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Unity key as Central Baptist celebrates 60 years by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver 15 | Wednesday, December 4, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Despite a rocky start, unity has kept Oakville's Central Baptist Church strong for 60 years. The local congregation celebrated its anniversary earlier this month with a two-day gathering featuring a number of activities at the 340 Rebecca St. church. "Sixty years is a big number for us. It coincided with 27 years for the Portuguese-speaking ministry. This is something worth celebrating," said Rev. Michel Belzile, who joined the church in November 2012. "It's an exciting time for us to celebrate where we are." Central Baptist Church was formed in 1953 by a group of churchgoers associated with Calvary Baptist Church. They branched off and started a new congregation after the parish dismissed the pastor, said Winnie Spencer, a longtime Central Baptist congregation member. "They met downtown in a hall over a grocery store on Colborne Street. They had borrowed chairs from a funeral parlor, they had a piano donated and they had a box of handbooks," said Spencer. "The group held two services the Sunday immediately after the other church dismissed its pastor." In 1954, the new congregation moved to Victoria Hall on Reynolds Street. A permanent church was built on Rebecca Street in 1957, where it still resides. "Somewhere along the line, we got involved with the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Québec, bought property here and moved our services to W.H. Morden Public School so that we were in the area where we worked," said Spencer. "The church grew out of acrimony and has thrived ever since." Even though the church experienced a "time of division and strife," Belzile said it helped the congregation develop tolerance and unity. "It was a time for us to learn and heal. When you leave another church out of strife, without determining who was right and who was wrong, it creates a congregation that is very aware of the damage that can do," said Belzile. Oakville used to be a small town and then it grew. We have some brother and sister churches that have a significant ministry among us. The Meeting House has wonderful ministries on a large scale for people who aren't into church. It forced us to have our own unique ministries and discover what we do well. Central Baptist Church Rev. Michel Belzile Global, Henckel, Victorinox Professional Chef's Knives M.S.R.P. "Where the Professionals Shop!" · "We also sharpen knives" 4391-12 Harvester Road, Burlington, ON L7L 4X1 Tel: 905.637.8428 · info@haltonfoodequipment.ca website: haltonfoodequipment.ca Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm 25% Off "We are a better community for having confessed that and moving forward." He estimates there were at least 100 congregation members when the chapel started. It has since grown to about 250 members -- 75 of whom "are not baptized members of the church, but attend periodically," Belzile said. With a growing congregation, the group added a Portuguese ministry in 1986 to accommodate the influx of Portuguese-speaking residents in Oakville, the pastor said. "We said, `Let us be one church.' It's not a model that is often embraced. Back in the '80s, multiculturalism was still new. This was a multicultural model of having both an English and Portuguese congregation as one church with each having its own pastor," said Belzile. Another focus that has "characterized" the church is its close relationship with Kerr Street Ministries (KSM), he said. Central Baptist has supported the organization since 1996, while Spencer has been a KSM volunteer for 15 years. One of the challenges for Central Baptist Church over the years has been the growing number of parishes in Oakville, Belzile noted. "Oakville used to be a small town and then it grew. We have some brother and sister churches that have a significant ministry among us. The Meeting House has wonderful ministries on a large scale for people who aren't into church," said Belzile. "It forced us to have our own unique ministries and discover what we do well." Going forward, Belzile sees Central Baptist Church being on the "cutting-edge" of intercultural ministries, he said. It has plans to help other church communities "blossom" in the next few years. "We're willing to allow other cultures to transform who we are. There's a lot of wisdom and life experience that come from our Portuguese, Brazilian, Korean or Spanish communities," said Belzile. We see ourselves as having a responsibility of helping newcomers integrate into Canada quickly and effectively." JAN 31ST GLEN EDEN @ 2014 INCLUD ES D TO SLO AY & NIGHT A PES CC RACES, , LUNCH, GAM ESS AND MU E CH MOR S, E!! FRIDAY TO PURCHASE TICKETS VISIT WWW.OAKVILLEWINTERFEST.COM SPONSORED BY: M I LTO N O N TA R I O