First FMC, Moose Jaw - 105 YEARS OLD!

The Free Methodist Church in Moose Jaw began as a mission in 1900. The new society occupied a hall supplied by prominent realtor, Mr. Robert Snowdy. It was near the north end of Fourth Avenue Bridge .

In 1903, they laid claim to the first church building in town – the little white Presbyterian Church. This building, moved to the corner of High St. W. and Third Avenue is nowadays the home of the Chinese United congregation. Free Methodists occupied it for 50 years.

In 1900, Moose Jaw was quite a town with at least 5 general stores, 30 or 40 other merchants, 4 hotels, a dairy, a livery stable, the CPR shops and offices and the depot being built. There was 1 school, a J.P., a deputy clerk, sheriff, police magistrate and a NWMP constable. There were 5 or so lawyers, and 5 or so churches.

Before all that development, when the town was first established in 1883, what you might have seen were a few settlers’ shacks, a collection of tents with board fronts and a few buildings which were nearly all stores to supply the needs of the settlers which would be coming by train or by ox and covered wagon.

Before that, this area belonged, of course, to the Indians who roamed the plains and lived off deer and buffalo and berries. What do the Battle of Little Big Horn and Custer’s Last Stand have to do with the Free Methodist Church in Moose Jaw ? Well, the remnants of Chief Sitting Bull’s band who had fled to Canada from Montana after that historic battle were literally fugitives or refugees looking for a place to settle. They were described as “haggard, lean and unkempt”. The buffalo were no longer roaming through southern Saskatchewan and severe drought and severe winters had meant a meager supply of food. In fact, they were reduced to eating the decaying flesh of horses that had died in the winter.

In 1882, 115 Sioux made their permanent home on the banks of Moose Jaw Creek at The Turn. You can see The Turn when you drive out 9th Avenue toward the airbase, down over the edge of the hill looking east just as you leave the city. The men from this Sioux band hoped to get employment as well as handouts from the white men building the CPR.

A prominent early citizen of Moose Jaw and charter member of the Free Methodist Church , Mr. Robert Snowdy, was a great friend of this rag-tag band of Indians. He and the Pastor, Rev. Wees, would drive together out to the encampment and take provisions. He also found employment for some of them in Moose Jaw homes where they were said to be reliable workers and good friends.

One middle-aged woman named Molly found out where the pastor’s family lived in rooms at the back of the 3rd Avenue church, and paid them visits at intervals. She always conducted herself with dignity and, of course, always left with provisions.

One Christmas morning, Molly came to see them, perhaps not realizing it was a Sunday. Having come to the back door and finding no one there, she proceeded through their rooms until she came to a closed door. It was the door to the sanctuary and when she opened it she found herself facing the congregation. She stood in her black braids and shawl, staring at a surprised audience. Then, oblivious to the fact that Rev. Wees was in the middle of a sermon, she called out a hearty "“Merry Christmas ev’body.” After the service she had Christmas dinner with the Weeses. She dumped her second helping into a cloth that she had brought with her and took it home, probably for some children. And the Weeses packed a box for her too.

Nowadays, our church is well established in Moose Jaw and it hasn’t moved far from where the first development of the city took place. We’re still serving the people of Moose Jaw and we are still helping the disadvantaged. Much has changed in Moose Jaw in its 112 years but the mission of this church to spread the gospel and help people in many ways is still the same as it was when it was first established.

Thoughts from Andrew Brown - Voice of the Martyrs

This past month as I read my “Voice of the Martyrs” weekly email updates, I felt extremely appreciative of the freedom we have in Canada to openly share good news of Jesus Christ. Here are a few of the stories I read over the last couple weeks …

Restrictive Constitutional Amendment Proposed ( Sri Lanka )
- The JHU party, composed entirely of Buddhist monks, is attempting once again to engrain Buddhism as the state religion … the amendment would also prohibit converting Buddhists to any other religion as well as spreading other religions among Buddhists.

Convert from Islam Seriously Wounded ( Philippines )
A 24-year-old Christian man in southern Philippines , was seriously wounded by Muslim militants. The relatively new convert from Islam … was shot in the abdomen and the chest. One bullet lodged in his spine, causing fear of paralysis. The man has been an ardent evangelist since he came to faith in Christ. His public testimony has resulted in several death threats against him.

Two Die in Attack on Evangelistic Team ( Nigeria )
Ten heavily-armed Islamic militants attacked an evangelistic team in northern Nigeria during an open-air evangelistic event. According to Compass Direct, the “New Life For All” evangelistic team was leaving for street evangelism when they were attacked.

Native Missionary Severely Beaten ( India )
A Gospel for Asia missionary, was severely beaten by a mob opposed to his ministry. The mob beat and kicked him while others ransacked his home, burning over 200 New Testaments and
other literature.

Final Decision on Vilification Charges Imminent ( Australia )
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal will be announcing the decision on accusations of “religious vilification” of Muslims by Pastors Danny Nalliah and Daniel Scot. Pray that this decision will be favorable, allowing the freedom of Christians to speak the truth in love.

As I consider situations like these all over the world, I am thankful that in Canada we continue to have the freedom to publicly share our faith without fear of violence or imprisonment. As Christ's followers we should make the most of the opportunities that God has given us to proclaim the “Good News”.

In recent years the use of sports in evangelism has become more prominent. Sports are a great ministry tool in that they serve to connect us to those we wish to reach. Several Free Methodist churches are already using this medium as part of their approach to evangelism and many of you have indicated a desire to explore further the possibilities of using sports to reach out to youth and young adults.

With this mind we will be holding a Sports Ministry Summit on Saturday April 2nd, 2005 at Kingsview church in Toronto . The purpose of the summit is to provide an opportunity for individuals and churches to come together to consider the use of sports ministry as an evangelism tool.
We will have guest speakers from several sports ministry organizations that will give us a framework for facilitated small group reflection and discussion.

Pastors, student ministry leaders, youth and young adults that are interested in sports ministry are encouraged to come and participate in this event. Come as an individual or as group from your church. We will be providing a travel subsidy for Western representatives wishing to attend.

To register for the event or for more information contact andrew@reachforth.net / 905-527-3289 or check the FMCiC website www.fmc-canada.org.

Andrew Brown is Student Ministries Director for The Free Methodist Church in Canada and will be continuing in his role as President of Reach Forth (www.reachforth.net), a multi-denominational evangelistic sports and youth ministry in Hamilton , ON .

Bastian Chair Closer to Million-Plus Dollar Goal

The Chair for Wesley Studies at Tyndale Seminary, Toronto , is $40,000 closer to being fully funded, according to Rev. Lloyd Eyre, president of the Lorne Park Foundation.

Recently, the Management Committee of the Board of Administration of The Free Methodist Church in Canada allocated an undesignated $40,000 bequest to this fund, bringing total cash in hand to $770,000. Of this amount, $360,000 is held by the Lorne Park Foundation and $410,000 by the Free Methodist Foundation of the Canadian church.

The Donald N. and Kathleen G. Bastian Chair of Wesley Studies at Tyndale Seminary was established in 1993 to assure that Free Methodist and other students in the Wesleyan tradition receive a good understanding of their theological foundations as they train for ministry at Tyndale, a trans-denominational seminary.

The objective regarding the Chair is to raise enough money in a permanent fund so that the interest from that fund will provide the salary for a professor in perpetuity. This avoids a yearly drain on other funds needed for church ministries and assures that the training will always be available.

Dr. Victor Shepherd, the first occupant of the Chair on a half time basis, has been a popular professor for the whole student body and has made the Chair highly visible. This, in turn, has given voice to the Wesley heritage and contributed to the training of ministers of several denominations. It has thus created an appreciation for Wesley's contribution to the Protestant mosaic.

Dr. Shepherd has recently become Professor of Systematic Theology at Tyndale and an interview process is going on for a replacement to fill the Wesley Chair. It is expected that a full time professor will be on staff by the fall of 2005.

The minimum amount needed to reach the goal of a fully funded chair is $1,200,000. It is hoped the fund drive will not end until $1,500,000 is raised. Outstanding pledges exceed $400,000.

Although Free Methodist leaders initiated this venture, until the Chair is fully funded, the following Wesleyan-oriented bodies provide annual amounts to make a full time Chair possible: The Free Methodist Church in Canada , the Brethren in Christ Church , The Salvation Army, The Wesleyan Church and the Church of the Nazarene.

Both the Management Committee of the Board of Administration and the Board of the Lorne Park Foundation see this as an important project in the development of the Church in Canada