08. The Seventh Decade

 The Seventh Decade

1994—the 60th anniversary of our founding by 48 charter members on December 10 of the year 1934.  The world is a different place.  There is no Google yet.  The Lion King is the top-selling movie of the year.  People are going to the theatre; there is no such thing as downloading on-line.  

Forrest Gump won big this year: the academy awards for best movie, best director (Robert Zemackis) and best actor (Tom Hanks).  The best-selling novel in the U.S. is John Grisham’s The Chamber.  NAFTA—the North American Free Trade Agreement is established this year.  The Church of England ordains its first female priests.  The Channel Tunnel allows passengers to travel between England and France in 35 minutes.  Chicago Hope is playing on television when the kids haven’t commandeered the TV for Beverley Hills 90210...and what is happening at Bethany?

Well, the 60th Anniversary Committee was at full throttle with a pre-approved budget of $1400. to start.  The organizational details are thorough, immaculate and the year-long activities are exciting; there are Osinski, Jeanson, Kuss, Witzel and Mason fingerprints running through most activity reports.  Rev. Vernon Cronmiller agreed to return again to Bethany and preached both of the services of Sunday, March 13, 1994.  Tom Doherty returned to Bethany with ‘A Summer Evening of Song’ on June 17th in honour of Pastor Holm’s 25th year of ordination. 

 The afore-mentioned Charter Members plaque was dedicated at the church picnic on June 19th.  Other events included a July Garage Sale, the annual Rally Sunday Pig Roast in September and, later in that month, a Church Family Retreat at the Boy Scout Camp near Princeton.

 The culmination point of the year of celebration must have been the Bethany Lutheran Church 60th Homecoming Hop, held at the Innerkip Community Centre featuring a DJ from Powerhouse Productions, dancing and, of course, food.  

Bethany continued with business as usual but anniversary events inspired an upbeat atmosphere throughout the year...and in addition we looked forward to the Christmas celebrations!

1995 and the living is easy...well not so much—by January we were already considering a part-time secretary in the Church office but Pastor Holm was able to solicit volunteer help from many hands for bulletin typing and other chores.  Bethany purchased six oak flower stands from Dancraft Stairs Canadian that spring, to be paid by the Memorial Fund.  Volunteer hands painted the kitchen, Fellowship Hall, nursery and the pastor’s office that spring and in April the Property Committee threw its collective efforts into replacing 9 west window in the choir room, nursery and Fellowship Hall and the 2 north windows in the pastor’s study; a cost of $12,000.  Vertical blinds for the Fellowship Hall added another $1400.to the bill.

There had been an earlier fiasco with a pictorial edition of a membership directory.  The company in question had not fulfilled its obligations and on-going attempts to supply the promised pictures were abandoned when an April 14, 1974 letter from the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations explained that Church Directories of Canada Ltd. was now defunct.

1995 entertained Bethany in another such episode with the Jesus Videos.  It seems that several copies of a video presentation of the life of Jesus were sent to Bethany for our use.  After we used what we felt we could, it was decided send the remaining copies back to the distributing company.  The manager of that company objected; the videos were a gift for our use.  One does not return a gift!

What follows is a section of that objection:

“...if you are insistent upon returning the videos, I will accept them providing you mail them to our Vancouver office at your expense.  I would much rather that you had considered using them in some creative fashion within your own congregation;

-a gift to newcomers attending your church

-donating copies to your school libraries/video rental locations

-Christmas gifts in food hampers to needy families...

-confirmation gifts

-baby christening/baptisms

-sell them within your own congregation as a fund raiser

You now understand the awkward position I’m in, and I trust you will pray about what God would have you do in these circumstances...and I’ll accept your choice.”

Darrell Frick, National Business Manager, Jesus Video Strategy,                                                 Campus Crusade for Christ, Canada.

The mid-1990s presented what was possibly the most difficult period for all of us at Bethany.  Early in this period, Pastor Dick shared aspects of his personal interpretation of the gospel, in particular the concept of universal salvation, referred to colloquially as ‘everyone goes to heaven’.  The Mutual Ministry committee identified some upset and, as the pastor delineated in his report to the Annual Meeting of January 26, 1997, the committee ...”recommended a bible study\discussion group as a forum to clarify the issue and to clear the air.  I have been asked, and have prepared, an outline for a six-week programme.”

That process of clarification was to envelope the entire Bethany family to some degree over a lengthening period.  In response to further communication from the congregation, Church Council requested the Lutheran Synod’s view of the interpretation.  It seemed that the healing process could not begin until Synod was seen to make some declaration; the carefully avoided elephant in the room pervaded all life at Bethany.

It also seemed that no definitive answer was possible.  For Sunday after Sunday all Bethany sensed itself to be on tenterhooks; the society of coffee hours and potluck luncheons diminished and so did our spirits.  Business was conducted as usual, but in a depressed and waiting state.  The ‘New Business’ section of the November 8 Church Council meeting included this explanation: “...The slow process includes waiting for the National Church Convention in two years.  The National Church has set up a Theological Committee to look at theological issues, but as yet it has no power.”  We waited. In spite of the pro-active efforts of Gunther Dahl, Susan Johnson and Michael Pryse as Synod representatives speaking to us collectively and individually, we still waited.  Council expressed frustration.  Some prominent long-term members left Bethany and in addition to our concern, Pastor Holm was diagnosed with cancer.

Bishop Huras penned these words in response to one member’s plea for closure and a return to normalcy:

“To hasten procedures at the expense of due constitutional provision would jeopardize the integrity of the whole church and not serve Bethany nor the pastor properly.

While the process takes time it does respect the rights of all involved.  I encourage you to walk with us in prayer as this process continues.”

By January 0f 2000 the Synod Disciplinary Committee had tendered a form of answer and Pastor Holm by September had complied with that committee’s recommendation that he research and write a paper.  His October meeting with the Committee for Theological Education and Leadership was the next step to having the disciplinary process declared closed, a declaration that was finalized before the Annual Meeting of January 28, 2001.  In the agenda for that meeting the pastor had expressed these words:

“Synod council will either declare the matter closed or remove me from the roster of pastors.”  In his Pastor’s Report to that Annual Meeting he shared the outcome:  

“The process of discovering whether it is doctrinally correct for a Lutheran pastor to preach universalism has been a slow one and continues. (I originally wrote that line four years ago!!)  However, I have completed all the requirements, and the disciplinary process has been declared closed.”

The toll had been exacting on the Bethany family and on Pastor Dick himself.  We had hoped for a liturgical opinion on a viewpoint; this was seen by many as a penalty for expression of personal beliefs.  Like the yearning for spring through a never-ending winter, Bethany’s spirit gradually re-awakened.  Potluck lunches and Happy Hours had diminished but had gradually been re-instated over the passing months.  Member involvement and efforts were rewarded, firstly in the greatly successful Sauerkraut supper in October of 1997, then with a first-place winning float in the November 2000 Santa Clause Parade.  The Sauerkraut supper allowed us to donate proceeds of $1,360.40 to the Woodstock Hospital Chaplaincy and the First Place plaque adorns the wall of the narthex. 

Between those events were other attainments. In 1999 we purchased 100 copies of With One Voice with monies from the Memorial Fund.  

The crumbling retaining wall facing Springbank Avenue was repaired by the volunteering hands of Bethany members and friends in June of 1999

 

and the choir performed a Christmas Cantata on Sunday, December 12 and followed up with performances at Caressant Care and at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

May of 2001 realized Director Irene and the choir’s presentation of yet another cantata, Heart and Soul, and Bethany—in possibly one of our greatest accomplishments—fulfilled our commitment to the Vision 2000+ Seminary Appeal.  In a later year (January 23, 2005) the agenda for the Annual Meeting would include the notation that“...The Bethany article describing the Silent Auction and Dinnerfest on behalf of Vision 2000+ was printed in the recent edition of The Canada Lutheran.”

The Seventieth Anniversary was celebrated in 2004.

The First (Annual) Bethany Retreat to Camp Edgewood in October of 2005 provided a Bethany Wish List with tons of ideas from all Council committees, largely through discussion of the Synod-recommended program ‘The A B C s of Natural Church Growth’. 

We upgraded our sound system that year and through a letter written to the membership and the resulting generosity reflected by our narthex Christmas Tree Chrismons, we overcame a substantial deficit before the celebration of Christmas.

  Bethany would look forward to the year 2006 with a clean financial slate!  The doldrums of winter had ended.