200 Days of Celebration
When our 200th Anniversary committee pondered how to celebrate the church’s two centuries of ministry, they decided to recommend that we set aside a 200 day period during the summer of 2016 and celebrate with a series of events rather than just one. So we began on April 10 in morning service with our first historical series called “Foundations for 200 Years and Counting.” We also scheduled about one special event per month not on Sunday morning. Now in October, we have arrived at the end of our celebration days and October 16 was the “official Sunday.” Our closing Sunday series is “Building a Bridge for the Next Generation.”
Dignitaries in attendance
District Superintendent, Rev. Ken Kieffer, was on hand to greet the congregation and encourage them, saying, “If the energy and excitement of this celebration carries forward, the heyday of this church will certainly be the years just ahead.” Tami Zawistowski, representative from the 61st district was scheduled to be with us but could not due to the death of a relative. She was ably represented by former 61st district representative Ruth Fahrbach who presented the congregation with a framed citation from the legislature honoring their 200 years of service to their community. We were honored to have Rev. Kieffer and former Representative Ruth Fahrbach celebrating with us.
Unique service components
The 200th was also celebrated in other ways on this significant Sunday. The first Scripture lesson was read by council chair Judy Holcomb from an 1839 Bible, especially significant since our sanctuary was built in 1839. Lisa Griffin shared the story of her personal faith and told why the church was important to her. Lay Leader, Robert Loomis, shared a little history moment to help us be a little more tuned in to our church’s history and how it ties in to Methodist history. And Jonathan Griffin sang “Keep the Flame Burning” a stirring song written by JoAnne Jones that encourages the church to maintain its witness and references the inner Pentecost flame of God’s Spirit that needs to always burn brightly in our hearts. All these service participants are shown in the pictures in black and white. Since the early part of our church’s history was during the Victorian era, people were invited to dress Victorian for this celebration if they chose. Some did including Pastor Kelvin Jones and his wife, JoAnne. Pictures of some of those folks are included too.
Fellowship time followed
Afterward everyone enjoyed dinner together in the fellowship hall where many historical items and pictures were on display. Photos for this article were contributed by Bob Stewart, Lisa Griffin, JoAnne Jones and Nancy Collins. Thank you all for sending such great photos.
