11The Village Church

Each church in the village had its own individual congregation, but in the main each religious body followed the same routine during the period between the wars: Morning service, afternoon Sunday School and evening service; church suppers, Christmas concerts, funerals and weddings.

My family belonged to the largest church in the community, the Methodist church. Father was one of the stewards and for many years looked after the weekly offering envelopes. We had a family pew, near the back, and each Sunday except for a few weeks in the summer attended both services and Sunday school.

I recall very little about the Methodist Church except for the long prayers of the elders and the squirming through a sermon that meant little to a child under six.

The year I was eight the church became part of the United Church of Canada with what was referred to as union by the older people and friends of the family. The Rev. Parnaby, who had recently come to the parish, thought it necessary to have as many young people and children as possible join the Methodist Church before union and one Sunday morning we all stood at the front of the church and became members. I guess Father and Mother agreed to this move, but to me it was just another routine.

Sunday school was much more interesting. Ed Bond was the superintendent, Mrs. Doc Thompson played the piano, and with the two of them leading in singing the old hymns from the Canadian Hymnal it was only natural that everyone joined in.

This was not a baby-sitting service so adults could attend church, it was a gathering of young and old. Everyone attended and if you had perfect attendance for the year you received a seal for your Robert Raikes Diploma. You passed from class to class until you reached the zenith of the Sunday school by being admitted to the young men's class or the young ladies' class. Co-education, even in things religious, was not tolerated in the period.

The church had three big events in which the whole congregation participated: the church supper, the Christmas concert and the Sunday school picnic.

The church supper was an annual event and required every member of the church and their families to help. During the spring the committee in charge of obtaining the geese would contact a number of farmers' wives who raised geese to arrange for the fowl. These fat, well-finished, dressed birds would be delivered to the church early in the week of the supper and then the work began. The geese had to be cleaned and stuffed ready for the oven, the vegetables prepared, the tables in place, dishes and cutlery washed and made ready for table settings, and shelf space arranged for the pies, cakes, jellies, and all the other goodies that made for a banquet. Over a thousand people would partake of the annual goose dinner. Once the gala affair was over, they would start planning for the next year.

The Christmas concert planning started immediately after the church supper. As many of the congregation as possible participated in the concert. One year the production was "The Family Album". Everyone was dressed in clothes of a much earlier period and appeared on stage to represent a man, a woman, a young person or a child of the late 1800s. Gordon Longfield introduced each character and gave a little discourse about the person they represented. Grandfather's wedding suit came out of the attic. Grandmother's silk dress and parasol of another era adorned one of the young ladies. Uncle Joe's workboots from the days when he drove the stage came out of the closet, and Aunt Sofie's polk bonnet, gingham dress and apron appeared on a lady of the congregation. This concert was such a success they gave a repeat performance in February.

The picnic was the event of the summer, usually held at Springbank Park between haying and wheat harvest. The procession of cars - Model Ts, Overlands, Essex, Chev 490s, McLaughlins and a Hudson Brougham - would leave the church mid-morning for the 15-mile expedition to the picnic grounds, a dusty hour's drive. Everyone brought baskets of food, enough for two meals, and when all the sandwiches, plates of chicken, cold meats, 'salads, cakes and other special picnic fare filled the tables it was a beautiful sight.

Everybody took part in races, ball games and contests to make a full day. After an early supper, it was the journey back home. Some of the older youth would stay for the dance at the open air dance floor across from the park. This was not part of the picnic; Methodists didn't dance.

The village church was the centre of the community. The morals of society were ingrained in the families of the church and regardless of how far afield families spread, the home church, the family pew, the friends, the associations, the meetings always bring back a flood of memories. For many, it was the teachings of the village church that formed the moral values for their life.
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