Fire and Grace: Stories of History and Vision

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

On June 10, 2000, the United Church of Canada celebrated its 75th
anniversary. In 1925, more than 10,000 delegates representing a variety
of denominations (mainly Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist)
came together in a hockey arena in Toronto to create the single largest
Protestant denomination in Canada. This diversity of tradition has been
both a blessing and a challenge to those who have made the United Church
their spiritual home. Fire and Grace is a celebration of the United
Church’s past, a sober look at its present, and a few wary guesses
about what the church’s future might hold.

The book comprises a series of essays arranged in chapters by subject
matter. The chapters include “This Church of Ours” (a definition of
where the United Church came from), “The View from Outside”
(tributes from high-profile spiritual leaders from other faiths and
denominations), “The Essential Beliefs” (the United Church’s basic
cornerstones of faith), “When We Gather” (the context of worship),
“Stewardship” (where the money goes), “A Passion for Justice”
(how the United Church expresses its faith), “The Struggle for
Equality” (the role of women, lay and clergy, in the church),
“Unfinished Injustice” (the church’s attempts to face its role in
the Native schools debacle), “On Page and Screen” (internal
publishing and the mass media), and “The Ministry” (who leads the
United Church). Like most religious organizations in Canada, the United
Church is worried about its lack of connection to young people. Two
chapters, “Young People” (where are all the youth?) and “Passing
It On” (who will teach the children?), both raise strong concerns in
this area.

Contributors include former United Church leaders, lay people,
theologians, church historians, First Nations spokespeople, media
personalities, and even a few views from the outside by a rabbi, a
Catholic priest, and an Episcopalian bishop. Regardless of the source,
the quality of the writing and editing is first-rate. Those interested
in a contemporary overview of the United Church will find a particularly
informative one in this fine work.