Emma comes calling

This is a very important weekend – and a most exciting one at that – in the life of Knox Church.

Two years without a minister, Knox is now on the verge of calling a new minister, a person who has been heavily involved in her church, a person who had a promising career as a librarian, but one who heard  - and heeded – a call to the ministry.

Emma Duncan recently graduated from Knox College, winning several top awards for her academic prowess. This weekend then marks the next chapter on her journey to the pulpit.

Emma and her family will be at Knox Saturday afternoon from 2 to 4 p.m. for a reception so that members can have an opportunity to meet with her before she preaches for the call on Sunday.

During the last week, elders have been busy contacting members and adherents of Knox Church, urging them to attend the reception, but especially the Sunday service as she preaches for the call.

The response elders have been getting is remarkable. It is expected that there will be a significant turnout on Sunday for the service and for the time after worship to sign for the call. As well, so many of those unable to attend have already endorsed the call – asking elders to sign on their behalf, a system allowed within the Presbyterian Church.

The voting mechanism will be outlined on Sunday, but briefly it means that after the service, everyone will adjourn to Fellowship Hall where elders will oversee the process – not only for members, but adherents as well, with adherents concurring with the call.

As a common denominator, the Presbyterian Church wants to see an 80 per cent approval rate before a call is passed along to Presbytery, so while session hopes that we will be close to that 80 cent figure by the time the last vote is counted, elders will then get on the phone contacting those not in attendance.

Once Knox approves the call, it then goes to the Hamilton Presbytery which will meet on June 11th to consider the call, and then all being well, it’s then on to Emma’s home presbytery, the Presbytery of Brampton which meets later in June.

Finally, with all approvals in place, the Brampton Presbytery will hold an ordination service, at which time Emma becomes the Rev. Emma Duncan. It sounds like quite a process, and indeed it is, with one more important step along the way – the induction service at Knox some time in the summer – the date to be established as all steps fall into place.

But first and foremost is this weekend, and we implore each one of you to come to church on Sunday, to hear Emma preach and to sign the call.

Preaching for the call

It was the news we have been waiting for all these long months; we have a candidate who will preach for the call to Knox Church.

Soon after the search committee recommended a candidate, their recommendation was approved by session and then announced with much enthusiasm by our interim moderator, Rev. Bob Docherty from the pulpit on April 28th.

The candidate is Emma Duncan, who will graduate from Knox College on May 8th. Although a new graduate, Emma shone out from all the other candidates who sent in profiles, so much so that the search committee was unanimous in its choice.

One of her references, the Rev. Dr. Douglas McQuaig from St. Andrew’s, Streetsville, had this to say about Emma: “If I could wave a magic wand I would have Emma replace me here at St. Andrew’s when I retire.”

A solid recommendation if there ever was one.

Emma will be preaching for the call on May 26th, and we urge all members and adherents to be in attendance that day to hear Emma, and to sign the call sheet.

There is also another important date to remember. Emma and her family will be attending a reception at Knox on the afternoon of May 25th, giving everyone a first-hand opportunity to meet with her in an informal setting.

There will be more information in the days ahead as we prepare for this most important time in the life of our church, but in the meantime, please circle these dates on your calendar.

So that everyone has a bit more information about this candidate, a short bio is provided on her road to the ministry.

Emma was born and raised in Brampton, and grew up in the congregation of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in that city. Within this faith community she learned about God and the Bible and as well she met her future husband, Richard, in a youth group.

In this congregation, she served as a ruling elder, chair of the Mission Committee, Presbytery representative, and taught Sunday school.

Emma and Richard have been married for 15 years and they have two daughters, Rachel (13) and Heather (10).

Prior to discerning the call to ministry, Emma worked as a librarian and she ended this career as a branch manager for the Brampton Public Library.

During her studies leading to a Master of Divinity degree, Emma led worship in many congregations in her Presbytery and she firmly believes that through engaging worship and preaching, the stories of the Bible can come alive in meaningful and relevant ways.  Emma is passionate about her faith and she is looking forward to walking with people as they live out their lives and faith.

Emma and Richard both come from very close families and they enjoy spending time with family and friends.  In her spare time, Emma is – no surprise here - an avid reader.