Happy Anniversary!!  

What a gift to have been able to celebrate our 175^th Anniversary on the exact date, August 23, that our church was founded! And what a service! It was our first visit from the current General Minister of the national United Church of Christ, Geoffrey Black, as well as former pastors, Robert Hathaway, Marion Shearer, Phyllis Reed, Ronald Brown, Gary Ferner and Glenn Evans. They joined us in a celebration service to look at the past and the future and start us on our way to the next 175 years. It was a celebration to dedicate a beautiful, new and symbolic wall hanging, new paint, plants and cleaned out corners and storage areas, a new beginning in our comfortable old home!

We also celebrated with food (as usual), a grand picnic featuring pulled pork, cold slaw, corn on the cob, fresh fruit, potato salad and anniversary cake for dessert. It was a grand day with spirits lifted, visits and written greetings from old friends and plenty of food and good conversation. God has blessed our work and us for 175 years, and we pray for continued strength as we seek to promote justice throughout the world.

We aren’t finished yet! We have several more events to celebrate this significant anniversary. September 27 was next, an afternoon of jam making, much like our first members did back in the 1830s. In October, we will host the Genesee Valley Association Fall Assembly and in November, the Hilton Community Thanksgiving Service followed by a tea. December brings the Madonna Program, a gift to the community and a beautiful ending to our celebration year. What a year! What a celebration! What a wonderful church home!