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Dear Glen Morris United Church, 

Happy Birthday! Our anniversary weekend has arrived and I am so excited for all the celebrations that have been planned. This week, as I prepared for worship, I wanted to put myself in the shoes of someone from 1849 - the year our church was established. 

So, what was happening in 1849? 

  • Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to earn a degree in medicine, graduating from New York’s Geneva College of Medicine. 
  • The discovery of gold in California leads to a rush of people moving to the area in hopes of mining treasure of their own. 
  • Walter Hunt patents the safety pin. 
  • Harriet Tubman escapes slavery and establishes the Underground Railroad to help liberate other enslaved people in the United States. The widespread practice of enslavement would not be abolished until the end of the Civil War in 1865. 
  • After an Austrian monarch repeals the newly signed law implementing democratic parliamentary elections in Hungary, conflict erupts and the Hungarian revolution persists throughout the year. Similar reforms and conflicts around structures of government (especially shifts away from monarchy) occur throughout Europe during this time. 
  • Ireland is in the midst of the Great Famine where over the course of 5 years, one million die of starvation and an estimated two million people leave the country. During the famine, the British government will continue to export food from Ireland and many poor farmers die after being evicted from their lands by landlords. 
  • People living in Glen Morris, Ontario establish there own church after beginning to meet in the local schoolhouse for worship. 

While there certainly is a desire to romanticise this idea of a small country church existing during a simpler time in a less chaotic world these few facts help paint a picture of a church who throughout its history has always had to wrestle with questions of deep faith, bold discipleship, and daring justice. I feel less alone knowing our ancestors also had to ask themselves challenging questions about what it means to be a Christian and how that gets lived out in our daily lives and our church. The world has changed so much in 175 and yet the consistency in which we have needed God in our lives as an anchor, strength, and inspiration remains the same. 

I hope to see you this weekend, (re)connecting with friends and family, enjoying great music and delicious food. Anniversary Sunday always feels like a homecoming celebration and that makes sense to me - every time we worship it is our chance to welcome one another home into the presence of God’s love. 

May the Peace of Christ be with you, 

 

Yours in Christ, 

Rev Michiko

 

(Photo courtesy family of James Murray)