Last Sunday I led worship for the first time with a congregation who have decided to disband in June of this year. Due to a number of circumstances they needed a minister to fill in from mid-March to mid-June. I was available and as I have some history with the town it seemed, to all of us, to be a good fit. So together we begin the ending.
The church is in Bowmanville. This was ‘our town’ when I grew up on the farm (I was born in Bowmanville hospital). I served the ‘other’ United church congregation in Bowmanville for nine years from 1993 to 2002. This means I have both ancient and more recent history with this town. The town has grown and changed a bit since I last worked here. Being located in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) there has been lots of development. New subdivisions have sprung up like mushrooms on a rotting tree stump. Nonetheless, I saw familiar faces in the congregation last Sunday and I feel a sense of connection to this place given our shared history.
As is the case in many small towns in Canada, the two United Churches in this town are located very close together. Very close – they are two blocks apart. This church, Trinity United, began as a Methodist congregation and the other, St. Paul’s United Church began as a Presbyterian congregation. At the time of union, in 1925, both became United Churches. Like all congregations they each have their own personality and flavour, their own specialties and gifts.
This congregation, Trinity United Church, can trace its roots back to 1835 when it was founded and was part of the early Methodist movement in this part of the province. The first Methodist building was built in Bowmanville in 1839. The present building was built in 1890 with the opening service on December 6th, 1890. I have been able to discover all this, and much more, from two books written about the congregation. There is richness to the history here, as there is in many congregations. The music program has always been exceptional. Dozens upon dozens of weddings have taken place here. Innumerable children and adults have been baptized and confirmed here. So many funerals have been held here.
There is great poignancy in all the meetings and conversations that have brought the congregation to this point of seeing that they can no longer maintain this building and support the programs that make for a thriving church. Covid has not been kind to a community of faith that gained great financial resources from building rentals and catering. This added to dwindling numbers and flagging energy, this congregation like many churches across North America is facing the grim reality of extinction.
Many ministers have come and gone over the years. I am feeling it a grace-filled blessing that I am with this congregation for their last few months. They have planned special services. They are sorting and organizing all the chattels. They are carefully distributing memorial Hymn Books and Bibles. What has struck me in my first week here is the sense of care and the overwhelming gratitude that people feel as they begin the process to close up this place that has felt like home to so many for decades.
Endings are hard.
My Grandma Crawford played piano for years and years for the Sunday School of St Andrew’s Presbyterian, another fine old Bowmanville church. I remember entering through that archway entrance with her when I was about six. I finally Blue Boxed one of her music books “Hymns for Primary Worship.” Time to put away the past, lovely as it was.
What a Blessing for that Congregation to have you share these last months with them. Prayers rising for all of you.
Trinity feels the blessings and prayers and while the ending is hard, God knew what we needed.