful.

It will be noted from the Lists in the End Pages that Trinity, throughout its history, has enjoyed the presence of 33 Student Ministers from Knox College. Three of these students were members of Trinity who accepted the call of God to Christian Ministry in the Presbyterian Church. Andrew Fullerton entered ministry from university, Mike Barnes and Annalise Lauber, were both long time Trinity members who entered ministry after raising families in the congregation, and brought life-experience to the congregations that called them. Of the other students, one helped Trinity at the kick off. Another became a Moderator of the General Assembly. Yet another rose in the ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces to become Chaplain General. One served as a mission co-worker in Malawi. A 1987 Knox student returned to Trinity in 2008, as the Rev. Dr. Jim Czegledi, as noted above. Among other things, all 33 of them gave of themselves to Trinity, in youth work, pastoral care, preaching, and worship leadership. Trinity’s ministers and the congregation gave to them foundational mentoring, coupled with experiences to enrich their calling in service to Jesus Christ.

Communications

It could, rightfully, be said that the church is in the communications business, not necessarily as in radio, television, or the

printed media, although many churches choose those as means of communication. Ever since Jesus said, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. …” Mark 16:15 NRSV, word of mouth held the monopoly in church communication. It continued for centuries and long after Johannes Gutenberg had his printing presses producing bibles, even long after people had acquired the art of reading. As Ministers of the Word and Sacraments, Presbyterian clergy still rely, for the most part, on communicating their ministry by word of mouth.

Still in word-of-mouth mode, Presbyterian congregational membership is divided into approximate geographic areas. Those living within those areas are assigned to an Elder. In addition to their “ruling” functions, Elders are also responsible for informing their district members of what is happening in the church. In addition, they are responsible for providing frontline pastoral care to them and for encouraging them, as the members are able, with their stewardship and participation in the mission of the church. To accomplish this, Elders were required to visit their members, regularly, throughout the year. They still are, but other means of communication are also being utilized. The efforts of the Kirk Session have been augmented, for some years, by Trinity’s Pastoral Care Team, about which more may be gleaned from the Annual Report extracts for 2014.

For many years, Trinity has had a prayer line or, more correctly, a Prayer Chain. Here is a communication system of prime importance. The ‘prayer partners’, have faithfully interceded with God, through Christ Jesus - and they still do. This has been and continues to be done on behalf of members, those in their family, or their friends, when they have been confronted by difficult times, or in times of thanksgiving. What a blessing this has been, for so many. Not just through the cooperative uplifting of their prayer to God, but in the assurance that others, from among their family in Christ, lovingly share with them in the affairs of their lives.

The segment called The Times They Are A Changin’ illustrates the progression in types of copying devices. Duplicating abilities in the Church Office at Trinity, pretty well followed that progression, perhaps a year, or a few, behind the trend. From fastfading purple spirit dye until today, with high-speed full colour printing, with a machine that folds, and staples are a long way apart, in the communications realm. There have also been, since about the beginning (and still are) strategically placed notice boards in the building. These are for posters advertising Trinity events and others that may be of interest to the church family. In the segment, The Way We Were, is a paragraph describing neXus, the onetime Trinity newsletter. In its day, this was an important communications medium. By times, it was Elder-delivered, mailed via Canada Post and made available for Sunday morning pick-up.

For many long-gone years, Trinity maintained an emergency telephone matrix. This enabled message transfer at the speed of seven-digit rotary dialing, from stage, to stage, to stage, plus the time to relay the message. Today, screeds of information can be uploaded to an e-mail server and delivered instantly (nearly) to everyone in the congregation with an e-mail connection. The same or other information can be posted, just as easily and quickly, to the congregational web-site, or Facebook page.

Once known, simply, as the Order of Worship, this once simple, bare-bones document has witnessed significant change. Although sometimes proportioned like a storybook, and often stuffed with inserts, the weekly worship bulletin, has become a significant purveyor of information, in addition to an order of worship. Augmenting the bulletin, at worship, has been a threescreen digital, video projection system. Announcements are projected, at appropriate times. The design purpose of this installation was to project hymn and praise song texts, plus other images chosen to enhance worship for those present.

Given the speed of developing technology, who knows what lies ahead for communications. At present Trinity’s third reconstruction of its web-site is alive and well. Other avenues, currently available, remain to be explored for church purposes. Who knows, face-to-face online Bible studies may lie, just around the corner. One thing is certain, the corporate communication of voices, hearts and minds uplifted, in praise of God and worship of Him, will never be eclipsed by printed or electronic media.

Extracts from Annual Reports

In this segment, selections have been culled, verbatim, from the annual reports in each of seven decades, from the 6th decade of the 20th century, until the 2nd decade of the 21st century. The choice of these selections comes nowhere close to telling the entire story. What these parts of the story do is portray something of what Trinity has been doing, across the sixty-five years of its history.

1955 Annual Report - The Kirk Session

As we look back upon the record of the work of our young church during 1954, we do so with humble gratitude to our Heavenly Father whose hand has been abundantly upon us for good, and to Him we look for guidance and strength for the year into which we have so recently entered.

There were several outstanding and historic events in connection with our church in 1954. On February 28th, the Congregation decided to engage the services of Hanks and Irwin, Architects, to draw plans and specifications for the First Unit of our Church Buildings. On April 11th those plans were approved subject to confirmation by Presbytery. The Congregation, on July 25th agreed to engage W. J. Lee Construction Company as Builder of our First Unit Church. On August 8th the First Sod was turned, and finally, on October 24th, the Corner Stone of the new Building was laid by the Moderator of Presbytery, the Rev. J. C. Hay, assisted by the Rev. J. M. Milroy, Past Moderator of the Synod of Toronto and Kingston. We now look forward in the near future to the Official Opening of our Church.

During this year also two new members were added to the Session, namely, Messers W. Ross Grinnell and A. C. Lewis-Watts, who were duly ordained to their high office on Sunday, September 26th

The Sacrament of Holy Communion was held four times during the year, in March, June, October, and December. A total of 26 new members were received by Certificate and Profession of Faith.

The Sacrament of Baptism was dispensed on Sunday, November 28th, when two children were baptized.

Statistics

Number on Communion Roll December 31st, 1953………...

Added by Profession of Faith…………………………………….……

Added by Certificate……………………………….……………………..

Number on Roll December 31st , 1954……………….…………… 41 3 23 67

The Session wishes to express its hearty thanks to our Auditors Messers W. A. Craw and A. A. Forbs; to the Staff of our Church School for their devoted work among the children; to Miss Marion Bentham, our Pianist and to all others who so willingly gave of their time and talents for the welfare of our congregation and the extension of God’s Kingdom in our midst.

R. H. M Kerr, Moderator and Clerk

1965 Annual Report - Report of the Board of Managers

The report begins with a list of Board office bearers and members which has been omitted

The Board held a regular meeting each month, except July and August. The various committees of the Board met at the call of their Chairman.

The 1964 budget of $48,000 was met by givings, however special donations increased the annual income by approximately 5% over the budget estimate.

During the month of August, the $16,000 balance owing on the first mortgage, held by the Presbyterian Church in Canada, was retired by obtaining an additional bank loan. The total debt of our Church was reduced by $16,000 during the year. This was $6,000 more than the $10,000 included in the 1964 budget.

As we review the accomplishments of the past year, we list some of the items for the information of the congregation. The General Assembly, Presbyterian Pension Fund and the Presbyterian and Synod Assessments have been paid in full for the year 1964.

All new members of the congregation were visited by the New Members Committee of the Board.

A new concrete sidewalk was laid from Truman Road to the front steps of the church.

Approximately 100 hymn books were rebound and returned to use.

A bicycle rack was built for use of the children of the church.

A blackboard was installed in the Board Room.

Fifty stacking chairs and six tables were purchased for use of the Church School.

Other normal repairs and maintenance were carried out during the year; these included painting, roof repairs and chimney repointing.

A lost and found bench was built by Mr. C. W. Kirkpatrick of the Board to fill a request from the Church School.

The Board extends its sincere thanks and appreciation to all those individuals and organizations who gave of their time, effort and money in support of the work of the Church. A special thank you to the Woman’s Association for their generous donations totaling $2,000 during 1964, which was applied to the reduction of the capital debt of the congregation. This past year the Board suffered a great loss in the passing of Mr. Adam MacDonald, the chairman of the Ushers and Seating Committee. Mr. MacDonald is greatly missed by the Board and the Church for his devoted work among us.

The report ends with an explanation about retiring Board members and lists retiree names, which have been omitted.

H. M. Wilson, Secretary

Annual Report 1973 – Presbyterian Women

The report began with a list of 13 office bearers, which has been omitted.

The Presbyterian Women meet the 1st Monday of each month for nine months. We have 23 members with an average attendance of 15.

We had a varied programme which included – a study of Africa, a delightful evening with Dorothy Hunter and her Circle Group of Girls. They took us on an imaginary tour of Africa, Miss Estelle Amaron spoke to us one meeting; Miss Amaron has lived and travelled extensively in Africa. We shared a Pot Luck supper with the congregation in April. Mrs. Eva Peters of Street Haven was our speaker in October and November found us being introduced to speed reading by Mrs. Betty Jannaway.

The Presbyterian Woman and Trinity Church were hosts for the World Day of Prayer Service in March. Dr. Margaret Webster, a member of our congregation, was the speaker.

Again in 1972 Presbyterian Women sponsored a child through Canadian Save the Children Fund, six-year old Samuel Bailey, from Kingston, Jamaica. We were responsible for the reception of new members in March. We helped the Multiple Sclerosis Society with their first meeting of the new North York Chapter in September.

Members of the group attended the Spring and Fall Rallies of East Presbytery.

Presbyterian Women met all their financial obligations in 1972, including a donation to Harold King Farm*.

We look forward to another interesting year for 1973 and would like to use the opportunity of inviting members and friends of the congregation to our meetings.

Maureen Hiscoke

It should be noted that the Presbyterian Women group came under the umbrella of the Women’s Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

*Harold King Farm: a half-way house, rehabilitation center for former convicts in Keswick, ON.

1976 Annual Report – Trinity Drop-in

Drop-in began its ninth year of operation in September on Wednesdays and Thursdays 3.30 – 6.30 p.m. We are presently a small group averaging about 20 young people – high school, junior high, grade school and a few who are working. We use the basketball court and ping pong table. Some older kids enjoy euchre with Mike Bolton. We sell refreshments and in this way are self-supporting.

Going into the new year, we are looking forward to having Jim Biggs helping Janice Barnes and me on a regular basis. We are hoping to reach more of our community youngsters by being able to offer more adult leadership. We are always grateful to Trinity for its support through the use of the church facilities.

Nancy Pollock

1980 Annual Report Minutes – Planning and Development Committee

Mr. G. Marshall introduced the following recommendation:

“The Kirk Session and Board of Managers recommend to the congregation that the Planning and Development Committee be empowered to conduct a study with regard to the desirability and feasibility of appointing a full time assistant minister. The Kirk Session will at an appropriate time, call a Meeting of the Congregation to consider the report of the Planning and Development Committee and such recommendations as they may propose.”

Mr. Marshall pointed out that it is recognized that the work of the Moderator is a long and taxing task. In referring to the letter from the 105th General Assembly wherein it is hoped to double membership in the Presbyterian Church in the next decade –much extra work is required and we must make ourselves known in the community with outside calls etc. It is recognized now that it is virtually impossible for the Minister to make one visit per family per year and Session believes the time is approaching when an assistant minister is required. Mr. Marshall asked the congregation for their approval to carry out this task.

Following some broad discussion, including costs, plus some positive comments from the Minister, this recommendation was adopted.

1982 Annual Meeting Minutes – Mission and Service Committee

Mr. W. J. Riddell reported that his committee has continued its work with Vietnamese Refugees, the Drop-in Centre and Care Ring. The Vietnamese now being self-supporting, a new Mission Project is being proposed, which will be the refurbishing of the Church Hall of St. Michael & All Angels, Blantyre, Malawi. In this connection, he moved the following resolution: -

“That the Congregation of Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills, undertake to contribute $5,000 per year for the next two years, as a special Overseas Mission Project. The money to be used to assist in the renovation and refurbishing of the Church Hall of St. Michael & All Angels, Blantyre, Malawi.”

Mr. Riddell pointed out that the Rev. Glenn Inglis, a former student Minister at Trinity, is currently a Minister of the Church in Malawi, and would oversee the work in Blantyre

Following some broad discussion, this motion was adopted.

1993 Annual Report – Stewardship Committee

The Stewardship Committee met for the first time is January 1992 at which time the following statement was developed: “The Role and Mission of the Stewardship Committee is to provide leadership to the congregation, to Session and to the Board of Managers in response to God’s call that, as Christians, we should willingly share our time, talents and resources in furtherance of His kingdom here on earth.”

In carrying out this mission, the Committee will:

• encourage the education of all individuals within the Trinity family in what it means to be a Christian steward. Such education to cover new and existing members, both young and old, as well as leaders of the congregation.

• develop and maintain an inventory of skills, gifts and talents which individual members of Trinity Church may have and encourage the sharing of these gifts in love and service.

• motivate individual members of Trinity Church to rise to their full potential through communication and example.

• provide co-ordination in the various fund-raising activities of the congregation, including annual and special appeals.

Specific work plans were also developed and assigned to committee members. Perhaps a highlight for the Committee was the Gift Auction, held on 15 November. This event was organized in order to emphasize the individual gifts and talents that each of us has been given and encourage the sharing of these gifts, while, at the same time, having some fun. The event, which included a Pot Luck Supper as well as the setting and also raising in excess of $5,000 towards the general expenses of the congregation.

The Committee has prepared an explanatory pamphlet on stewardship. Communication with the congregation has also continued on a regular basis through Nexus. An assessment of progress towards achieving the goals set out in the 1985 COMMPAC Program was prepared, presented to Session and communicated in summary form to the congregation through Nexus. Projects currently underway include a Skills Inventory for the collection and identification of individual gifts and talents, a Congregational Slide Library and a Profile Corner for highlighting the ways in which people use their skills and talents and a workshop specifically geared to stewardship.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the contribution of the individual members of the Stewardship Committee. Don Chambers, Jerry Crowder, Linda Herron, Ken Keith, Joan Kitchen, Violet Tennant, Gordon Beaton and more recently Paul Russo, for their willingness to share their time and talents and for their enthusiasm and hard work in making this past year a success.

Respectfully submitted, N. Murray

1996 Annual Report – Various Organizations Library Report

This year we have concentrated on awareness of the Library rather than adding to the Library Collection. At least every three weeks there is a library display in the North Hall, a sampling of the various selections available in the main library. In February of 1995 we presented library Sunday. Gordon Beaton graciously encouraged this programme.

We look for suggestions from the congregation how we may encourage and increase the use of the main Kerr Hall location. We are looking for support to enlarge the space in the H. Doig Room. Currently, only the reference books and bible study materials are housed there.

Our one fund raising effort in 1995 was the book sale included in the W.A. sale in the spring. The money raised was used to purchase children’s book and videos.

The afternoon presentation of adult videos was continued during the school break. These events were thoroughly enjoyed by those who attended.

We look forward to 1996 with a C. S. Lewis Festival on February 3rd followed by Library Sunday on the 4th .

Marion Milner, Librarian

Trinity

Support Group for the Widowed

The Trinity Support Group for the Widowed has been providing a self-help/support program for the widowed since 1974. Each meeting begins and closes with a brief devotional period that is sensitive to the spiritual values of a diverse group.

The focus of group discussion is on the emotional and educational needs of the widowed helping them find new perspectives as they cope, heal and find new directions and meaning in their lives. Monthly meeting attendance is twenty to twenty-five.

Our April meeting was a farewell gathering for the Rev. Gordon Beaton and his wife, Elizabeth. His special insights and sensitivity greatly enhanced our meetings over the past seven years.

Meetings are held in the Howard Doig Room at 2:30pm on the fourth Sunday of each month (except July and August).

For additional information, please call 416 512 1257

Community Coffee Break

Elsie Eakin, Facilitator

Community Coffee Break is an auxiliary program of the Woman’s Association. We continue to integrate women of the community of all faiths into a morning program of fellowship and fun.

We are grateful to Marcia Scott who co-ordinates our badminton group, to Angie Jarosz who teaches and encourages our yoga classes and to Helen Fitzpatrick who is our treasurer and bridge leader.

We particularly appreciate the dedication and hard work of our volunteer tea-lady Cathie Salvatore and our efficient baby-sitter Janice Barnes.

Plan to beat the winter blahs and join us from 9:30am until 11:30am any Wednesday. The cost is $1.50 per person and $1:50 per family for babysitting.

Betty Worthington

Men’s Breakfast Group

The Trinity Men’s Breakfast Group meets for breakfasts, fellowship, devotions and a presentation on a topic of interest on the second Saturday of the month, October through April. The most recent topics – Hospitals and Health Care, the Galapagos Islands, and Success as an Option – indicate the eclectic nature of our subject matter.

For the success of the group to date, we are grateful indeed to a large group of volunteers who provide delicious bacon and eggs, set up tables, provide publicity, work the telephone reminder system and look after the money. For continued success of the Group, we invite all men of the congregation who have not been out to a recent meeting to come join us … a warm welcome, fine fellowship and a hearty breakfast await you!

James Waddell, Convener

2002 Annual Report – Worship

The report began with a list of committee members, which has been omitted.

Committee Update: Music continues to be an integral part of our worship services at Trinity. We are grateful to Lenard Whiting for his leadership and enthusiasm in providing music for these services, directing the choir and for arranging our Special Music Events*.

Once again, many of our worship services were enhanced by special music provided by the Paul Bartlet Music Fund. This fund was established by Mr. & Mrs. James Bartlet in memory of their son Paul and is used for the provision and enhancement of music at Trinity. Because of the generosity of the Bartlet family, we have enjoyed the talents of several soloists and musicians throughout the year.

With support from the Memorial Fund, we continue to present a Bible Picture Book to each child baptized at Trinity and a Bible to each new member joining our congregation by profession of faith.

Once again, on a rotational basis with other churches in our community, Trinity provided leadership at six services of worship at the North York Senior’s Centre. These services are held on Sunday afternoons at 2:00 p.m. and are usually about thirty minutes in length. Our appreciation to all who participated this year.

On Dec. 15th our Children’s Christmas Pageant was once again presented at our 10:30 a.m. service. Unfortunately, due to the illness of many residents at the North York Senior’s Centre, we were unable to repeat the pageant there, in the afternoon. This annual event is very popular with both the staff and residents and we hope that next year we will once again be able to attend. Our sincere thanks to Karen and Mark Boucher, and their team of dedicated helpers, for their time and expertise in organizing this wonderful event.

This year Linda Reckenberg succeeded Elizabeth Wu as convener of the Flower Committee. We welcome Linda to the Worship Committee, but we’ll miss Elizabeth very much. Our continued thanks to the Flower Committee for the lovely floral arrangements in the sanctuary each week, and for providing the beautiful seasonal decorations at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and on other special occasions. Thanks also to John McCord who regularly monitors the sound system in the sanctuary, and to Mike Brown for his valuable assistance.

This year we have had more participation in our services of worship from members of our congregation. Thank you all for saying “yes” when asked to read scripture and/or or usher.

My sincere appreciation to all of the members of the Worship Committee for their dedication and support.

Respectfully submitted, Diane Wells, Convener

*Among the “Special” music reported, above, were the following: in early in March, “A Classical Celebration” at Trinity. Later in March “Requiem” for Good Friday, by French composer Maurice Durufle at Church of the Ascension, Don Mills in

the morning and at Trinity in the evening. Also, in March a concert about “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”. In April, the cantata “The Father Hath Provided”. In November, “Requiem” for All Souls, by English composer John Rutter at the Anglican Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury, in aid of their accessibility project. In December “Deck the Halls” community carol sing-along and later, a Traditional Service of Lessons and Carols.

2014 Annual Report - Various Organizations

Prayer Chain: Our Hidden Ministry

More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Alfred Lord Tennyson

Trinity’s prayer chain is actively at work, carrying on a practice of more than 40 years. Why do we persist in prayer? We are eagerly responding to God reaching out to us – God’s desire to be in touch with us. Our experience is that prayer changes us. Receiving prayer from others when in tough times brightens us. In my many years, I’ve never had anyone turn down an offer to be prayed for.

Our team responds quickly to e-mails, phone calls and personal requests from both Trinity members and adherents, and those beyond our community. Anyone can ask for supportive prayer at any time. Messages are relayed through e-mails and are treated in confidence. Please inform us of your concerns – whether they be for your family, your friends or yourself. We also invite you to join our team ministry – praying in your own home and on your own time. Presently there are fourteen women faithfully adding intercessory prayer, as well as prayers of thanksgiving and acceptance, to their spiritual disciplines.

I offer my sincere thanks to these women, dedicated to praying through many years.

They are Jane Stephenson, Carolyn Peddle, Noreen Marshall, Laureen Evans, Marion Milner, Elizabeth Beaton, May Moghabghab, Annalies Lauber, Fiona Roche, Janet Worthington, and Linda Herron. We all want to thank Ferne Reeve for her constant support as a woman of prayer for over 12 years.

Respectfully submitted: Mary Wilson, Co-ordinator

Pastoral Care Team

Trinity people are people of compassion who watch out for each other. Our church’s pastoral care team assists and extends the care offered by our ministers, Ferne Reeve and Jim Czegledi, and many elders, serving and retired.

In 2013, our team hosted a spring and fall tea in the North Hall. We were pleased that 45 to 50 men and women gathered for refreshments, talking time, brilliant musical performances, such as a soprano last October, and unusual speakers. Who had ever heard of the Canadian Button Society, before meeting our speaker Carolyn Webb? Her collection of unusual buttons filled two tables and evoked intriguing stories from many.

During the year, team members made phone calls, home visits, hospital visits, sent cards inspired by Jane Frederick – Trinity’s champion card writer – and kept informed about the extra needs of our many members. Sadly, we said our respectful goodbyes to many long-time Trinity members, on their passing.

Please help us by passing along any needs and concerns you have. We offer our sincere appreciation to those who already help us. Sincere thanks to those who served on our pastoral care team – Annalies Lauber, Terry Kelly, May Moghabghab, Janet Bray, Dawn Thornhill, and advisor Linda Herron. If you too would like to serve Trinity in this way, please contact me.

Respectfully submitted: Mary Wilson, Co-ordinator

Thursday Afternoon Bible Study

Thursday Afternoon Bible Study meets from 1:30 to 2:30 in the Jubilee Room. We have an average attendance of 16. The ages range from the twenties to the nineties. In 2013 we finished studying the Gospel of John and started the Gospel of Luke. I would like to thank the dedicated members of the group for their contributions to our discussions and their thought provoking questions.

Respectfully submitted: Noreen Marshall, Leader

Some Insights on the Neighbourhood

Trinity was not the first Presbyterian place of worship in the area. Construction of Concession 1 (Yonge St.) was completed in 1796. The settlement of York Mills was built around 1804, in what became Hogg’s Hollow. This area was first established as a transfer point for the Northwest Company. It has been said that barges brought cargo up the Don River, then followed the West Don to York Mills. Here, the cargo was trans-shipped to wagons, then hauled to Holland Landing. The same river water that floats barges could also turn wheels. As was described earlier, with the description of York Mills related to the church name, the valley was to become a busy little industrial region, in the middle of nowhere.

Sixteen years after Yonge St was opened to traffic, St. John's York Mills Anglican Church was built in 1816, atop Don Ridge, the hill overlooking the northeast corner of Yonge St. and York Mills Rd. 1833 saw the establishment of York Mills Baptist Church, which stood at what is now 102 York Mills Rd. for 115 years. York Mills Presbyterian Church holds the honour of being the first of this denomination in the area. It was constructed on or about 1836, on the property of James Hogg. This was east of Old Yonge St. on an embankment of the West Don River. This was close to where Ivor Rd. and Donino Ave. are today, south of the Miller Tavern.

Among the first ministers was a Scot, the Rev. Thomas Wightman, who served both York Mills and Fisherville until 1856. He was followed by an Irish minister, the Rev. Robert Jamison. Fisherville (Mills) was bounded by present day Bathurst and Dufferin Streets, between Finch Ave. W. and Steeles Ave. W., which includes G. Lord Ross Park. That church is now in Black Creek Pioneer Village. The York Mills church building was relocated in 1859, to land on part of Lot 10 on the west side of Old Yonge St., deeded to it by Scottish Loyalist Andrew McGlashan.

As residential areas neighbouring York Mills developed, by 1885 many members had relocated to other congregations, so the Presbyterian Church closed, and the building was eventually torn down. Incidentally, in 1955 prior to residential development of the site, the church’s forgotten graveyard was uncovered. The remains of twenty-five early settlers were reburied elsewhere including in a common grave in York Cemetery. The land where the church stood remained the property of the Presbyterian Church in Canada until 1958, when it was sold to a developer.

As a footnote to that, while some of those members who moved, went south to worship in Toronto, most moved east, to Don Mills. It was in 1885 that they decided to buy the Bethesda Primitive Methodist Church on the corner of Lawrence Ave. and Leslie St. In 2000, a merger brought together Bethesda (formerly Presbyterian), Victoria Village, and Donminster United Churches, to form Jubilee United Church, at 40 Underhill Drive, Toronto. Thus, from 1836 to 2018, there are 182 years of congregational continuity, albeit under different names.

When Trinity began worshiping in Harrison Road Public School, it was in what was then the Township of North York, which was created in 1922. Until 1930, Bayview Avenue was called East York Avenue, prior to which it was Concession 2. The name change came about as a reflection of Bay View, the estate of Dr. James Stanley McLean. His house remains part of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. The Township became a Municipality in 1953, and then became a Borough in 1967. Then the ‘borough’ population grew, and it became the City of North York in 1979. Eventually, it was amalgamated with the five other municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto, into the city of the same name in 1998. ‘York Mills’ was the district or electoral ward, within the former North York borough, in which Trinity was located and hence the appellation appearing as part of the congregational title. Now, the municipal electoral district has the more romantic title of ‘Ward 25’, which is recognized as Don Valley West. The district name ‘York Mills’ is now less frequently used, save by long-time residents. Trinity is within the bounds of the York Mills Gardens Community and has become part of the “Harrison Neighbourhood”; a name providing another link to this congregation’s past. Incidentally, William Harrison bought the land at Bayview and York Mills in 1815, when Andrew McGlashan sold him Bayview Farm, then moved to Hoggs Hollow, where he built a tannery.

For those curious about neighbourhood history, although Highway 401 [originally 2A] had been in its planning stages since 1935, construction of the “Toronto Bypass” only commenced in 1951. Then, it was a short section between Yonge St. and Weston Rd., completed late in 1952. When the “Bypass” or “Interceptor Road” was completed from Islington Ave. to Markham Rd., in 1956, it consisted of two lanes in each direction. In 1963, plans were announced for a massive expansion of the new highway, from 4 to 12 ‘collector’ and ‘express’ lanes and this was completed in 1967. Estimates in 2017 say that half million vehicles cross over Bayview Ave. every day, on the highway’s16 lanes.

The original ‘community’ investigated by those Extension and Organization Committees from Glenview Presbyterian Church was between Yonge St. and Bayview Ave., south of Sheppard Ave. The highway development effectively split that community,

socially as well as geographically. This is a facet that has been noted as typical by social demographers, with respect to similar developments in Toronto and elsewhere. That apart, and despite an untimely land expropriation, this highway and others linked to it, appear to have been more beneficial than detrimental to Trinity.

At Trinity’s beginning, the neighbourhood from which its members were drawn was largely of Anglo/European and Christian origins. For almost thirty years, the sign outside Trinity read, “The Church of the Community”. In 1955, when Trinity Church was built, Bayview Ave. was less than half as wide as at present. The original Highway 401 was a year from completion, and the ‘new homes’ being built for the incoming population were relatively modest in size. In every sense, Trinity’s surroundings were truly that of a typical suburban, almost rural community. There were still farms operating, not too far distant.

While riding a wave of post-war economic prosperity, and experiencing a ‘booming’ birth-rate, the population in the City of Toronto surpassed the one million marks during 1951. And the suburbs [i.e. the five surrounding boroughs] had added more than 200,000 by 1953. The urban area expanded to such a degree that disputes between city and suburbs were frequent. The demand for infrastructure, social and other services became so great that the Metro Council was formed in 1953.

Up until the 1950s immigrants to Canada, Ontario and Toronto were primarily British, American, or French. With the repealing of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1947, the door for relatives of Toronto's then-small Asian community was opened. Anti-Semitism had been widely practiced, and then Nathan Phillips became Toronto’s first Jewish mayor in 1954. After 1950 the immigration door opened wider. Germans and Italians were allowed to enter, adding to already established communities. Under pressure from the United Nations, Poles, Ukrainians, Central European and Russian Jews, Yugoslavs, Estonians, Latvians, and other East Europeans poured in.

By the beginning of the 1951 the Toronto population was 1.2 million. Foreign-born citizens were 31% of the population; by 1961 they were 42%, and the number of people claiming British descent had fallen from 73% to 59%. The 1960s brought an even richer mix of people - Portuguese, Greeks, West Indians, South Asians, Chinese and Vietnamese, also Chilean refugees. All of this changed the character of this once ultra-White, Protestant, Anglo-Saxon Protestant city. In 2011, within the city bounds, the population was 2.6 million, with a further 3.4 million living in the surrounding urbanized areas. Canadian born citizens of Toronto were 11.3% of the population. Those born in Britain and Ireland amounted to 33.1%. This shows that 55.6% were foreign born. Also, approximately 200 different languages are spoken in Toronto and 45% of the residents speak a mother tongue other than French or English.

According to the health statistics for Toronto, in 1953 the average age of the mother at childbearing was 28.5 years, by 1973 it was 27.5, and by 2011 it had risen to 30.1. In 2011, Statistics Canada related the following: “Let's see, your great-grandfather was 1 of 7 children. Your grandmother was 1 of 4 children and you are 1 of 3 kids. You are thinking of having 1 or 2 kids, or, if you happen to be a statistician, that's currently an average of 1.61 children per woman. … 1971 was the last year the replacement-level fertility of 2.1 children per woman was reached meaning that couples, on average, had produced enough children to replace themselves. That 2011, total fertility rate was up slightly from the record low of 1.51 children per woman, about a decade earlier.” www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-630-x/11-630-x2014002-eng.htm

Roughly speaking, the area recognized as “York Mills” lay west to east, immediately south of highway 401, from Yonge St. to Leslie St. For the western half, its southern boundary was York Mills Rd. At Bayview, Ave., this dipped south, following Wilket Creek to Lawrence Ave.

Don Mills, to the east of York Mills, was a new town, built between 1952 and 1962, by brewery magnate (Carling/O’Keefe) and horse breeder, E. P. Taylor. Almost half of Lansing, the district north of York Mills and south of Willowdale, disappeared beneath highway 401. Yorkdale shopping center was built in 1964 and North York General Hospital opened about four years later.

During the 1970s, when Trinity was again considering creating a larger building, demographers from the national church offices pointed out that the “community” neighbourhood had changed. The congregation was informed that a significant proportion of it had become Jewish. More recently, to create a perspective of where the local population comes from, Statistics Canada notes the following from 2011. The top ten mother tongue languages spoken in Don Valley West, Ward 25 are, in descending numerical order: English, Chinese (not otherwise specified), Persian (Farsi), Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, French, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino). Other languages account for 14.6% of the 58,315 total Ward population.

The original 1940s and 1950s era homes in the Trinity neighbourhood tended to be ‘ranch-style’ bungalows. Although modest by current standards, they were located on large pieces of real estate and suited the 3 or 4 children born into them. A gradual

renewal trend began in the 1980s, when many of the originals were being replaced with dwellings described by many as “monster homes”, a pattern that is currently continuing, for the 1.6 children per family dwelling, but other values have changed, along with those of social circumstances.

The original highway 401 was designed for a traffic flow of 35,000 vehicles per day. Currently it peaks at 400,000 and is recognized as the busiest highway in North America. Traffic volume on Bayview Ave. has increased proportionally. At the end of March 1954, the Yonge St. subway line opened between Union Station and Eglinton Ave., to help join the city with its suburbs. On March 31, 1973, the line was extended to York Mills Rd. and one year later the northern terminus reached Finch Ave. More recently, on November 24, 2002 a new subway (Line 4) opened between Yonge St. and Don Mills Rd. along Sheppard Ave. In June 2017, all rider complaints aside, the TTC was awarded Outstanding Public Transportation System by the American Public Transportation Association.

Along a corridor, bounded by Yonge and Leslie Streets, Highway 401 and Sheppard Ave, there has been and continues to be massive redevelopment. It is the construction of high-density residential developments which, when completed, will increase the local population by an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people.

During the early 1980’s, Trinity noticed demographic changes to the congregation indicating that it appeared no longer to be a ‘community’ church but had become a ‘regional’ church. Membership and Adherent lists showed addresses of worshipers coming from Mississauga and Bowmanville to the west and east, from Aurora and Newmarket to the north and from all over the Greater Toronto area.

A later statistical review, however, indicated that most of the ‘regionalization’ occurred through members and adherents who had once lived within ‘The community’. Having moved residence further afield, they maintained Trinity as their church home. With an improved network of highways and city roads, commuting to worship and other church activities was little different from commuting to work on a daily basis, easier, in fact, due to decreased traffic volume at the appropriate times. That apart, only a few ‘new’ members or adherents are recorded as having been drawn to Trinity from those relatively far-flung extremities.

Late in 2002, it was found that 75% of all Trinity’s 308 members and adherents resided within the City of Toronto [1998], also that 60% of all members and adherents lived within the boundaries of the former City of North York. Only 2 members lived west of Toronto and 7 lived to the east. Of the 69 members and adherents who lived north of the city, 68% were relatively close, in Richmond Hill, Thornhill and Markham.

From this, it can be construed that Trinity is still a “Church of the Community”, except perhaps the community has broadened somewhat, since 1953. Also, perhaps there needs to be a redefinition of what ‘community’ means and/or implies. Additionally, and in common with the vast majority of congregations belonging to “main-line” Canadian denominations, Trinity has not been immune to the societal changes that caused numerical losses to church membership rolls. The old days of suburbia, boasting little else than two parents, single income families are long gone.

The Times They Are A Changin’

Bob Dylan was right on the ball with his 1964 song title, quoted above. For Canadians, the 1950s was a time for taking a deep breath and re-establishing normalcy, in the aftermath of the 2nd World War and the Korean Conflict. A decade later, things were burst wide open. On the social scene, not only did Canada host Expo “67, the 1960s marked the beginning of the hippie” phenomenon as a protest against mainstream society. Canadian youth became part of counterculture. The “Boomer Generation” was making its presence felt. 1969 was the year of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival at which 400,000 attended. The music of the day celebrated alternate lifestyles that challenged the establishment. This influenced the ‘free love’ culture and the use of mind-altering drugs. Double income families started becoming statistically relevant, as did single parent families. Easier divorce proceedings were introduced, and abortions were legislated. Women's rights were instituted, and oral contraception was legalized. Homosexuality was decriminalized, and gay rights came into being. It was a ‘coming of age’ decade, but not just about hippies and flower-children. A different philosophy had been spreading across much of the western world. It was a widespread revolution against established norms and conventions. It was counterculture, anti-establishment and took until the mid-1970s to reach full maturity and the Church became one of its victims, albeit unintended.

It is interesting to note some of the differences, over 47 years. Here is one. 1970 - G. Marshall Family, 2017 - MARSHALL Gordon & Noreen. These are examples from two photo directories. In the early one, women and children were un-named. Such was the way of the time, when married women took their husband’s name and became, say, Mrs. G. Marshall, or, less formally, as Mrs.

Gordon Marshall. Then along came cultural shifts with them, many changes to society, among them, Mrs. Marshall became Noreen. Another example is that, from 1953, when it was socially acceptable, until this was no longer so, smoking was permitted in Trinity’s halls, offices and rooms. The church even provided ash-trays, strange though it may seem through the optics of 21st century society.

In the communications department, telephone operators disappeared in the 1960s, with the advent of subscriber automatic dialing. Hard-wired rotary dial phones became push-button ‘touch-tone’. These gave way to ‘wireless’ phones which, in turn, have been giving way to several generations of cellular, then ‘smart’ phones. The ‘golden age’ of AM Radio in Canada took a hit in 1952, with the advent of TV. Then along came FM radio which, 20 years later in the 1970s, had surged ahead of AM.

In the music business of 1953, phonographs were changing from ‘wind-up’ machines to electrically driven mono-aural machines, for playing 78 rpm hard plastic single-song records. Along came vinyl and hi-fi record players, for playing 33 1/3 rpm record albums. Shortly thereafter came 45 rpm single song records. “Old-style” hardened steel needles were supplanted by light-weight sapphire and diamond stylus audio pick-up systems, to better suit the softer vinyl. Hi-fi was superseded by component stereo systems. Reel to reel magnetic tape lasted a few years till cassette tapes hit the market. Sony Corporation and its competitors marketed portable Walkman tape players, just in time for CD stereo systems to replace them. A few years later MP3 players could receive music, downloaded in digital format from on-line computer sources. In 2016 it was announced that MP3 digital music recordings were being phased out, as the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) format had become the de facto standard for music downloads and videos.

By January of 1953, having been ‘on air’ for just two months, broadcast programming at Toronto’s CBC television station CBLT had grown to 30 hours - per week! The ‘other’ channel, CFTO-TV Toronto, CTV Inc., didn’t begin its first official day of operations until January 1, 1961. These two channels broadcast in black and white low definition (405 lines) for about 36 hours per week. Colour TV began with 625-line improved definition. Currently175++ channels are available on High Definition cable or satellite transmission systems, broadcasting 24 hours per day. In 1954 a black & white RCA cathode ray tube, 17” screen, console TV cost $189.00. Today, only $11.00 more can purchase an RCA high definition, full colour, 28” screen, TV & DVD combination. First there were VHF fixed and rotary TV antenna, then came UHF. These have all but disappeared, since the advent of cable, satellite and streaming from computers. Manual TV controls, gave way to hard wired ‘remote’ channel/volume change systems, which gave way to remote radio signal TV/Video/CD control devices. Video tape and CD rental stores, popular in the 1980s, collapsed with the advent of specialty ‘pay-for-view’ channels for movies and documentaries, etc.

The first personal computer came on the market around 1975. Within 10 years adding machines had all but disappeared and even the popularity of hand-held electronic calculators was on the wane. Although the first e-mail was sent in 1971, it took another decade and more for this mode of communication to gain public popularity. “Networked’ computers had been around, in more primitive forms, since the 1960s. Early in the 1990s the ‘World Wide Web’ became available for use by the wider society. Desk-top computer models became less popular as portable laptop models entered the market and really began taking off in the 1980s. Memory storage has increased from 16kB to 16tB, Laptop screens have increased from 11” to 17”. Across the 40 years, since their beginnings the response speeds of personal and laptop computers have come from ‘sluggish’ to near instantaneous. Then there are ‘tablets’, but that’s a whole other story.

On the medical scene in 1953, organ transplants were off in the future, as were joint replacements. Provided there is a suitable organ donor, these are now routine. Surgery that once took a full working day is now over in an hour or two. Keyhole laparoscopic surgery was many decades off. Back then, antibiotics, although in mass production since WWII, were still used quite sparingly. Today, over-prescription has caused bacterial resistance and genetic mutations. In 1953, giving birth was still called ‘confinement’ and mothers were hospitalized for about a week. Currently, some are out same day and even C-sections are out in two days. Canadian life expectancy for males, at birth was about 69 years, currently it is around 78. Women fare much better. The Cobalt-60 radiation machine had been around for just 2 years. Since then, cancer-fighting surgery, chemo and drug therapies are light years ahead of 1953. All the monitoring, scanning and scoping devices currently available simply did not exist. While doctors made many of their own pills and potions back then, now there are prescriptions for just about everything, give or take a few nasty side effects. And so much is taken for granted.

The first McDonalds franchise in eastern Canada opened in 1968. Car seatbelts became mandatory in Ontario early 1976. $1 bills were withdrawn in mid-February 1989 and $2 bills disappeared in mid-February 1996. Both were replaced with coins. The 1c coin disappeared early in February 2013. Hand-cranked spirit duplicator Ditto machines gave way to hand-cranked stencil duplicator “mimeograph” machines. Then along came the Xerox Corporation with electrically operated low-cost, high-volume photocopiers. Secretaries, typists and others no longer had to pound their typewriters to cut stencils.

Against that background and using 1953 as a starting point, gradual, sometimes startling but often subtle changes have occurred over the years since then. While frequently unnoticed at the time, these changes have helped create a society that would be unrecognizable to the Trinity founders, could they suddenly be confronted by it. Yet, Trinity still diligently works to pursue the will of God, in ways best suited to the here and now, just as its founders did, in their time.

Worship – moving with the times

Worship is probably the single most important thing that a church congregation does. The congregation stewards and manages the church – the house of the Lord. It does this so that its members and friends might regularly assemble, to praise and worship the Lord, whose house it is. The congregation learns of God that it might better understand and worship Him, in heart, mind, spirit and soul. Here is what Canadian Presbyterians believe about worship:

7.3 Worship:

7.3.1 The church lives to praise God. We have no higher calling than to offer the worship that belongs to God day by day, Sunday by Sunday.

7.3.2 Through the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments, in praise, prayer, teaching and fellowship, God sustains the life of the church. We worship God as Lord offering ourselves in the service of Christ, rejoicing that we have been brought from darkness to light.

7.3.3 Worship draws us into the work of Christ. Even now he intercedes for the world to which he came and for which he died. In union with him, the church prays for the healing and the salvation of the world.

7.3.4 Blessing and honour and glory and power be to our God for ever and ever!

LIVING FAITH - A Statement of Christian Belief - The Presbyterian Church in Canada

The book of the Acts of the Apostles outlines the order or content of worship of the Early Church (ca. late-1st century): “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” Acts 2:42 NRSV. Worship had four main components: Teaching, Fellowship, Communion and Prayer. Additionally, the worshipers of this time were mainly Jews who had accepted Christ as Lord. Because of this they followed the traditions of Jewish worship, modified as was appropriate to their new beliefs. In Jerusalem, the Jewish people were expected to pray three times per day, in the temple.

Justin Martyr 100-165, writing around c.155, gave a first-hand account of worship in the Early Church in his First Apology to the Roman authorities. His account also reveals four components that are still present in current worship: The Word of God, Prayer, Communion and Offering.

St. Justin also describes a liturgy wherein two pairs of activity are in balance. In the service of the Word, God speaks to human beings. In prayer, human beings speak to God. In the second pair, the Eucharist represents God’s gift to us - spiritual life through Christ. The offering or other contributions represents the gifts of His people to God. God gives, and the people give in return. Therein lies the beauty of worship, in the rhythm that strikes a balance between praising and praying, listening and speaking, receiving and giving.

Worship is also a progression. To begin, however, it should be appreciated that the core of worship is not what people do, but what God does through people. The progression begins when the people arrive and praise God. It continues with God separating His people from the world and calling them to worship Him. God reveals Himself, convicting the worshipers of sin, granting them pardon, instructing them in His way, through His word, equipping His people, then sending them out into the world to mirror the gift of salvation. Each week the worshipers are walked through a sustaining reminder of God’s work in their hearts and lives God’s effectual call that has brought the worshipers from death into life, from darkness into light. Worshipers then leave the house of the Lord, rejoicing, renewed, prepared to do the Lord’s work.

When it comes to Holy Communion, for various historical reasons, the Presbyterian Church has tended to be less sacramental than its Roman Catholic, Episcopal or Lutheran counterparts. Communion is no less important, just celebrated with less frequency. Instead of the daily Mass of Roman Catholics, or the weekly Eucharist of Episcopalians and Lutherans, Presbyterians celebrate Communion seasonally. For Presbyterians, the main focus has been upon the Word of God, in its reading, proclamation, preaching, teaching and learning.

The Presbyterian Church is not a separate religion. As noted elsewhere, it is how it governs itself. When Presbyterians gather on Sunday, they enter the beauty of worship, in a rhythm where a balance is struck between praising and praying, listening and speaking, receiving and giving, just as St. Justin described. Although Presbyterians believe different things about different things,

say, from Roman Catholics or Baptists, all three worship in remarkably similar ways. All three believe in God, in Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit. In the End Pages of this history, there is a table illustrating the similarities between the Roman Catholic Mass and typical Presbyterian worship.

At Trinity, changes to the order of worship have been relatively insignificant over the past 65 years. Such has not been the case, however, with worship style. In 1953, prayers were still couched in the English of the 17th century King James Bible. In fact, this was the version of the Bible from which passages were read, Sunday by Sunday. For a while, Trinity used the 1971 edition of the New English Bible for worship readings. With the move to the larger sanctuary, the 1989 edition New Revised Standard Version of the Bible was brought in to use at Trinity. Copies of the same edition were also placed in the pews at that time, for the benefit of worshipers. The language of this version was more appropriate for 20th century usage and was set at high school reading level. The language was also significantly less sexist. At the same time, the language and style of preaching, once extremely formal, became much more colloquial, as befitted the changing times in a changing society. Its use continues in the present.

During the first thousand years of Christianity, no prohibitions or restrictions were placed on possession of or reading of the scriptures by laypeople. Of course, for the first four hundred years or so, after the first Easter, they only had the Torah in written text. For teachings of Jesus, they relied on oral tradition. (The teaching of the apostles) St. Jerome said, centuries ago, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” The 66 books of the Bible, as modern Christians know it, didn't come together until 393 AD when bishops attending the Synod of Hippo agreed on what would become the canon. They agreed on more than just 66 books, for the 14 of the Apocrypha were also included. Sometime, along the way, it became ‘normal’ for members of the clergy to read Scripture during worship. Some relaxation on clergy exclusivity, in this regard, began appearing around the mid-20th century. In the Roman Catholic and Anglican confessions, however, the measure of importance placed on the gospels is such that only a member of the clergy may read them, during worship. At Trinity, a rotation of lay members has been scripture readers for close to thirty years.

At some point and in consideration of those with hearing impairment, Trinity installed an audio induction loop. This ‘loop’ provided a magnetic, wireless signal that could be picked up by those members who used hearing aids. Around the same time, microphones, with a sound amplification system, were installed. Since moving to the larger sanctuary, with thanks to generous donors, sound system upgrades have been keeping pace with improved technology. In early December of 2012, worship at Trinity moved into the digital age, when an audio/video projection system and three screens were installed. The images of hymn and other texts, plus appropriate pictures, graphics and video clips, shown on the screens, made worship a little different and easier to follow, particularly for those less familiar with what was going on.

The Presbyterian Church in Canada introduced its first Book of Praise in 1897, then produced a revised edition is 1918. That edition bridged the break-up with the United Church of Canada and remained in service until publication of the 1972 edition, when it was bye, bye to many old favourites. When the 1997 edition was published, many of the hymns had received some massaging to incorporate inclusive language and the index of included hymns bade farewell to more old and some 1972 favourites, while welcoming others, more appropriate to the perceptions of the time. In its time, this edition was hailed as being one of the best in the world for corporate worship.

In recent times, worshipers at Trinity have been introduced to ‘Praise Songs’ in addition to hymns. These first appeared in the 1960s and '70s, as alternatives to ‘staid’ hymnody, offering peppy gospel style songs. Praise Ways, from the Presbyterian Church in Canada, published in 1975, was intended for use by Church Schools, Youth Groups and for congregational worship. Its 100 selections of ‘lighter’ praise song type lyrics and music caught hold of younger folks, but not so much at regular worship, in Trinity. Some of the contents in the 1997 Book of Praise were partially in response to the advent of Praise Songs. These Songs have a down-side, in that they are accused of having theology that is individually focused and need to be communal. Also, that they are simplistic and superficially ascribe attributes to God. On the up-side, there are enough Praise Songs around to afford selectivity, in the quest for acceptable theology. They can also help bridge musical and spiritual variations across the generations at worship.

Worthy of note is that, historically, the Presbyterian Church gives the Kirk Session authority over the times, the order and form of worship, while the Minister is given sole responsibility for worship content. One thing has remained pretty consistent at Trinity, over the past sixty-five years. It is that worship remains about one hour long, give or take a few minutes.

Cultural Shifts Affecting the Church

Although people have drifted away from ‘The Church’ in the thousands, and have sometimes shunned it; strangely enough, the level of ‘spirituality’ across the population is little changed over the same time span. Dr. Reginald W. Bibby, who holds the Board of Governors Research Chair in Sociology at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, has written volumes about this, and the underlying reasons behind the shift away from ‘The Church’. However, one of his publications suggests the worst may be over. At least, it could be for those denominations and those congregations within them, who recognize that the people coming in to Christian fellowship in the early decades of the 21st century have very different perceptions of ‘church’ from those who presently form the core in most of the, so called, “main line denominations”.

In April 10, 2002 a press release introduced Restless Gods: The Renaissance of Religion in Canada, written by Dr. Reginald W. Bibby. From the book, the press release noted that a significant rejuvenation of religion in Canada, is taking place both inside and outside its churches. “Secularization”, he says, “has been found to be a myth. The gods seem to be everywhere.” “There are signs that groups like the United Church and Anglicans may be joining the evangelicals in experiencing revitalization,” Dr. Bibby said. “There also is considerable vitality among Catholics and a variety of other world faiths.” In light of these comments, it is worthwhile noting that membership in the United Church of Canada began steadily declining in 1967. Other ‘mainline’ Canadian Protestant denominations have been paralleling this trend.

In the past decade there has been an increase in the involvement of teenagers in religion, and a surprising number of people of all ages are saying they are receptive to greater involvement in the churches. And contrary to rumour, Dr. Bibby said that few people are abandoning established groups in favour of such options as ‘New Age’ or ‘other’ religions.

The book draws from his national surveys of adults and teens from 1975 to 2000, and states that the vast majority of Canadians are continuing to address "the big questions" about purpose and suffering and life after death. What's more, God is simply all over the place: Dr. Bibby said, “Canadians not only are believing in God but in startling high numbers are talking to God and are convinced that they are experiencing God.” Dr. Bibby offers some rays of hope.

Truth to tell, English Canada has been undergoing gradual secularization since somewhere in the 1960s. This was borne out in a more recent article from Reginald Bibby. It came under the heading “Religion in Canada is changing, but it is not being abandoned” and was published on May 8, 2013 by The Globe and Mail. This came hard on the heels of the National Household Survey (NHS), which had been released a few days previously. This is one paragraph from the article.

As such, the NHS offers two primary findings about religion in Canada. First, a majority of close to eight in ten Canadians (76 per cent) continue to identify with a religion, while a growing minority – now 24 per cent, up from 16 per cent in 2001 and 12 per cent in 1991 – do not. The dominant identification group continues to be Christianity (67 per cent) with the runaway leader Roman Catholicism (39 per cent). Canadians have hardly abandoned religion. Nevertheless, a growing number of people are living without it.

However, Trinity redefines its ‘community’, the church sits at an intersection with the busiest highway in North America. It has a vehicle parking capacity greater than most churches in the city. Access via public transport is convenient, with a bus stop almost on the doorstep and a subway line about a half-kilometer distant. It is no longer a truly ‘suburban’ congregation. The population of its ‘community’ although ethnically and religiously more varied, is growing at least as rapidly as in the latter half of the 1950’s. It has an impressive building with well-appointed facilities. It is highly visible and is easily accessible.

Trinity also sits at an intersection of society, if what Dr. Bibby suggests is accurate and the indicators point to this being true. If it is equally true to suggest that the society beyond ‘The Church’ has the impression that ‘The Church’ is stale, out of date, out of touch and irrelevant, then it is up to Trinity, at both of its intersections, to show to those who form the redefined community around it that this is not so.

The following is a piece from Trinity history. It is three paragraphs from a letter written in a brochure introducing the proposed building project that would have seen the North Hall become the Sanctuary.

The Church of the future will be concerned with the community, and there will be an increased participation in mission and service to others. We now participate in the Care-Ring program; we sponsor the first Canadian Theos chapter; we welcome ladies of the community to our Wednesday morning fellowship and the youth to our Drop In Centre. We must expand our program of services to people as our service to Christ and our witness for Christ.

The Church of the future must be a friendly open fellowship where people quickly feel welcome. No architecture or program can substitute for a warm smile and a friendly handshake, and a willingness to accept new people with new ideas and give them an opportunity to participate.

The Church of the future must be a committed people who provide a fellowship of faith and love and support for those who follow Christ. We must be true to our real purpose – the declaration of the gospel, the worship of God, and service to men, though faith and obedience to Jesus Christ our Lord.

The writer was the Rev. John F. Allan. The year was 1974. Other than in the “service to men” of the last line, it could as easily have been written to the church of the present, assuming, of course, a gender non-specific change to that ‘offending’ word.

2018 is not just 65 years on from 1953, it is a totally different world. A very different dynamic exists between a growing church and one that is declining, where there can be a tendency to be negative, especially where the decline has endured, in the face of repeated efforts to bring about its reversal. Add to the equation an aging congregation and a correspondingly significant loss of energy and it can be devastating. Trinity, however, remains buoyant, flying in the face of its recent history. God has worked His wonders, through Trinity, these past sixty-five years, not necessarily through great people doing extraordinary things. The true call, for the Christian, is not to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things in an extraordinary way. From its advantageous location, at the intersection of Bayview Ave. and Highway 401 and at this intersection between its past and future, it is up to the present Trinity to continue building foundations on those laid down in the past, to assure its future in service to its Lord and Master Jesus Christ.

“… For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Matthew 18:20 NRSV

And in Closing

Unlike other histories of, say, a nation, a war, or a political career, this has been part, hopefully, of the history of a church. The story, thus far, of Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills is not just history. It is His-story. The story of what God has been doing for and through the community of believers who have worshiped God in this place, over the past sixty-five years; those who called it their church home; their pied-à-terre, as it were, in the conduct of service to Jesus Christ.

Jesus said “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NRSV

Trinity is a living, breathing, organic creation of God, as are its members and friends. They are the branches, the leaves and the fruits on the vine that is Jesus Christ, Son of God. People arrived, were born into it, as new shoots. Some were grafted onto the vine. It has been and remains the same with innovations to church activities, worship styles and all that it does. Similarly, when people leave, or die, or when former innovations lose their purpose, the vine is pruned. So, the evolution continues, that it may long continue bearing the good fruit of the gospel.

Researching history turns up the strangest of things, in the most unexpected places. Lest Trinity become too comfortable with itself, this prayer, with the request “Disturb us, Lord”, seems an appropriate conclusion to this chapter in its history. The strange and unexpected is the prayer’s author, Sir Francis Drake c. 1540-1596, sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, politician and vice-admiral. It was written in 1577, the year he began his historic voyage to circumnavigate the earth.

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

Ephesians 2:19-22 NRSV

Disturb us, Lord a prayer for the courageous

Disturb us, Lord, when We are too well pleased with ourselves, When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little, When we arrived safely Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst For the waters of life; Having fallen in love with life, We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth, We have allowed our vision Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery; Where losing sight of land, We shall find the stars. We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes; And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Attributed to Sir Francis Drake

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20 & 21 NRSV

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Jude 1:24-25 NRSV

End Pages

Credits

We acknowledge with gratitude contributions received from former ministers at Trinity: the Rev. Dr. John F. Allan, the Rev. Gordon A. Beaton, and the Rev. Ferne Reeve, and from the current minister, the Rev. Kirk T. Summers. Also, from current Trinity members: Laureen Evans, Linda Herron, Dorothy Hunter, Russ & Barb McKay, Diane Wells and Scott Worthington.

We also acknowledge with gratitude valued input to the preparation of this publication from the Proof Reading Team, Melvin Suwarno (Executive Assistant to the Minister), Rivandy Misael (Coordinator - Operations and Administration), Diane Wells, Linda Herron, Beth Hemstad and Kathy Anderson.

Some special thanks is given to Trinity Archivist Barbara McKay for her invaluable assistance with this project.

About the Researcher, Compiler and Writer

Robert Campbell (Colin, to his friends) is a Christian who enjoyed a 37-year career in mechanical engineering. He worked with various organizations and clients, in marine, power generation, refrigeration, steel fabrication, oil refining, petro-chemical, mining and scientific engineering. This last engagement earned his client project leader a 50% share in the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physics. He also worked at the National Offices of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and was Office Administrator for Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills for about 12 years. He has been a member at Trinity since late in 1971.

Across 58 years of serving Jesus Christ in churches, Mr. Campbell has been a Church School Teacher, Chorister, Communicant Member, Board Member, Youth Leader, Adult Leader and has been a Member of Congregational, Presbytery and National Church Committees. He was a serving Elder at Trinity York Mills for 40 years, was representative Elder to East Toronto Presbytery for 6 years, served as Session Clerk for 13 years and as Clerk to the Synod of Central Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda on two occasions. Mr. Campbell has also had submissions published by the now defunct Presbyterian Record, Glad Tidings, the magazine of the Women’s Missionary Society and Channels, the magazine of the Renewal Fellowship within the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

Mr. Campbell has known several passions throughout his life. Having grown up by the sea he had passions for boats, ships, all things nautical and, of course, for the sea itself. For many years, prior to arriving in Toronto’s flat-lands, he had passions for hillwalking, mountaineering and all things outdoors, in all seasons of the year. Since then, his secular passions have been mainly for family and friendships. The wellbeing of the church holds a big place in his heart, as does church music and choral singing. Biggest of all his passions is for God, in Holy Trinity.

About this History

The English word history came from Greek and was translated to Latin as historía, meaning "inquiry", "knowledge from inquiry", or "judge". The Oxford Dictionary defines the word as “A continuous, typically chronological, record of important or public events or of a particular trend or institution.” Writing history is defined as an “academic discipline”. The writer apologizes if this was the reader’s expectation. Ezra Pound 1885-1972, who was an expatriate American poet and critic, once said this about history. “We do not know the past in chronological sequence. It may be convenient to lay it out anesthetized on the table with dates pasted on here and there, but what we know we know by ripples and spirals eddying out from us and from our own time. “

Although he has maintained a life-long interest in history, Mr. Campbell holds no pretensions of being an historian. Likewise, he makes no assertions to being either academic or scholarly, in any shape or form. Although highly literate, he lays no claim on any ability to produce works of ‘literature’, and yes, “ripples and spirals eddying out” are a likely feature. He believes that the history of a church congregation, like the Bible, is part of the continuing love story, between God the Creator, and humanity, His creation. A congregation’s history is not just a record of chronology, or important events, or the people involved in them. It is the continuing story of what God has been and is doing, through His human creation. Such is the history or ‘His-story’ of Trinity.

There is a fascinating volume titled, 14,000 Quips and Quotes, by E. C. McKenzie 1881-1965. In it, is a series of one-liners about history. If they do nothing else, these quotes convince the reader that history is a live subject. In the following six samples, chances are fair that the reader will discover a few of them in what has been written about Trinity.

Perhaps no one has changed the course of history as much as the historian.

History is simply a record of humanity's intelligence - or lack of it.

History is just gossip that has grown old gracefully.

History books that contain no falsehoods are extremely dull.

History reveals that wars create more problems than they solve.

History records only one indispensable man - Adam.

Trinity did not emerge from nowhere, like a primitive amoeba from the ancient sea of chemical soup. Its lineage reaches back, from a neighbouring congregation, within an already ancient denomination, across an ocean and through persecutions, warfare, reformations, to the early church in the Acts of the Apostles and to Jesus Christ. An additional consideration is that Trinity has not lived its 65 years in isolation. It was lived in the fluidity of a constantly changing physical and social environment. For these reasons, this history also looks beyond the church walls, at what has been happening all around them and at the impact of these happenings upon Trinity. Another element of this history is the recognition that it will not come to a crashing halt on April 19, 2018 or whenever the 65th anniversary is celebrated. It is for this reason that several pointers to the future are dotted, at appropriate junctures, throughout the narrative.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NRSV

Supplemental Notes

In the beginning – before Trinity was

The following is an extracted minutes from handwritten text in Book No. 1 of the Kirk Session Minutes of Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills, the creator of which is unknown.

Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills Church History

Presbytery, in a letter dated 10th November 1950, conveyed this request to the Glenview session and at the regular session meeting held on Monday, 2nd January, the session passed the following motion that –

“whereas the Presbytery of East Toronto as committed to the session of Glenview Church the responsibility to explore the possibility of opening up new work in the Yorkminster subdivision, the session hereby accepts this responsibility and shall ask the congregation at the annual meeting to endorse this action to assist in this extension work as far as we are able”

This motion was carried unanimously.

Subsequently, at the annual meeting of Glenview Presbyterian Church, held on Wednesday 17th January 1951, Mr. Geo. McRae led a discussion in connection with the establishment of a mission in the immediate locality north of the City and he moved the following, seconded by Mr. Wm. Collier “That the Presbytery of East Toronto having committed to the session of Glenview Presbyterian Church the responsibility to explore the possibility of opening up new work in the Yorkminster subdivision and the session having accepted this responsibility, we the congregation heartily endorse this undertaking and shall endeavour to assist this extension work insofar as we are able” This motion was carried unanimously.

At a meeting of the Glenview session held on 7th April 1952, it was moved and seconded that for the coming year the extension committee should be as follows: Messrs McRae, Dutton, Ferrier, MacLean, Alison, Crane, Simpson and Tempest.

Owing to the rapid growth of this district, the extension committee had difficulty in locating a site, and because of the building of a new super highway running from the West through the center of a new sub-division immediately south of Sheppard Ave. it was felt advisable to try and locate in the area south of this highway on or near Bayview. Through the diligence and perseverance of Mr. Geo. McRae, Chairman of the extension committee and with the cooperation of Mr. Campbell, a real estate agent a site was finally located on the north-east corner of Bayview Ave. and Truman Rd. At a meeting of the Glenview session held on 5th May 1952 it was moved by Mr. Geo. McRae, seconded by Dr. D. S. Ainslie and carried unanimously the session agree in principle to the purchase of the lot on the north-east corner of Bayview Ave. and Truman Rd., being a lot of 180’ x 275’ at a price not to exceed $75.00 per foot frontage or a total of $13500.00 provided that on the advice of Messrs Tempest, Alison and Collier the drainage and subsoil is such to permit building of a church and Sunday School building and provided that the Presbyterian Church in Canada, Head Office, will advance the necessary

money. That the township will permit this erection of a Church and that the lot is adequate for the required parking facilities. After consulting with the managers, this recommendation was passed to Presbytery who recommended to the Home Mission Board that the site be purchased subject of course, to meeting any restrictions imposed by local by-laws.

At a meeting of the Glenview session held on June 22nd, 1952, the extension committee was discharged with a unanimous vote of thanks for the splendid work they had accomplished. A committee to be known as an “Organization Committee” was appointed to try to obtain quarters for Church and Sunday School services in the Harrison Rd. Public School; also, to organize teaching staff, etc. The committee appointed was as follows: W. Collier, W. A. Crane, T. M. Dutton, J. S. Hughes, Dr. W. D. S. Jamieson, J. L. Malcolm, G. W. McRae, H. Mutch, L. A. Nicholson, J. J. C. Penny, B. Simpson, A. A. Forbes.

The organization committee held their first meeting 27th June 1952 under the acting chairmanship on Mr. Thos. Dutton. The meeting confirmed Mr. Dutton as chairman and Mr. Alex A. Forbes was appointed as secretary.

The chairman advised the members of the committee that the purpose of the first meeting was to bring them up to date in connection with the proposed purchase of the property at the corner of Bayview Ave. and Truman Rd. in North York. An offer to purchase this property had been made by the Presbyterian Church in Canada through their Lawyers Messrs. Cassels, Brock and Kelley. “As the offer to purchase expires 31st July 1952, it is essential that this committee be prepared to give all possible assistance to the Church lawyer in bringing this matter to a successful conclusion”. He went on to explain that Mr. James Malcolm has interviewed officials of the Township of North York with the purpose of obtaining advanced information as to parking by-law, poll of this district, etc. Mr. Malcolm was to follow this up further. Discussion then followed as to obtaining the use of the auditorium in Harrison Rd. School for Church services. The matter was left in the hands of the chairman.

The second meeting of this committee was held 25th August 1952. Dr. Munro, chairman of the Home Mission Board and Dr. K. M. Glazier, minister of Glenview Presbyterian Church also attended. Mr. Dutton advised the meeting that the Presbyterian Church in Canada had completed purchase of this property at the north-east corner of Bayview Ave. and Truman Rd., also that temporary use of Harrison Rd. School auditorium had been obtained for church services from October 1952 for a period of one year, subject to the discretion of the Board of Education. Mr. Dutton explained that the next step was to appoint someone to the charge at Bayview and Truman which of course, would be done through the Home Mission Board. At this point, Dr. Munro addressed the meeting in which he stated that a student minister, a deaconess or an ordained minister or any two of the three could be appointed. However, after discussion, it was the opinion of the meeting that in view of the growing district that an ordained minister should be obtained. It was then moved seconded and unanimously carried that the committee recommend to session that they request the Home Mission Board, through Presbytery, to appoint an ordained minister to the charge at Bayview and Truman.

At the next meeting of session held 2nd September 1952, the following minute was recorded, “Mr. Dutton reported for the Extension Committee that arrangements had been made for use of the Harrison Rd. School for Sunday school and public worship for one year at a rental of $15.00 per Sunday starting 5th October 1952. The extension Committee at one of its previous meetings had passed the following motion: Moved by Mr. Geo. McRae, seconded by Mr. Jack Hughes and carried unanimously that the committee recommend to session that they request the Home Mission Board, through Presbytery, to appoint an ordained minister to the charge on Bayview Ave. and Truman Rd. It was moved by Mr. Thos Dutton, seconded by Mr. Alex Forbes and carried unanimously that that the motion as submitted be approved.”

This recommendation was accepted by the Home Mission Board and until such time as an ordained minister could be appointed, they assigned Mr. Walter Donovan, a senior student at Knox College and Miss Jessie McDonald a field worker to the charge.

On 9th September 1952 representatives of the Extension Committee met at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Aubery Lewis -Watts, 75 Truman Rd. with several residents from the Bayview Lansing area. Those present from the area were - Mrs. C. W. Gibson, Mr. & Mrs. R. L. Reeves, Mr. & Mrs. Malcolm, Mr. & Mrs. A. C. Lewis-Watts.

Mr. Dutton explained to the meeting that the Presbyterian Church in Canada had purchased the site on the north-east corner of Bayview and Truman with the intention of erecting a church in the future, and that in the meantime use of the new Harrison Rd. School had been obtained for church and Sunday school services. He further explained that the purpose of this meeting was for those present from the surrounding district to contact other residents interested in seeing a Church and Sunday school built in the area. Co-operation was promised, and this meeting was adjourned with the understanding that a future meeting be held in Glenview Presbyterian Church on 23rd September 1952.

The extension committee met again on 17th September 1952 to arrange the details for the opening of Sunday school and Church services in the Harrison Rd. Public School Auditorium on October 12th 1952. Mr. James Malcolm a member of this committee and a

former Sunday school superintendent at Glenview for many years, volunteered to act as superintendent of the Sunday school until such time as someone from the Bayview-Truman area would take over. Mr. Jack Hughes was appointed Treasurer pro-tem.

As a follow up to the meeting with residents from the Bayview Lansing area on 9th September, another meeting was held in Glenview Church on 23rd September 1952. The following were present from, the Bayview Lansing area – Mr. & Mrs. A. Shanks, Mr. & Mrs. S. Myers, Mrs. C. W. Gibson, Mr. Ross Grinnell, Mr. & Mrs. A. C. Lewis-Watts. Mr. Walter Donovan, senior student at Knox College who was appointed by the Home Mission Board to fill the pulpit at Bayview and Truman pro-tem was introduced to the meeting. A general discussion followed as to the operation of the Sunday school and Church. Mrs. Gibson reported on behalf of residents that there appeared to be a keen interest among the neighbours with whom she had talked.

The extension committee met again on 8th October 1952 to ensure that all details had been completed for the opening services on 12th October 1952. Miss Jessie McDonald, field worker, was introduced to the committee and she reported she would be visiting homes in the district. Mr. Dutton reported that the Home Mission Board was diligently seeking the right man for the Bayview Truman charge

On Sunday 12th October 1952, Sunday school commenced at 10:00 a.m. under Mr. James Malcolm as superintendent, assisted by Miss Jessie MacDonald, field worker. A total of 23 children were registered. Their names are as follows:

Barbara Bond, Peter Lewis-Watts, Diane Cooke, Paul Summerlin, Merril Reeves, John Paul Knox, Robert Lewis-Watts, Tony Miles, Stephen Mortimer, David Bond, Terry Jackson, Billy Bond, Marilyn Gibson, Susan Mortimer, Bobby Dermody, Billy Miles, Brian Jones, Beverley Gibson, Lyn Dermody, Paul Dunn, Ian Grinnell, Jessie Shanks, Stephen Dunn.

Miss Mary Jane Shanks, age 15, became the first teacher on the staff and Mr. Maurice Graham consented to act as Treasurer.

On Sunday, 9th November 1952 the following notice was read to the congregation:

“A meeting will be held at the close of the service on Sunday morning November 16th, for the purpose of organizing the congregation and electing a board of managers. This meeting will be presided over by Dr. Kenneth M. Glazier, Minister at Glenview Church. This new congregation meeting in Harrison Rd. school is by the authority of the East Toronto Presbytery under the supervision of the Session of Glenview Church. This is the reason why the Moderator of Glenview Session is to preside.”

At a congregational meeting convened by the Interim Moderator Dr. K. M. Glazier, Minister of Glenview Presbyterian Church held after church service on 16th November 1952, the following were elected as managers – Messrs. A. Shanks, L. A. Nesbit, C. W. Gibson, A. C. Dermody, J. Craig Taylor, A. S. Lewis-Watts, C. Williams.

This is a report to the 21st December 1952 – Since opening in October, this new venture has been steadily gaining ground. The Sunday School in organized into four classes with Mr. Clive Williams as Superintendent and Mr. Maurice Graham as Secretary-Treasurer. Miss Jessie McDonald, our field worker, has organized a mission band, which meets each week in the home of Mrs. A. Shanks. A very successful meeting of ladies was held in the home of Mrs. Nesbitt, Fifeshire Rd. From these meetings has come a new spirit and a desire to advance and while our members are not large, nevertheless we now have a group who are solidly behind the cause. It was suggested that we should try to hold a communion service and it was felt that it would be very appropriate if it could be held on Sunday 21st December, just before Christmas. Arrangements were therefore made with Dr. Munro at the Church Office to hold communion on the suggested date and much to the pleasure of all, Dr. Munro agreed to conduct the service himself.

Accordingly, on Sunday, 21st December 1952, the first communion was held. We met in the auditorium of the Harrison Rd. School and with the parents and children present, a very reverent and enjoyable service was held. About 50 persons, parents and children were present at this service. Dr. Munro preached a magnificent service and Mr. Len Thompson sang the carol, ‘Silent Night’. Twenty-eight persons took communion. The Elders, Mr. Lawrence Nicholson, Mr. John Penny, Mr. Alex Crane and Dr. Jamieson from Glenview Church were constituted as a Session by Dr. Munro and served communion and were dismissed with the benediction at the close of the service.

On Tuesday, 17th February 1953, the service of designation of the Rev. R. H. M. Kerr, B.A., B.D. to the congregation of Bayview and Truman Rd. took place in Glenview Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Kerr, formerly of Beaches Presbyterian Church in Toronto, had been designated and appointed Extension Secretary for the Presbytery of East Toronto with a special commission to the new cause.

It is with thankful hearts and gratitude to God that we welcome the Rev. R. H. M. Kerr, B.A., B.D. as our first minister and we are looking forward with much anticipation to his labour among us.

Mr. Kerr will preach to us for the first time on Sunday, February 22nd, 1953.

The foregoing is recorded as a history of the formation of the new congregation to which we attest the accuracy thereof and with this appointment of the Minister, the Rev. R. H. M. Kerr, B.A., B.D., the work of this committee is now completed.

“T. M. Dutton “ “A. A. Forbes”

Chairman Secretary Feb. 19th, 1953

Lists of Trinity Groups

Trinity Groups (in 1966)

Church School

12 Senior Classes

4 Junior Classes

6 Primary Classes

Circle Group (youth ages 14 to 17)

became a grade 7 & 8 girls group

Kairos Koinonias (youth 17 and up)

Woman’s Association

Six Active Groups

Senior Choir

Junior Choir

P.Y.P.S (Presbyterian Young People’s Society)

Youth Group

272nd Brownie Packs (x 2) and Guide Company

3rd York Mills Cub Pack and Scout Troop

Adult Badminton Club

Cancer Dressing Group

Other Trinity Groups (since 1966)

Women’s Missionary Society, became Presbyterian Women

Women of Purpose

Woman’s Day of Prayer, now World Day of Prayer (annual international ecumenical event, rotated among local congregations)

Non Nobis

Forward Group (younger wives)

Tuesday Morning Home Bible Study and Prayer Group

Prayer Chain

Week of Guided Prayer

Evening of Guided Prayer

Other Trinity Groups (since 1966)

Trinity Drop-in Group (Wednesday & Thursday)

Care-Ring Program

Wednesday Morning Coffee Club - and became Community Coffee Break (it once offered badminton, yoga, bridge bible study and knitting, with babysitting available)

Wednesday Afternoon Videos

Thursday Morning Group

Thursday Afternoon Bible Study

Mandarin Bible Study Group

Trinity Men’s Group (Mid-week evening meetings)

Trinity Men’s Group (Saturday breakfast)

Men’s Lunchtime Fellowship

Trinity Fellowship Group

Trinity Social Club, became the 50+ Group

Cursillo weekends and Ultreya monthly meetings of Cursillo members

Kerygma (adult bible study program)

3 D Group (Diet, Discipline & Discipleship)

Genesis Group (for divorced, separated people, or those going through the process)

Canadians for Decency (an anti-pornography group)

Theos, became Trinity Support Group for the Widowed

Sunday Children’s Corner

Trinity Young People’s Group (ages 17 to 21)

Junior Youth Group, became the Laff-a-Lots

Senior Youth Group, became the Tygers

Toronto Raptor Ball

Basketball, part of the Raptors youth program for Trinity and neighbourhood young people

Pastoral Care Team

100 Mile Dinner (annual)

Dinner & Curling Night (annual)

Mariners Groups x 3

Alpha Groups

Christian Explorers

English Conversation Classes

Lunch Bunch (monthly)

For this poem, related to the 1991-92 construction of what was then the new Sanctuary, we are indebted to a gracious lady whose family has shared in four generations of Trinity history. The “Gordon” to whom she refers, is the Rev. Gordon Beaton, when he was minister at Trinity from 1988 to 1995.

For years Trinity looked at its state; Shall we build or leave it to fate???

But finally we said, We feel we are led To put up a building – first rate!

A committee of members set up And meetings thereafter never let up! THE COSTS ARE TOO HIGH! WE CAN’T REACH THE SKY! With problems of all kinds they met up!

The pews are an important decision; Our derrieres must fit with precision! The testing was done; We all had some fun!

Do you think it’ll improve our religion??

Worship Order Comparison

Roman Catholic Order of Mass

1. Introductory Rites

• Entrance

• Greeting

• Penitential Act

• Glory to God

• Collect

2. Liturgy of the Word

• First Reading

• Responsorial Psalm

Poem for Dedication

Dorothy Hunter

When water poured down on the pews, The leaking was not very good news. But do not dismay, Your fears all allay!

A roasting pan’s what we can use!

The people were all really great; Each Sunday they just couldn’t wait The changes to see And where we will be. It’s a challenge to keep up to date!

In his office one day Gordon sat, When debris through the window went splat! From now on they said Watch out for your head –Wear boots for construction & hard hat.

A fine minister we have here at Trinity. He leads one and all with divinity!

But in his hard hat

In the KITCHEN he sat, With workers all-round the vicinity!

A truck driver one day for him sought; My truck’s broken down in the lot! Are you the cook?

And is that the book

You record all the food that you’ve bought?

The trials of building were many And decisions were made a-plenty; But now that we see

What our church can be Hats off to you all here at Trinity!

• Second Reading (on Sundays and solemnities)

• Gospel Acclamation

• Gospel

• Homily

• Profession of Faith (on Sundays, solemnities, and special occasions)

• Universal Prayer

3. Liturgy of the Eucharist

• Presentation of the Gifts and Preparation of the Altar

• Prayer over the Offerings

• Eucharistic Prayer

• Preface

• Holy, Holy, Holy

• First half of prayer, including Consecration

• Mystery of Faith

• Second half of prayer, ending with Doxology

• The Lord's Prayer

• Sign of Peace

• Lamb of God

• Communion

• Prayer after Communion

4. Concluding Rites

• Optional announcements

• Greeting and Blessing

• Dismissal

United States Conference of Bishops

Presbyterian Order of Worship

1. Gather in the Name of God

• Musical Prelude

• Hymn or Praise Song

• Call to Worship

• Prayers of Praise, Adoration, Supplication and Confession

• Assurance of Pardon

• Passing of the Peace

• Gloria Patri

• A Time with Children

Sacrament of Holy Baptism (at appointed times during the year)

2. Proclamation of the Word of God

• Prayer for Illumination

• First Reading (usually Old Testament)

• Psalter

• Second Reading (usually an Epistle)

• Gospel Reading

• Sermon

The Creed, or an Affirmation of Faith (at appointed times during the year)

3. Response to the Word of God

• Hymn or Praise Song

• Affirmation of Faith

• Offering (with a Choral or Musical Anthem)

• Doxology

• Prayer of Dedication

• Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Sacrament of Holy Communion (at appointed times during the year)

4. Go in the Name of God

• Hymn or Praise Song

• Charge and Benediction

• Sung Amen

The Announcements

keeping the congregation informed of upcoming events, on-going programmes, concerns and other intimations. (normally inserted somewhere to minimize disruption to worship)

Lists

Lists? There are always lists. The six on the next page are made self-explanatory by the headings above them. The names listed on them are, for the most part, from among the all but forgotten heroes of Trinity’s past. They were the church builders and sustainers of their time and are the foundations laid down the for the congregation of the present. For this, and to them, Trinity is indebted.

Charter Members, April 19, 1953

Mr. & Mrs. Jack E. Allenby

Mr. & Mrs. J. W. Bond

Mr. & Mrs. R. C. Dermody

Mr. M. Graham

Mrs. J. Hughes

Mrs. R. H. M. Kerr

Mr. & Mrs. W. H. Meyer

Mr. & Mrs. A. Shanks

Mr. & Mrs. L. D. Summerlin

Mr. & Mrs. C. V. Williams

Miss M. I. Bentham

Mr. & Mrs. A. Caunt

Mr. & Mrs. C. W. Gibson

Mr. & Mrs. W. R. Grinnell

Mr. & Mrs. A. K. Jones

Mr. & Mrs. A. C. Lewis-Watts

Mr. & Mrs. L. E. Nesbitt

Miss M. J. Shanks

Mr. & Mrs. A. C. Taylor

Additional Members prior to Corner Stone, October 24, 1954

Mr. & Mrs. W. G. Alexander

Mr. & Mrs. K. G. Anderson

Mr. J. Bentham

Mr. & Mrs. J. E. Cooke

Mr. A. Hughes

Mr. & Mrs. H. C. Machin

Mr. & Mrs. E. B. Meyer

Mr. & Mrs. M. Philip

Mrs. H. F. Tapper

Miss P. B. Allen,

Mrs. A. Bentham

Mr. & Mrs. A. W. Carter

Mr. & Mrs. G. S. Dunn

Mr. & Mrs. J. Kowall

Mr. & Mrs. W. F. McMackon

Mr. & Mrs. J. G. Paterson

Miss G. F. Rogers

Ministers – 1953 to the Present

1953 - 1968 Rev. Robert H. M. Kerr

1968 - 1987 Rev. Dr. John F. Allan

1972 - 1991 Rev. Dr. Howard A. Doig [Honorary Associate]

1982 - 1990 Rev. Ronald C. Archer [Assistant]

1987 - 1988 Rev. Dr. J. J. Harrold Morris [Interim Moderator]

1988 - 1995 Rev. Gordon A. Beaton

1991 - 1992 Rev. Kathleen J. Brownlee [Assistant]

1995 - 1996 Rev. J. Patricia Hanna [Interim Moderator]

1996 - 2000 Rev. Thomas J. Kay

2000 - 2001 Rev. John D. Congram [Interim Moderator]

2000 - 2001 Rev. Dr. J. J. Harrold Morris [Interim Minister]

2001 - 2013 Rev. Ferne Reeve

2002 - 2005 Rev. Gordon A. Beaton [Pastoral Care - part time]

2005 - Rev. Gordon A. Beaton [Minister Emeritus]

2008 - 2013 Rev. Dr. Jim Czegledi [Program Minister]

2013 - 2014 Rev. Tim Purvis [Interim moderator]

2014 - 2014 Rev. Dr. Jim Czegledi [Interim Minister]

2014 - Rev. Kirk Summers

Directors of Music

-1957 Marion Bentham

1957-1968 Robert and Kathleen Williams

1968-1987 Kathleen Williams

1987-1988

Church Secretaries/Office Administrators

Hazel Rowland

Mrs. J. F. Stein

Jackie Fralick

Helen Westervelt

Brenda Howard

Jackie Brimblecombe

Lucy Robertson

Colin Campbell

Lenard Whiting

Melvin Suwarno & Rivandy Misael

Student Assistants

Walter Donovan Fall 1952-Feb.1953

David Walker 1960-1963

Peter Gilbert 1964-1965

Robert Wilson 1965-1966

Ann Whitman 1967-1968

Hans Kowenburg 1973-1974

Calvin Brown 1974-1975

Jean Bryden 1974-1975

Jim Biggs 1975-1976

David Kettle 1977-1978

Glen Inglis 1979-1980

John Oldenkamp 1980-1981

Kent Burdett 1982-1983

Martin Kreplin 1983-1984

Andrew Burnand 1984-1985

Lance Weiser 1985-1986

Andrew Fullerton 1986-1987

Jim Czegledi 1987-1988

Denise Zimmer 1988-1989

David Whitecross 1989-1990

Field Education Students

Ronald Sharp

Drew Burnand

Fraser Stinson

Neil MacLeod

Jane Swateridge

Matthew McKay

Alex Bisset

Barry Carr

Rebecca Jess

Summer Students

Carey Nieuhof

Charles DeGratsius

“Home-grown” Students

Andrew Fullerton

Mike Barnes

Annalise Lauber

Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills

Buildings Floor Plan – 1953-2018

The Chronological Time-line - Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills

1951 January 2nd: The Kirk Session of Glenview Presbyterian Church received a letter, dated November 10, 1950, from the Presbytery of East Toronto. This contained a request to survey the district around the Yorkminster Subdivision (Yonge St. to Bayview Ave., south of Sheppard Ave), with a view to establishing a Mission Church.

January 17th: the annual meeting of Glenview P.C. heartily endorsed acceptance of this responsibility

1952 April 7th: the survey must have been positive, as Glenview P.C. Kirk Session appointed an 8-person Extension Committee, chaired by Mr. George McRae. This Committee engaged with the National Church Home Mission Board, Presbytery, North York Township, real estate agents and site surveyors.

June 2nd: Glenview Session discharged the Extension Committee, then struck an Organization Committee under the acting chairmanship of Mr. Tom Dutton

July 31st: a parcel of land had been purchased ($13,500.00) on north-east corner of Bayview Ave. and Truman Rd.

September 9th: with the sanction of East Toronto Presbytery, the Glenview committee met with a small group of interested residents from this community.

October 12th: worship services commenced in Harrison Road Public School. Mr. Walter Donovan, a student at Knox College, was placed in charge of the new mission work, assisted by Miss Jessie McDonald, a Deaconess.

Church School also commenced on this date. Mr. James Malcolm was superintendent, assisted by Miss MacDonald and there were 23 students

November 16th: seven members were elected to be the Board of Managers, by the new congregation.

21st December: the first communion was held, when worship was led by Dr. Munro, of the Home Mission Board. A constituted Kirk Session of Elders from Glenview Church were present, and twenty-eight persons took communion.

1953 February 17th: The Presbytery of East Toronto installed the Rev. Robert H. M. Kerr as Minister in Charge of the congregation at Bayview and Truman. Two days later, the Glenview Extension Committee was discharged.

February 21st: Mr. Kerr led worship and preached for the first time at Harrison Road Public School

April 19th: The Congregation was established, with a Charter Membership of 33 and with the assistance of Elders from the Kirk Session at Glenview. At that time, the name “Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills” was adopted.

June 19: Trinity Kirk Session established, with the ordination of two Elders

1954 October 24th: Corner Stone of the new Building was laid

1955 April 3rd: with a membership of 65 communicant members, the original [250 seat] Sanctuary was dedicated.

In addition to the Sanctuary, the Minister’s Study, Church Office and Board Room shared the same floor. Below them, in the half-basement was the South Hall, a small nursery, kitchen, washrooms and a choir room.

1956 Trinity ceased to be a ‘mission charge’ exactly one year after the sanctuary dedication, at which time, Mr. Kerr was inducted as the Minister of Word and Sacraments, into the ‘self-sustaining charge’.

1960 September 11th: The North Hall, together with its associated kitchen, washroom and other facilities were completed and linked to the existing building. Major funding of this development came from 10 members who each signed promissory notes valued at $1,000.00.

1968 April: The Rev. John F. Allan called to be Assistant and Successor to the Rev. Robert H. M. Kerr

A proposal to build a larger sanctuary was considered. This would have been parallel with Truman Rd., backing onto Bayview Ave.

Due to financial constraints, but more particularly to the expropriation of land by the North York, Metro Toronto and Ontario roads and highways departments, this proposal was set aside.

The expropriations, to the west, were to accommodate the widening of Bayview Ave. from 2 to 4 lanes, plus the construction of an access ramp to east-bound 401 on the west side. Also, for the realignment of Truman Rd., on the south side, to more effectively match with Fifeshire Rd., opposite.

November 11: The Rev. Robert H. M. Kerr died, and the Rev. John F. Allan became Minister of the Word and Sacraments.

The L.A.M.P. Report: was adopted by the General Assembly. In it were recommendations encouraging Kirk Sessions to create committees of Policy and Planning, Christian Education, Nurture and Worship, Mission and Outreach. And that these committees mainly have members who were men and women from the congregation, who were not Elders.

1970 Session opted to implement the LAMP Report recommendations and created Worship & Nurture, Mission & Service and Business & Nominating Committees to the existing Christian Education Committee

1972 The Rev. Dr. Howard A. Doig became Honourary Associate Minister

1974 Consideration was given to converting the North Hall into the Sanctuary for an increased seating capacity. Upon further reflection, this was shown not to be cost effective.

1975 Second Century Advance for Christ – celebrating Presbyterian Church in Canada centenary

1978 25th Anniversary year: An enlarged entrance Narthex to the Sanctuary, extending the building footprint to the south. Oak paneling was added to the walls of the Sanctuary and dedicated to the memory of the Rev. R.H.M. Kerr. An HVAC ducted air system was installed in the Sanctuary. Below it, the Jubilee Room was created.

The land forming the present northern section of the parking lot was given to Trinity by the Borough, City and Province, as repayment for the expropriations. Part of this repayment included a paved entrance driveway to the parking lot, from Truman Rd., in front of the building. This disappeared in 1992, beneath newly constructed facilities.

1980 Decade to double membership began with 515 (it had risen to 590 by 1984)

Between March and August upgrades were made to the washroom facilities, adjacent to the North Hall. This included wheelchair accessibility.

1982 Anticipating the arrival of an Assistant Minister, the former Board Room was converted to office/study space.

The Rev. Ronald C. Archer appointed full-time Assistant Minister.

1985 ComPAC Stewardship Programme began late in the year and was completed by mid-1986

1987 The Rev. John F. Allan resigned, having accepted a call to St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Victoria, BC.

Vacancy: The Rev. Dr. J. J. Harrold Morris appointed Interim Moderator

1988 The Rev. Gordon A. Beaton was called as Minister of the Word and Sacraments

December 4: Responding to a charge from Visitation Committee from East Toronto Presbytery, earlier in the year, an event called The Dream Machine is held to provide membership an opportunity to share their dreams and explore Trinity’s mission in the community.

1989 February 5: Follow-up the Dream Unfolds introduced the concept of a multi-purpose facility for both church and secular use.

February 26: A congregational meeting considered six choices related to the Trinity buildings, including development of a multi-purpose 100-unit affordable housing building, incorporating church facilities.

August 15: Although the site was pronounced suitable by the Ontario Housing Ministry, the Trinity multi-purpose development proposal for funding from the HOMES NOW programme was turned down by the Ministry. Shortly thereafter, the congregation opted to build new sanctuary facilities.

Decade to double membership ended with 509 members

1990 The Rev. Ronald C. Archer resigned as Assistant Minister, having accepted a call to St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Sarnia, ON

1991 The Rev. Kathleen J. Brownlee became part time Assistant Minister

June: Following a sod turning ceremony, construction of the present [400 seat] Sanctuary began. Participating in the ceremony with the Rev. Gordon Beaton, was the Rev. Dr. John F. Allan, a former Minister at Trinity and the outgoing Moderator of the 116th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

The new construction also included the 'West Hall' [beneath the sanctuary], the 'Doig Room' and the 'Centre Court', plus an elevator servicing the four floor levels between the old and new buildings was installed, making the entire building 'wheel-chair' accessible. At that time, as the separate 'Assistant Minister' office was longer required and as the functions of the Church Office were expanded, the partition walls were removed to provide a larger open space, accommodating two work stations.

1992 May: The Rev. Dr. Howard Andrew Doig died

June 2ist: during 11:00am Sunday worship, the Congregation transferred to the new building. Later, on September 27 th the new Sanctuary was dedicated by the Presbytery of East Toronto.

November: The Rev. Kathleen J. Brownlee left to be Associate Minister at Armour Heights Presbyterian Church.

1994 The Annual Congregational Meeting adopted the statement that "Our mission is to worship and serve God through faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit."

1995 The Rev. Gordon A. Beaton resigned, having accepted a call to St. Andrew's Aurora, ON.

Vacancy: The Rev. J. Patricia Hanna appointed Interim Moderator

1996 The Rev. Thomas J. Kay called as Minister of the Word and Sacraments

1997 Kirk Session committees restructured for Mission and Ministry.

1998 A Vision for Ministry draft report produced

1999 The Way Ahead three-year plan was introduced

2000 The Rev. Thomas J. Kay resigned, having accepted a call to Knox Presbyterian Church, Guelph, ON

Vacancy: The Rev. John D. Congram, Interim Moderator and the Rev. Dr. J. J. Harrold Morris, Interim Minister

2001 In February conversion of the original sanctuary into a smaller, more intimate worship centre and meeting room was completed, and it was renamed 'Founders Hall'. This was accomplished by the construction of a wall immediately in front of what had been the original chancel.

Rev. Ferne Reeve called as Minister of the Word and Sacraments

2002 The Rev. Gordon A. Beaton, appointed as part-time Pastoral Care Minister

2004 September, the Potentials Visioning Consultancy began.

2004 May: The Potentials Visioning Consultancy was completed.

2005 North Hall roof sub-structure repaired, and shingles replaced with metal

Rev. Gordon A. Beaton, retired as part-time Pastoral Care Minister and was appointed as Minister Emeritus.

2008

Rev. Dr. Jim Czegledi, appointed as part-time Minister of Programming

2009 The Magnetic Church - Friday to Sunday weekend workshop was held

Reroofing of Sanctuary and Kerr Wing new HVAC units installed

2011 Congregational governance revised from bi to unicameral, folding Board of Managers into new committees of Session

2013 Kitchen remodeled, new appliances and dedicated heating system installed

The Rev. Ferne Reeve retired at the end of December.

Vacancy: Rev. Tim Purvis, Interim Moderator and the Rev. Dr. Jim Czegledi, Interim Minister

2014 The Rev. Kirk Summers called as Minster of the Word and Sacraments

2016 The Church Office was relocated to the former Chancel area. Archives were relocated to the West Hall. The former office area was converted into an Ante Room. Various re-flooring and painting projects were completed.

2017 Sanctuary refurbishment completed.

September: Kirk Session Ministries redefined to better serve the congregation.