St. Andrew's Church of Scotland

After two months, it's about time, isn't it, that I talked to you about St. Andrew's.  After all, this is why I came!  Building first, then people.....

          On the corner of busy Chaussée de Vleurgat sits this stone church that you could pick up and set down again in Scotland.  It's not real big but it's full every Sunday.  It was built in 1925 in memory of the Scots soldiers killed in WW1 and buried in Belgium and its active parish life florished until the German army marched into Belgium in May 1940.  The St. Andrew's flag and the key to the church were quickly given to the garage owner across the street; worship stopped and the minister was evacuated.  During the Occupation it was used by the Germans as a store house.
          In the autumn of 1944, as the liberation troops marched into the city, the garage owner hurriedly crossed the street, climbed into the church belfry, tolled the bell and raised the flag again!
          We in North America have no idea of what war on one's soil is like.  We sent men and women into the Wars but they didn't fight on our soil: soldiers and tanks didn't overrun our streets, gardens and fields, bombs didn't fall on our homes and cities, and we can't imagine what living under an Occupying foreign force would be like.  It has been my humble privilege to be able to talk to several older people in the congregation, both Belgian and British, and ask them what it was like.  I have a new appreciation for Belgian history: this little country has been the battlefield for many wars, none of them their own!

This is the church sanctuary: it holds 250 comfortably and 300 uncomfortably.  The church is growing but there's no room to grow physically: the church is hemmed in on all sides by other buildings.  Besides the sanctuary, there is a hall in the basement used for Sunday School, large meetings and suppers, etc., a kitchen and 3 little rooms including the vestry for small meetings (and 2 unheated restrooms!!) - not enough, but what do you do?.....

And this is the Rev. Dr. Andrew Gardner, our minister ....Andrew to all of us.  He doesn't look Scottish, does he?  Well, he is!  He was adopted as a baby by a Scottish family and so is as Scottish as the others.  I must say, though, when I first heard him preach 5 years ago, his Scottish accent took me by surprize.  His wife is Julie and they have two teenage daughters, Bethany and Karalyn.  I'm enjoying getting to know them.  Bethany goes to a French-speaking school, Karalyn to a Flemish-speaking school and they speak English at home and at church.  However, between the two of them, they're usually speaking French or Flemish!  Quite typical of the children and young people at St. Andrew's.  I often hear them talking to each other in either French or Flemish after the worship service.  Goes with being an ex-patriate in Belgium.




The congregation is a fascinating mix of cultures and languages.  I love it and feel at home in a mix like this.  There's a real respect for each one's language and culture and each one is welcomed warmly and sincerely.  This is one of St. Andrew's strong points.  Ask anyone who attends: one of the major reasons why they chose this church was because they were welcomed. 

There are at least 60 different nationalities here; of course many Scots but also a very large contingent of Ghanaians.  The Presbyterian Church in Ghana is huge so when Ghanaians travel abroad for work, they naturally look for this denomination.  There are 2 Canadians besides myself: Penni Clarke, a wonderful Newfie, leads the choir and is working on her doctorate in choral directing and does amazing things with the choir, and Matthew Zadow from Toronto, who is a world-class opera tenor.  Then there's a discreet group of Philipinos, some Nigerians and Camerounians, Eastern Europeans, Belgians, Americans and, and, and.  There are wee babies and folk in their 90s.  Some have no jobs; others 'run the world' from front offices.  Everyone is treated the same.  As Andrew so rightly says, once they cross the threshhold of St. Andrew's, they are all treated alike.  We are in God's presence.

And there is an elder board of 23 men and women.  It's called the Kirk Session.  There is no board of deacons so the elders do both jobs - the administrative and the pastoral.  Not too sure about this.....in my humble opinion, separating the two makes for better pastoral oversight.  Andrew seems to be doing the bulk of the pastoral work and the others, the administrative.....  I know almost all of them now and consider it a privilege and a responsibility to pray for each one by name every day.

Lots of committees just as in any church, youth group, Sunday School, college and career group, and so on.

So here is where my heavenly Father sent me to work and play for a year.  I'm lovin' it! :)  My daily prayer is that I will be a blessing to Andrew and to the congregation.