ONE MORE STEP ALONG THE ROAD

This upcoming week marks a special anniversary in the life of Zion-Memorial United Church. Sixty years ago, Zion United Church and Memorial Park United Church took a bold step together and became one congregation.

It is easy, from sixty years away, to make that sound simple. We can write the sentence quickly: two congregations joined together. But for those who lived through it, it must have been anything but simple. It meant conversations, meetings, prayers, votes, worries, and probably a few sleepless nights. It meant bringing together different histories, different customs, different ways of worshipping, different memories, and different hopes for the future. It meant rethinking spaces. It meant letting go of some things that were dearly loved. It meant trusting that something new could be faithful, even if it did not yet feel familiar.

That kind of change is never only administrative. It is emotional. It is spiritual. It asks people to look honestly at what has been, to grieve what must be released, and to step forward in faith toward what God may yet be doing.

Sixty years later, we are the beneficiaries of their courage.

We gather, worship, serve, laugh, grieve, learn, welcome, and work together in a church that exists because others were willing to take that step. They could not have known exactly what Zion-Memorial would become. They could not have imagined every dinner, every baptism, every funeral, every hymn, every child running through the hall, every outreach project, every newsletter, every livestream, every committee meeting, every friendship, every quiet act of care that would unfold over the next six decades. They simply had to take the next faithful step.

And perHaps that is what makes this anniversary feel especially meaningful right now.

Because once again, Zion-Memorial is in a season of faithful steps.

This week, we celebrate the wonderful news that Rev. Ken and his family have received the visas and permits needed for them to come to Canada, and for Rev. Ken to come to Zion-Memorial as our new minister. That sentence, too, sounds simple when we say it quickly. But it has been anything but simple.

Before this moment, there were many steps. The congregation was surveyed. A position was posted. Applications were reviewed. Interviews and reference checks were completed. Rev. Ken was selected. An offer of employment was prepared. Immigration requirements had to be understood and followed. Rev. Ken and his family gathered paperwork, completed applications, worked with legal support, underwent required testing, responded to requests, and waited through a long and careful process.

And now, by grace, patience, prayer, and persistence, we have reached a milestone worth celebrating.

There are still steps ahead. Travel documents must be finalized. A household in Kenya must be wrapped up. A journey to Canada must be planned. A family must say goodbyes in one place and prepare to say hellos in another. We will have the joy and responsibility of welcoming Rev. Ken, Jen, and Michaela, helping them settle, and beginning ministry together in a new way.

But today, we pause to give thanks for the step that has been reached.

One member of the Search Committee shared that the hymn “One More Step Along the Road I Go” has been part of the prayerful spirit of this journey. What a fitting image. Not a sprint. Not a magic leap from one place to another. One more step. Then one more. Then one more after that.

That is often how faith works.

We speak sometimes of “leaps of faith,” and there are moments when that language feels right. The joining of Zion United and Memorial Park United was surely a leap of faith. Calling a new minister from Kenya, walking through immigration processes, and preparing to welcome a new family into our church and community is surely a leap of faith too.

But most great leaps are actually made up of many small steps.

A form completed. A meeting attended. A prayer offered. A hard conversation had. A vote cast. A box packed. A hand extended. A memory honoured. A fear named. A hope spoken aloud. A door opened.

That is how churches move forward. Not because everyone feels fearless, but because faithful people keep taking the next step together.

The people of Zion United and Memorial Park United could not see sixty years into the future. They could not see us. But they trusted that God was not finished with them. They trusted that something faithful could be born from courage, compromise, imagination, and care.

Now it is our turn.

We stand with gratitude for the steps behind us and hope for the steps ahead. We give thanks for those who built, joined, served, prayed, taught, cooked, sang, repaired, welcomed, chaired meetings, poured coffee, counted offerings, folded bulletins, told stories, and kept this community moving one step at a time.

We give thanks for Rev. Ken and his family, for the Search Committee, for all who have worked quietly and faithfully through this long process, and for the congregation that has waited with patience and hope.

And we trust that God is still walking with us.

One more step along the road we go.