Musical Prelude and Service.

Anniversary Sunday
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 & John 14:1-14
Anniversary Sunday is an opportunity for we as a community of faith to recognize the history of this
congregation; to express our gratitude for all those who came before us and contributed to bringing
us to where we are today. We consider our heritage, the people who contributed so much to this
community, and at the same time consider who we are and where we may be going.
Our various hymn books can perhaps offer a visual of one of the ways we as a community of faith
have changed a little bit over the generations. We have our old Blue Hymn Book – first introduced in
the late 1920s and finalized in the early 1930s.
We saw the addition of the Red Hymnal, created in cooperation with the Anglican Church of Canada
in the 1970s, and a green song book titled Songs of a Gospel People.
Then in the 1990s, we moved to Voices United and then added More Voices and just this past year
added Then Let Us Sing.
These are all additions to the songs we sing; not replacements of what came before.
We look at the important role this church, Grace United plays in our lives; offering a community and
a place that offers space and security to grow into the people God sees us being in God’s world.
On this Sunday we take time to celebrate the fact that Grace United Church has been a part of the
community of Dunnville for more than 170 years. It started as Grace Methodist Church and then took
the name Grace United in 1925 when the United Church of Canada came into being.
But for 175 years, there has been a community of faith gathering, worshipping and living out God’s
love for the world here in Dunnville and doing so under the name of Grace.
In its earliest years, Grace functioned as a community of faith led by circuit riders. In 1850. the
Nanticoke-Dunnville circuit of the Wesleyan Methodist Church was formed. A team of Methodist
preachers travelled throughout the region offering worship in the small communities they entered.
They carried their bible and various tools needed for the job. Prayers, hymns, scripture and sermons,
and then on to the next town.
In his book “Growing In Grace” , Lorne Sorge notes there were earlier itinerant preachers, part of
what he refers to as the saddle bag brigade of the Niagara Circuit. These were preachers who
traveled to various stops in the region, preaching, offering communion, and organizing communities
of faith.
In any case, it was out of the work of Rev. John Hunt and Rev. John Baxter that a congregation in
Dunnville began to grow. It moved from preaching in the camps to using space in a public school to
renting room above Frank Ramsey’s Menswear Store. By 1853, they built their first chapel on the
corner of Alder and Cedar.
Leaders of the Methodist congregation started to build on our current location in 1904 with the laying
of the cornerstone on Dominion Day that year. The new Grace Methodist Church was dedicated in
1905 and it was part of church union in 1925, when the United Church of Canada came into being.
I would argue that since its inception, Grace has taken seriously the charge to be a difference in the
world. To work toward making the community and the world a more just and compassionate place.
Perhaps the focus on justice and compassion toward the world outside the sanctuary has carried
different weight at different times over the decades, but it has always been there. A glance at the
walls and the windows of our church building points to an understanding of Jesus at work in the
world and our call to be in the world, and to do so with love and care. Our recognition of those who
served in our military, caring for those seeking a new life in Canada; making space for Adult Learning
programs, and now space for a child care program, speaks to this congregation’s mission to being a
welcoming and caring presence in Dunnville. Our desire to be a safe space for all people, regardless
of ability, age, gender or sexuality is also notable.
Today’s gospel reading is Jesus attempting to soothe the fears of his followers. It is part of his
address to the disciples during the last supper. Jesus recognizes that his arrest, trial and execution
are imminent. And many of his disciples are protesting and saying they will be with him; perhaps
imagining themselves standing in his defence at that awful moment.
Jesus dissuades them; arguing they can’t go where he is going. That they must remain and carry on
with the mission of spreading his message of God’s unconditional and never-ending love.
In my father’s house there are many rooms. Quite often this is interpreted as there is room for a
great many people with God in life after death. That’s an interpretation that makes a great deal of
sense. Jesus is going to prepare the way for his followers, who all will eventually die.
But, as I have reflected on this; as I consider the idea of God’s kingdom come, on earth as in heaven,
I also wonder if it also applies to there is room for a great many people working with Jesus here and
now to bring about that world of God’s love and peace and justice on earth.
Jesus makes clear his followers – after all this time, should recognize God in the person of Jesus.
That God is in Jesus and that should be evident. And furthermore, while in this passage, Jesus makes
no comment on loving one another; that direction; to love one another, is also a part of his
conversation over this meal amongst friends. This meal starts with Jesus washing the feet of his
disciples as a sign of his love and devotion.
There are many rooms in my father’s house. There are many ways to express our faith; many ways
to be a part of serving God and serving our community. We are all connected through Jesus, but we
all have our own way of serving and being ambassadors of God’s love for the world.
How Grace has worshipped and served has shifted or transformed over the decades. The face of
leadership in this congregation has changed over the years. The way we pray and sing – what we
sing, has certainly shifted over the decades. But what we sing about has not changed all that much.
We hold on to some of our old favourites; maybe the lyrics have changed a little bit, but the songs
are still there. We have added new ones from newer hymn books; adding new favourites, but we
continue to sing about God’s presence; God’s love; God’s grace. We sing about our desire for God’s
peace and the joy that we experience from the knowledge of God’s work in and around and working
through us.
We continue to pray for God’s healing and that God offers us strength and understanding in the face
of pain and loss. We continue to pray for peace and a vision of a new world grounded in God’s love
and justice.
And we continue to offer prayers of gratitude for all that God has offered us and continues to do for
us; in the years gone by and in the here and now.
Grace has experienced highs and lows. We can and often do look back to a time when this church
was overflowing with families. That is clearly no longer the case, but we remain.
We continue to make a difference in our community. We are a vital and active community of faith.
We love one another and we love the community of Dunnville. We strive to be the face of God’s love
to the world. We strive to live out Jesus’s words: “whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
And also, we strive to live out what Jesus also says, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in
me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these,”
So, as we take time to give thanks for all God has done and continues to do for Grace and through
Grace, let us take time also to give thanks for the presence of this church, this community, and those
who have given so much of their time, their energy, and their resources to make this church what it
is and remains. Thank you, Amen
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789