JUBILEE YEAR FOR LA PINARDIÈRE --- FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF CONVERSION (1975-2025) – “A SMALL BEGINNING OF ETERNAL LIFE” --- A FEW DECADAL MILESTONES Fourth decade (2005-2014)

 

 JUBILEE YEAR

 FOR LA PINARDIÈRE

FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF CONVERSION (1975-2025)

– “A SMALL BEGINNING OF ETERNAL LIFE”

A FEW DECADAL MILESTONES

Fourth decade (2005-2014)

Completion of my doctorate

 With Saint Paul University, on the other side of the interprovincial bridge, I was able to access numerous documentary resources that enabled me to complete my thesis. I should point out that my initial plan was to analyze Calvin's treatise On the Eternal Predestination of God, written in 1552, in

order to respond to Pighius and others. However, in my research, I discovered that Calvin had already written a very substantial response to Pighius in 1543. So, I adapted my plan to consider both of Calvin's responses to Pighius, the one from 1543 and the one from 1552. Finally, when I reached more than 200 pages just analyzing the first response, my supervisors agreed that I should focus the rest of the thesis on this first response (Response to the Calumnies of Albert Pighius). Then, in 2006, having reached a total of 465 pages (including appendices and
bibliography), Prof. Laurent Côté agreed that we should schedule the thesis defense in the fall. 

This defense, on October 5, 2006, was, after my conversion and my marriage, one of the best days of my life.  I arrived the day before to stay with friends in Quebec City. In the morning, I was determined and ready to move into an office near the conference room in the Félix-Antoine-Savard Tower, in the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. That way, I could review my notes. Towards the end of the morning, I was delighted to see Carole arrive. We had agreed that she would meet me here rather than come a day early. In the early afternoon, we went to the conference room to set up.
I shook hands with the examiners and had a few informal discussions with several friends from the Reformed Baptist Church of the Capital, and others

who have come for the occasion. The examiners had submitted their questions to me in advance to help me prepare. However, the former dean, René-Michel Roberge, who had been my supervisor for my master's degree, during which I had studied the same topic but in other writings by Calvin, asked me the following question: "Mr. Pinard, we can discuss the questions I have asked you another time, but I am going to ask you the following more spontaneous question (I am paraphrasing): What did you learn in addition to what you learned in your master's thesis while working on your doctoral thesis? " I replied that what I had discovered in greater depth was the roots of Calvin's thinking in St. Augustine, particularly with regard to the precedence and primacy of divine grace over human choice (free will – serf arbitre).

After discussing it, the jury members declared that they had accepted my thesis as meeting the university's criteria. It was a celebration, what joy! What satisfaction! We ended the day at Pastor Jacques Pelletier's house with several friends from the church over an excellent festive meal. 

The next day, Friday, October 6, I drove Carole to Saint-Pierre-Baptiste for the Dion family Thanksgiving gathering. We were listening to the song “And You and I” by the band Yes. When the song reached a particularly intense instrumental section, I began to sob uncontrollably. My emotional reservoir was already overflowing. When I reached that particular point, the overflow of emotions, those emotions... that tension that had built up over years of writing, well, it overflowed in hot tears. Thank you, Lord!

I then went to Aylmer to pick up our three sons and return to Saint-Pierre-Baptiste for the weekend. That Friday evening, I already had a ticket for a Claire Pelletier concert at La Basoche. What a wonderful way to crown these festivities with Thanksgiving weekend!

              "From thee comes my praise in the great congregation;
                                                    my vows I will pay before those who fear him."

                                                                                                        (Psalm 22:25)

 FTÉ Courses

With my thesis completed, I was able to resume teaching certain off-campus courses as part of the FTÉ programs in Montreal. In 2007, I taught “Introduction to Theology” at the Église

évangélique baptiste d'Ottawa (EGEBO). In 2011, I taught the course “Systematic Theology III.” However, since 2008, my pastoral duties with ERBO, on the top of my work as a translator, have prevented me from continuing to teach these courses. 

Four Hundred Years: Quebec City 2008

In the summer of 2008, Carole and I had the joy of participating in the festivities marking the 400th anniversary of Quebec City. A space was reserved for the evangelical Protestant presence, highlighting the fact that Protestantism had been present since the early centuries of the colony. Carole and I were in charge of the booth for the Société d'histoire du protestantisme franco-

québécois (SHPFQ). We presented literature and museum items to the general public. I had the opportunity to participate in a series of conferences on the subject with various specialists in the history of Protestantism. I gave a PowerPoint presentation on Calvin and his contribution to theology and society.

Five hundred years: Geneva-Italy 2009 

It's time for another multi-centennial jubilee year: the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin. Since Carole and I had celebrated our 50th birthdays over the past two years, our sons decided to chip in to help us pay for a trip to Geneva for the Calvin jubilee conferences. We stayed in Geneva for three days, which allowed us to attend a morning of conferences and then spend time in the Huguenot village (Parc des Bastions), where we met up with our friend Marc Schöni, who had taken the train to join us from his village of Court in the Swiss Jura. Due to the prohibitive cost of accommodation, we decided to spend most of our stay in northern Italy, where we stayed at the IFED Reformed Baptist Bible Institute in Padua, attached to the Baptist church where Pietro Bolognesi is pastor. We visited Padua, Venice, and Florence. On our wedding anniversary,             July 13, we were invited by friends to spend time at the beach on the
Adriatic Sea.

Five hundred years: Montreal and Ottawa 2009

In addition to Calvin’s 500th anniversary celebrations in Geneva, conferences were held around the world. I helped organize the conferences in Montreal and Ottawa. I had previously met with historian Michael A.G. Haykin, who was visiting Aylmer. We agreed to set up a steering committee. This

organizing committee (Michael A.G. Haykin, Stéphane Gagné, Jason Zuidema, and myself, acting as chair) met once in the fall of 2008 in Ottawa and a final time in Montreal to finalize the details in 

December 2008 at the Rosemont Evangelical Baptist Church. The conference was held at the Farel Institute in Montreal on October 23 and 24, 2009, with eleven speakers, including myself. My topic was “The Freedom of Grace,” a summary of chapter 5 of my thesis. The attendance was quite large.

We also organized a mini-conference at the Centre évangélique francophone d'Ottawa on October 31, 2009. Pastor Pierre Ndoumai and I gave two lectures on the following topics: “Jean Calvin: Réception de la traditionpatristique,
Accueil des immigrants, et mission holistique” (John Calvin: Embracing the Patristic Tradition, Welcoming Immigrants, and Holistic Mission/ (Pierre Ndoumai), and “Jean Calvin — l'homme et son oeuvre (John Calvin —The Man and His Work) (PowerPoint presentation, André Pinard). The discussions were stimulating.

Twenty-five years: 2010

 We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary by borrowing our friends Yves and Tracy's cottage in Saint-Adolphe, in the Laurentians. A week of rejuvenation in a picturesque and peaceful setting. We met up with friends from Toronto Baptist Seminary during that same week. That same summer, the AÉRBQ kindly gave us a generous amount of money for a dinner at the prestigious Sterling in Gatineau.

Thirty years: 2011

On October 2, 2011, we had the joy of celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Carole's conversion (1981-2011). Pastor Raymond Perron was scheduled to preach on Sunday, and several guests from the

region and elsewhere joined in the festivities. It was a beautiful and uplifting day.

O what a wonderful, wonderful day, 

Day I will never forget;

After I’d wandered in darkness away, 

Jesus my Savior I met.

O what a tender, compassionate friend, 

                                                He met the need of my heart;                                                Shadows dispelling, with joy I am telling, 

He made all the darkness depart.

 

Church Planting of ERBO (Église réformée baptiste de l’Outaouais)

We spent six edifying years at the Église chrétienne du Plateau (ECP) (2002–2008). But God had placed a project on Carole's and my hearts to plant a new church in Aylmer. Since leaving Quebec City, I had always kept in touch with the pastors of the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of Quebec (AÉRBQ). I attended the quarterly meetings of pastors and workers. After a few months of reflection and a meeting with the members of the ECP council, we made the
decision to start a church in collaboration with the AÉRBQ.

•         The living room

We held our first worship service on September 21, 2008. For three years, meetings were held in our

living room. Various families joined us temporarily or visited us; some had to move away.

• The basement

 

On October 30, 2011, Reformation Sunday, we began holding our meetings in the basement of the residence, after seeing what was being done in a similar context at Bytown Baptist Church in Ottawa. The basement could accommodate between 20 and 30 people.

 

•  The parish hall

On September 7, 2014, having felt the desire to establish ourselves in the community, we began meeting at the parish hall of Christ Church Aylmer. We had an average of four families attending fairly regularly.

•  Baptisms

One of the great joys of Christian life is seeing the Gospel progress in the lives of our friends. I had the joy of baptizing Gabrielle Ngambo and Benoit Lecomte on September 4, 2016, as well as Sylvie Lecomte (Albert) on August 11, 2019.

• The August “Summer” Festival in Aylmer

A highlight of our church life at ERBO was Summer evangelism during the Aylmer Festival, which has changed names quite often (Le Festival de la Principale, Festival du Vieux Aylmer, Festival Aylmer en

août (En nous)". We began participating in this event as part of the international celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation (1517-2017). Since then, we have set up our booth every year except in 2020 (due to the pandemic). What wonderful encounters and exchanges we have had, sharing Jesus!

"...they did not cease teaching and preaching 

Jesus as the Christ." 

(Acts 5:42)

(to be continued)