Major Dave Pearo was at a loss for words that first Sunday after Advent in 2008. There was a darkness over the congregation. Illnesses had affected four families in the close-knit fellowship of The Salvation Army's Richmond Hill Community Church, just north of Toronto. Four church members were in different area hospitals and despite all the prayer and support, the outlook for all four was dim. The church service had just commenced and the worship team was singing. Major Pearo had faithfully prepared his sermon but sensed that something needed to be said—and what he had prepared wasn't it.

Young and Thriving
Barely six years old, Richmond Hill was a thriving young congregation. “My wife, Beth, and I are in our late 40s, and we're probably the grandparents of the congregation,” chuckles Major Pearo.

Richmond Hill was everything a church should be. There was a vibrant and growing youth ministry as well as a sports program. The corps was involved in seven schools in the area through lunchtime and after-school programs, and they participated in a restorative justice program with a local high school.

“We want to be a community church, not a commuter one,” states Major Pearo.

Why, God?
But over a period of months, a series of unexpected and unexplained maladies struck the corps. First, the church secretary, Silvana Curtis, was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour. Surgery was prescribed.

“We have a great prayer ministry here at the church,” states Major Pearo. Silvana was immediately placed on the corps prayer list and the Pearos conducted evening prayer services for her right up to the eve of the operation.

The surgery, though, did not go as planned. The tumour was removed, but unexpected bleeding in the brain resulted in a stroke. The church hoped for the best when she was released to a rehabilitation unit, but an infection sent her right back to the hospital.

As the summer turned to autumn and the corps watched Silvana's ordeal unfold, doubts crept in. “We believe God will answer prayer,” explains Major Pearo, “but as pastors, both my wife and I had run out of answers. We just didn't know what to say to the congregation when they asked us, Why isn't she getting better? This isn't supposed to be happening.”

Child Calamities
Worse was to come. Steve and Valerie Pavey's young daughter, Kayla, was diagnosed with lymphoma, a severe form of cancer. Doctors held out little hope.

Following hard on the heels of that distressing report came the news that two newborn members of the congregation were severely ill.

Cameron and Nicola Fraser's baby girl, Holly, was born six weeks premature and there were concerns about her lung development. Then, Greg and Heather Beros' newborn son, Jesse, was diagnosed with a heart defect just as the proud parents prepared to leave the hospital. Open-heart surgery was needed.

Looking for Hope
The congregation reacted to these concerns with a renewed dedication to prayer. The newborns, Kayla and Silvana were spread between Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, North York General Hospital and St. Michael's Hospital, so prayer meetings were arranged, meals delivered and pastoral care was put in place. But despite the best efforts of the corps, all they had to cling to was hope.

“How do you lead a church when you tell them that God is in control, God is sovereign and God answers prayer, yet things go from bad to worse?” asks Major Pearo. He and his wife were at a loss as to how to pastor their flock.

It was also affecting their own faith. “I've always struggled with a sense of what we should pray for,” he states. “We're to pray for the will of God. But what if the will of God is something other than what we're praying for?” Emotionally and spiritually, the congregation hoped that things were going to get better, yet it seemed that they were getting worse.

Lifted Spirits
So events stood that Sunday after Advent.

“At that moment,” Major Pearo relates, “I felt God saying, 'Let the congregation speak. They need their say.' ” And that is what he did.

“I don't know where this is going to go,” he said as he stood up and addressed the church. “I have no idea what God has in store for us here this morning. All I know is, you need to speak. God wants you to speak. You're going to preach the sermon this morning, whatever form it might take. It might be a prayer, it might be words of concern or just a Scripture verse. I don't know. But I'm opening this up to you.”

And people began to get up from their seats and speak. There were prayers and words of affirmation. The families of those hospitalized started to thank the congregation for their support.

As Major Pearo listened, he felt his spirit lift. He sensed God saying to him, “You're now in a time of healing, a season of healing.”

Words of Faith
Even as he sensed God say that, he had his doubts. “How could I say that to a congregation that had gone through so much?”

But one by one, events started to unfold for the better.

The doctors finally released baby Holly from the incubator as she was able to breathe on her own.
Jessie's open-heart surgery was successful.

Kayla had to undergo surgery to remove her lymph nodes but a follow-up examination pronounced her cancer-free.

Last but not least, the congregation saw Silvana walk into the church with her husband and extended family at the Christmas Eve service. Her recovery had finally begun, too.

Journeying Together
As Major Pearo reflects back on the last year, he thinks of the ways the will of God unfolds. “We want him to perform miracles,” he says. “We want to see him step in and transform our circumstances from bad to good immediately. But God doesn't always work that way.”

There are times when God works in partnership with our medical system. God has given us the capacity to develop medical techniques to bring healing and restoration. “Was Jessie's open-heart surgery and Kayla's cancer surgery God's sovereignty at work within their lives? I choose to believe it was,” he says. “And I've come to realize that this is just as miraculous as God stepping in and snapping his fingers, so to speak.”

What about Major Pearo's faith? “Through all this, I've learned to be a little less fearful and a little bit more trusting.”

And how did all this affect the congregation? “A community of faith stepped forward to be pastoral-care givers,” he says. “They set aside their time and energy for the sake of others. They gathered in prayer, realizing that this was beyond just one person, but that as a community they could rely on the Lord. And that's one of the beautiful aspects of the church, the wonderful expression of faith within a community when they come alongside each other and walk that journey, not as individuals, but together.”

Photos: 1 Heather and Greg Beros with daughter, Hannah, and baby Jesse; 2 Cameron and Nicola Fraser with daughter, Hannah, and baby Holly; 3 Tony and Silvana Curtis; 4 Mjrs Beth and Dave Pearo; 5 Valerie and Steve Pavey with Misha, Kayla and Luke