For the service today - marking 155 years as a congregation, and the anniversary of the Official Opening of our current Church Building at St. John's in Flesherton, we held a weekend of special events mirroring some of the events of November 17th and 18th 1877 when the Rev. Dr. Egerton Ryerson came and presided at the Official Opening of the Building, and led no less then FOUR services over the weekend.
Today, 135 years later The Rev. Doyle Prier, and The Rev. Shawn Ankenmann lead our worship service and presided at a powerful event full of music, laughter and celebration of our faith.
The sermon that follows was in part a visit from an 'old' friend:
Rev. D. Prier:
"135 years ago, the doors were officially opened on our
soaring sanctuary space here at St John’s … built on the hill over looking the
village, it was to be a hub of religious and social activity for the community.
Our forebearers had something grand in mind as they
build the red brick building that we continue to call home.
So sure of their role in the life of the community and
the area, they invited The Reverend Dr. Egerton Ryerson to come and preside at
the first worship services held in this new building …
Egerton Ryerson, a Methodist preacher, the founder of
the education system as we know it in Ontario, Superintendent of that same
system, General Secretary of the Methodist Church in Canada, a writer, a
theologian, an avid hunter and fisher … there was no brighter light in Canadian
Methodism than he …"
(interrupted by "E. Ryerson" - Rev. Shawn in period costume:)
Here, here …you’re
making me sound like some sort of walking saint. I’m just a preacher. The
brother of three fine preachers, and myself fortunate to have been able to
serve God and this fine country in helping create villages where our young
people will be taught the values and morals of our shared faith.
I am nothing more
than a simple servant of God and the Church, helping do the work I have been
blessed to be invited to partake in.
The work that you, my
sisters and brothers carry out day after day as you live and share the very
teachings handed down to us through our common faith.
What is important in
our world – in our scattered villages being carved out of the wild back country
of places like this, is sharing the teachings of the Apostles. Taking the very
words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and applying them to the lives we live here, in
this beautiful frontier town.
I came here 135 years
ago to celebrate the opening of this fine building because it stands as a shining
beacon to the village of Flesherton and to the surrounding countryside. You can
see the spire reaching up to heaven, reminding us all of where your lives come
from, and where they will in time return.
This church stands as
a symbol of the hope that we alone can offer.
I have long said that
when we found a Church through the work of the saddle bag preachers, and come
to a point where we are ready to set the corner stone of a house of worship,
that we should “erect places of worship that are commensurate with the work we
are called in the providence of God to perform!”
This building is a
living symbol of the work we are called to perform.
We are here to share
the blessings of Baptism that celebrate the value of every child. Baptism that
proclaims boldly that every child is loved and cherished by our God.
We are here to guide
those young people, and to inspire and educate them with and through and by our
faith. We are to be the example of caring for one another, loving our
neighbours, welcoming in the strangers, reaching out to those in need here,
down the Sydenham road, and even in the farthest reaches of Canada and the
world … we are to guide our young people by living our faith and inviting them
to share in the journey.
We are hear to share
our songs and prayers, and to worship God by breaking bread and conducting
services that invite others to come and join us. We are afterall, Methodists –
it was John Wesley himself who said:
“The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
However the Gospel may be admired, its great design is never realized but in
the actual conversion and salvation of men. With whatever ability the word of
life may be dispensed no sinner will be truly awakened, no heart will become
broken and contrite, no polluted conscience will be purged from dead works, no
impure mind will be sanctified, no human soul will be effectually renewed and
comforted unless the Holy Spirit descend in the plentitude of his love and
power.”
We are the ones to
create that Kingdom of God – here in this village, in this corner of Grey
Country, … The Kingdom of God. The place where the love and power of God is
poured out for all to come and share.
…
And it starts with
prayer.
Praying in our homes,
and in our workplaces. Praying for our friends, our family, our neighbours and
our communities.
Then gathering
together and sharing our prayers as a community. As a Church.
That’s what this
place is for my friends.
That’s why we toiled
to build these beautiful buildings in the villages and towns all across this
land.
It is to have a place
where we can gather to celebrate the sacraments of Baptism and The Lord’s
Supper, but more importantly, to have a place to PRAY.
In our rousing hymns,
and our inspiring worship we are to join our hearts together to PRAY for our
communities, to pray for our families, to pray for our world and the work we
are called to share, and then go out into our community and live this faith
that reconciles us with the Love of God!
The reason I came
here that fall morning, was not because Mr Flesher, the son of a fine Methodist
preacher, and himself a child of the Methodist Church, had invited me, I came
because I see the importance of places like this – Church communities in the
very heart of towns and villages across this land.
This building is a
beacon of faith that shines a bright and unwavering light on the dark paths we
sometimes find ourselves trodding.
This building, like
the school houses I’ve been part of creating, is the means of forging an
enlightened, educated, inspired and caring community that has neighbour helping
neighbour, and has you and I looking out for and looking after one another.
This building, is a
reminder of that simple commandment our Lord Jesus Christ gave to his apostles,
who in turn gave to us … the commandment to love one another as God has loved
us.
135 years ago, we
opened the doors of the building and proclaimed that Good News to the village
around us … today, let’s go back out there and remind them again that not only
is the message still here – we, the decendents of the Methodist Tradition are
still here – and we are still living that commandment to love one another as
God has loved us !!!
(Rev. Shawn steps out of costume:)
…
The Reverend Dr. Egerton Ryerson – presided at four
worship services on that first weekend of services held here in this place back
in 1877 … in a little of a year, his earthly journey would end at the age of
79.
There can be little doubt that the grand old man of
Canadian Methodism offered a powerful series of reflections looking back on a
long and storied career as a saddle bag preacher, a writer, a newspaper
publisher, a Church leader, the superintendent of Education for Ontario, and so
many other hats he wore in his lifetime … today we are numbered among those who
Ryerson no doubt commissioned to carry on the work he had envisioned and begun –
the work of sharing our faith with the world around us …
135 years after his challenge was issued – may we
continue to live and share our faith … thanks
be to God … Let us pray …
No comments:
Post a Comment