"We are emerging into something we haven't done before and going somewhere we haven't gone before." This is part of the message Reverend Ross McMurtry will be delivering this Sunday at Grace United Church when he reflects on his 60 years as a minister.
Although retired in 1990, McMurtry was asked by the church to be their guest speaker on June 19 in order to celebrate his 60th year of ordination. McMurtry sees this as his last public sermon and an opportunity to thank the community.
His sermon on the 19th, entitled "The Emerging Church" will reflect on his 60 years, but will also focus on how the church has had to adapt and must continue to change with the community.
"We are becoming something we have not yet been - good or bad - the future is yet to determine. Not just in the community, but in the church," said McMurtry in an interview with Weyburn This Week.
He referred to some of the changes he has experienced over the years, "One of the most obvious things is there is not nearly as many people coming to church on Sunday morning."
McMurtry explained that the church isn't seen as making a difference in people's lives as much as it once was. Part of the reason for this, according to McMurtry, is that there are more support systems in place than there once was.
"In terms of education, knowledge, medicine - in all these areas we are supported in ways we weren't at one time," explained McMurtry.
The world has changed in many ways over the past 60 years, according to McMurtry, and some of these changes have led to the decline of the church.
"The knowledge explosion and the affluence we have in our society today, technology, communication, all these things have changed what we know, in every area of our lives," said McMurtry. "Materialism and the independence of the individual: why do we need God when we've got all these things? The knowledge explosion has created questions in people's minds we would not have otherwise entertained. Transportation: we are relating to things and people in ways we never could before," McMurtry continued.
He also said that the community does not rely on ministers as much as they used to.
"At one time there was the doctor, the lawyer and the clergyman," McMurtry began. "Because of their education they were trusted and conferred with. The minster was kind of seen as a general practitioner in all these areas."
McMurtry said that as situations change, the church will have to learn to adapt to meet the new needs of today's individual.
"The church wants to deal with these changes, so they have to find new ways to approach a public who has changed. I just hope it still has a purpose in helping people with their lives and problems."
McMurtry followed up this statement by saying that he hoped that he made a difference for good in the lives of people during his ministry.
As a minister at Grace United for 30 years, McMurtry has had plenty of opportunities to be involved in people's lives. During his ministry he has performed 950 weddings, 1,250 funerals, as well as multiple baptisms and counselling sessions.
Following in his father's and two older brother's footsteps, McMurtry became a United Church minister. He was ordained in 1951 at the age of 24 after four years of university and three years at St. Andrew's Theological College in Saskatoon. He began his career in Wawota (five years), followed by Humboldt (four years), before moving to Weyburn in 1960.
Throughout his career McMurtry attended courses across Canada and the United States; he travelled to the Middle East three times (twice on a study tour); attended meetings in Geneva, Switzerland as part of the World Council of Churches; and met with the Peace and Justice Commission in Rome that included a private audience with the Pope.
Since retirement, McMurtry has continued to lead Sunday worship in many communities, including Francis, Arcola, Carlyle, Bengough, Stoughton and Regina.
McMurtry's wife Wilma will be at the service on June 19, as well as his three sons from Calgary, Les, Ken and Bill. His two daughters are unable to attend; Elaine Mitchell is on a medical mission in Doha, Qatar, while Marsha Morsky is vacationing in Moscow, Russia. Everyone is invited to attend the service at 10:30 a.m., followed by a luncheon.
