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® at this time. Port Perry United. Church PORT PERRY STAR -- Thursday, Nov. 7th, 1968 --- 13 1,000 Attend Dedication Services Of New Christian Education Centre Sunday, October 27, 1968, will go down in local history as a memorable event for the members and adherents of Port Perry United Church. Friends from near and far attended the two services of Divine Worship and it is es- timated that around 1000 « were welcomed by the com- mittee in charge. It is the largest crowd gathered in the Church since the happy celebrations held for the 75th Anniversary and those who. prepared these special o Services were immensely gratified with the response to the invitations sent out. Beautiful arrangements of Chrysanthemums and Boston fern flanked ' the. ..modern chancel of the Church and +many baskets of flowers were dotted .here and there throughout the different. sec- tions of the building. ' These special services were 'held for the Rededication of the Church after renovations, yDedication of the Christian Education Centre and the Re- consecration of the Congre- gation. The morning service took the form of a Dedication "Ceremony. The call to Wor- $ Ship was given by the Clerk of the Session, Mr. Gordon Reesor and the presentation of the keys was made by Mr. S. N. Griffen, building con- tractor assisted by Mr. Wes- ley Lane, Chairman of the ¢ Building Committee and ac- cepted by Mr. Merlin Dow- son, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Miss Anna For- der and Mr. Charles Nelson had the honour of opening the doors to the new wing, The Reverend T. H. Fleetham, B.A., Chair- man of the Oshawa Presby- tery was the officiating min- ister and conducted the De- dication of the new dddition to the Church with the en- ¢ tire Congregation participat- ing. . The Reverend W. C. Smith, "of North Oshawa, a former minister of . this Church re- minisced briefly on his twenty-five years of associa- o tion with the community and presented the Lesson and gave the Pastoral Prayer. The Choir, under the cap- able direction of Mrs. Frank Hastings, magnificently de- monstrated their talents in the beautiful rendition of "The Holy City" and "Great - and Glorious" with the ex- cellent accompaniment of organ music played by Mrs. Donald Forder, the church organist. ¥ The special offering was accepted at the Altar and the Offertory Prayer was given by the Treasurer of the Church, Mr. Ray Penny. The United Church minis- ter, Reverend Alec Rice, ad- dressed the congregation and gave a thought - provoking | sermon, choosing as. his theme "Our Father's Church and Ours", During his re- marks he mentioned the wonderful example, set by the forefathers of our Church and also gave a very inter- esting resume of some of the statistics he found amongst the records of the Church. These revelations brought back nostalgic memories to many .of the members who could vividly remember when ag Mr. Rice stated, you had to be sure and get to Church early to obtain a seat at the evening services. . How times have changed. Makes one wonder if we are progressing with the times or gradually slipping backwards. Inter- mingled in his words of wis- dom, was a challenge to the members and the coming generation--did you get it? This sermon could and should be repeated in the near future to enable us fo delve more fully in to the subject and realize the tra- ditions and religious aspects of the situation at hand. A fitting climax to this service after the Recessional Hymn was the sacred and sincere Benediction of our old friend and retired min- ister Reverend Walter R. Tristram. Immediately following the service the cohgregation was invited to tour the new addi- tion & visit with old friends while enjoying dainty re- freshments served by the ladies of the U.C.W. in the main' body of the Christian Education Centre. ! At this time, Greetings & Congratulations were brought from the Oshawa Presbytery, by its Chairman, Reverend T. H. Fleetham and also from the Prince Albert Church by one of the Elders, Mi Earl Martyn. The attendance ot the special evening service surpassed all expecta. tions when the Church was filled to capacity to worship and hear the guest speaker, Reverend John Howard Grif- fen, better known through- out the comraunity as "Jack", who was born and educated in Port Perry and the first young man from our Church ever to become a minister of the United Church of Canada. The splendid representations of the various Churches throughout the area and the folk who travelled many mil- es to hear "Jack" showed in a small way the esteem in which this young man is held in his home town. The congregation = joined wholeheartedly in the Songs of Praise and made the raf- ters ring with the good old hymns - which-. were chosen for the occasion. The Choir rendered two anthems "0 Jesus, I Have Promised" and "Father Most Holy" set-to the 20th Cent- ury Hymn Tunes which made a striking contrast. The Prayer of Confession and Responsive Reading was taken by the Reverend Eldon | S. Linstead, of Claremont and The Lesson and Pastoral Prayer by Reverend Robert H. Wylie, of Almond, both former ministers of this Church. ' Official Greetings of Con- gratulations and best wishes were brought from the Church of the Ascension by the Reverend R. C. Rose and from the Scugog Pastoral Charges by Reverend G. Tes- key, who expressed their pleasure in attending and looking forward to a closer relationship in the future. The Service of Reconsecra- tion was conducted by the Clerk of the Session, Mr, F. Gordon Reesor with respon. ses given by members repre- senting the congregation and organizations within the Church. Mrs. James Baird repre- senting. those who minister to the children; Master Way- ne Taylor on behalf of the children; Miss Charlene Bour- geois for the Young People of th Church; Mrs. Samuel A. Cawker for the women & members of the United Church Women's Groups; Mr. William G. Sharpe for the Men and Mr. Glenn Taylor for the Choir accepted the challenge and made promises on behalf of the fellow mem- bers, with the help of God to reconsecrate themselves to His service in the life of His Church. The Sermon, by Reverend Griffen, using as hig caption "Impregnable" was a fitting climax to the - impressive ceremonies of reconsecration. In his opening remarks "Jack" said he entered the pulpit with mixed feelings as to how he would be re- ceived. He had a few qual- mish moments when he real- ized that there were minis- ters to the right of him, min. isters to the left of him, and ministers in front of him, that had stood in the very same .spot and delivered their messages to the congre- gation during his boyhood days in Port Perry, as well as former teachers, friends and classmates who had jour- neyed many miles and come from distant places to hear him speak -- had they come to criticize, listen or sympa- thize -- it certainly must take a lot of courage for one to face "the.lion's in their den" and come out victorious. In his spontaneous dyna- mic manner "Jack" presented an inspirational message, choosing in serious vein many parables of the Scrip- tures, interspersed with hum- ourous modern illustrations, which brought peals of mer- riment and a feeling of good- fellowship. He held the in- terest of all throughout his entire address and in closing he made a sincere and rev- erent appeal to éach and everyone to accept the chal- lenge of reconsecration and renew their vows and religi- ous beliefs in. following out the Work and Faith of our Heavenly Father for the betterment of mankind. The Recessional Hymn, sung in jubilation, gave a tangible expression of the way in which our "home town boy" was received 'when they sang-- To this temple, 'where we call Thee, Come, O Lord of hosts, "today; With Thy wonted loving kindness Hear Thy servants, as . they pray, And Thy fullest benedic- tion 'Shed within its walls Alway. The successful celebrations were brought to a close by the pronouncement of the Benediction by the Reverend Alec Rice. Following the service the congregation adjourned to the new Centre to enjoy a social half hour and a tour of the Church to see the work that has been accomp- lished. These special get-to- gethers give opportunities for old members and friends to meet again, to reminisce and recall the good times of for- mer years and a chance to make the acquaintance of new members of the present day congregation, while en- joying light refreshments supplied by the members of the U.C.W. Expressions of appreciation and congratulations on the. accomplishments achieved in the construction of this fine modern architectural Chris- tian Education Centre are ex- tended to each and everyone who have in anyway contri- buted to the success of this large undertaking. It must be with a feeling of immense gratification that the Minister, Reverend Alec Rice and his Official Board, along with the Building and Finance Committee have when they finally realize that the long-awaited dream has come true. The results of = several years and many hours of planning, frustration, dissen- sion, heartbreak and hard work were culminated at the sO Dedication Services. It has entailed a great deal of time .and financing by many offi- cers, past and present, who have freely contributed and sacrificed their pleasures to accomplish this goal, and it is something to be proud of. All the organizations within the Church have willingly endeavoured to put their shoulders to the wheel and work for the completion of this new addition. This new building was de- signed and built by a local firm, Lake Scugog Lumber Company, under the supervi- sion of the contractor, Mr. S. N. Griffen, designed to suit the modern generation, and is quite an attractive ad- dition to the main Church building. It has not marred in anyway the outside ap- pearance of this beautiful large well - designed edifice which has graced the main street of this village since 1886. The large auditorium with seating capacity for around five hundred, and modern kitchen will prove an asset to the social activities of the Church. Perhaps it will give an incentive to renew the old-time Christmas Concerts and Anniversaries, that have been dispensed with since the last renovations were completed, and encourage the young folk to take ad- | vantage of its many facilities to carry on with the Young People's Organizations with- in the Church. For the past fifty years or the basement of the Church has been continually in an uproar, renovating, re- building and tearing apart to keep up with the times and new ideas of the different committees and now it is again rejuvinated and re-de- signed to meet this coming generation. The basement has been divided into many different departments, among which is a modern nursery, kindergarten, choir room and board room. On the second level, the Church Parlor, or should we say the modern Lounge, is situated and is a great asset with its luxurious furnishings and attractive setting for the many small. committee meetings and wo- men's organizations to enjoy. It also has a dainty kitchen- ette which will prove handy from time to time, as it is so easily accessible to the main body of the Church. Circling the back of this floor is individual classrooms, rest rooms and vestry, making a very compact arrangement. The main body of the Church has been completely re-decorated and we are hap- py to see that the original workmanship and structure to this part of the building has been left intact and still gives a resemblance to the wonderful craftsmanship and quality that our forefathers set as an example to stand the weather and tribulations down through the past de. cade. The fine decorating was done by the Patte's Painting & Decorating Com- pany of Oshawa, Many contributions have been made to the Christian Education Centre in memory of those who once were the backbone of the Church and the memories of their faith and devotion will always re- main an inspiration to the members in the years to come. There is a Memorial to them gracing the walls of the foyer of the -new addi- tion and their names are list- ed in the "Book of Memory", along with the names of all who have made this building possible by their gifts. The beautiful floral arran. gements throughout the Church were the courtesy of Eleanor Flower Shoppe and were deeply appreciated. Space does not permit the acknowledgement of each in. dividual, but, one person we do owe a debt of gratitude to is our congenial caretaker, Mr. Samuel Tummonds, who behind the scenes, has en- deavoured to carry om his work for the Church during all this turmoil 'and it cer- tainly has not been an easy assignment. We, publicly acknowledge his untiring ef- forts and co-operation during the past months while these renovations have caused such an upheaval. in his regular routine. - We would also like to thank Mr. Roy Cornish for - his kindness and courtesy in al- lowing us to use the photos that he was taking. A vote of thanks goes to Mrs. Rice and her daughter, Miss Karen Rice for taking charge of the nursery at-the-morning ser= vice. The celebrations are over, the Official Board has lit the torch of progress and handed it on to the present genera- tion and small fry to uphold with pride and carry on the obligations which are entail- ed with this new venture. 'May the enthusiasm and goodfellowship displayed at these gatherings continue to grow so that in the years to come our.children can look back with delight and proud- fully acknowledge what their forefathers did for them, as. we have done in the past. Seagrave News We have almost no news this week -- No church, no S.S., no public meetings, no scandal and nothing to talk about except turkey dinner. Hospital reports are almost the same too. Mr. Aubrey ZIoon expects to be home again soon, but a part-time resident Mr. Clarence O'Neill is having another stay: there just now. Visiting at the Moon home over the week-end were their Toronto families, Mr. & Mrs. Joe Lake with their children and Mr. and Mrs. Harold Moon and Corinna. Mr, and Mrs. Bill Corneil and Brian of Oakwood spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. E. Butt. Mr. F. Watson and Mrs. E. Dregar of West Hill called on friends here last week. And that's 'it BUYING? LAMBERT REAL ISTATE LID SALTON 985-7373