It is always sad to have to report the passing of faithful members, and although we are not without a solid hope for the life to come, we still experience the feelings of separation. In that spirit we are commemorating the lives of two of those committed to a life of renewal: Ken Wilson and Bill Manson. We are not captive to our past but look forward to what is yet to come. Dag Hammarskjold, former Secretary-General of the UN 1953-1961, and winner of the Nobel Peace prize in 1961, once prayed: "For all that has been, THANKS! For all that will be, YES!" I hope that will be our attitude as well, as Renewal Fellowship moves ahead. Please be diligent in prayer for the Board as they discern proposals to take to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 5. Please pray for me also as I approach retirement from the Renewal Fellowship this coming summer. It feels a little strange that this will probably be the last AGM that I will give an Executive Director's report to, but I plan to continue to be active in the work of renewal on a volunteer basis. I look forward in the month ahead of being in touch with many of you. - Calvin Brown It is with sadness that we report the passing of Renewal Fellowship member Ken Wilson on October 31. Perhaps it is significant that Ken passed on All Saints Day, and I can almost hear him chuckling about that. It was also on a Sunday, and I suspect he would mention that it was his time to lie down and enter into the eternal rest. Ken had a keen wit and a dry sense of humour that delighted those who knew him. The funeral service was held in a full church at St. John and St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Hamilton on Thursday, November 4, and led by the Reverends George Beals and Gordon Fish. Two of his grandchildren, Andrew and Brandon, read the Scripture lessons, and his sons John and David shared a moving tribute to their father. He was the beloved husband of Donna (nee Truscott), loving father of John (Charlene), David (Liz), dear grandfather of Andrew, Brendan and Christian.
I knew Ken best after he recruited me to assist in renewing Dorothy Lake Camp. When he was minister at Kirkland Lake, he had been instrumental in working with others to acquire the land and build the initial buildings at camp. After serving the Presbytery of Temiskaming for a number of years, the camp fell into disuse. In an effort to revive it, a committee was formed and it came under the Synod's Camping Agency CAIRN. One day, Ken called me up and asked, "You do renewal don't you?" I replied that indeed we did, as God enabled. He said, "I have something for you to renew." He then went on to explain the situation and hoped we could help. We connected with the Dorothy Lake Committee and offered to help by being the teacher for family camp, advertising the camp, and having Bill Harrison, my Administrative Assistant, come and do the canoeing. We have been doing that every year for well over a decade. At our suggestion, a partnership was formed with the Renewal Fellowship, Dorothy Lake Camp, and Georgian Native and Outreach Ministries, and for the last several years, camps have been held for aboriginal children and teens. Among some of my fondest memories of camp was hearing Ken sitting out in the birch grove or in the tepee lodge playing hymns and songs on his keyboard -- sometimes surrounded by others joining in the praise, and sometimes just sitting alone. One wonders if he won't be given a keyboard to join in the heavenly chorus. Ken and Donna were always hospitable, and one thing the Fellowship was thankful for was their hosting of a monthly renewal prayer luncheon in their home in Hamilton for several years until poor health prevented them from continuing. We look forward to a glad reunion. - Calvin Brown The following is information concerning the upcoming March Renewal Conference to be followed by the Annual General Meeting of the Renewal Fellowship. Be sure and mark the date, March 5, 2011, in your calendars and keep it in your prayers. Our theme will be The Coming of the Kingdom and the Future of the Church. It will be hosted by St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 3819 Bloor St. West, Etobicoke ON. The Renewal Fellowship Annual Meeting will be held at 2:30 p.m. Dr. Dale Woods of Presbyterian College, Montreal QC, is the theme
speaker, and a panel of church leaders will be moderated by Calvin
Brown. The panel members are:
We are approaching the year end with a considerable deficit. It is very important that at this phase of the Renewal Fellowship's life that we enter the year with confidence that people are wanting this ministry to move into the next phase with strength. We are asking our supporters to do all they can to see that we do this. Please send your gift before year end to the Renewal Office: 3819 Bloor Street West, Etobicoke ON M9B 1K7 Rev. Angus Sutherland has generously given us a number of CDs of his original recording called Inchcapecroft (named after his Scottish family homestead) and half the proceeds will go to the Renewal Fellowship. The CD has a variety of styles of music ranging from Celtic folk to bagpipe jazz. It delights and inspires. One song that delights deals with the "probing" theological question: "Will There be a Tim Hortons in Heaven?" The inspiring song reminds us that we are called to be His ambassadors. The cost, including shipping and handling, is $23. He also offers a second CD called Some Assembly Required, with songs both humorous and earnest about the workings of the General Assembly. The cost is $18, including shipping and handling, and the proceeds go entirely to Presbyterian World Service and Development. Order from our office. We want to thank God for Lillian Deline of Etobicoke for her generous bequest to the work of the Renewal Fellowship. Lillian passed away earlier this year in May. Her generosity was well known, and one of her acts of benevolence was to place an inspiring memorial stained glass window of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Islington, Ontario. Lillian had also been a volunteer in sending out our mailings. I first met Reverend and Mrs. Manson at the Renewal Fellowship in 1983. In fact, we sat at the same table for lunch. However none of us at that time knew that we would even meet again. At the meeting of the Fellowship, I was asked to share about the crisis that Cote des Neiges Presbyterian Church was experiencing -- the fact that the Presbytery of Montreal did not sustain our call extended to the Rev. John Vaudry. The Renewal Fellowship was very supportive of the congregation and had offered pastoral care in different forms. But the Reverend Bill Manson was the one who offered support in the most practical way. He applied for the vacancy. No one else wanted to move to Quebec at that time. He was inducted in March 1984. What the Mansons started as a "mission to French Canada" became a settled pastoral ministry until his retirement 17 years later, the second-longest in the 146-year history of our congregation. They endeared themselves to this multi-ethnic congregation: Scots and Arabs, black and white, Asians and Africans. When invited to speak at our anniversary celebration two years ago, Rev. Manson said to Rev. Vaudry, our current minister, "The pulpit has been yours all along, I was just filler." So generous and gracious was his spirit. He loved his people and his people loved him back. He preached the Word clearly and faithfully. He took a stand for the Scriptures and sound doctrine. He wrote articles to the Presbyterian Record. He defended solemnity in worship and emphasized repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. As the Reverend Vaudry notes in his book on the history of Cote des Neiges Church, these articles "revealed Mr. Manson's keen intellect, concern for good order, and desire for the well-being of the whole church". During his time as Moderator of the Presbytery of Montreal, he dealt firmly and decisively in a matter of grave importance to the whole of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. He encouraged participation and good administration. He felt that the house of prayer should be protected. He introduced building insurance and an alarm system. He delegated responsibilities according to individual gifts. During his ministry, many improvements to the sanctuary were made: new church lights, electric fans, a new organ, a simultaneous translation system, etc. At worship, he insisted that the sound of the organ should not be louder than the voice of the people praising the Lord. He taught us lessons too numerous to mention at this time. It is hard to realize that it has been nine years since he retired, and it is even harder to know that he is no longer with us. Our sincere condolences to Jan and Ian and the rest of the family. Their loss, our loss, is heaven's gain. - Elder Richard Lancing [Note: The full obituary for Bill given by Donald MacLeod will be printed in the next eChannels.] A comment from one of the ministers who attended the Ministers' Consultation that the Renewal Fellowship organized at Crieff Hills early in November: "The Korean way of prayer time was awesome -- and also the presentation on evangelism." The theme was Blessed to be a Blessing, and we had three young ministers share what God was doing in their midst. Joel Sherbino shared how his congregation was reaching out to young families, Alex MacLeod shared how to effectively reach 20-30 year olds, and Joshua Kang shared how to offer prayers of blessing to our neighbourhoods that bring them into relationship with Christ and the Church. Another participant wrote, "Thank you for a great three days! I have learned a lot, relaxed, exercised, and enjoyed the company of my brothers in Christ. You do great work in renewal! Thank you!" For Pastors and Laity Vancouver - The last Saturday of each month. Contact Bob McBay
at 604-936-3889 for location.
For Pastors East Toronto - The third Tuesday of the month. Contact Rev.
Duncan Cameron at 416-438-4370 or e-mail him at <pastor@standrewsscarborough.ca>.
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Ken had served as minister in several congregations including Buchanan;
St. Andrew's, Kirkland Lake ON; Westminster-St Paul's, Guelph ON, and in
retirement at Calvin-Grace in Hamilton ON.
or 
through our 