McCardell, Fred and Aven Chapin and now Derrick and Eden Lumsden.
We also shared fond memories of the ministers who served us in our
“wilderness years” and when we just needed a minister to fill the pulpit: the
Revs. Kenneth Stroh, Brian Keith, Willard Heinrichs, George McCurdy,
Bob Cole, Martie Johnson, Ray Silverman, Prescott Rogers, Chuck Blair,
Calvin Odhner, Alan Cowley, Jean Atta, Amos Glenn, Chris Bown and
Pearse Frazier, to name a few.
It was noted that our church society’s greatest strength is in its commitment
to provide a spiritual home for adults and children alike, with the Word at
its center. We are also intricately involved in the community around us. Our
members have businesses in the community, serve professionally and share
memberships in many clubs and organizations, such as the Masons, Eastern
Star, Kiwanis, Shriners, the College Club, the Tarentum Book Club, 4-H, Boy
Scouts and Girl Scouts and the Volunteer Fire Department. They even run for
public office.
Our pastor has to be careful when scheduling meetings and events not
to conflict with some of these community commitments that our members
hold dear. Actually, our pastor is also active in a local Boy Scout troop, and
serves on the Ecumenical Ministerium, a group of ministers from the various
local churches, in two neighboring communities, Freeport and Saxonburg. All
our pastors have enjoyed the fellowship of the ministers in our local churches,
dating back to Ragnar Boyesen.
One of the stated goals of The Sower’s Chapel is to serve our community
in such a way that, if we were gone, we would be missed. Our Community
Memorial Day Service on Sunday morning of Memorial Day Weekend is
celebrating its 10 th year. Each year we select a veteran from the community to
honor for his or her service in the U.S. military forces. This year we will honor
an Army nurse, 1 st Lt. Louise Elliott, who served courageously at the Battle of
the Bulge in Bastone, France, during World War II. An Honor Guard from a
local ROTC Unit will perform the flag ceremony, with twin bugles playing the
slow salute, as the flag is presented to Louise Elliott’s surviving husband, Jim
Elliott.
Over Labor Day weekend, we sponsor a Golf Scramble at Birdsfoot Golf
Club to raise money for local charities, the Freeport Meals on Wheels and the
Cabot Food Bank, and we also share one-third of the proceeds with the New
Church in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. We have a Vacation Bible School in the
summer and in the fall we sponsor a Johnny Appleseed Fun Run for school-
age children at the church.
The Rt. Rev. Brian Keith and his wife, Gretchen, attended our 30 th
anniversary celebration, adding official significance to the occasion. They
joined our friends from the Pittsburgh New Church, visitors from away and
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