Canada’s Christian heritage has been largely forgotten by the millennial generation; revelations of Ottawa’s Peace Tower

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

On Friday, May 14^th, the Church of God (Aylmer) , pastored by Henry Hildebrand, was locked down, and they were served with a hefty fine. This was following a Court order to close the Church of God earlier in the day. Armed agents of the government wearing bullet proof vests descended upon the peaceful congregation gathered at the Church, significant portions of whom were women and children.

In a show of support, the team at the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper made the trip to Aylmer on Sunday, May 16^th, where Pastor Hildebrandt hosted his first outdoor service at 10:30am on the lawn of his Church.

It was remarkable to see people of all races, cultures, and creeds show up in Aylmer to support the church and its members. After a sensational, Sunday morning praise and worship, the hundreds gathered sat down to enjoy a powerful message delivered by Pastor Henry Hildebrandt himself.

The intriguing thing about listening to Pastor Hildebrandt preach, is that you are not there listening to someone yell fire and brimstone on the congregation. Instead, he shares information, and teaches his audience, giving them the opportunity to research and come to their own discoveries. This week, he introduced to his attentive audience, the meaning of the Peace Tower, located in Ottawa, Ontario.

At a height of nearly 98 metres, the Peace Tower is the dominant feature on Parliament Hill, and the most widely recognized symbol of Canada after the flag.

In 1927, the Peace Tower clock was given to Canada by the United Kingdom. The gift marked the 60^th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. The Peace Tower carillon was patterned from the 17^th century chiming clocks in Belgium and the Netherlands. Musicians from all over the world come to Ottawa to study this superbly tuned instrument.

*Interesting Fact*

During my research, I learned that the Tower’s master clock cannot be set back. Therefore, at the end of Daylight Saving Time in autumn, a government employee halts the clock for a full hour overnight. In the spring, the hour hand is moved forward one hour, and its chimes are temporarily disconnected to prevent them from ringing during the process.

Along with the symbolic beauty of the tower, is the importance of what is inscribed inside the tower. Canada’s heritage as a nation under God is plainly carved on the walls of our Parliamentary buildings, and many, including myself, had no idea about that. Canada’s Christian heritage has been largely forgotten by the millennial generation. They have no knowledge of our country’s founding history; they presume that things are the way they are. They don’t know that we used to pray in school after the national anthem. That seems like so long ago.

There has always been a strong interwoven presence of Christianity in Canadian history, up until quite recently. In fact, Canada was always regarded as a “Christian nation” strongly tied to the Church of England, and wholly devoted to the teaching of God’s word.

Now, this is not an attack on any other religion. With immigration, and the welcoming of refugees into Canada, the religious borders of Canada have stretched to honour the many different ways that God is worshiped. What must be understood is that what is inscribed on the three walls of the Peace Tower serves to rebuke, as well as encourage all Canadians, that God continues to call his people to covenant faithfulness.

Let’s take a look at the three verses, and break down their importance:

East window (Psalm 72:8)
“He shall have dominion also from sea to sea.”

For those who do not know, this Bible verse is also featured on Canada’s coat of arms. This is the Psalm which first inspired the Fathers of Confederation to name our nation The Dominion of Canada. The two fundamental components of Psalm 72:8 constitute the absolute sovereignty of God over the entire earth, hence the mention of foreign nations; and that this kingdom and dominion shall be the Lord’s.

To be sovereign is to have supreme authority within a territory. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body, or institution that has the ultimate authority over other people in order to establish a law or change an existing law.

This concept of sovereign rule attributed unto God, not man, is at the root of the celebrations of July 1^st, Dominion Day, which was to recognize God’s sovereignty over our nation and all that it entails. It was officially overturned in 1983 in the passing of a private members’ bill that proposed changing the name to “Canada Day” with only twelve Members of Parliament present.

Here marks the first time that the very words that governed our country were overlooked, and disregarded. It was the precursor to what we see happening to Christian pastors across the country during the pandemic. A pastor being jailed, or dragged across a street for wanting to teach his people, and preach the gospel. It is truly a shame.

South window (Psalm 72:1)
“Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.”

Simply put, it is Christ, not man, who is king over all of God’s creation. How does this translate to the locking down of churches all across Canada? It is understandable if The Church of God in Aylmer was a host to cases, and cases of COVID-19, but to date, not one person in the church, or who has attended a service has reported contracting COVID-19.

Meanwhile, just up the street at the Aylmer Police College, there have been several cases reported, and for some reason, they always seem to be available to bring down the law on the members of The Church of God. Peculiar.

West window (Proverbs 29:18)
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

The Fathers of Confederation had a vision for Canada; it was a vision to devote oneself towards the instruction of God’s truth through his divinely-inspired word. It follows that without the law, without godly instruction, without vision, we would be responsible for our own destruction due to the absence of moral restraints.

When looking at our current world, we are witnessing the perishing of not only individuals but also societies. The application of this passage is fundamental to understanding the vision of the founding fathers, a nation under God, abiding by the law of God.

The vaults of Canadian history are filled with fundamental Christian belief, but our secularized society has tirelessly worked to bury that fact, to eliminate all such traces of the past. In order to truly understand what this country was built on, you have to study the spiritual roots of our nation, and how it has poured out into other areas of life and society.

“God keep our land; glorious and free.”