|
||||
|
Sunday, January 25, 2009 |
||||
|
Celebration begins with reenactment of Crestwood's original Communion Service |
|||
Crestwood's 50th Anniversary Celebration got off to a big start on Sunday, January 25, 2009 -- exactly fifty years after Crestwood's birth.
The day began with a Communion Service in the gym at Glendover Elementary School, reenacting Crestwood's first communion service in the same gym on January 25, 1959. Click here to see pictures by Mark Landis.
The service was attended by about 100 people, including current and former members of the congregation and their families. Some of them were Charter Members who had participated in the original service fifty years earlier.
Warren Rogers, a Charter Member and Elder of Crestwood, presided over the Communion Service. He was accompanied by his mother, Mary Anne Brown (also a Charter Member) as the two Elders who presided over the distribution of communion.
The worshipers were welcomed by Catherine Fine, the Principal of Glendover, who offered inspiring comments about the role of the organized church in establishing moral values for children in the community.
Ms. Fine's participation reflected a warm relationship between Crestwood and Glendover that began fifty years earlier, when the founding members of Crestwood were welcomed by Glendover's principal as they arrived for their first Communion Service in the same gym on January 25, 1959. Crestwood continued to worship in the gym for exactly 100 Sundays, while its first buildings were being constructed across the street from the school.
After the remarks by Ms. Fine, Mr. Rogers took everyone back in history to the day of the original communion service in 1959. He began by painting a picture of American culture at that time, by describing a parking lot filled with Ford Fairlanes and an occasional Corvair.
He then spoke as if he were standing in the shoes of Dr. Myron T. Hopper, who presided over the original Communion Service in 1959. From that perspective, he dreamed aloud of the many ways Crestwood might serve the community in the five decades that followed -- for example, by opening a child care center to assist working parents. (See "Imagine What We Could Do, With God's Help," a creative reenactment of Crestwood's original Communion Service").
It was a compelling presentation, because the listeners already knew that Crestwood had done the very things he identified as dreams for the future while speaking from the perspective of 1959.
Mr. Rogers then proceeded to lead the worshipers through a communion service that replicated the original service in 1959. The same two hymns were sung: “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” and “Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us.” Communion was taken as it was passed, again because that was the way it had been done fifty years earlier.
A few moments after the original service in 1959, the founding members of Crestwood assembled for their first group photograph in the Glendover gym. A poster-size copy of the photograph was placed on an easel at one side of the gym during the reenactment service fifty years later. Before and after the service, many charter members of Crestwood took delight in finding themselves and friends in the picture, fifty years younger.
The bulletin for the service told the story of how the world had changed. The front side was a replica of the bulletin for the original Communion Service fifty years earlier, complete with the same hymns that were sung at that time. But the back side included several announcements about current activities at Crestwood, including an event sponsored by the Technology Team called "Meet the Geeks." The announcement explained that "Meet the Geeks" would be an opportunity for members of the congregation to get assistance with cell phones, personal computers and the Internet -- technologies that didn't even exist when the original Communion Service was held.
Following the Communion Service, a special Anniversary Worship Service was held in Crestwood's sanctuary. (See "Anniversary Worship Service considers Crestwood's past, present and future.")
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Comments from readers:
Post a comment! 
Use this form to post a comment about the material on this page. Your name and comment will appear in the comments section of this page within several minutes.
Begin with your name, then use the Tab key to keep going. To post your comment, click on the button at the bottom of this form.
