The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the national church for the Presbyterian faith in Canada. Originally connected to the Church of Scotland, the Presbyterian Church in Canada split from its parent church in 1875. The Presbyterian Church has four levels of organization: sessions, presbytery, synod, and the General Assembly. Sessions are congregations that attend individual churches, while presbyteries are made up of several sessions. When there are several presbyteries in an area, a synod is created to manage and enforce Presbyterian Church policies. Finally, there is the General Assembly Office that provides leadership and oversight for the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
In 1925, several Presbyterian congregations joined with parts of the Methodist Church, the Congregational Union of Canada, and the General Council of Union Churches to form the United Church of Canada. Several Presbyterian congregations, however, opposed this merger and continued ministering under the banner of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. There was much dispute as to whether the group should continue to use this name, until a 1939 Supreme Court of Canada ruling dictated that the remaining congregations had the legal right to the name Presbyterian Church in Canada.
During the Residential School System, the Presbyterian Church managed several schools until 1925, when the United Church of Canada was created. After this event, the Presbyterian Church only managed two residential schools, Birtle and Cecilia Jeffrey. Also, the forming of the United Church led to the creation of the Presbyterian Church in Canada Women’s Missionary Society, which took over operation for the remaining residential schools until the Government of Canada assumed all control in 1969.
During the 1990s, the public became more aware of the impacts of residential schools. This led to an increase in litigation against the Government of Canada, which culminated in the creation of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) in 2006. IRSSA outlined the process by which residential school litigation was carried out in addition to creating the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). The Presbyterian Church in Canada acknowledged its role in the Residential School System. It has participated in several truth-telling gatherings with the TRC as well as providing documents on their involvement in the Residential School System.
1958-2014
Between 2010 - 2015
Between 2010 - 2015
Between 2010 - 2015
2012-06-21 - 2012-06-24
2013-04-24 - 2013-04-27
2013-04-24 - 2013-04-27
2013-04-24 - 2013-04-27
2013-04-24 - 2013-04-27