Some of you weren’t yet born when the Reformed Presbyterian Witness featured a theme issue about our Canadian churches. The November 1988 cover featured a photo of RP pastor Richard Ganz speaking to a pro-life rally on the steps of the Canadian Parliament building.

As Pastor Ganz points out, the motto of the nation of Canada is “From Sea to Sea,” taken from Psalm 72:8, “His dominion is from sea to sea.” As Pastor Christian Adjemian remarked in his 1988 article, the nation of Canada used to officially be called the Dominion of Canada. He said, “The Canadian congregations of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America are here to remind our nation that it is Christ who has dominion over this land.” During the aforementioned pro-life rally, the gospel was presented and the Psalms of the King were sung on the steps of Parliament.

There were 4 Canadian congregations in the RPCNA at that time, all in the province of Ontario. While the expansion of the RPCNA in Canada has been slow, it has also borne fruit. There are now 6 congregations in 3 provinces. What’s more, the Cush4Christ RP mission in Sudan sprung up through the conviction and support of RPs in Canada.

The RP seminary in Canada, Ottawa Theological Hall, is now well established. In 1988, Rev. Harold Harrington pointed out many reasons for founding a Canadian seminary when there already was an RP seminary in the States. “OTH should not be regarded as the product of an unholy regard for nationalism….OTH is not an attempt to weaken the continental unity of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. Rather it seeks to build up that unity by an emphasis upon our spiritual and confessional unity.”

It falls to us, then, to support the continued growth of God-honoring congregations in Canada, a nation that needs the light of the gospel just as desperately as the U.S. As we pray for our RP brothers and sisters in Canada, God will show the rest of us the ways that we can help them, support them, and be ministered to by them. There has long been good representation from Canada in the Synod and on church agencies and committees.

A dream of mine is that someday we would hold an RPCNA Synod on Canadian soil. Just as I believe it is valuable for Canadian pastors and elders to spend time in the U.S., I believe it would be a tremendous help for our denomination to gather in Canada. Travel costs are a big impediment, but creative minds can overcome that (with a chartered bus from Western Pa., for example). If this idea resonates with the St. Lawrence Presbytery, perhaps they could propose something to Synod.

The RP International Conference is just a year away. That will be another opportunity for fellowship among RPs not just in the U.S. and Canada but around the world. Start making plans to make this the largest RP gathering ever.