The Presbytery of Ontario and Western Canada

The North American Mission (23 May 1924)

At Edinburgh on 23 May 1924 the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland passed an “Act anent the North American Mission”. It begins: “The General Assembly learn with great interest and deep gratitude of the promising field of labour for this Church which offers itself among our people in Canada. In view of the ever continuing tide of emigration, the Assembly realise the urgency of taking all possible steps for providing ordinances in the chief centres of North America, where considerable bodies of our members and adherents are found.”¹

The Colonial Committee was instructed “to endeavour to secure the permanent settlement of ministers of the Church in Toronto; Fort William, Ontario; and Winnipeg, Manitoba, as soon as possible, these ministers to be settled as Colonial Missionaries until a Presbytery of North America in connection with the Free Church of Scotland can conveniently be formed.”²

The ministers’ salary was to be “not less than 1600 dollars”, and the Committee was to make up the stipend of the Rev. Duncan McDougall, whose congregation had promised 1200 dollars a year. The Committee was “to give first attention to consolidating our cause in the cities already mentioned, but to give sympathetic consideration to requests for services from any other fields in North America where it may appear work can be profitably begun.”³

“The Assembly resolve that the North American Mission be meanwhile connected with the Presbytery of Glasgow.” The Act also asked the Colonial Committee to help “the Vancouver Congregation” to make “such alterations as may make it impossible at any time to alienate the property from the Free Church of Scotland.”⁴

Detroit received (24 May 1951)

By an “Act of Recognition and Admission of Detroit Gaelic Mission as Congregation of the Free Church”, the General Assembly received the petition of the “Detroit Gaelic Mission, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.”, craving “that the Mission be recognised by, and admitted into, the Free Church of Scotland”. It was placed in the care of the Committee on Foreign, Overseas and Jewish Missions, “so that the Committee may appoint a Minister to organise and consolidate the Mission so as to place it on the same footing as Free Church Congregations in Canada.”⁵

The Presbytery of Ontario and Western Canada (24 May 1956)

“The General Assembly give effect to the wish of Ministers and Kirk Sessions in Canada and Detroit that a Presbytery be formed and ordain that the Congregations of Toronto, Detroit, Fort William, Winnipeg and Vancouver form ‘The Presbytery of Ontario and Western Canada,’ with seat at Toronto.”⁶

The Rev. John Macsween, then ministering in Toronto, was appointed its first Moderator, and the Presbytery was to meet in Toronto “on Wednesday, the 29th day of August next, at 4 o’clock in the afternoon”.⁷

“They further ordain that the Presbytery of Ontario and Western Canada and the Presbytery of Prince Edward Island together form the Synod of North America.” The Synod was to meet in Toronto the same day at half past seven in the evening, with the Rev. J. Harvey Bishop, minister at Charlottetown and Stanchel, Prince Edward Island, “to preach and preside”. Its ordinary annual meeting was to be on the last Tuesday in April.⁸

The Synod of North America (1956–1995)

In 1973 the Assembly appointed “Rev. W. Underhay, Rev. D. Compton and Mr Gordon Ross, General Assessors [additional members appointed by the Assembly] to the Presbytery of Ontario and Western Canada.”⁹

In 1975 it fixed the statutory meeting of the Synod of North America “on the Tuesday immediately following the 17th day of March”, and provided that a probationer offering “a minimum of one year’s service in any of the congregations in North America” might, at the request of the Board “in consultation with the Canadian Presbytery involved”, be ordained by the Presbytery of Glasgow.¹⁰

In 1978 the Assembly authorised the sale of the properties of the Thunder Bay congregation, the proceeds to be invested “primarily for behoof [for the benefit] of the congregation of Thunder Bay”. In 1985, “noting the changed situation in regard to Thunder Bay and the decision of the Synod of North America”, it directed that the proceeds be invested by the General Trustees “for behoof of the Overseas Board and the Synod of North America”.¹¹

In 1986, on the petition of the Synod, the Assembly ordained “that within the bounds of the Synod of North America it shall be permissible, when Presbytery is duly constituted, for absent members to participate in the proceedings by telephone link-up”, except when parties were to be heard at the bar, calls were being dealt with, or the Presbytery was meeting in private.¹²

In 1990 the Assembly’s regulations for missionaries described the North American congregations as “the direct responsibility of the Presbytery of Prince Edward Island and the Presbytery of Ontario and Western Canada, and these Presbyteries together constitute the Synod of North America.”¹³

On 30 September 1992 the Commission of Assembly authorised the sale of the Highland Church building in Vancouver, and directed that the proceeds “be held by the Synod of North America to be invested for behoof of work within the bounds of the Synod”.¹⁴

Renamed Great Lakes and Western Canada (24 May 1995)

At Edinburgh on 24 May 1995 the General Assembly passed Act XV, “Act anent change of name of Presbytery of Ontario and Western Canada”. It reads: “The General Assembly receive the Petition and grant its crave [request]. They direct that the name of the Presbytery of Ontario and Western Canada be altered to the Great Lakes and Western Canada Presbytery.”¹⁵