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left: St. Paul's, Canaan, Vermont
top right: St. Stephen's, Colebrook, New Hampshiire
bottom right: All Saints, Hereford, Quebec |
Far away in the most northeastern corner of the state stand
two of our diocese’s most remote parishes: St. Paul’s Church in Canaan and
Christ Church in Island Pond. Both
churches have a congregation of less than ten on a regular Sunday. Even as an outsider may think these parishes
are too small to sustain themselves, to those who know, these small
congregations are survivors and have not been neglected by the Spirit!
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| images from the three border churches |
St. Paul’s in Canaan is the northern and eastern most church
in the diocese. It is part of a Border Ministry Covenant with All Saints’
Church in Hereford, Quebec and St. Stephen’s Church in Colebrook, New
Hampshire. Understand how remarkable this is: three dioceses from two countries
form one covenant! All three of these churches have very small congregations,
yet are rather close in proximity to one another. About sixty-five years ago, these churches
were on the brink of closing. But they
still served a purpose in their respective communities and no one wanted to see
them close. So the congregations pledged
support to one another in a common ministry and the Covenant of the Border
Ministry was born. Around the early to
mid ‘70s, they found themselves in the midst of another struggle in that none
of the churches could keep a priest. With the help of the dioceses, several
members of each parish enrolled in the Canon 9 ordination process. Today, the
churches are in their second or third generation of locally ordained priests.
The Spirit is still calling!
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| images from St. Paul's, Canaan |
At St. Paul’s, there are only three regular members in the
congregation, although the numbers rise in the summer. In the winter, the church is closed and the
congregation crosses the border to worship at All Saints’ in Hereford. It’s a
little ironic, for the building in Canaan was actually from Canada to begin
with. It was built roughly around the
1870s and after thirty years, the original congregation abandoned the
building. The congregation in Canaan
purchased the church and had it dismantled, moved and reassembled at its
current location on Powerhouse Road in the early 1900s. It must have been quite an undertaking as the
interior is entirely paneled with wainscoting and the pews were numbered and
reordered in the exact same positions. The current priest, Rev. Robert Lee, is
descended from one of those early parishioners who made the move happen. As he
related the anecdote, Fr. Lee quipped, “We may have the only church in the
country that had to pay duty to get through customs!” His wife, Rita, is an
artist who applied her talent to the walls of the undercroft where they meet
for fellowship--even in the bathroom! She also painted murals
on the walls of the undercroft at All Saints Church, but hasn’t yet made the
attempt at St. Stephen’s in Colebrook.
It is in these small churches like St. Paul’s in Canaan and
Christ Church in Island Pond where one sees the
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| Christ Church in Island Pond |
Holy Spirit manifested in the
grit and sheer determination to survive of their members. They are like “flag
trees” that grow on the sides of windblown mountaintops whose branches all grow
in the direction of the prevailing wind.
In these rural churches, the congregations do not grow big, but they
grow sturdy. And they are adaptive. With the current “prevailing winds” of
society, communication with one another is paramount. Christ Church in Island
Pond is working with the other small congregations in the Northeast Kingdom to
establish an interactive communications system in effort to better connect with
one another. Through the use of
interactive TV and Skype, these congregations hope to share Bible Studies,
prayer services and other interactions. As the Spirit moves, who knows? Maybe these small parishes will be the
vanguard for greater things to come in our diocese. Imagine every one of the 48 parishes sharing
interactively on a regular basis.
I learned two valuable lessons on my visit to St. Paul’s in
Canaan and Christ Church in Island Pond. First, I learned that isolation and
remoteness does not preclude the presence of the Holy Spirit. God does not neglect anyone who seeks
God. Far away in the Northeast Kingdom,
there is no God-forsaken place, for the blessings of God are everywhere,
including small Episcopal parishes.
Second, I learned that isolation and remoteness are more a lifestyle choice
than a geographic location. Any congregation who loves their church and wants
to keep their church will find a way to do so. It is imperative for others of
us in the diocese to recognize the value of these small and distant
congregations and to support them in their endeavors. When we fail to do so, we
risk becoming isolated and remote ourselves regardless of how centrally located
we may be.
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