Do we know our story? ('I never learned that when I went to school')
A VIEW FROM THE BACK PEW
By Rev. Canon Christopher B. J. Pratt
“I NEVER learned that when I went to school“.
This is a phrase that I have heard many times over the years. The amazing element of that statement is that it comes from Canadians as they become aware of a previously unknown moment of Canadian history. The inextricable link that has bound Canada with the United States over the years means that telling Canada’s story simply means that, as Canadians, we must know, our story, and then seize every opportunity for that story to be told.
When living in Windsor, years ago, our son was involved in a play, which was presented in October, with the Thanksgiving theme being the centrepiece of the production. I was surprised, and disappointed, when the “stars” of the show turned out to be (you guessed it), Pilgrims! There was no connection with the concept of Harvest Thanksgiving and the early experiences of settlers in Nova Scotia with the Order of Good Cheer (which predates the Pilgrims arrival) and New France, where stories reflect the way in which European cultures and the Indigenous Peoples of this great land met and learned from each other. Samuel de Champlain did not get off the “Mayflower” and land at Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims’ story is not part of Canada’s story.
Recently I had the opportunity of sharing in the worship of a “Harvest Home Service”. The rural arming community of Rockton claimed the importance of a church named to honour St. Alban the Martyr as a centrepiece of their life together. When it was closed by the Diocese of Niagara, volunteers continued to ensure that the church would be open three times a year, so that the community may gather to celebrate the Spring Flower Festival, the Harvest Home Service and a Christmas Carols and Lessons Service. Supported by a corps of willing volunteers, the church, the grounds and a small cemetery are beautifully maintained. Not burdened by the expenses of electrical bills, or water bills, simply keeping the place insured and available as a place for worship has been the focal point of individuals whose family roots grow deeply in the soil of that place.
It was in that setting that I was able to learn of a person whose writings led him to be identified, by some of his contemporaries, as “Canada’s Robbie Burns”. As a farmer, journalist and poet, Robert Kirkland Kerrighan, wrote about the things that he knew best. His love for the land and the pattern of life on the farm formed a framework for much of his writing. A native of Rockton, his burial site is a cairn in the corner of St Alban’s cemetery.
A facet of his creativity gave voice for his love of his country. It has been reported that Sir John A. MacDonald reflected that “if Canada went to war, the soldiers would march into battle singing Robert Kirkland Kerrighan’s poem The Men of the Northern Zone”.
I was intrigued by what I read and, after doing some research I discovered the poem. Although it was written at a much earlier date, I discovered the poem had been published in 1925, in a book entitled The Khan’s Book of Verse.
As it was written more than a century ago, and once you get past some of the language which reflects its time, you may find that the author touches on some of the emotions many Canadians are feeling today. This is one of those moments when I invite you to use social media to discover Kirkland’s story and his complete work. I share with you one stanza of the poem:
Our hearts are free as the rivers that flow
to the seas where the North Star shines.
Our lives are as free as the breezes that blow
thro the crests of our native pines.
We never will bend the knee.
|We’ll always and aye be free.
For liberty reigns in the land of the leal
Our brothers are ‘round her throne;
A Southern never shall place his heel
on the men of the Northern Zone.
(The Men of the Northern Zone - 1925)
Recently, I have had the opportunity to preach in different settings where the Book of Common Prayer may be found in the pews. Individuals who claim a great affinity to that resource find it to be very interesting when, as a part of my homilies I have led them to discover different parts of the BCP as it connects up with the passage from scripture appointed for the day. The responses I have heard are similar either to Canadian history – “I never learned that before” , or “I have not heard that in a long time”.
As Christians who seek to live out and give expression to our faith as a part of the Anglican tradition, it becomes important for us to be comfortable in being able to share with others how our faith practices offered within the framework of the Anglican experience shape our lives and our worship. We need to know our story.
Our commitment to let the words we profess to be important when we renew our Baptismal Covenant are words which touch upon this sense of knowing our story. It is a great challenge for us to say that with God’s help we will “proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ.”
In a world and surrounded by a number of individuals who do not always welcome an expression of faith, it becomes critically important that each of us knows and is comfortable with being able to communicate who we are and whose we are, each with our individual life story as well as our story of faith.
Lieutenant Colonel McRae’s familiar words which will be heard across Canada during the month of November touch not only upon our Canadian identity, but also may be applied to the generations of faithful followers of Jesus who look to us to be the ones whose lives and whose witness will carry the story of faith through to be claimed by the generations who follow.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from falling hands we throw
the torch; Be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
Rev. Canon Christopher B. J. Pratt has retired from full-time parish ministry but continues to offer priestly ministry in the Diocese.