On August 28, Sunday afternoon from 3-8 pm, Canon Martha will be hosting the parish at her home in Franklin. Since she lives along the Alleghany River, there is an option to arrive by kayak or canoe. Those who are interested are asked to gather at OARS, 250 Elk St., Franklin, PA (next to the boat launch) by 2:45 pm to fill out the necessary paperwork. Kayaks for our youth members are available at no cost. Adults may rent a kayak for $20 or a canoe for $30. Kayaks hold one person and canoes hold two. Life jackets are provided. If you have your own kayak or canoe, feel free to bring it. OARS will pick up all the rented canoes at Martha’s home.
The trip on the water should be about two hours. Upon arrival there will be games and refreshments and perhaps a campfire. Martha will provide hot dogs and hamburgers and everyone is asked to bring a dish to pass. Those who prefer to arrive by car are more than welcome to do so. Directions will be provided in an upcoming bulletin. It is a great family event and will be a fun way to wrap up the summer. Please be sure to sign up! However, because of safety issues, if they are calling for bad weather the event will be cancelled. This year, St. James Church sent 14 kids to camp. WOW! We believe that pretty much put us in first place as far as the numbers of campers sent by churches in the diocese. This offers our kids a meaningful spiritual adventure as well as a fun time for all. Here are some letters from some of our attendees: “Camp was lots of fun this year. We met lots of people. My favorite part about camp was the slip ‘n slide. It was so much fun; we got so soapy. My least favorite part about camp was when we did the carnival, but after all, I get to go to teen camp next year.” Hailey Willis “Camp this year was a great spiritual experience. The backpacks from the church were very helpful and I thank you for sending us to church camp. Thanks St. James Church.” AJ Scott “Camp this year was one of the best. There were new cabins and new activities to do. One of the new activities was the rope course. It was amazing and cool. My favorite thing at camp was meeting new people and the slip ‘n slide. It was so fun and amazing at church camp.” Kylee Propheter “Camp was a good experience for me because I had the best year of all. I went down the slip ‘n slide. I went on the low and high ropes course. I learned about God while playing games at the same time. All of those reasons are why I had fun at camp.” Isaiah Willis. “Camp to me is adventure. It is an adventure in many different ways. An adventure to make new friends. Like this year I found a new friend in this guy named Daniel, and it all happened through the adventure of camp. But the thing that made the adventure easiest was the backpack you gave me. I didn’t have to stress over anything. It made my stay easier. Thank you.” Andrew Scott “At church camp I met new friends from last year. There was a low rope course and the people who worked there had the idea to put up a high rope course. The high rope is for people from 8th to 12th grades. I went on the rock wall for the first time. We had a color fight with teen camp and kids camp.” Seth Propheter As you can tell from their letters, camp was GREAT!! Again, a special thank you to all who donated items or money for the backpack program. It made a big difference to the campers and their families. I hope by now you have all had an opportunity to see the new front doors of the church. The old doors served our church well for many years and it was time to replace them. I believe the new doors replicate the "old" doors with the exception that the new doors will help keep the heating bills down in the winter and that is a good thing!
This article is not all about the doors at our church. It is a about another set of red doors on the Calgary Protestant Episcopal Church that was erected in 1873 on Freemont Street in Townville, PA. I can remember attending church services there on occasion with my mom many years ago. In fact, I think my dad use to help-out with the services there when it was in operation. If I had only been more curious about this when my parents were alive many of my questions might have been answered regarding the history of this church. Here is what I do know: Rev. Albert Broadhurst, who was the Rector at St. James from 1912-1947 moved to Townville (along with his wife) after he retired. He became the Rector of Calgary Protestant Episcopal Church. What rekindled my interest after all these years was when I was taking some materials to Paul Zook's workshop regarding our new doors. His shop is across the street from the church in Townville with the red doors! It happened to be "Yard Sale Days" in Townville and there were people in the yard of the church selling items. I walked across the street and introduced myself and explained my interest in the church. They gave me the name and telephone numbers of the current owner of the church. I asked if I could have a look around the inside. The old pews are there along with other items. Some of the windows (stained glass) are in need of much repair. There is a grave yard on one side of the church as well as in back of the church. I came home and called the owners. I found out they only live about 2 miles from my home. After a lengthy conversation, we agreed to share any information we can gather about the history of the Calgary Protestant Episcopal Church in Townville. So if you have any information, please feel free to contact Noni Stanford |
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