Phil Brown was one of my dear friends, and I mourn his passing. When I heard that he had gone to be with his Lord, the rest of the day was a low moment for me. Today, his family and friends have gathered to remember a wonderful man of God.
I came to know Phil and his lovely, dynamic wife Ruth when they became Representatives for Canadian Baptist Ministries in Western Canada. It was the mid-1990s, and life for them meant traveling back and forth between their home in Calgary and across the Prairie Provinces. Phil became closely linked with Ontario, and then he learned about Bolivia, Brazil, and about twenty other countries where the Gospel was being preached.
Phil and Ruth loved their Lord, and this came out clearly in their pastoral work in Ontario. He loved to preach. Tucked behind every sermon and conversation were a million-dollar smile and a quiet humble sense of humor. I never heard him put anyone down, no matter how challenging the situation, cross-cultural, administrative, financial, or relational. And working between these different cultures, there were many opportunities for him to become either disheartened or throw up his hands in frustration.
Phil and Ruth went to Africa where their next assignment took them to several countries, including Kenya, Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Congo, and others. Of course, the Portuguese connection was ideal, so he was invited to preach, sometimes several times a day.
Phil communicated well in Portuguese, having served with the Evangelical Union of South America: 1968-1973. He brought a marvelous kind of maturity to a conversation. His keen intellect could weave together the scriptures in the first part of a sentence, mention the problem in the next phrase, and make you believe things would work out, by the time he came to the punctuation.
That kind of faith brought an atmosphere of hope and joy to cross-cultural mission work. Once again, he met the challenges head-on. Sometimes, those were relational. Often, the root of frustrations lay in a lack of funds, an inadequately planned development project, or jealousy about who got which job. One of the challenges facing Ruth and Phil was working with church organizations as senior pastors refused to give up their positions, often because of a lack of funds for retirement.
Even these situations brought out that marvelous smile, which was capable of lighting a candle at a hundred yards. Phil returned to Ontario, giving a steady hand at Murry Street Baptist Church, where he was dearly loved.
His loving relationships within the association of churches will be missed. His last assignment, before being called home, was at Lakefield Baptist Church. Most of all, Ruth will miss her husband, and Esther and Karen will miss their father. Thank you, Phil, for being an obedient, humble servant.
Phil will be remembered for his many years of faithful service in ministry including: 1962-1966 Missionary service in Brazil with Evangelical Union of South America; 1968-1973 Student Pastor at Binbrook Baptist Church; 1973-1981 Pastor at Port Colborne Baptist Church; 1981-1987 Pastor at Uxbridge Baptist Church; 1987-1992 Representative for Canadian Baptist Ministries in Western Canada; 1992-1998 Pastor at Murray Street Baptist Church, Peterborough; 1998-2003 Africa Representative for Canadian Baptist Ministries; 2003-2005 Interim Pastor at Edmison Heights Baptist Church, Peterborough; 2005-2013 Part-time Pastor at Lakefield Baptist Church; and 2014-2016 Interim Pastor at Cambridge Street Baptist Church, Lindsay. Loved and missed by his wife of 63 years, Rev. Ruth E. Brown. Loving father of Esther V. Barnai (Lawrence) and Karen Ruth A. Brown and grandfather of Jennifer Shewan (Nathan), Jason and Michael DeLuca and Jacey Brown and great grandfather of Rhyder Alton-Sim. Survived by his brother Gary Brown, sister-in-law Judy Brown and several nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his parents Thomas Brown and Bertha Harden, sisters Mary Michaud (Joe), Bertha Hodowan (Paul), Irene Terryberry (John), Betty Morris (John), brothers Walter Brown and Joseph Brown (Sarah).
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