It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship

With thanks to photographers Linda Curle, Linda Carnegie, Lorne Hoover, and Nancy Montgomery

Still my favourite movie, Casablanca, contains some brilliant cinematic lines: “Play it again Sam”; “We’ll always have Paris”; and “Round up the usual suspects.” Filmed in 1942 during the depths of the Second World War, the plot centres around Victor Laslo, a resistance leader who must escape Vichy France for safety to England. He arrives in Casablanca with his wife, Ilsa, to arrange safe passage. They stumble into Rick’s Bar. Rick and Ilsa had previously been lovers in Paris though were separated as the Germans invaded the city of love and romance.

In the end, Rick makes a huge sacrifice to allow Ilsa and Victor to escape. After they are safely away and the Nazi Major Strasser is dead, Rick and his friend, Vichy Police Captain Renault walk away together into the evening mist. Rick says to the captain:  “This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Indeed, this line came to mind as we at St. Stephen Anglican Church in Summerland BC (SS) welcomed the congregation of Summerland United Church (SUC) to our church this morning. Their visit was no temporary event; they are coming to join us in the sharing of costs and facilities going forward.

The SUC congregation decided some time ago to sell their building to a developer who will build 60 units of social housing and provide accessible accommodation for the community food bank. The income from the sale of the property will finance a significant portion of their ongoing ministry, and by extension, ours. Their only challenge for them was to find new space for worship and administration.

Our two congregations have enjoyed close connections over many years. We would attend, promote, and participate in each other’s events; we even used to go camping together. Both congregations embody a liberal, progressive, and inclusive theology and spirituality in contrast to other local conservative  Christian churches. There is so much that draws and links us together.

Commencing Sunday October 27, visitors to our site will find a United Church worship service commencing at 9:30 a.m. The Anglican Service will commence at 11:00 a.m. The two congregations will share coffee together at 10:30. We know that Christians across denominations, theological perspectives, worship practices, traditions and historical experience can learn from and benefit from close affiliation. This collaboration is not a traditional “shared ministry” where two congregations from different denominations integrate organically to become a new entity.

So how did our two congregations worship this past Sunday morning? SUC gathered as usual at their Henry Avenue site at 10 a.m. They sang songs; they shared stories; they prayed. They gathered together their sacred items—the Historic Roll; Communion Cup and Plate; Bible; Pitcher and Bowl; Cross and Candle; Music books. Following this assembly they declared:

“This building, having been dedicated and named Summerland United Church, we now commend the land on which it stands to other purposes. We declare that it is no longer the place of meeting of a congregation of The United Church of Canada.”

With some driving, but most walking, they made the ten-minute pilgrimage over to the Prairie Valley Road site of St. Stephen Anglican Church. As they knocked on the door requesting entry, the bell was tolled in welcome; the doors were flung open, and the congregation of well over 70 worshippers entered the stone church welcomed by a grand chorus of organ music. Children brought symbols of their church school placing them in the sanctuary; the Rev. Anne Ellis entered in Alb and colourful stole; as one Anglican noted, people flooded through the open door, and kept coming, and coming, and still more coming. Following a greeting from SS warden Doug Carnegie both congregations prayed together:

“Grant us open hearts, listening ears, receptive spirits as we gather this day, that your inspiration would not be lost on us but rather revive us, return us, renew in us the image of your love that we may be your liberated and liberating partners in joy and obedience, in risk and in gratitude, that your Word of Life become flesh in us.”

We all sang music by Bishop Gordon Light, a friend to both Anglicans and United Church folks across Canada:

Come touch our souls
That we may know and love you
Your quiet presence all our fears dispel;
Create a space for Spirit to grow in us,
Let life and beauty fill us.
Come, touch and bless our souls.

I then led a version of Java Jive, a tune covered by the 80s vocal group, Manhattan Transfer, with a modified verse for the day.

“We love coffee, black and strong
Good cup of coffee, well ya can’t go wrong
Coffee’ll help us, learn to get on
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup.”

The large group then made its way into a jam packed hall for coffee, tea, goodies, and lots of fun. On more than one occasion there were whoops of joy. An email I received later in the day was so very encouraging.

“What a wonderful welcome from your people.  It just feels so right to be sharing with you folks in your building.”

There’s a lively and spirited future ahead. This is indeed the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

ADDENDUM:

Winds of Change, John Bubb

Winds of change, we are facing.
Ventures past, we’ll leave behind.
As we move into the future,
New realities we’ll find

All that’s good, we’ll carry with us
And the rest, we’ll cast aside.
In trust and faith, we take this journey,
We’ll have Jesus as our guide.

Bridge

And we know God travels with us.
Boundless love to give and share.
In that spirit we’ll go forward.
We will find our future there.

Our new partners working with us
Strong together, we will be,
As we serve, and share God’s message,
Building new community

Ending

And we know God travels with us.
Boundless love to give and share.
And God’s word will still inspire us.
As we find our future there.