"From the Archives" Bethany Lutheran Church, Woodstock, Ontario

Country Music and Cowboy Boots

A new era had arrived for Bethany with new challenges, new activities and new ideas, many of them applicable to on-going routine. Pastor Holm and his family joined us in February of 1990. Other changes appeared around the same time—the stained-glass windows, courtesy of the Forrest Estate, the tapered cross, thanks to the Schneider family—and the improvements were not restricted to embellishments in the chapel. Bethany’s commitment of a team of volunteers for the Adelaide Soup Bowl took a turn in March of 1991, following our introduction to Marriage Encounter weekends and Bethany’s first Seder, conducted by Pastor Dick on Maundy Thursday and followed by a PotLuck Supper. Only Lutherans could make a potluck supper out of a Seder service.

In the roughly 19 years of his ministry to Bethany, Pastor Dick (as he became known to us) introduced us to many of his hobbies and interests. For generations he, with his guitar, had become the legendary music man at Camp Edgewood; he brought that practice of playing and singing into the services at Bethany, even to the extent of having an extra songbook handmade from which the audience/congregation could select their favourites—as repetitive as that must have become for Dick. He had earned his pilot’s license and crowds lined up for those occasions on which rides would be offered. The congregation learned new settings for the Church services that January of ’91. He and his ‘jammin’ band, the Ol’ Country Mishaps, were featured frequently in Sunday service, usually to a full house and, of course, followed by a Potluck luncheon. Most of the liturgy was sung or chanted. We were never without music at Bethany. But we digress.

At a Special Congregational Meeting in September of 1991, the congregation endorsed the sale of the parsonage and the establishment of a housing allowance into the pastoral compensation package instead. In another decision, a letter of referral for Marlene Healey-Ogden in support of her admission to Waterloo Lutheran Seminary was written in November “by co-operative action of council and signed by the President and Secretary for forwarding to the ELCIC.”

In yet another initiative, Bethany became involved with Synod’s sponsorship of the Partner in Action program, supporting the congregation in Elliott Lake as a partner. $5,000.00 of bequest funds were forwarded as an initial donation.

Since the autumn of 1971 the existing pipe organ had been somewhat suspect and had undergone whatever maintenance was urgently required but the proverbial writing was on the wall—or at least brought into focus by January of 1993. Under the title of ‘Motions From Council’ at the Annual Meeting, this notation came into play:

“...a presentation was given by Irene Stickel-Connell in the value of the existing pipe organ, the limitations of this unit, and the advantages of an electronic organ.”

Continuing with the minutes,

“Motion by Henning [Hansen], second by Marlene [Healey-Ogden] to set aside $15,000.00 from the bequest funds for the replacement of the pipe organ and the purchase of an electronic organ and that the pipe organ be disposed of for fair value. Carried 27 for, 10 against.”

It may be of interest here, to peruse the letter from Mr. Chris Houthazen of the Principal Pipe Organ, a company in the Burgessville area. He states:

“We supplied the organ to the old church [62 Graham Street] and it was moved to the new church [Springbank Avenue] when it was built. The organ came from a Peterborough church where it had been originally purchased from a widow. Your cost if I recall was $1700. The organ is over 100 years old. It has very little value today.”

After much effort and salesmanship, mostly on the part of Lyle Rosnau, the old organ was sold to Christ Lutheran, Waterloo for $600. a year later in April of 1994.

Because of repetition, some Bethany events became annual expectations and even traditions.