In a little red church, in a grassy orchard, on a sea slope, on a small island in the Salish Sea, lays Shelagh MacKinnon鈥檚 dominion.听
The United Church minister has spent the past 20 years nurturing her healthy-sized 鈥� for an island of 3,600 鈥� congregation. (The church can hold 80; sometimes it鈥檚 full, sometimes it鈥檚 not.)
But on Sunday, for the last time as their minister,听MacKinnon stood in the glow of the Celtic stain glass windows and told the loyal crowd, 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing you can do to make God love you less, there is nothing you can do to make God love you more.鈥�
And then she left.听
MacKinnon is heading to Victoria to sermonize a new congregation and rejoin her wife, Cheryl Black, who is a church minister in the provincial capital.听
Her departure is a loss that reverberates into the quiet corners of a community that relies on volunteer work. Beyond Sunday services and the regular ministerial duties, MacKinnon鈥檚 served on dozens of committees, organized dozens of events, and become a spiritual advisor to many outside her congregation.听
When she started in September 1998, initially as a part-time employee but later becoming the church鈥檚 first full-time minister, Shelagh understood that the job would entail more than preaching. 听
鈥淭hey wanted my time to be spent immersed in the community,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd I have loved doing that job.鈥�
But there is a certain acquired taste to being a small town minister.听
鈥淲hen I鈥檓 on this island, I鈥檓 at work,鈥� says MacKinnon. 鈥淚 would think that would be something that every rural minister understands.
鈥淚 do not feel that I would be free, if it would ever be of interest to me, which it isn鈥檛, to go and have too much to drink at the bar and say, 鈥業t鈥檚 my night off. See you Tuesday.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want that, because often times I鈥檒l be somewhere and someone will say, 鈥榊ou know my mum鈥檚 just going into care.鈥� 听
鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 resent it in the least,鈥� she says. After all, Shelagh knew what she was getting into when she took the posting.听
It was a winding road that led her to Bowen Island.听
Born in Vernon, B.C. but raised in Ottawa, joining the church wasn鈥檛 always MacKinnon鈥檚 plan. She did an undergraduate degree at Trent University in Peterborough and then her path shifted.听
鈥淚t was little bit of a fragile time in my life,鈥� says Shelagh. 鈥淚鈥檇 been a victim of a very serious crime and had never planned to be a minister.听
鈥淏ut when I discovered this awesome love of God was bigger and stronger than the worst humanity had thrown at me, I thought, well, I guess my life has just changed for the better and went off to college.鈥澨�
Graduating from Queen鈥檚 University with a master of divinity, she was ordained in 1980 and headed off to Saskatchewan.听
Landing in a town of 1,500 people, about an hour and a half away from Saskatoon, MacKinnon didn鈥檛 take to Lanigan immediately.听
鈥淲hen I first got there I thought I鈥檇 been sent to die,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hen after a few years in I just got to see their struggles.听
鈥淚 learned the power of community because those prairie towns had come through a combination of the Depression plus the Dust Bowl and that had really eviscerated the financial life, but not the community.听
鈥淚n fact, that鈥檚 where they learned how to be community.鈥�
鈥淚 learned about how community dealt with loss and all those things that are still the cornerstone of life in a small church, which is in many ways what we鈥檙e doing here.鈥�
鈥淟ike here we have an open pantry food bank. You just go and help yourself. And you know what else happens there? People who will put stuff up,鈥� she says.听
鈥淚 used to sit in Collins Hall for an afternoon and people stop by and they鈥檇 come in with three bags of groceries, just to fill the shelves. They don鈥檛 leave their name. They don鈥檛 get a receipt. They just do it.听
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it feels like a continuity from Lanigan. Small communities know that unless we all do it, it won鈥檛 happen.鈥澨�
After six years in Lanigan, MacKinnon moved to St. Thomas Wesley in Saskatoon.
鈥淚t was in what鈥檚 called the inner city and was night and day difference,鈥� says MacKinnon. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I started doing my training in drug and alcohol addictions.鈥澨�
It was while on the prairies that MacKinnon met her now wife.
鈥淲e were not a love-at-first-sight couple,鈥� laughs MacKinnon, who鈥檚 been married to Cheryl nearly since the law changed to allow gay marriage, 鈥淪he looked at me and thought I was a wing nut.
鈥淚 think she still thinks I鈥檓 a wing nut.鈥�
Also while on the prairies, MacKinnon sponsored two girls from El Salvador, Ana Luz and Marina. They鈥檝e both since grown up and had children of their own and live in the Lower Mainland. She smiles fondly, describing her taller-than-her grandson.听
鈥淚 love them to bits,鈥� she says.听
In 1993, MacKinnon moved to St. Andrew鈥檚-Wesley in downtown Vancouver, which proved to have its own set of challenges.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to believe now, but in 鈥�93, AIDS was still an epidemic emerging crisis in that part of Vancouver,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was on the edge of the gay village at Nelson and Burrard.鈥澨�
But then, Bowen called.听
Helen Wallwork was on the hiring committee back in the 90s.听 鈥淚t was love at first sight,鈥� describes Helen. The seasoned, community-minded MacKinnon was exactly what the committee had been searching for and they were hooked.听
Under MacKinnon鈥檚 watch, the United Church on Bowen, known as the Little Red Church, blossomed. The congregation grew such that they had to expand the church building, knocking down a back wall. Dogs in the pews, peals of laughter and themed services became the norm on Miller Road.听
鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of buried in banners,鈥� chuckles Lynn Ellis-Williams, the church鈥檚 part-time minister of music. Most recently MacKinnon held a Christmas in July service, though that was because she鈥檇 be missing Bowen鈥檚 December version this year.听
Beyond the church, MacKinnon鈥檚 been a spiritual advisor for the island鈥檚 Orchard Recovery Center since 2002.听
Craig Trunkfield was a client at the Orchard six years ago. The lumber broker was struggling with alcohol addiction when he met MacKinnon.听
鈥淪he was instrumental in my recovery,鈥� says Craig.听
鈥淚 was really resistant,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 had no religious background.
鈥淪he had to teach me that there was a difference between spirituality and religion.听
听鈥淪he鈥檚 incredibly intuitive,鈥� he says.听 鈥淚 guess it鈥檚 compassion when you come down to it.鈥�
After completing the Orchard鈥檚 program, Craig stayed in touch with her, attending the odd service at the Little Red Church and, when his mom died a few years ago, she went over to the mainland to conduct the service.听
鈥淪he knows my whole family,鈥� he says.听
In a funny twist, the island became home for much of MacKinnon鈥檚 family. After becoming minister here, both of her elderly parents moved to the island, living across the street from her. Both have since passed. Shelagh鈥檚 sister Carol also lives on island.听
After this week鈥檚 service, Bowen鈥檚 United Church will go without a permanent minister for a while, says Wallwork, who is still on the church board and hiring committee. She says that the island needs some transition time.听
鈥淪he鈥檚 leaving big shoes to fill,鈥� says Helen.听
As for MacKinnon, she鈥檒l be back to visit. But in the meantime, she鈥檇 like to say, 鈥淭hank you, thank you, thank you to Bowen Island.鈥澨�
听
This story has been edited from its original in the Bowen Island Undercurrent. The original story was published before Shelagh MacKinnon's last service at the Little Red Church on July 29, 2018.
