By Rev. J. A. Macdonald
Knowing that many in the Home Church are more than interested in how matters are with the Cause of Christ in Canada, I hasten to forward this short report to our Magazine.
In Toronto, and Chesley, there are those who earnestly pray for, and long to be under the auspices of our beloved Church: while, as yet, the inclinations of a few are not so. However, we earnestly hope and pray that that God shall establish His Cause here, so that the voice of the turtle may be audibly heard in this vast City.
In the former place, I preached twice on Sabbath to a good congregation, a number of them young boys and girls. There was also a goodly number at the Wednesday prayer-meeting; which indicates a desire to hear the gospel. God can still hear the groanings of those who cry; “What must I do to be saved.”
Mrs E. Fraser and her daughter-in-law, Mrs James Fraser, and son Hugh, met us at Toronto Airport. Words cannot adequately express the welcome we received. We shall always remember it, I believe. Hugh then drove us all to our Apartment, where Mr and Mrs Vanderwal had a lovely meal ready for us. Mr James Fraser and other members of his family joined us later. Here we continued for quite a while talking of the Cause in general, but especially of the home Church, and of the godly men and women there, whom some of them still remembered, and of whom they themselves are the offspring. Time passed quickly, and although it was now 4 a.m. on G.M.T. (11 p.m. Canadian time), we neither noticed the five hours difference, nor felt too tired.
The Chesley elder, Mr Gerrit Schuit arrived in Toronto on Wednesday, in time for the prayer-meeting, and brought us with him to Chesley the following day; thus covering approximately two hundred and fifty miles in all. Chesley is a fairly large town, surrounded by big farms, etc. Here I had my first service that evening where about forty attended. On Friday evening, I held a catechetical meeting with the young in Mr Schuit’s house. We went through part of the Shorter Catechism. Those young people now look upon themselves as Free Presbyterians, and in this way are more and more anxious to know why our Church separated from the Declaratory Act Free Church, and what we now stand for. I explained this.
On Sabbath morning, I gave a short address to the children of the Sabbath School before the 11 a.m. service, from the words of our Saviour: “Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not.”
Both services on the Lord’s Day were very well attended, fifty to fifty-five at night. Mrs Edwards came by car from Goderich: while Mr and Mrs Scambler (late of Edinburgh congregation) arrived in Chesley in time for the prayer meeting and remained for the weekend: He led the praise at all services. On Monday I held the Harvest Thanksgiving service, also the prayer meeting on Tuesday. I returned to Toronto on Wednesday for the service there that evening.
The Chesley congregation, like our faithful and loyal people in the Parish of Uig, Isle of Lewis, who, in 1929, cast in their lot with our Church, thus obeying the dictates of their own consciences as well as the Divine command: “Come out from among them and be ye separate from them . . .” They too left valuable property and money behind. Moses like, they preferred to suffer affliction, ridicule and scorn with the people of God, come what may.
Petitions from both Toronto and Chesley congregations to be received into our Church have been forwarded to the Principal Clerk of Synod, Rev. R. R. Sinclair, Wick.
Let us pray for them as David of old did for the Church in his day:
“O God of hosts, we thee beseech,
return now unto thine;
Look down from heav’n in love, behold,
and visit this thy vine.” Psalm 80, v. 14.