Rev Shawn's Preaching notes from the Decoration Day Service at The Old Durham Rd Cemetery:
I grew
up in Stratford Ontario, in the mid 80’s my home congregation centennial United
Church called The Reverend Robert Gibson to be their minister. Not an unusual
nor uncommon event, but Bob was black and calling him to a pulpit in Stratford
became a bit of a new story
People
all over town said things like – there’s never been a black preacher in
Stratford … that’s the first Black minister in town … and so on … but what we
learned was that there was a deep, almost wholly forgotten strata of story in
the Festival City that Bob’s arrival rediscovered and reanimated …
We
learned Bob was FAR from the first black preacher in Stratford. In fact, he was
just the latest of MANY black preachers in pulpits in Stratford … the stories
emerged of vibrant black churches that formed as former slaves made their way
up the underground railway and opted to stop in the sleepy little village of
Stratford … stories emerged of vibrant black churches and service clubs that
grew out of the resident population of porters who served the various train
lines that ran through Stratford over the years … stories of an active, vital
and fairly large black community in Stratford rose to the fore with Bob’s
arrival, and people began talking about the history and heritage of Stratford
that had lain forgotten and neglected for decades …
This
little cemetery is a similar place … here, you can physically connect and even
touch a significant chapter of local history that had lain domant (physically
and literally) for years …
I grew
up hearing stories of the escaped and freed slaves who made their way up the
underground railway, following the drinking gourd as they made their way to
that elusive place of freedom far to the north … I’ve delighted in watching
documentaries about houses and buildings scattered across the US that have
secret tunnels, hidden rooms and other almost forgotten legacies that served
the cause of freedom throughout the years as men, women and children struggled
for freedom … I’ve marvelled at the history the resident black families forged
in places like Owen Sound, Collingwood, Stratford and countless other
communities where they settled and built a life only to have that history
neglected and almost forgotten by the dominant narrative …
My own
family in the Owen Sound area is interconnected to that history, and it has
largely gone unspoken …
But
thanks to places like this – thanks to groups like the committee who
passionately and tirelessly work to preserve these wonderful little corners of
history, the stories are not forgotten, but can be reclaimed and reanimated …
names, stories, experiences and history can be told and retold …
Our
society tends to remember the Henry Ford’s and forgets about the hundreds of
workers who toiled on the lines to make Ford’s name great … it was the guys on
the assembly line putting the nuts and bolts together into the Model-T that
made Henry great, yet we know next to nothing about them … These quiet
forgotten corners scattered across this land of ours are what made this country
great … the men and women and children who lie memorialized in cemeteries like
this are the people who came and with back-breaking labour cleared the forests,
building the communities and created the landscape we take for granted today …
they came in pursuit of freedom and through hard work helped build our nation,
our communities and all that we hold dear. And now, our obligation is to
REMEMBER.
To
remember them
To
remember their stories
To
remember their names
To
remember … my friend and mentor Bob Gibson, is a great preacher, an amazing
minister and a cherished friend – he happens to be black, and in my view of the
world it is the content of one’s character that matters not the colour, creed
or anything else … but Bob’s arrival in Stratford in the early 80’s opened an
important door … the door to the stories of a community that otherwise had been
forgotten. We stand at a similar door here – the stories of the people who came
and settled in this area and built a community and a life for themselves and
their families had ebbed away over time, but thanks to this place, and the
persistence of a dedicated few who continued to remember and who worked to
amplify those stories – we have a place that not only honours those who lie
under our feet, but that honours ALL of those who made their way up the
Underground Railway and by claiming freedom helped build this country.
We
still have a LONG way to go in the enjoyment of a freedom free of bigotry,
racism, and ignorance – but today, we pause to give thanks for this place and all
that it represents, and we give thanks for all the work that has been done to
make this a place to be proud of …
Our
history can teach us much, and places like the Durham rd Cemetery offer the
ability to touch that history and to reanimate it to make our journey forward
much better …
Thanks
be to God … let us pray !!
