Kensington Presbyterian Church
Growing in faith and sharing God’s love
since 1786

Past to the Future

March 8, 2026

Welcome, we come to you from the un-ceded lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation.

We are offering a variety of ways for people to gather. We are welcoming people to worship in person, as well as through Zoom, YouTube, and this printable PDF.1 note: that the footnotes are not as thorough as an academic paper. If this is how you are worshipping, know that you are not alone... and if you like, you can invite others to join you. Clicking on or tapping blue text will take you to a web-site.

If you have any prayer requests, ideas, or just want to talk, please reach out to your elder or Rev. Peter (Peter@Kensingtonchurch.ca).

Announcements

Tax receipts available from John

Stories & cake: after worship

Sandwich Making: March 15 after worship
Please join us and Bread & Beyond helping with food insecurity.

Annual Meeting: March 29 after worship

Prayer Groups:
Women’s Prayer Group: Tuesday afternoon
Zoom: Wednesday at 6:30 am

Bible Study: Wednesday 7-8 pm
Join us in the minister’s office and over zoom
as we discuss the upcoming week’s main scripture passage.

Festival of Lights - J Swanson

Friday Friendly Food & Film Series: 6:30 pizza, followed movie
March 6: Despicable Me
March 13: Coco

Les Lundis Community Connector Mondays: NDG at Royal 1pm
learn about community resources and enjoy some food

Contacts

Church Office: 514-486-4559	info@Kensingtonchurch.ca

Rev. Peter Rombeek (pastor)	Peter@Kensingtonchurch.ca

514-773-4620

Zoé Dupont-Foisy (music director)	zoedupontfoisy@hotmail.com

Orly (Outreach co-ordinator)	orly.kensington@gmail.com

Rose Ngo Mbenoun (Clerk of Session)	admin@Kensingtonchurch.ca

Approaching God

Lighting of the Christ Candle

Jésus Christ est la lumière du monde.

Jesus Christ is the light of the world.

Call to worship2 Worship Sourcebook T.1.2.1 based on Psalm 145:3-4, 10-11, 21

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

there is no end to his greatness.

One generation shall praise your works to another

and shall declare your power.

All your works praise you, Lord,

and your faithful servants bless you.

They make known the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your power.

My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord:

Let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

♫ Hymn: Holy, holy, holy	pg 11 (299)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SHDNs7Dt5M with organ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwuDSw-9cUQ band

Prayer of Approach3 adapted from Worship Sourcebook T.1.3.2, T.2.2.1, T.2.4.1

God of all ages,

we thank you for the faithful witness of so many
throughout the history of your church
and through the world today.

Through their witness we see and hear your truth.

We bless you for all who bless your name

through their writing, speaking, art, and music.

Through their work we glimpse your beauty.

We praise you for all who serve you
without recognition or honour,

offering encouragement to the lonely,
the sick, and the fearful.

Through their lives
we see your faithfulness and sense your comfort.

Eternal God, in every age you have called people to live and die in faith.

Forgive our indifference to your will.

You have commanded us to speak,
but we have been silent.

You have called us to do what is just,
but we have been fearful.

Have mercy on us.

May your Spirit help us to know deep down
that we are welcome members of your household.

Please keep before us faithful people for us to follow

so that, by the power of your Holy Spirit,

our faith may grow
and also be a witness to your love, hope & healing.

growing into the prayer you teach your disciples:

The Lord’s Prayer (please use a version you are comfortable with)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours

Amen.

Listening to God

Children’s Time

What do you take to school for lunch? Do you ever share with somebody? Do you think you could feed your whole class? school? Well, there’s a great story in the Bible about sharing lunch.

We tend to think of the Bible as a book, but really it’s a whole pile of books all put together. In it there are four books that tell us stories about Jesus’ life: Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. Do you think they’re all the same? No, of course not. That would be a waste of paper. However, there are a few stories that show up in all of them. One is when Jesus feeds thousands and thousands of people.

My favourite is the one in John - because it says where the food came from. Jesus fed over 5000 people with… a boy’s lunch. and it’s not because he brought trucks full of food. He just had five buns and two fish. Jesus accepted his help, thanked God for the food, and they shared the boys lunch. Afterwards 12 baskets were filled with the left-overs!

It shows us that amazing things happen around Jesus (including to ordinary things… like a lunch); that Jesus feeds people; and that Jesus values help from children.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for taking what we offer and doing amazing things, and for valuing everyone’s help.

Amen.

♫ Hymn: What gift can we bring	pg 14 (798)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmto2rsq5qA

Capella Greca St. Priscilla (c.200 AD)

Prayer for Illumination

Lord, open our hearts and minds

through the power of your Holy Spirit,

that we see you and have faith.

Amen.

Intro to the readings

Today we’re going to have two readings linking into our anniversary. As you listen you can imagine how.

The first will be from the Letter to the Hebrews - though it’s really more of a sermon. This book starts by celebrating God in Jesus and assuring the listener that God is faithful. Then it shifts into encouraging them to live out their faith. We’ll be hearing various verses from chapter 11 and into 12. You’re welcome to read all of them, but it would take too long this morning.

The second reading is from The Gospel According to John, but not one from our lectionary. We’re going back to chapter 6. To help place this story in the book, Jesus has turned Water into Wine, suggested redirecting worship by clearing the temple of sacrifice sellers, met Nicodemus & the Samaritan Woman, healed some people, and just before today’s passage Jesus fed the 5000 with the sacrifice of a child’s lunch. After this Jesus took a little time to himself, and then caught up with the disciples as they were crossing the lake.

Reading: Please look up the passages in your own
Bible,4 If you’d like a new Bible with helpful notes, I recommend the ‘Life with God Bible’ NRSV from Renovaré. ISBN 0061834963
or for the more academically inclined, The New Oxford Study Bible NRSV or click on the name to be taken to an online version.

Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-16, 32-35a, 12:1-3
John 6: 22-35

Sermon:- Past to the Future

Dear Lord, please bless the meditations of our hearts,
and my words. Amen.

Today we’re celebrating Kensington’s anniversary - and all the churches that have helped provide the foundation for who we are today. The Kensington Mission was created in 1896 and met at the Davis farm near here. A couple of years later they built a church on this site - which was replaced and added to over the years.

That said, as you can see, our foundation goes back 240 years to the first Presbyterian congregation in Montréal - and Howie has some very interesting stories about those early years (ask him after the service). Over the years eleven congregations joined with the Kensington Mission, adapting into this version of Kensington.

Often we say churches, and that can mean the same thing as a congregation. Though sometimes saying church makes us focus on the building. As our family tree shows, there were many churches, meaning buildings, that were built. They met a hunger for places to gather and worship God. Feeding people is good. As John chapter 6 reminds us, Jesus both fed people literal food, and offered people spiritual food... which we hope churches help people find.

As the needs of the churches, meaning the congregations or people, changed they were sold. The people would have felt a lot of emotions during this. Before I trained to be a minister I helped a congregation that was closing, and there was a lot of grief and anger. It can be hard to carry on, but it’s important to remember that Christ didn’t come to build buildings. God is trying to build relationships - relationships between people and God, and between each other. Buildings can help this, but they can also become a distraction. When buildings become the focus of people’s energy they are like the food which perishes, rather than that which “endures for eternal life.” While buildings can provide a nurturing sanctuary from the world, they can also separate the congregation from the world that Christ came to heal - making it easy to do things our way and failing to adapt to changing times.

Adapting is hard. There is much that is outside of a congregation’s control. In our context that includes the quiet revolution, the October Crisis, votes for independence that lead to companies moving jobs out of the province, ...and the 80s gang wars didn’t help. It can also be easy for a church to become an institution, rather than a movement like what Jesus modelled - going to the people and sharing with them the hope we know.

...which can also be hard. To know that hope. It’s why the Letter to the Hebrews was written - to encourage people in their faith of God in Jesus. It’s been a popular book ever since because we all have times when it’s difficult finding the faith to carry on.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we are not the first. There is a great cloud of witnesses that have come before us, and through them we can see glimpses of God. The chapter we heard part of includes people from the Older Testament: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, who all lived nomadic lives looking forward to the Promised Land; Joseph, who didn’t give up in slavery & prison went on to became the saviour for Israelites and Egyptians; Moses, who led the slaves through the wilderness; and many more people. We could add people from the Newer Testament: Peter, who Jesus never gave up on; Martha, who shows faith and misunderstanding; Paul, who went from persecuting Christians to pushing the boundaries of what a Christian is; and (again) so many more. Then we could look at people who have come along since: Augustine, St. Columba, Hildegard of Bingen, Calvin, Wesley, Karl Barth, Mother Teresa, & Dorothy Day. All of these people are famous, but none of them set out to be known. They listened to something and followed it. They all lived through hardship in faith, striving for the “better homeland” by imitating Jesus as best they could.

One of the beautiful things about the way God works, is that God works in everybody. Not everyone listens, but many do. When we stop and think back, we can find people who have shown us aspects of God

In a minute I’m going to invite Stewart, Roberta & David to share a story about somebody they knew who is a part of Kensington’s Great Cloud of Witnesses.

But first I’ll just share a few memories people have shared with me.

To start on international women’s day: Cairine Wilson, the first female Senator in Canada - showing that God values all

remembering Mary & Dave Peables for the way they welcomed and included people - showing God’s caring family.

remembering Jean Howe for running a Cub Pack that mixed children who were blind with those who had sight - showing God’s acceptance and wonder in all

the Brown family helping teachers and children to see God in the Bible and out.

Grace Thornly-Brown taking in anyone who needed a home, and accepting them as her children - showing God’s steadfast love.

Elizabeth remembers Ken Harris showing the joy of the Lord as he leaped over the backs of pews.

People remembering the joy of Cam greeting them when they came to church - the joy of the Lord

and Cam remembering how Jerry Auchinleck make him feel like he was valued - not because great successes, but because he was a child of God

remembering the Session going through intensive prayer and discernment, starting in 2004, to envision the future for the congregation - showing how God wants a relationship

Lesley inspiring people and adapting organization to fit the circumstances - as Jesus meets people where they are

the choir testifying about God through their words and actions - providing ways for the Spirit to feed the hungry

Ruth - who shows God’s suborn determination in coming to church

Howie, who like God, remembers the past, helps those in the present, and lives into the future.

and many many more (honestly, everyone... including you - whether you feel like it or not (and if not, then that puts you alongside the famous people I mentioned earlier))

. . .

That obviously isn’t a complete list. Please feel free to share your memories with me or others.

Buildings are important opportunities, but not an end. They are perishable food, but what lives on is God’s work in the people. With the help of hindsight we can see God through people in our past and present - and into our future. ...and, we pray, they can see God in us.

To God be all the glory
Amen.

Responding to God

♫ Hymn: Great is thy faithfulness	pg 12 (324)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTKIqmdfHSk

FaithTalk: These are some questions for you to discuss with
somebody... or many somebodies.
Do what you feel safe (and practice stretching a little).

Memories:	Share an early church memory

Memories:	Make a list of characteristics of God... and then think of some people who have shown one (or more) of them.

Values:	There’s a song about how the church is not a steeple, it’s the people. What does that look like? How does Kensington live this? How could we do better?

Prayer:	...thanking God for the Great Cloud of Witnesses that reflect aspects of God to us - offering hope and faith.

Spirit Sightings

There were many Spirit Sightings in the sermon and testimonies of a few of our Elders. We’ve also included a short history on page 9.

Offering

Financially, we have set up a donation option on our website: kensingtonchurch.ca. Just click the ‘Donate Now’ button, and then the pretty button. It gives you various options that are easy to follow.

You can also donate through interac e-transfer. Our name is Kensington Presbyterian Church and the e-mail address is info@kensingtonchurch.ca.

Mailing a cheque or signing up for Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR) are also good options.

Prayers of the people

This week we will be passing around the prayer book and saying something based on what people write in it. You are welcome to create your own prayer or use this one from Leading in Prayer.

O Lord and Father of the household of faith,

we thank you for the gift of faith

worked within us by your Holy Spirit.

We thank you for having called us to yourself,

for consecrating us to your service,

for having set us apart to the sacred ministry of prayer.

O Lord and Father of the household of faith,

we pray for the church

in all her breadth and variety,

gathered out of every nation, family, people, and tongue,

to be a kingdom of priests serving you.

We pray for the church in all the world,

for churches in North America, Europe, and the Middle East,

for churches in Africa, Asia, and Latin America,

for young churches and old churches,

small churches and large churches,

weak churches and strong churches.

Grant to the church true lowliness

and genuine humility where there is pride, unity where there is division.

Grant to her truth where there is error and wisdom where there is folly,

that you might fulfill your purposes for her.

Liturgical Table - Jan Richardson

O Lord and Father of the household of faith,

we pray for those stewards to whom you have

entrusted the affairs of your house,

for pastors, elders, deacons, lay leaders, volunteers, and committees.

Give them the spirit of willing service and true humility.

Give them a sense of spiritual devotion.

Give them delight in those whom they serve.

Grant that they may lead your people in the way of Christ,

that thereby we might all enter the land of our heritage.

O Lord and Father of the household of faith,

we pray for all peoples of all nations.

We pray that in every land there might be peace and true justice

(especially in [country] and other places of conflict).

Grant that in our own communities

those who are troubled,

those who suffer,

those who are discouraged

especially from your church.

Particularly we remember before you

the work done for the troubled, the suffering, and the discouraged

by the deacons in our congregations

and denominational and Christian agencies.

O Lord and Father of the household of faith,

we pray for our nation and

those who lead the nation:

the president/prime minister and advisors,

the congress/parliament and the courts,

the diplomatic corps as they negotiate for peace and justice.

We pray for the leaders of all nations,

that they might know that you have called them

to serve their people in your fear and

for your glory and the good of the peoples.

O Lord and Father of the household of faith,

we pray for those who have special needs.

To all who suffer any sickness or weakness [especially names(s)],

give health and strength.

To all who are disturbed or troubled, give rest and understanding.

To all who are lonely and alienated, give fellowship and love.

To all who grieve and sorrow [especially name(s)],

give comfort and assurance.

To all who are aged and frail, give homes of comfort and safety,

and others to help them, and a willingness to accept help.

All these requests we present to you,

O Father of mercy, in the name of Jesus Christ,

who even now is seated at your right hand to intercede for us

and who will come at the last trumpet to gather us into

his holy city, the Jerusalem that is above,

and toward which we journey even now.

Amen.

♫ Hymn: A Mighty Fortress	pg 13 (315)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB5XvHq8UHk

Benediction

As you go from this time of worship,
live with the confidence that God is active

around you
and in you.

As God has been active through Kensington
and the universal church
and is faithfully guiding us into a future
of love, hope, and healing.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God,

and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit

be with you all.5 2 Corinthians 13:13

A Very Short History of Our Church

On March 12, 1786, Rev. John Bethune celebrated the first Presbyterian worship service in Montréal, with a congregation composed mainly of Scots businesspeople and their families. Rev. Bethune left for Ontario in 1787, but by 1791 the congregation was worshipping under a new pastor in the Récollet Fathers’ chapel on rue Notre-Dame. In 1792 the congregation built its own church, known as ‘The Scots Church,’ on St. Gabriel Street just south of the Champ de Mars. The church provided seating for 500 people and, amazingly, was completed in just five months. The Presbyterian community in Montréal grew rapidly, and by the late 1800s seventeen Presbyterian congregations had developed, including several ‘missions’ in outlying or impoverished areas.

In 1896, the Presbyterian community in Montréal created a Kensington Mission in the NDG area, with services held in the Davis farmhouse near our present location. At that time NDG was still a rural Catholic parish, not yet part of Montréal and comprising mostly farmland (and four race tracks) but also a few small clusters of working people’s houses. In 1898, the original Kensington Presbyterian Church, a small clapboard structure with a belfry, was built on the site where the present church now stands. Farmland to build the church was purchased from the Leduc family, whose name is commemorated in Leduc Park, which faces our church across Godfrey Ave. The Rev. Ephraim Scott presided at the first service in the new church, on September 12th, 1898.

NDG was incorporated as a town in 1906 and was annexed by Montréal in 1910. Over the next few decades it developed into a residential area, from a population of roughly 4,000 in 1914 to 50,000 in 1931. After a fire in 1916, and with an expanding population to serve, in 1921 the Kensington congregation built a new, larger brick church, dedicated in 1922 by the church’s new minister, Rev. I. A. Montgomery. That structure is still part of our church building today; the upper level, now named Kensington Hall, is where we hold our hospitality time after Sunday worship.

The congregation grew as NDG’s population increased, even after a number of members left to join the new United Church of Canada in 1925. In 1934 the church built a west-side addition, Sunday School Hall, which includes Knox Hall (where we now celebrate Sunday worship) and a number of offices and meeting rooms.

During the Second World War many members of our church served in the armed forces, and the congregation created a War Services Committee that welcomed home, visited and in many other ways supported returning men and women veterans. Our church continues to honor our veterans each Remembrance Day, with music, reading of an excerpt from Laurence Binyon’s poem “For the Fallen” and a minute of silent reflection.

From the 1940s onward, the populations of Montréal’s suburbs (including NDG) grew rapidly, and over time some Presbyterian congregations originally located downtown joined with Kensing–ton. Knox Crescent Presbyterian Church united with our church in 1948, after its premises were destroyed by fire in 1946, and the congregation of First Presbyterian Church merged with ours in 1984. (The stained-glass Celtic Window now in Knox Hall comes from First Presbyterian Church). Our present church, in fact, has its roots in fourteen historical Presbyterian churches in Montréal. Our church was renamed ‘Knox Crescent and Kensington’ in 1948 and ‘Knox Crescent Kensington and First’ in 1984), but in 2016 the congregation elected to return to the name ‘Kensington.’

In 1949 the church undertook a further expansion, with the building of the large brick sanctuary on the corner of Godfrey Ave. and Grand Blvd. (now Éspace Knox, no longer owned by our church) The church’s new pastor in 1949, Rev. Clifton MacKay, presided at the dedication of the new sanctuary and served KCK for 25 years. The church was featured in the June 1964 issue of the Presbyterian Record as the largest Presbyterian congregation in Canada - its Session then had 73 members!

As noted earlier, Montréal’s first Presbyterian congregation worshipped in space provided by the Récollet Fathers, and Kensington Mission’s congregation met for two years in the Davis family home before the first Kensington Church was built. Over the years since, our church has ‘paid forward’ this hospitality by sharing our facilities with several congregations. The Shaare Zedek and Beth Shalom communities, for example, worshipped in our church in 1952 and 1956, respectively, while their synagogues were under construction. From 1955 to 1978 our church hosted the Japanese Presbyterian Church of Montréal, the only Japanese-language Presbyterian church in Canada. A number of members of its congregation also worshipped with Kensington’s, some to this day. Since the early 1980s, several congregations of the Korean Presbyterian Church have also worshipped in our church, and we have taken part in shared music events, fellowship and several joint English/Korean services.

Our church now houses several community groups, including the New Hope Senior Citizens’ Centre, the Montréal Children’s Theatre and the 50 Plus Club of NDG. Congregation members work in support of these and other local community institutions including the NDG Food Depot and the St. Andrew Residential Centre (CHSLD). Outreach remains a key part of our mission.