July 9, 2021 Newsletter
Church Office Open 10 am - 2 pm Tuesday - Friday
Rev. Bob will be on vacation July 17-23.
If you need to contact Rev. Linda outside of office hours, call 705-341-8359 or email lpark@standrewslindsay.com
It's All Relative: 170 Years of McQuarrie Memories.
It is doubtful anyone will be surprised to learn that Ian McKechnie has written a book!
The project began in April of 2020, with Ian transcribing over 100 postcards which had been mailed to and from his great-grandfather's older sisters in the 1910s. The bulk of the research phase took place between the late spring and mid- autumn of 2020; writing began in October and continued into March of 2021. In addition to writing the main drafts, considerable time has been spent in writing endnotes and photo captions.
In many ways, the book is less a single narrative and more of an anthology. Members of the extended family were invited to contribute chapters, and
sprinkled throughout the book are some essays and other recollections
written down decades ago by one of his grandfather's older brothers; one of his cousins; one of his spinster aunts.
No genealogical websites (e.g. ancestry.ca) were used in putting this together; primary source material was close at hand thanks to people who had saved it, or written down stories years ago.
The narrative begins with Ian’s great-great-great grandparents James McQuarrie (1814-1886) and Catherine McInnes (1816-1893) immigrating from Iona, Scotland, to Argyle, Ontario around 1851.
Ian has enjoyed "meeting" third cousins over email and social media in the last 6-12 months -- people to whom he is related, but has never met in person.
His hope is that this book will reacquaint (and, in some cases, introduce) the immediate family with extended family.
The finished product will be about 212 pages in length and will be printed in full colour later this summer and Ian plans to donate a copy to the City of Kawartha Lakes [Lindsay] Public Library.
Update From General Assembly
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) was held from June 5 to 9, 2021. This was an historic event in a few ways. First, it was held online, and second, change in church doctrine and law concerning human sexuality. Here’s the statement that was released:
The Presbyterian Church in Canada agreed to make changes to its theology and practice regarding marriage, permitting people to choose to define marriage as either a covenant relationship between a man and a woman or a covenant relationship between two adult people. These decisions provide Presbyterian ministers with the liberty of conscience and the freedom to choose to officiate or not officiate at the marriages of same-sex couples.
Additionally, the church agreed that LGBTQI people (whether married or single) can be ordained and are welcome to serve as ministers and ruling elders. The local churches and search committees will have the liberty of conscience and the freedom to call or not call a person in a same-sex marriage.
The conversation around human sexuality is not new. The PCC has been dealing with this topic since 1994. If you wish to read more of the history and the studies that have been done through the years, follow this link for more information: https:// presbyterian.ca/sexuality/
At St. Andrew’s (Lindsay) there will be some who welcome such changes and others who will struggle greatly even questioning their affiliation with the denomination. This has not been an easy process for the church and will continue to be difficult for some time to come. However, it is our prayer that with grace and time we will be able to continue as a church that has always had a diversity of theology and practice and that in so doing God’s name would continue to be glorified.
Rev. Bob and I are available for conversation.
We hope you will reach out to us as you reflect on these changes. Our earnest prayer is that St. Andrew’s will remain united as the family of God even with our differences. May we show the world that continues to be divided into groups and camps, ideologies and politics, that we are Christians by our radical love and respect for each other.
In Christ’s Service, Rev. Linda Park