On July 17 the Eden Mills United Church was full of community members and guests taking part in the celebration of the church’s 150th anniversary.
On this special anniversary, the church welcomed United Church of Canada Moderator and Rt. Reverend Mardi Tyndal, whose admiration and shared commitment to environmental issues had her offering praise to the community of Eden Mills for its many initiatives, including the efforts to create a carbon-neutral village.
In her presentation Tyndal expressed encouragement and said change and hope can happen, as the people of Eden Mills United Church have proven, making them leaders in the movement to connect the future of the planet to the future of faith.
Revered Daryl Webber was excited by the enthusiastic turnout for this important event.
“To celebrate 150 years has been a big undertaking, to put on a service of this magnitude together,” he said. “When we first started meeting about this day, we thought the way we connected with our community was through our environmental work.
“The significance of this service is that it builds with our connections to the community, to our village, in the message of Spirit, where earth, land and water are all part of it. We are reminded that we are one with all things.”
Congregation member Barbara Parker believed this service was an important moment to recognize the church’s past and future.
“The celebration of both the history of the church but also the current role, with it’s strong environmental advocacy, was about the past and present,” said Parker.
“This little church was started by a community and today the community empowers it, and all the organizations in Eden Mills work together.”
Barbara Marshall, who introduced Tyndal, was very moved by the day’s events, which included a tree planting ceremony on the grounds of the church, a bread crumbing offering to the animals in the area, as well as the signing of an artisan banner.
“I think what was most important for me was Tyndal’s encouragement of hope,” said Marshall.
“She took time from her busy schedule to come to a small village like Eden Mills and support us in planting the seeds of hope for our carbon neutrality, and now she has been inspired to do events in her role. We are a small church with a small footprint but we have a big heart, and this encouraged us that we can accomplish big things together.”
