Ministries in French

The French-speaking community has been part of The United Church of Canada since its creation and plays a fundamental role in our national identity. The community’s leadership role, in association with the Ethnic Ministries and Aboriginal Ministries, is vital to the church’s identity. In order to better understand and know one another, we need to take a closer look at our history and the challenges we have faced, and continue to face, as a dual minority—a French-speaking minority in a primarily English-speaking church and a Protestant minority in a largely Catholic milieu.

Our Roots

In the summer of 2008, Quebec City will be celebrating its 400th anniversary—and we will be there, as we have been since its founding. Pierre Dugua de Mons, the first governor of New France, was a Huguenot, a French Protestant—at a time when many Huguenots were being persecuted for their faith. (A statue of him has just been erected in Quebec City.) Thousands of Quebecers today are actually descendants of the Huguenots, although many of them are not aware of this heritage.

Huguenots in New France

Of 11 governors who ruled New France between 1540 and 1629, six were Huguenots: Roberval, Chauvin, De Chastes, Charles de Bourbon, Condé, and Louis de Kirke. Moreover, as we approach Quebec City’s 400th anniversary, it is worthy of note that Samuel de Champlain was, for all intents and purposes, born Protestant, although he converted to Catholicism later in life. Champlain and the Huguenot Dugua de Mons worked in close collaboration to found Quebec City. A commemorative plaque at Place Royale attests to their contributions.

Hundreds of Quebec families today have at least one Protestant predecessor. Common Huguenot surnames include Bédard, Brunet, Comeau, Gauthier, Girard, Jacob, Langlois, Lefèvre, Ménard, Morin, Perron, Petit, Richard, Rousseau, Samson, Tessier, Thibault, and many others. You may recall that in the last 20 years of the French regime, Huguenot merchants essentially controlled all of the economic activity in the colony.
Translated excerpt from Un protestantisme francophone du courant libéral au cœur du Vieux-Québec (2007) by Jean-Louis Lalonde, Unité des Ministères en français de l’Église Unie du Canada, p. 5.

Top

Perseverance

In 1685, France revoked the religious rights and certain civil liberties of French Protestants. Despite this intolerance, many continued to express their faith, uphold their convictions, and exercise their freedom of conscience, albeit often in secret. This was definitely not the age of reasonable accommodation!

A letter from Sioui, a Huron trader

Some Catholics who come to my home or who receive me at theirs are at risk of losing their employment because of the Gospel. They are persecuted because they meet with me, but they have decided not to yield to this pressure.… They choose to see me at nine or ten o’clock in the evening to avoid prying eyes. The fact that the clergy takes the side of those in power to keep our poor people in captivity explains why so few have converted. But despite this, many of them have decided to take part in our activities, no matter what the price.

In The Presbyterian Record (1897). From Un protestantisme francophone du courant libéral au cœur du Vieux-Québec (2007) by Jean-Louis Lalonde, Unité des Ministères en français de l’Église Unie du Canada, p. 7.

Top

Rebirth and Growth

It was not until the 1830s that Reformed Protestantism re-emerged in French Quebec. We can directly trace the history of our church back to this time. Some of the earliest churches founded were Église de Belle-Rivière in the north end of Montreal, Mission Saint-Jean, now known as Église Unie Saint-Jean, in the heart of Montreal, in 1841, and Église Unie de Pinguet, in a rural community north of Rivière-du-Loup, in 1905. The last one is currently in the midst of a renewal. (For more, see Les cent ans de l’église Pinguet in the Suggested Reading list.)

Among the newer congregations are Église Unie Saint-Pierre in the historic district of Quebec City, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. This is a forward-looking community dedicated to both spirituality and social justice. They are known for having provided refuge and sanctuary to Mohamad Cherfi and fighting for freedom of expression and action, the inclusion of gay and lesbian parishioners, interfaith dialogue, and clarity of belief. (For more, see Un protestantisme francophone du courant libéral in the Suggested Reading list).

A historical overview of the presence and contributions of francophones in the United Church reveals that this is a determined, open, and dynamic community of faith that responds to the spiritual needs of French-speaking parishioners with respect to the prevailing issues of our time and their impact on our everyday lives. (For more, see Des loups dans la bergerie in the Suggested Reading list.)

Top

Our Convictions and Our Identity

Our communities welcome everybody interested in living their faith in God and Jesus Christ with integrity and freedom, regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or cultural background, colour, or civil or social status.

Each individual contribution to the various aspects of the church’s democratic structure is highly valued. We consider that spiritual, cultural, and ethnic diversity is a true gift from God.

As a church, we practice the baptism of children and adults and invite anyone who so wishes to participate in communion, as God welcomes us all, and in the sharing of bread and wine, as well as love, friendship, and hope for ourselves and the whole world.

We espouse the following principles:

• Gender equality in all aspects of the church
  We have been ordaining women pastors since 1936.
• Inclusion and respect of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people
  The United Church ordains individuals regardless of sexual orientation and supports same-sex union and marriage.
• Democratic organization, with no clerical hierarchy, that values the role and ministry of laypeople
  Our church selects its pastors and meets and votes on issues that affect the life of the church, from the administrative to the theological.
• Faith that is open to study, diversity, and doubt
  We encourage a wide range of opinions, expressions of faith, and theological beliefs, as well as the exploration of what unites us. The Gospel both brings us together and sets us free.
• Respect and healing of creation and the environment
  Our faith compels us to embrace a legacy of life for future generations, rather than the death and destruction of creation.
• Pursuit of justice and building of peace (en français), here and around the world, as part of our Creed (en français)
  Our church stands in partnership and solidarity with communities in need and in suffering, here in Canada and around the world.
• The Bible as the cornerstone of our faith
  We interpret the Bible critically, in context and with a modern perspective. We use this same critical mindset to analyze ourselves.
• God is more than anything we can do or say. Jesus Christ is our only leader and invites us to a renewed life shaped by the love of God
  God cannot be encapsulated in any one ready-made definition or in any one religion. By way of the Spirit, God talks to us through Jesus Christ, creation, our fellow human beings, and the Bible, as is written in our recent statement A Song of Faith (en français).

Top

Our Growing Network

An expanding group of people, congregations, and groups in Quebec and the rest of Canada is here to reach out to anyone interested in the United Church—no pressure and no strings attached! We can be contacted by phone, by e-mail, or in person, and would be happy to provide you with information and a first-hand look at our church and to welcome you into a community that corresponds to your needs.

Feel free to get in touch with us if you wish to watch or take part in a service, receive information or documentation, talk to a pastor, ask for personal support, or spiritual guidance—with full respect and without judgement. You may wish to inquire about baptisms, weddings, or funerals, or obtain details on congregational activities. We would be pleased to talk about the church’s positions and initiatives with regard to such issues as the environment, human rights, family, same-sex marriage, birth control, remarriage after divorce, or any other spiritual or theological question that you wish to examine.

We are enriched by the diversity of our congregations. Many are multicultural. Some are rural—such as the Pinguet and Namur churches—while others are located in the heart of the city. Some churches serve several different and mutually supportive communities. Such is the case for Saint-Pierre, which shares its place of worship with the English-speaking/bilingual Chalmers Wesley congregation, and for the dynamic Latin American congregation of Camino d’Emaus, which is paired with Église Unie Saint-Jean, a vibrant, multicultural French-speaking congregation. Some English-speaking congregations are bilingual and proud to provide services and guidance to French-speaking parishioners.

Here is a list of a few of the communities in our ever-growing, ever-changing network. Come see us. We’ll be all the richer for it.

Top

Structures and Tools for Our French-Speaking Communities and Ministries

Our French-speaking membership is supported by local and neighbourhood groups, congregations, a francophone presbytery (the Laurentien Presbytery), a bilingual conference covering Quebec and Eastern Ontario, and the Unit for Ministries in French (UMIF), which is responsible for the support, coordination and promotion of French ministries within The United Church of Canada. The various Conferences each have their own website.

Top

Our Creed

We are not alone,
we live in God’s world.

Thus begins our simple, down-to-earth Creed.

We invite you to come visit us. Your contributions enrich, stimulate, and honour us.
We would be happy to receive you and get to know that part of you—that gift of God—that makes you truly unique.