Sermon transcript:
Here From The Beginning1
Introduction
1925 marked a significant milestone in Canadian history with the formation of The United Church of Canada (UCC). This new denomination, a union of the Methodist Church, the Congregationalist Church, most of the Presbyterian Church, and numerous local church unions in western Canada, emerged as the country’s largest non-Catholic or Protestant Church.
When we delve into the history of the UCC, we soon realise that generally the point of view is usually that of the White members of the church who made up the vast majority of people belonging to the founding denominations, given their roots in Western Europe and especially the British Isles. What happened to the other people? What about the Black individuals? Were there any Black people in the UCC at its inception? The answer is a resounding yes.
Pre-1900
Slavery was a legal reality in Canada until 1834. The churches in Canada, started by the Europeans, did not object to this reality. When settlers who owned slaves went to church, they took the enslaved with them. However, these Black enslaved persons would have sat at the back of the church or in the galleries. In some instances, a screen would have been installed to block out the presence of the enslaved from the rest of the congregation.
Religion was a vital part of life for the enslaved. Many accepted the Christian faith, mainly because it spoke of freedom in Jesus and about a God who set God’s people free. When not at church, the enslaved had their own worship services. In some cases, the enslavers encouraged this worship, mainly if it taught them to accept their status and to be obedient.
Slavery was not ended in the USA until 1865, making Canada a destination for freedom. A law passed in the US in 1850 forcing non-slave states to return those who had escaped increased Black migration to Canada. As the Black population grew, White churches saw an opportunity for missionary work. Part of the vision here included actively promoting the creation of separate Black churches, particularly among the Baptists and Methodists, which they could control. This was often justified by claiming that Black people preferred a more ‘passionate’ form of worship. With this in mind, the determination of Black people to form their own churches under White control seemed a natural progression in the eyes of many White ministers. However, for many black people the combination of increased numbers, paternalism and persistent racism began the trend toward the formation of independent Black churches.
One of these is Shady Creek Methodist Church on Vancouver Island in 1861. Charles Alexander and his wife, Nancy were among the chief promoters and supporters of the church. The Alexander family were one of hundreds of Black families who emigrated in 1858 because of US laws.
In this and other black churches the full message of liberation and dignity in scripture was heard in contrast to the “thin” Bible white churches would often preach to Black peoples, especially in the days of slavery—focusing on servitude and honouring your master. Hymns that meant one thing to the white church, shone through with the power of the gospel in the words and music of Isaac Watts and the Wesleyans, offering hope and empowerment to an enslaved people.
Church Union
In 1925 the United Church of Canada was created from the amalgamation of the Methodist, Congregationalist and a large number of Presbyterian churches. Only one Black Church was part of that new creation, even though many Black Churches had established themselves in Canada mostly Baptist and Methodist, as a result of Black migration from the U.S. The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) came in 1838, and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ) arrived in 1854. By 1858, many African Methodists broke off relations with the USA and formed a new denomination, the British Methodist Episcopal Church (BME).
When the United Church of Canada was formed in 1925, these Churches were not included in the discussions to join the union. This was because it was felt that including these churches would only delay the formation of the new church. Furthermore, it was thought that these separate Black Methodist Churches were too conservative, and the Black ministers did not want to be displaced.
That one Black Church to become part of the UCC at its founding was Union Congregational Church in Montreal. In July 1907, a group of Black railway porters and their wives convened a meeting. These men and women wished to worship in their own church in their own style with dignity. On August 29, 1907, they established a Covenant by which the church was founded. Union Congregational Church was founded as a religious institution with a strong faith and spiritual base that was to become a centre for community activism. At the heart of this culture were the women who tended to family and church life while the men worked the erratic schedules of railway life.
From sixty (60) members during the First World War, the congregation grew to three hundred (300) families during the 45-year tenure of Rev. Charles H. Este, who ministered from 1923 (while still a student) until 1968.
Faith was the glue of this community. Facing often difficult days, of great oppression and disadvantage Black peoples knew hope was to be found not in the structures of power but in God. The spiritual “Over My Head” expresses the need for enslaved peoples to look beyond themselves to find hope. Looking around their situation often seemed hopeless. In order to keep going, they had to look up, over their head, and get a different perspective. They had to tune their hearts to hear “music in the air.”
The First 50 Years
The church is part of society. The issues in society will also exist in the church-be those issues good or bad. Black people face racial prejudice and discrimination in Canadian society, and they face the same within the church, including in the newly formed United Church of Canada.
For the first decade of its existence, no Black person, except in the Union United Church, was involved in the ordained or diaconal ministry of the church. While few details exist about the role of Black people in the witness of The United Church of Canada, those that do suggest that the church reflected the wider society.
Part of this unfortunate reflection of wider society is the acceptance of the Ku Klux Klan which came to Alberta in the 1920s through the work of a Methodist minister, who later served in the United Church of Canada. This acceptance was so widespread that in 1927, a resolution was presented to the Saskatchewan Conference of the Church, “not to support the KKK in any way.” The resolution was never taken up.
The United Church of Canada has come a long way since the 1920s and 1930s. Today, we are a church seeking to live out its vision of being an intercultural church. Much work has occurred and continues through The United Church of Canada’s agency, which steadfastly advocates that all persons should be treated with respect and dignity.
It is this yearning for transformation and movement away to a better place that is a theme of many African American spirituals. The hymn, “Hush! Hush!” was purported to be a coded song that would alert others that someone was attempting to run away to the north. The singer begs those around them to be quiet so that they can hear God’s guidance and move toward liberation. This message of listening and discernment is crucial for a church seeking to be anti-racist.
Black Leadership
For the first decade of The United Church of Canada, Union Church in Montreal was the only place you could find a Black United Church minister. Two trailblazers in the ordained ministry of the United Church were Rev. Dr. Charles Este and Rev. Dr. Wilbur Howard. Their stories tell the reality of many of society’s issues at the time, which were also to be found in the church.
Rev. Dr. Charles Este was ordained in the Congregationalist Church prior to the founding of the UCC. He served Union United in Montreal for 45 years. He also served as the President of the UCC’s Montreal and Ottawa Conference. He was committed to social justice and the well-being of the Black community. In 1928 he co-founded the Negro Community Centre (NCC) in Montreal. He advocated for empowerment and placed tremendous value on education. Rev. Dr. Charles H. Este died in 1977, at 80.
In the late 1930s, Wilbur Howard became the first Black candidate for ordained ministry of the United Church of Canada. He graduated from Emmanuel College in 1941 during the second world war when there was a significant shortage of ministers. At the time, graduates could only be ordained after securing their first posting. Despite the shortage Howard couldn’t find a church who would call him. This went on for 24 years, meaning he could not be ordained. In the meantime, Rev. Dr. Howard worked in various positions for the national church including helping to shape the controversial and cutting edge “new curriculum” faith formation document in the 1960s. In 1965, he finally got the call to a team ministry at Dominion-Chalmers United in Ottawa. In 1974, he was elected the 24th Moderator of the United Church of Canada as the spiritual leader of the church, the first and only Black person to serve in that office. Rev. Dr. Wilbur Howard died in 2001 at the age of 89.
The United Church of Canada has a long and proud history of women in accountable ministry, dating back to 1895 when the Methodist Church in Canada first consecrated Deaconesses. Black women attended The United Church Training School, which provided education to deaconesses and missionaries. Among the first Black women who participated at the Training School was Bettina M. Bradley, who graduated in 1944. She did not continue to serve as a deaconess, however. Chairman Bailey was the first Black woman to be commissioned to the Diaconal ministry of The United Church of Canada in 2023.
The church’s ordained ministry was initially only open to men. However, ten years after its formation, the United Church of Canada ordained the first woman in 1936. Rev. Maria Chela Chikueka was the first Black woman ordained in The United Church of Canada, hailing from the Umbundi tribe in Angola. After studying Christian education abroad, she was imprisoned in Angola. As a refugee, she studied at Emmanuel College with support from The United Church, which ordained her in 1986 on behalf of the Angola Church in the Bush. Despite facing discrimination, she served various churches and made a lasting impact before passing away in 1999.
Rev. Dr. Carmen Viola Sergeant was the second Black woman ordained in the United Church of Canada. She was born in Jamaica in 1934. A highly accomplished educator with an M.Ed from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), and a PhD in educational administration from the University of Lagos in Nigeria she taught for several years before entering seminary studies at Emmanuel College and being ordained in 1991. She served a rural pastoral charge in the Tavistock area until her retirement in 1995. Throughout her ministry, she sought to combine prophetic and educational tasks. She died in 2020.
Despite everything these faithful servants faced and face there is a determination to be of use in God’s unfolding creation. It’s this sense of call and conviction that is expressed in this joyful African American spiritual that is believed to have been passed down by oral tradition among West and Central African peoples.
Lament, Confession, Hope
Since the 1940s, The United Church of Canada has been actively seeking racial justice. The church’s specific stance against anti-Black racism can be traced over the past 60 years. In 1960, the church acknowledged racism as a sin in response to the removal of members of the Black community and the destruction of the Africville neighbourhood in Halifax, N.S. Since then, many actions, statements, and programmes have been made by the church which continue the stance against anti-Black racism. In 2000, the church made it clear that it was committed to becoming an anti-racist denomination. To be anti-racist is different from being “not racist.” The difference is that becoming anti-racist means being intentional about eliminating racism from its practice, policies, and programmes. In 2020, the General Council Executive of the church publicly declared support for Black Lives Matter in the United Church.
In 1925, The United Church of Canada had one Black minister. Today, more than 100 Black ministers and numerous lay leaders actively contribute to the church’s life and ministry. The Black community within the church is diverse, including Canadians and immigrants from the Caribbean, Africa, and the USA, each sharing unique gifts to spread the good news of Jesus. Although the journey has faced challenges, including issues connected to racism and discrimination, the church remains committed to becoming an anti-racist and intercultural institution, striving to be a beacon of hope and equality for all.
In the hymn we are about to sing, this hope of ultimate release from the fetters of injustice and bondage and new beginnings is proclaimed. This African American spiritual rooted in the promise of Christ’s second coming in the book of Revelation sings of a new morning when Love will reign.
Reflection2
Before there was a Black History Month, there was a Black History week in the United States. It was started as a way to counter the erasure of Black people from the history books and classrooms of the nation. The exhibition, “Here From the Beginning,” is an attempt to do the same in the United Church. Our faith story this morning speaks to this reality.
Jesus stands on a hillside and looks out at an ordinary crowd. Not leaders. Not scholars. Not the powerful. And he says something astonishing: “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” Not you will be. Not try to become. But you are. Before credentials. Before permission. Before recognition.
That matters for how we understand Black History Month, and for how we tell the story of the church. Salt doesn’t announce itself; salt doesn’t draw attention to itself. You only notice it when it’s missing. It enhances what is already there. Jesus says when salt loses its saltiness, it stops doing what it was made to do, not because it’s bad, but because it’s lost its purpose.
Black people were salt from the very beginning of the United Church, shaping worship, leadership, justice movements, theology, and community life. And for a long time, the church benefited from that salt without naming it, without honoring it, sometimes without even noticing it.
Jesus goes on: “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket.” But history tells us that Black leadership, Black faith, and Black spiritual wisdom were often pushed to the margins, kept out of sight, kept out of official stories, kept out of decision-making spaces. The light got covered. Black History Month is about removing the basket so the light can be seen and felt.
Jesus’ teaching when brought together with the truths of “Here from the Beginning” brings us face to face with some questions: Whose gifts have we benefited from without fully recognizing? Whose voices shaped the church but not the records? Where have we been comfortable with good intentions but slow to change structures?
Jesus says he has not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Fulfillment doesn’t erase the past. It tells the truth about it. Because a church that tells the whole story is a church that grows stronger, more honest, and frankly, more alive.
Salt only works when it’s mixed in. Light only works when it’s allowed to shine. So Black History Month is about honouring and remembering, yes. And, it is about shaping who we are becoming, so that Black voices are at the center now—in leadership, in theology, in decisions about the future of the church. So that we become more and more the church at the heart of Jesus’ teaching.
Salt of the earth. Light of the world. Not someday. From the beginning, from the start of it all. And right now. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Rev. Joe Gaspar
1 A service based on the United Church’s virtual exhibition (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo3SyaMAO0g&t=3s) on the historic and current presence and contributions of Black people in the Church.
2 Adapted from a reflection by Rev, Charmaine Bailey: “Here from the Beginning: Salt, Light, and the Stories We Tell” – Matthew 5: 13-20 – Black History Month 2026