Learning & Growing for Ministry

I have been blessed to be called to minister in two unique Presbyterian Church settings in two different places in Canada. After leaving VST I received a call to serve in Kenora, Ontario where I shared in five years of ministry that touched lives in different ways. 

Kenora is a unique setting as the city itself is surrounded by thirteen Indigenous communities. When I started ministry in Kenora, the social and religious struggles were plain for all to see—there was this clear divide between the First Nations and White settlers, most of whom made up the membership of First Presbyterian Church where I was called to serve. 

One of the courses and programs I participated in at VST was Truth and Reconciliation, which was taught by Dr. Wendy Fletcher and facilitated by several Indigenous Elders who had come to share their own stories with us. Our class also had the privilege of sharing in Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation activities that were being held in Vancouver in 2013. The educational climate of VST was so open and outward-reaching that there were also several Indigenous VST students who shared their own personal and family stories of the intergenerational effects of the residential school system.

I learned and participated in many TRC related activities at VST that prepared me for ministry in Kenora. As such, I was able to successfully navigate the difficult journey of Reconciliation at FPC where our life, worship, and witness led us into the life and struggles of the Indigenous people of Treaty Three and beyond. 

I have always approached ministry with the mindset that if you are called by God and are serving God, with every challenge comes an opportunity to discern what God is doing.I moved on from Kenora and started to serve at St. Mark’s, a highly multiethnic and multicultural congregation in Northern Mississauga. St. Mark’s is located in Malton, a community on the doorsteps of an international center where many newcomers to Canada first land. Our multicultural church is often the first place of worship that some of these newcomers come to worship. 

When I started studying at VST, I was blessed to be part of a multicultural community where we openly shared experiences that have shaped our lives and led to our call to ministry. VST is also an institution that prides itself on practicing hospitality. It was at VST while studying Canadian history that I went deeper into the concept of how hospitality is a longstanding Christian Canadian concept. This concept has, for many years, allowed Canada to be the place of welcome and embrace for countless individuals and families. 

As we carry out ministry at St. Mark’s, we do so against the mission statement “Out of Many Nations, we are one Family in Christ.” Our congregation is also touching lives through our evangelism with a hospitality program. The climate of hospitality fashioned by VST instilled in me great lessons that are benefitting my ministry today. 

Congregational life has transformed so much in the last four years and as such there is a “new normal” within which we must learn to function if we intend to be of service to the Lord’s church. 

In this post-pandemic era, the challenges are many, but there are also many things to celebrate.

The current economic climate that began just over two and a half years ago bears some serious repercussions for the church. 

Many churches, including St. Mark’s where I serve as minister and St. Paul’s where I serve as Interim Moderator, have seen a decline in traditional members attending church. This has also led to a drain on the human resources available for many congregations, which means added responsibilities for the minister in many cases. 

Many of those who still come are experiencing changes in their financial viability as Canada’s economic changes and inflationary times have affected so many of our church’s membership. 

I have always approached ministry with the mindset that if you are called by God and are serving God, with every challenge comes an opportunity to discern what God is doing. Challenges are always going to come, and the church will be impacted in some way. In the midst of the changes forced by the pandemic and the current financial climate, congregations are forced to rely more deeply on God’s leading and guidance, and on the power of the Holy Spirit. God continues to create steams of living water even in parched times. 

Decline and the struggle to remain viable are the reality for many congregations today.The two congregations I serve experienced exactly that. What is also true is that we have, like Elijah at the crossroads of life and death in 1 Kings 19, heard the voice of God as we pray together saying to us, “Get up and eat” and go stand in the presence of the Lord as the wind, the earthquake, and the fire passes by. 

In the midst of this turbulence, we have, like Elijah, felt the peaceful presence of God and have, in faith, been able to see the presence of God in the countless new faces that God has brought to our congregation. Worship continues to be filled with the vibrant and transformative Spirit of God, and amidst all that is going on we continue to flourish in the grace of Jesus Christ as God leads us to provide welcome and embrace to all who worship with us.

VST does extremely well with preparing God’s called people for ministry to everyone—abled and not so abled; the marginalized and those who feel a sense of belonging; the struggling and those who are able to manage. 

The theoretical teaching of how to practice ministry is of critical importance, and VST is right up there with other theological institutions across North America who prepare people for ministry to teach, preach, and be aware of the practicalities. VST being ahead of the curve could help those preparing for pastoral ministry by exposing students to some practical church and ministry context.

While at VST I was blessed to be a beneficiary of the Rural and Remote Summer Student program in partnership with the PCC. This helped prepare me not only for ministry in a rural context where many social struggles existed, but also prepared me for ministry in the primary moments where people are trying to navigate the rigors of grief and recovery from addiction. VST could ponder courses in grief counselling and management, a program in family counselling and other family dynamics, the changing dynamics of Christianity in a context of mass immigration, and other courses to engage cultural shifts taking place.

Germaine Lovelace is the minister at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Malton and Interim Moderator at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Bramalea. Rev. Germaine began his ministry in the Moravian Church in Jamaica, where he served for ten years. He is a graudate of VST’s Diploma in Presbyterian Denominational Studies and the 2022 recipient of VST’s Thoughtful, Engaged, and Generous Award. Rev. Germaine has a deep love and passion for serving people, helping people through their struggles, and sharing the message of Christ’s redeeming grace with everyone.