WELLINGTON: The doors have been closed and locked one last time on the little white church in Wellington.
At its final service before decommissioning, it was standing room only and the pews were jam packed with parishioners past and present at the church near the entrance to Grand Lake Village on Church Street in Wellington on Oct. 20.
The congregation had made the tough decision that with numbers of those coming and costs to keep the church running, to close it and join with St. John’s United Church just minutes down the road.
What will become of the church was not known, but there was a mixture of emotion of memories as people celebrated its 70th anniversary but also recognized its last service before it closed.
Rev. Sally Shaw presided over the service, with a couple of speeches from other past Reverends including Rev. Matthew Fillier and Rev. Iain MacDonald.
Before the service began there was music performed as the choir members found their chairs and the crowd settled in.
Among the musical leadership group were Gary Loughead; Lousie Loughead; Cathleen Loughead; and Phillip Ewer.
Rev. Shaw made a joke about one of the songs they were to sing as she changed it up to fit the church for this special service. That song was the Church in the Wildwood.
The line that was changed read “As the little (white) church in the vale” instead of what it was supposed to read.
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Wellington United Church was dedicated on Oct. 30, 1955. In 1956, there were approximately 100 residents living in the community, according to Wikipedia.
Rev. Shaw began the service with a summary of what many may be feeling on the church’s final day.
“Even as we feel the sadness and pain of leaving, we give thanks for the many years of faithful ministry that have taken place here,” she told the crowd.
“We give thanks for the people who have prayed here, for the children, who have learned the stories of our faith here, and for all the people who have gathered here in faith since the church opened in 1955.”
Rev. Fillier looked around the church pews and could see the emotion of the day on many of those there faces.
“I wonder if you’d agree with me. I see some sadness here this morning. And there’s some pain that’s shown up here this morning. I see maybe some disappointment. Maybe there’s regret here today,” said Rev. Fillier.
“You know, Wellington United Church as I know you as I do, and was privileged to walk with you for a time I know that along with all those things that have shown up here this morning, you know what else has also shown up? Thanksgiving.
“There’s gratefulness that I see here today. There’s grace and joy here today. My God, there’s a whole lot of love in this room.”
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Two longtime parishioners and choir members with the church spoke to the laker news on what the last day meant and some memories they had.
Louise Loughead said some of her memories will be of seeing those who came home once a year and attended church service at Christmas time.
“We’d always have a full choir and our band playing, and it was just something,” she said. “We started this tradition in the Windsor Junction Church at St. John’s in Windsor Junction many, many years ago, back in the 70s and 80s, and we continued on here at Wellington.”
She acknowledged that the final service may also mean the final time many might see each other depending on if they decide to move on to St. John’s United Church.
“I know people came from away to come here, but the memories of coming here together to Wellington United Church is something we’ll carry on,” said Loughead. “I will always still be involved in a church because I’ll be involved at St. John’s.
“It’s a sad time, yes and we tried to keep it going for a long, long time, but then we could see that it wasn’t going anywhere.”
“We’ve had some wonderful happy times here at Wellington United Church. I saw all my youngsters in our family grow up here in Sunday school.”
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Janice Connolly has a memory that few would have, and it’s one that she will keep with her for the rest of her life.
“I remember one memory that probably nobody else would know is that we had a friend that loved Bright Colors,” she recalled. “So, the women’s group decided to paint the church basement, and they painted it hot pink.
“We had an old gentleman who was our treasurer who was kind of, how would you say, reserved. Anyway, he came down the stairs and he looked at the church basement, and his face was just horrified when he saw the pink basement.
“That was a good laugh, and it stayed like that for a few years.”
She said another memory will be the singing groups.
“We had a lot of fun together over the years,” she said. “We took our shows on the road and had a good time.”
Connolly was asked what the final service meant for her.
“It’s closure,” said Connolly. “It was a beautiful service. It was hard.
“I’m 85 now and I’ve been here at Wellington for 64 years. I came when I was 21.”
She recalled when they had to go to the Green School down the road because they were full in the Sunday school.
Connolly said it was indeed a sad day, but things change, and one has to move on and accept it.
“Mostly I’m going to miss the people that were coming and the music,” she said.
