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CELEBRATING KIRK UNITED CHURCH

June 10, 1956 to June 30, 2019

Three years ago, we gathered to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the formation of this
congregation. In that service, we paid tribute to the hard work of those who knocked on doors,
and organised community meetings, and did all that leg work and planning to plant and grow
Kirk United Church.

The inaugural service was held on June 10, 1956,– 63 years ago tomorrow. That date coincided
with the 31st Anniversary of the formation of The United Church of Canada. I had just turned 2...
and Kathy was two days old!

This is a rather bitter-sweet anniversary. In some ways, we didn’t want this day to come, even
though we have known for a while it was unavoidable.

We will have mixed emotions: the tears of sadness, regrets and disappointment mingle with the
thanks and laughter as we celebrate all that Kirk United Church has meant,– and will continue to
mean,– to us.

This is grief, as we prepare to say goodbye to Kirk United Church as a congregation. As with any
grieving, we need to acknowledge our loss, our unfulfilled hopes, our failures, our fears and our
worries.

We need to trust that we have done our best here, and that we have already been forgiven where
we have come up short. We need to be reassured that life for us will go on, albeit in a very
different way.

This last part is especially difficult, since this congregation has been one of our main sources of
strength and healing.

That is why I strongly encourage the current membership of Kirk to look for another
congregation, so you can start making new connections for that strength and healing. I know it
won’t be the same, but your spiritual health depends on it.

To prepare for this service, I went through all the United Church Year Books since 1956, to look
at the congregational statistics. And I think Kirk United’s record is pretty fair: almost 1500
baptisms, more than 1600 weddings, and more than 1000 funerals have been conducted through
this church.

These statistics speak to the number of lives which have been influenced by the ministry here,–
with support, acceptance and compassion.

These stats show that your ministers were busy, too. I note that, over its first 5 years, Kirk
averaged 66 baptisms a year. The highest number of weddings in a year (80) happened in 1977.
That works out to a wedding every 4½ days, although we know that weddings usually happen on
Saturdays, and in season!

I also noticed that the peak in weddings in 1977 was followed by a spike in baptisms (56) in
1981. The most funerals (79) happened in 1995.
The stats also show that generosity has been important here as well: close to one million dollars
has been raised for the Mission and Service Fund, and its predecessor the Missionary and
Maintenance Fund. The UCW raised more that $140,000 of that, and those stats only go back to
1972.

There are other statistics which I did not research, like the support for other organisations this
congregation has taken on over the years,– such as the Bissell Centre, Prince Charles School, the
Inner City Pastoral Ministry, the Spady Centre, and the foster children through the Christian
Children’s Fund, to name just a few.

Those statistics are evidence that this congregation has lived out its call to mission in the world.
And that support and generosity will be missed. You have made a difference!

In our reading from John’s Gospel, Jesus said to his disciples on the night before he was
crucified: “Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as
the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.” [Jo 14:27]

He was trying to prepare the disciples for their worst day ever, the day we call Good Friday. In
the face of all that hurt and horror and confusion and defeat, Jesus offered them hope and peace
and reassurance and confidence.

Of course, we have the advantage of 20/20 hindsight, knowing that Easter and the Day of
Pentecost were just around the corner for them.

But in the face of their troubles and difficulties, Jesus gently reminds the disciples that he will
still be with them. He points them towards faith, and offers them comfort and reassurance.

When we face our own troubles and difficulties, the forces which bring suffering into our lives,
our faith reassures us that God is active in our midst, helping us and giving us the strength and
healing we need.

Through faith in God, all our shortcomings have already been forgiven. God’s love is more than
sufficient to overcome our regrets, frustrations, fears, worries, and hurts.

That faith is expressed through the words of “A New Creed”, and through the hymns we sing
here. Ours is a singing faith, a faith which dares to sing hymns in the face of troubles.

And so, in faith, we give thanks and praise for all that God has accomplished through the life and
ministry of Kirk United Church. Thanks be to God, who offers us a singing faith, through our
faith in Jesus Christ. Amen.

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