Pilgrims in Lotus Land: Conservative Protestantism in British Columbia, 1917-1981

A.J. Pell is the rector of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Diocese of New
Westminster in British Columbia.

This extensive study, which grew out of a doctoral dissertation, makes a
valuable contribution to our understanding of the development of
Protestantism in British Columbia.

Following his opening chapter on the pre–1917 period, the author
details more than eight chapters of developments in British Columbia’s
conservative Protestant churches and organizations between 1917 and
1981. His clear and well-written text is supported by 52 pages of notes,
a 21-page bibliography, and tables of statistics.

Two religious groups in particular are emphasized: the Baptists, who
began a process of subdividing over liberal–conservative issues in the
aftermath of F.T. Oliver’s 1917 evangelistic campaigns in Vancouver
and Victoria; and the Mennonite Brethren church, which—in contrast to
the Anglican and Presbyterian churches—managed to transcend its
ethnocentric origins and thereby open itself up to dramatic growth.

The expanding churches Burkinshaw describes are marked by strongly
conservative beliefs and a tendency to give significant autonomy to
local congregations.