03. Growing Pains

Growing Pains

So, a test of faith, or blind Lutheran stubbornness?        

The Parish House/Chapel on Graham Street remained as the Bethany congregation’s heart of operations for the 15 years between 1936 and 1951.  In the years following the resignation of Rev. George Orth  in 1937, the congregation was administered by a sequence of three pastors who shared their duties with St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church of Brantford.  Synod and the Committee of Mission Churches supported both new congregations financially and, in a ministerial sense, generously.  Weekly Bulletins for both churches came under the banner heading of Brantford/Woodstock Lutheran Church and were written by Rev. J.S. Neff from 1937 to 1940, and by Rev. N.A. Berner from 1940 to 1945.  Rev. A.A. Schweitzer carried on the joint ministry until 1953.

Rev. Neff

       

Rev. Berner

     

Rev. Schweitzer

Now although it has been suggested that Lutherans do not do Change readily, when change is thrust upon them, they will often accept it with great enthusiasm.  As if in confirmation of this fact, we read Councillor Helga Thompson’s devotional theme from June 1, 1987:

 “A lot of Christians are like wheelbarrows, no good unless pushed.”

 Growth of the congregation and even more noticeably in the Sunday School, numbers pushed the congregation into reality; the House/Chapel was no longer large enough.  Thus in 1951 the budding membership agreed to accept change to a new building while retaining their sense of ‘Where’—62 Graham Street.  After all, when faced with Change, one has to draw the line somewhere!

The House/Chapel was demolished in 1951 to build the attractive, Gothic structure known as Bethany, the first Lutheran Church in Woodstock.  The Parish Bulletin of August 8, 1951 announced a Ground Breaking Service:    

“This Sunday, (August 12)[1951] will mark one of the most important events in the history of Bethany Lutheran Church, Woodstock” and provided these details:  the location—62 Graham Street, the contractors—Laevens Brothers of Delhi, the architect—Mr. N.L. Irwin representing the Toronto firm of Hanks and Irwin and the pastor presenting the sermon—Rev. E.W. Heimrich representing the Home Mission Committee of Canada Synod.

 

 

 

Now, for a second instance, the question of “Where to meet” would have a sense of permanence.

               

1952—The Academy Award-winning movie of the year was The Greatest Show on Earth; the best actor was Gary Cooper in the role of Marshall Will Kane in the movie High Noon.  ‘Wheel of Fortune’ by Kate Starr topped the music charts, Kukla, Fran and Ollie were children’s favourites and The Ed Sullivan Show was family entertainment.  On the international scene, America was ensconced in the ‘Red Scare’ and congressional hearings inherent in the ‘cold war’ with Russia, Elizabeth II was proclaimed Queen--- and the congregation of Bethany built a church.

                The little church was dedicated on June 22, 1952.  What a celebration it must have been.  A June, 1952 issue of The Brantford/Woodstock Parish Bulletin, published by Rev. Schweitzer presented the event under the Banner Heading Dedication of Bethany Lutheran Church Woodstock:

“That for which Bethany members have prayed and worked since the congregation was organized in 1934 will take place on Sunday June22—[1952]—the dedication of a new church building.”

 

 

The Dedication Week peaked on June 27 with a Community Service, hosted by Pastor Schweitzer, with the sermon presented by Reverend John Davies, President of the Woodstock Ministerial Association and with official greetings from the city presented by Mrs. Bernadette Smith, Mayor of Woodstock.

 

               

 

 

 

 

 

                    

Rev. Anderson

Barely a year after the dedication, Pastor Schweitzer wrote in the Parish Bulletin, “On Sunday, June 28 at 7 p.m. your pastor will preach his last sermon as regular pastor of Bethany... At the 7 p.m. service on Sunday, July 5 [1953], Rev. Earl Anderson will be installed as pastor of Bethany church...”.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                          

 

 When the Parish House/Chapel was demolished, new accommodation was necessary for the presiding pastors.  For the next several years Bethany, Woodstock would share a pastor with St. Matthew’s, East Zorra and an item of Business in the Annual Report of 1954 indicated that Pastor Anderson was residing in the parsonage provided by East Zorra, a comfortable home, but spending the majority of his time in Woodstock.  “In view of the nature of the parish,” he writes, “the only logical solution, in keeping with good stewardship of time and money, is that the Pastor reside in Woodstock as soon as possible.”  Rev. Anderson continued in the two-congregation parish through the years from 1953 to 1957 at which time he was replaced by Pastor N.L. Lange in the years from 1957 to 1960.

Rev. Norm Lange

 The Annual Report of 1957 gives some indication of the flurry of Sunday activity required of these ministers in the Graham Street church. Pastor Lange writes,        

”During the past year, worship services were conducted regularly at 11:00 o’ clock each Sunday morning (Your Pastor conducts the service at St. Matthew’s, East Zorra Twsp. at 9:30 every Sunday morning).  The Sunday School (9:45 a.m.), Catechetical Class, Luther League, Choir and Ladies Aid have met regularly for devotion, education and training.”

               

 

 

 

 

Pastor Cronmiller would follow Pastor Lange in this twinned congregation in the years 1961 to 1963.  On April 29 of 1963 congregation members received notice from Church Council to the effect that: “...our Pastor is leaving Woodstock to answer a call to become Executive Secretary for Parish Education and Youth Work for the Eastern Canada Synod.  The congregation has called another pastor and we are hopeful that he will accept and arrive in Woodstock early this summer.”

               

                                                    

 

 

Rev. Delbert E. Resmer

He would accept and did arrive.  Pastor Cronmiller left his parsonage at 39 Fairview Crescent and Rev. Delbert E. Resmer took over the Bethany ministry for the years from 1963 to 1967.

 

                                                                                                                                                  

               

The years of the early 60s must have been a period of great exhilaration.  It had become increasingly obvious that larger church facilities were needed.  In the Parish Notes of Sept. 13, 1959, Pastor Lange had written:    

“While investigating this [overcrowding in Sunday School], council also concluded that we are outgrowing our church.  There is a potential today of over 300, and we even now have to seat people in the aisle.”

 

It was not a time for complacency.  The little congregation had not finished its growth spurt.  Scarcely seven years later, Parish Weekly Bulletins and minutes of meetings indicate that the search was on for yet another new building site.

Bethany  Lutheran  Church

(This seems to be a position paper for the congregation, 1960.)

62 Graham St.,  Woodstock                    

Our Present Membership:

Baptized  260, Confirmed  192,  Communing  150, Avg. Attendance  110.

Sunday School  122,  Avg. Attendance  100,  Teachers  11, Teachers Training  7.

What is the future for Bethany Lutheran ???

1.          EXPANSION HAS BECOME A MUST:

Our Sunday School space was built to accommodate.................60                  

 

Our Sunday School enrolment this fall is .....................................122

                There are now 11 classes and 5 of these have 13 pupils each.  Classes meet in the kitchen, furnace room, church narthex, choir pews and the church pews.  Church Council was unable to procure additional space near by...or the price was prohibitive.

 

Our church was built to accommodate or seat............125

Our attendance during October ranged from 125.......150

Our potential church attendance is ..............................300

There are 192 confirmed members, over 100 children and we have from 10 to 20 guests and visitors each Sunday.  In addition, our membership will rise to the 100 mark by the New Year.

 

 

 A clipping from the Woodstock-Ingersoll Sentinel Review had supported Pastor Lange’s  1959 concern with the crowded conditions:

 “...the congregation had grown to 417 baptized members.  The Church, built in 1952, had no room to grow; three classes for the Sunday Church School were held in a hotel basement; a nursery class was held in the kitchen of the church; one class was held in the furnace room and three classes were held in the local library.”    

                The question “Where?” again became a major concern for Council and congregation.  Pastor Lange, in praising the efforts of the members, explained in a position paper entitled WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR BETHANY LUTHERAN??? that “Relocation seemed the best solution.”

“Your Church Council investigated the advisability of expanding the present unit, but found it to be costly, impractical and unwise.  If we did expand the present unit, it now appears that we would outgrow it again and still be forced to relocate.  The property next door is not for sale or trade at the present time.”

“Your council felt that to establish another church as a mission would be dividing our strength.  Relocation therefore seemed the best solution.  Available and suitable property was located on Knightsbridge just off Huron.  At a regularly called congregational meeting, purchase was approved.  The Home Mission Board of our Synod approved, but the Board of American Missions (Who would ultimately finance the entire project) has not yet given approval.  The $11,000. loan has been procured from the Home Mission Extension Fund, and we plan to proceed with the purchase of the 9 lots.”

             

   The purchase of the 9 lots on Knightsbridge between Sydenham and Wilton was rejected by the Board.  Although the city Planning Board felt that the Knightsbridge area would be Woodstock’s future town centre, after close inspection, the property was deemed to be unsuitable for Bethany’s purpose.  Much of the discussion concerned the water table in the general area.            The Bethany Building Committee continued its search.

               

 

The next two sites to be considered were at opposite ends of Devonshire Avenue but interest here waned with the discovery of the 8 lots available between Springbank Avenue and Edgewood Drive.  In September of 1964 a fund drive was conducted with the help of the Lutheran Laymen’s Movement, a Stewardship Venture resulting in a pledge of $34,700. over a two-year period.  A Wish-list and plans for a  Chapel and church-school came to reality through the efforts of the architect Mr. Karl Kruschen of Waterloo and the local general contractor McKinney Lumber Co. of Woodstock.  The Bethany congregation held its collective breath as we watched the proceedings.