QuebecThe Reformed Church of QuebecSt-Marc Reformed ChurchThe Westervelds

History• Quebec is one of the 10

Canadian provinces.

Most of the 7 million Quebecers live along the St-Lawrence River.

History• Quebecers are largely

French speaking.

• They are proud of their language and European culture.

History• Before the 1960s,

Québec guarded its identity by identifying itself with the Roman Catholic Church. If you were a true Quebecer, you were a French-speaking Roman Catholic. The speakers of English were Protestants.

History

• But not all of Quebec’s history is Roman Catholic.

• French speaking Protestants – also known as Huguenots or Reformed Catholics – had a large role in the settlement of New France.

The Huguenot Cross

History

• French Calvinists came to the region as merchants, traders, and then governors.

• From 1540 to 1625 the Huguenots lived peaceably alongside Roman Catholics.

• From 1625 to 1774 waves of opposition by RC were mounted against the Calvinists.

History

• In 1774 the Quebec Act gave the RCC significant power.

• The Roman Catholic clergy became the primary preservers of French language, culture, and religion in its parishes, and exercised considerable political power and social influence.

• Protestants had freedom of worship but were excluded from the most basic cultural life – ie. education.

History

• Since the first days of New France the Catholic Church administered the school system.

• This would change with the Quiet Revolution of 1960s.

History

The Quiet Revolution• By the early 60’s the school

system and curriculum was archaic, obsolete and produced one of the highest drop out rates in the country.

• Half of all Quebec students were leaving school by 15.

• “The state replaced the hierarchy, language replaced faith, and nationalism replaced religion.”

• Quebec had become secular.

Christ’s Kingdom

Reformed Renewal• The turmoil of the 1960s

increased lawlessness and despair, but it also increased Bible reading.

• The Lord called many Roman Catholics to faith in Christ through the gospel.

• Baptists, Pentecostals, and many parachurch ministries, like Navigators, saw Quebecers take a new interest in the scriptures, grace and the doctrine of Christ.

Christ’s Kingdom

Reformed Renewal• The gains of the evangelical

church brought renewed interest in Protestant orthodoxy, confessions, creeds.

• This would eventually lead to the establishment of the The Reformed Church of Québec (RCQ), otherwise known as "L'Église Réformée du Québec" (ERQ).

• But first let’s loop back and follow the history of the Reformed in Quebec.

Reformed Renewal• 1839 – The Franco-Canadian

Missionary Society was established "to teach (French Canadians) the great doctrines of the Reformed faith: "the complete fallen nature of man (total depravity); the supreme divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ; the sacrificial nature of Jesus Christ's death; the divinity, person and saving work of the Holy Spirit; justification through faith in Jesus Christ alone; the necessity to live a holy life through the working of the Holy Spirit in us; the eternal Glory of God's people; the eternal condemnation of God's enemies."

Christ’s Kingdom

Reformed Renewal• From 1835 to 1912 the work of the

missionary society continued, terminating in 1912.

• In 1912 the Presbyterian Church of Canada inherited most of the French-speaking Reformed churches in Quebec, 25 in all. There were also 25 schools as those who left the Roman Catholic Church were moved outside the school system.

• But then both liberalism and interest in the immigrants in Western Canada set in.

• By 1975 only three French-speaking PCC churches remained.

Christ’s Kingdom

Reformed Renewal• One of those three churches was

Reformed Church St-Marc in Quebec City, Quebec.

Christ’s Kingdom

Reformed Renewal• As a Protestant revival began after

The Quiet Revolution, there was renewed interest in these 3 churches.

• The Christian Reformed Church and

the Presbyterian Church of America, began to work with the PCC to establish a single French-speaking Reformed church.

• Eventually the pluralism of the PCC kept the PCC from supporting the new church. St-Marcs left the PCC.

Christ’s Kingdom

Reformed Renewal• In 1988, with the aid of the CRC

and PCA, a new biblical and confessional French-speaking church began: The Reformed Church of Quebec.

• Today the Reformed Church of

Quebec includes 5 local churches. St-Marcs in Quebec City among them.

• They labor in a province where only 0.5% of the population are Protestant.

Christ’s Kingdom

St-Marcs/Quebec City

Christ’s Kingdom

St-Marcs/Quebec City

Ben & Melanie Westerveld

Ezra, Theodore, Micah, Asher, Leticia, Nadine, Davin, Kaelan

Christ’s Kingdom

St-Marcs/Quebec City

Christ’s Kingdom

“Today the lukewarm faith of many evangelical believers and the indifference of a society pursuing la joie de vivre (the joy of living) call for much sowing, but one should expect little immediate reaping.” – Ben Westerveld

St-Marcs/Quebec City

Christ’s Kingdom

• “English for Kids” camps.

• 3 weeks in a row during summer.

• 32-42 kids each week.

• “English Café”

• Talk English about any subject.

• Only 3% of Quebec City speak English

• Teams come any time of the year.

St-Marcs/Quebec City

Christ’s Kingdom

Prayer List:

• for the camp teams there right now.

• for Ben’s work as pastor/evangelist.

• for the ministry of the Word and Spirit.

• for the Reformed Church of Quebec to

see growth in numbers through

conversions and returns to the faith.

• for wisdom in ministry among Roman

Catholics.

• for continued faithfulness among the

reformed churches throughout Canada.