‘The best job in Churchland’

After 27 years with the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC), including two terms as General Secretary from 2018-2026, Peter Noteboom will step into semi-retirement at the end of June. Ecumenism – working for the visible unity of the church across denominational lines – has been his calling and life-work.

“This job of General Secretary is the best job in Churchland,” Noteboom said in an interview with Christian Courier, “because it brings together for me things that I love: my connections and networks over the decades, and my three passions – faith, justice and learning.”

Even at the end of his career, Noteboom says he still wears rose-coloured glasses. The age of polarization has not torn the CCC apart – in fact, there has been much progress toward a deeper Canadian Christian unity.

The CCC was founded in September 1944 as a way for Christians in Canada to come together post-war and serve as a prophetic and pastoral presence in the nation. “It all started by bringing Protestant and Eastern/Oriental Orthodox churches together, then the Eastern/Roman Catholic church and evangelical churches which, like the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), became a full member in the mid 90s,” Noteboom said. “The next major Christian tradition to belong may be the Holiness and Pentecostal tradition.”

Speaking of the present in comparison to the first decades of the Council, Noteboom said, “the difference is the polarization isn’t between churches, it’s within every church.”

Recent conflicts in the CRC led to his own congregation, First Toronto, disaffiliating from the denomination and so Noteboom’s credentials are now held by another Toronto congregation, Willowdale CRC.

“It’s not lost on me, this deep contradiction between a life devoted to Christian unity and [my church’s] decision to disaffiliate,” he said. “But it’s a part of the deep spiritual reservoir someone in my position needs to cultivate: holding these two experiences at once.”

CRC roots

Noteboom is the first member of the CRC to fill this national leadership role since CCC began. In fact, key CRC figures in his youth encouraged his CCC involvement. Noteboom says he was inspired by leaders like Arie Van Eek, Ray Elgersma and Adrian Helleman, who were pioneers of ecumenism in their Dutch immigrant communities.

Crossing denominational lines was also a part of Noteboom’s own spiritual formation. After an undergraduate degree at Dordt University, he went on to do a master’s at the Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium, with subsequent graduate work in political theory at the Institute for Christian Studies and interfaith dialogue at St. Michael’s College.

“My Reformed inheritance gave me a robust intellectual apparatus to bring to the ecumenical conversation,” he said. “Theoretical tools, a commitment to pluralism and the notion that there is not one square centimetre that Christ does not claim as his own.”

Spiritual reservoir

Yet true ecumenism calls for more than intellectual framing. “The role requires a certain kind of spiritual reservoir,” Noteboom explained. “The ability to hold difference, to hold some kinds of conflict, and an incredibly long sense of patience that acknowledges change can sometimes take decades – or centuries.”

When asked how he nurtures this reservoir, he spoke about silence, waiting, relying on the prayers of others, and the writings of Trappist monk Thomas Merton. He practices “relativization,” which means: “seeing things in a bigger, broader context and then holding that bigger, broader context.”

While an activist in many ways, Noteboom learned early on that the key to the General Secretary position was being a facilitator who “sets a pastoral tone.” So he got ordained as a lay minister in the CRC and joined the ranks of the clergy.

In his work with CCC, Noteboom has led inter-denominational meetings on such matters as peace and disarmament, poverty and anti-racism, AI and gene editing, interfaith relations and prayerful action for Christian unity. He has also led programs in collaboration with the World Council of Churches, military and prison chaplaincy, and interfaith relations with respect to the Government of Canada. He has facilitated or been in meetings with the Canadian prime minister on multiple occasions.

“He is not only the best-connected Christian leader in Canada,” said Das Sydney, President of the Council during Noteboom’s tenure, “he is a keen listener who can challenge the powerful and effectively advocate for the powerless.”

A decade of change

As for his accomplishments, Noteboom names three things: bringing younger generations onto the CCC staff and board; building the capacity of the CCC and consolidating different Canadian ecumenical programs and organizations; and finally, coming up this summer, the very first joint project between the CCC and the U.S. National Council of Churches, entitled “Where now for visible justice?” taking place in Detroit and Toronto.

The staff and budget have also doubled in Noteboom’s time. While denominational memberships have remained stable, he has quadrupled the number of church affiliates and observers (organizations and churches that are not quite ready to become full members).

Noteboom also helped the CCC adapt to the era of video-conferencing which has been “a blessing and a gift” and enabled so much more diverse participation. “We used to be a Toronto-centric in-person organization, and now we’re a virtual organization that is right across Canada.” Some of the CCC’s group still insist on in-person deliberations, but others find the convenience of cross-country meetings without leaving home to be the new normal.

A healthier and more empowered staff means increased capacity for ecumenical cooperation in Canada. In fact, he reports that “few other national councils are doing as well as the CCC.” For all this, Noteboom has received three awards: two from ecumenical bodies and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

“It is nice to get recognition,” said Noteboom. “It is also a recognition of the work the Council does, and its contribution to Canadian society.” He says the diplomatic, multicultural Canadian identity is, in part, a legacy of the CCC.

These days, however, being ecumenical is not enough to get attention in Ottawa: it is more likely that inter-faith coalitions will be noticed by the government. The age of mainline PLURA power has passed (Presbyterian, Lutheran, United Church, Roman Catholic and Anglican) and the CCC looks not only to evangelical churches and newcomer (immigrant) churches, but to Christian organizations and, in strategic moments, other religious groups to cultivate justice, peace and unity in our country.

A big heart

One part of his journey has been hard though, and perhaps in part a result of his work ethic and delight in every blessed ecumenical opportunity that might arise: his heart couldn’t keep up, and so he needed valve replacement surgery during covid.

The size of Noteboom’s heart, however, was never a problem. “Peter is a mentor and friend who brought a big heart and a ‘can do’ attitude to his work at the CCC,” said Jim Champ, Salvation Army representative to various CCC programs. “As a result, the Council and the broader ecumenical movement in Canada are stronger today.”

What comes next? Noteboom may continue in some other roles with CCC, the World Council of Churches and other like-minded organizations. He has already been appointed to the Board of Directors of Nature Canada.

In Noteboom’s words, “My three passions – faith, justice and learning – are not going away.”