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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1983-11-30, Page 22Pa • e 10A Times -Advocate, November 30, 1983 HOBBY — Rev. Wilena Brown, UC minister of the Varna -Goshen charge, holds one of -the pieces of Nova Scotia pressed glass she collects as a hobby. Bart DeVries PHOTOGRAPHY On location or Studio L era°na << (Vert" �� Crtr ,a3 HAVE YOUR PORTRAIT OR FAMILY PORTRAIT TAKEN PROFESSIONALLY Pooh Your Satiny nowil telephone 2 t ; 1198 1:- mann~ Rd 1 u•ter Ontario Bart DeVries PHOTOGRAPHY It :)(c unrr, Industrial and Nrdding Photographs - WA, 1 and Nhitr Llai Prnn•.Jn* °t`g OP1( h ttliZg Beautiful Blouses Soft, feminine colors trimmed in lace and ruffles Warm Snuggly Cardigans Cologne, jewellery, scarves, cosmetics Spend New Year's in Cinncinati. En`erour draw, courtesy of "Roads to Roam Travel and Tour", London. Layaways, Gift Certificates, Free Gift Wrapping Petet:494 Specially -711-1/,,.,,, Drop In to see our In-store specials Mons. - Thurs., Sat. 9 - 5:30 Friday 9 - 9 420 Main St. Centre Mall Exeter, Ontario 235-1412 Sizes 16-20 & 16V,-24'', 38 to44 Lady clerics Wilena Brown and Barbara Laing have much in common. Both belong to the same generation. Both are in- telligent, articulate compas- sionate women who want to serve others. Both belong to that small but growing minority of ordained female clergy in the United Church of Canada, and both are ministering in two-point charges in rural Huron Coun- ty, seperated by only a few miles. They came to their pre- sent pulpits by very different routes, however. Rev. Brown, pastor of the Varna and Goshen churches, was one of the pioneer women ministers in her denomina- tion, marking the thirtieth an- niversary of her ordination this summer. Her call to the ministry was strong enough to overcome attempts at dissuasion from both parents. her minister and the principal of Emmanuel Theological College. The trail blazer was first stirred while a young teenager, after hearing James Endicott speak in her hometown of Kamptown, N.S. during a cross -Canada mis- sion. When the 15 -year-old high school graduate applied to presbytery her mother thought this idea, like all her daughter's other girlish dreams, would fade away too. Her father saw no sense in educating girls - they just got married. After working for a year, and being encouraged in her goal by the Truro family who boarded her while she attend- ed high school. the determin- ed young lady enrolled at Mt. Allison University in Sackville, N.S. for two years of study. She then moved to Toronto and worked as a nan- ny for a year in Forest Hill before completing her Honours B.A. at Victoria College. The next step, an applica- tion to Emmanuel College, was discouraged. Both her own minister and the head of the college suggested she satisfy her urge by marrying a member of the clergy and find fulfillment as a minister's wife rather than by becoming a minister herself. Miss Brdlvn would not he side-tracked. As one of two women in a class of 31, she fondly recalls 'he attitude of her male classmates. There were no derogatory comments. but a brotherly -sisterly acceptance of the two. "It's hard to understand now, but we weren't challeng- ing the system... we were prepared to go through on the male model", Brown elaborated. The neophyte clergywoman faced another hurdle after graduation and ordination in June, 1953. Maritime con- ference didn't want females. They explained that as all referr'nc:'s in their laws refer- red exclusively to "he", women could not perform marriages and other rites of the church. The newly ordained came minister was accepted by Alberta Conference and ap- pointed to the rural charge of Consort, a huge area radiating out 15 miles west, 20 miles north and south, and 40 miles east to the Saskat- chewan border. She held one service before all were cancelled. Canada's last great polio epidemic had struck. Her first funeral was for a bright and healthy 18 -year-old who had been in church Sunday and was dead on Tuesday. Her first christening was of a little boy suddenly stricken with the disease, before he was transfered to a city hospital. She could sprinkle, but not touch. Rev. Brown served for four years in Consort, "an impor- tant growing time", before being appointed minister of Christian education at Robertson United Church in Edmonton, at that time the largest UC church in Canada. She was associate minister when she resigned to further her education at Princeton Theological Seminary in New England. The final work on her thesis for her master's degree in pastoral theology was done back in Toronto. Miss Brown's choice of thesis topic proved once again her penchant for being in the vanguard, fearlessly moving ahead where she believes her faith is leading her. The title? Women's responsibility in abortion decisions. The master's degree can- didate delved into the place of women through the ages, from the time of Jesus through the Reformation to the present. The effects of continuing or terminating a pregnancy, the experiences of social workers and many other factors were con- sidered. Brown concluded the decision should be shared with others such as a woman's doctors and the father of the child but the ultimate decision for or against an abortion rests with the woman. She is a pro -choice, but adamantly opposed to the careless attitude that relies on abortion as a means of birth control. "We grow on the frontiers of our experiences, and God is particularly active at those times. When we come to the point where we don't know what to do, we become open to God in a special kind of way." she explained. "If we are going to behave in a Christian way on this, we have to respect God's work in an individual's life." At this time Brown was also working on research for the new curriculum at church headquarters. A serious il- lness forced her to put aside temporarily' all thought of full-time ministry. She wrote opinion pieces which were published in the Toronto Star, studied oil painting, took courses in the women's studies department of the University of Toronto, and worked part-time for Bell Telephone as an intercept to pulpits by different operator. ( She had worked for Ma Bell during her student days.) A provindential massive dose of antibiotics prescribed for a bout of flu miraculously reactivated her immune system, and the willingness to be a guinea pig for various new drugs alleviated her angina to such an extent she felt she had been given a new heart. In order to re-establish her work record, the revitalized minister worked for a year as babysitter for a psychiatrist and his wife whose marriage was breaking up. Caring for their six-year-old son was, ac cording to Brown, "a wor- thwhile tithe; I learned a lot about families and what breaking up means to children." By 1975 Brown was well enough to accept a call to Bluevale-Whitechurch, and came to her present position four years later. She deliberately chose a rural charge, and says of the Varna -Goshen pastorate "I can't imagine anything better tailored to my needs. The peo- ple here have been very gracious." Brown considers her flock to be quite unusual in their willingness t� change. She feels the relationship is a partnership, with each part- ner being free to honestly ex- press opinions and accept or reject new ideas. "They are really good peo- ple to work with. They have established a pattern of car- ing that may be the result of the many family connections here", she said. Sadly. there is always a snake in the Garden of Eden. Brown admits the hardest part of being a woman minister is the different kind of expectation, compared to a male. To some extent she has to combine the roles of minister and minister's wife. and not only prepare a ser- mon but bake for the UCW. She confesses she sometimes seems to waste a lot of time doing housework. "Perhaps what I need is a househusband", she said with a merry laugh. Rev. Brown particularly enjoys taking part in Bible studies and Sunda School ac- tivities. Her reward is igniting a spark and watching people become really involved. Wilena Brown is fulfilling the goal she set for herself many years ago; working with things what really mat- ter in people's lives. Barbara Laing's path to the pulpit was not as direct as Miss Brown's. She was born in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, and began her working life as a clerk -typist in the Jamaican branch of Barclay's Bank. Twenty-nine years later, she was manager of the batik's staff training program for Jamaica, the Bahamas, British Honduras and the Cayman Islands. Like her cohort, Barbara Laing too was not afraid to at- tempt the unusual, the unor- thodox. She became a single parent in 1972 by adopting nine-year-old Richard. The adoption was arranged through a friend who had placed many children in- cluding two adopted by Bar- bara's brother and his wife, and knew how much Barbara loved children. "My friend always said she wasn't looking for children for parents, but for parents for children", Bar- bara elaborated. (After slavery was abolish- ed in Jamaica, the white population feared they would be vastly outnumbered. Recruiters persuaded a group of Germans to come to Jamaica at the beginning of the nineteenth century and settle in the hills behind Kingston. Richard's parents, descen- dants of these Europeans, lov- ed their son enough to relin- quish him to someone who could provide him with oppor- tunities beyond their means. Richard has maintained his ties with his natural family, visiting them most recently this past summer). In 1973 Barbara abruptly changed course - she decided to emigrate to Canada. Many factors contributed to her decision. For one thing, all her brothers and sisters were already in this country. For another, she was ready to consider a change of career. Laing had come to the same • GROWING THINGS Barbara Laing's hobby is indoor plants. Hopper.,The Store for Christmas Curio Cabinets A beautiful way to store and display your fine pieces from $39999 Glider Rockers from 199 Ottoman extra ove chests Cedar Tined in your choice of oak or cherry finish. A lovely thoughtful gift . Many to choose from at our main store. from $i 2 099 Dopper Isoekcy 355 MAIN STREET, EXETER 235-1990 FURNITURE LTD. conclusion as a sociologist named Mazlo who said In one of the management training manuals he authored that the aims of an organization are diametrically opposed to the aims of an individual. She discerned the conflict bet- ween training people to be ef- fective within an organization and personally fulfilled in their jobs at the same time. While instructing bank trainees in how to deal with people whe had shared her faith, explaining that her motives and actions had their source in her relationship to God. "Seeing hungry faces look- ing up at me, I knew I wanted to teach about God rather than banking, but didn't feel free to use the bank platform as a pulpit," she recounted. On her arrival to Canada, Barbara moved to London to be near a brother and sister. As a new parent, she did not want to work full time, and her previous training was recognized only within the banking system she left. For the first year she helped in her brother's store, and taught English to new im- migrants at Beal Secondary School. The new Canadian had always wanted to go to university, and now seemed to be the time. She proved to be an apt student, completing Western's four-year honours BA course, with a double ma- jor in English and history, in three years. The graduate's application for teacher's training at Althouse was accepted, but she didn't have peace of mind. When a friend, the wife of a Presbyterian minister suggested the ministry, Bar- bara's first reaction was in- credulity, quickly followed by amusement. Coming from a Brethren background stress- ing Paul's admonition that women must keepsilent in the church, such a career had never occurred to her. The more she thought about it, though, the more rightand plausible, and desirable it became. A talk with Dr. Anne Langford, assistant minister at Metropolitan United in Toronto, tipped the scales. Dr. Langford assured Bar- bara she was just the type that should enter the clergy. Everything worked out pro- videntially. Barbara spent a year at Huron College and began the two-year course at Emmanuel. During her se- cond year, in July 1979, she was assigned to supply preach in the Dashwood - Zurich charge, which was without a minister at the time. Barbara remembers a very routes warm, friendly reception. Everyone flocked to hear the new lady minister. The congregation soon ask- ed Barbara to move into the manse and become their stu- dent supply minister. Bar- bara hesitated; commuting to and from her classes at Em- manuel would create some problems. Neighbour Bernice Boyle, with a son the same age as Barbara's offered to 1wk after Richard while his riother was in Toronto. That solved the new minister's main concern. She accepted tie invitation. Other members of the con- gregation were helpful and supportive while Barbara completed her final year, graduating in May 1980. She was ordained in 1981, after a year of internship. The lady cleric appreciates the encouragement she has received from her congrega- tions, and is conscious of no prejudice because of her gender. She enjoys the freshness and cleanness and the open spaces of Huron County, and the easy access to the intellectual and cultural stimulus available in nearby metropolitan centres. In her time off from prepar- ing sermons, teaching, pastoring, counselling, and the many other duties re- quired of a member of the clergy, Barbara cares for the host of houseplants that adorn every sunny spot in the manse, improves her sewing skills, or indulges in swimm- ing, one of her favourite ways to keep fit. In the definition of success if being able to live one's life the way one wants to, Rev. Barbara Laing is a successful woman. Looking back to the many events that culminated in the Dashwood -Zurich charge, she can say "All that happened before was preparation. I have a deep assurance within that this is what my whole life has been leading to." "This was my old dress. Now I'm wearing my daughter's:' Owe —Ann Davidson, housewife and Weight Watchers Leader, lost 30 lbs., has kept it off for five years. "Five years ago, I was drowning in a sea of food. My Weight Watchers group was my lifeboat. Weight Watchers helped me turn around my thinking. I learned to take action and make choices that put me on the win- ning side of the scale. Today 1 om still free or 30 lbs. of fat, free to be thin, '; free to be me!" Lose weight once and for all. WEIGHT WATCH Enroll at any class. Registration and first meet- ing fee $15.00. $6.00 weekly thereafter. 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