For me the primary task of any minister is to create communities of faith and mission. It took me a while to realize this crucial role. When I was ordained in 1968, it seemed that my role was just to keep the church going. Prepare Sunday worship, support children's programs, encourage women's groups, make sure financial plans were achieved. Attending meetings was an endless way to spend time - often wondering how that connected with God's call.

Looking back it seemed to be mainly an institutional maintenance / management role. The church had been around for almost 2000 years and I was mandated to continue preaching, teaching, and caring ministries. Nothing wrong with that. But was that enough?

Happily, along the way it became clear that there was more to this vocation than just maintaining. The context was changing dramatically - the social programs of the church were being taken over by municipal and provincial governments; education and information were creating a more critical population not easily accepting inherited nostrums, and the world became smaller and more complex as diverse populations left traditional habitats for new unfamiliar homelands. And in the western world active church membership was rapidly declining. The change was thorough and fundamental.