By Etta Burnett

(Spencer United Methodist Church)

Transcribed by Tanya

Our Centennial Week left us with a host of happy memories making it a pleasure to recall the events of the celebration.

The Sunday morning service of October 28^th could not be and was not surpassed by any succeeding one. It began with the ringing of the bell from its recently erected tower. Those of us who had heard it ring out from the steeple of the old church were thrilled to hear it ring out again. After the call to worship there was the ritual of consecration of the bell tower followed by another sounding of the bell. The church was filled to capacity and the congregational singing had never been more joyful and enthusiastic. The early Methodists were noted for their singing and we followed in their train as we sang those well loved hymns, "O Worship The King," When We Walk With the Lord" and "I Love to Tell the Story." Orville Syring, our Centennial Committee Chairman, stood at the lectern and read the names of those who had been members for 30 years or more. Each one was escorted to the altar by one of our youth as their name was read, there to have a silk rose (red for the men, pink for ladies) pinned on them by one of the ladies in the choir. Before returning to their seats each one was presented with a Centennial Book. Our hearts were touched as we watched Glen Shupe going to the alter in his wheel chair there to be greeted by our pastor and Reverend Robert Trobaugh of Racine who had been our pastor 27 years previous. There was Ervin Westfall pale and weak from a recent bout with diabetes and our well loved Dora Tesmer from the Colby nursing home, our former organist, and a woman who had reared two families – her own and her daughter’s four children made orphans by the death of both parents. And there was 87 year old Harley Graves stepping quickly forward, walking tall and straight. He has for a number of years given loving care to his invalid wife. Absent at the calling of the role were Harley’s wife, Henrietta, now in a nursing home, Maude and Eva McIlhattan also in nursing homes and Mildred Waldhart visiting her daughter in Arizona, and William Shupe who was visiting his college son where parents were being honored. It was good to see grandsons and granddaughters escorting their grandparents to the altar and to see so many youth in action that morning both as escorts and in the taking of the collection.

About 4:30 P.M. people began to gather in the Fellowship Hall to be there in plenty of time to greet and visit with the former pastors who would be arriving in time for the 6 o’clock supper. It was great to talk with them and their wives. All of us eagerly awaited the arrival of the Schroerlucke’s so we could see how Sarah and Jennifer had grown. At 8 o’clock pastor went to the pulpit and told us briefly about his work since he’d left us and about his family. Two of them had been through the deep waters. One was a widower and one had lost a precious 28 year old daughter through a long cancer illness. The firm faith of that beautiful daughter and that of the two pastors strengthened and increased our faith. Pastor Charles read a letter from Reverend James Hagen who could not be with us. A high light of the evening and indeed of our entire week was the singing of two beautiful hymns, "Precious Lord Take My Hand" and "The Pilgrim’s Song" by Christine Jacobsen, Linda Strong, Carol Talley and Pam Nall.

Monday evening our Service of Song sponsored by our choir. Reverend and Mrs. Bervie Scott stayed over and were our guest singers. We sang many old hymns, among them that old, old hymn "Bringing In The Sheaves." Several members of our choir gave the history of some of the hymns prior to this singing which was most interesting. Reverend Scott conducted the worship service and no one will ever forget his announcement for the collection. First he reminded us that it was a Centennial Collection and called our attention to the fact that our utility bills would increase due to our constant use of the church through out the week. Then in his unique way, he suggested that in our giving we "be quiet about it" adding that he preferred the rustle of the green to the clink of the coins. They sang three lovely duets for us "Whispering Hope," "Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled" and "Surely Goodness and Mercy." We salute the choir for the beautiful service they planned for us and our gratitude and love go out to Bervie and Mildred for their participation in the service. Those duets were good for the soul and the last one, "Surely Goodness and Mercy," could well have been the benediction to our entire week.

On Tuesday evening our United Methodist Women presented a program with Reverend John F. Wreford, pastor of the Marshfield Wesley United Methodist Church, as guest speaker. Reverend Wreford was born and reared in Rhodesia, Africa. His talk was both interesting and informative and some of the slides were strikingly beautiful. His voice did not carry too well making it a bit difficult for some of us who have hearing problems, to get all that he said but all of us, I am sure, left feeling we knew much more about the troubled area in Africa where he had spent his earlier years.

The Shalom Youth Fellowship had a youth supper on Wednesday evening gollowed by a slide presentation, "Teen Missions" given by Ken Bocnuk of Marshfield. Ken is a High School sophomore who went with a group of youth to the Philippines where they helped in the erection of buildings without the aid of modern machinery – everything being done by hand in the old time manner. There were 22 youth in attendance and all agreed they had heard a very good program, that Ken was a good speaker and that it had been great to hear from one of their own. Of course the delicious food provided was promptly consumed and appreciated but it was the program that would remain in their memory.

Thursday was the day of our prayer vigil and from 7:30 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. parishioners were entering and leaving the church each half hour. It was a blessing to spend some time alone with God in the stillness of the sanctuary. The vigil was followed by the 8 o’clock Prayer Service held in the commemoration of the Thursday night Prayer Meetings which had occurred without fail each week for many years. Reverend Raymond Fleming of Marshfield was our guest speaker, speaking on the subject of prayer. He recounted the importance of prayer in the life of the apostles and the early Christian church, how through prayer the Holy Spirit led, guided and sustained them. He stated that true prayer is placing ourselves at God’s disposal. We should listen to God speak to us. When with thankful hearts we pray God hears us and great things have been accomplished in our Kingdom work for God through earnest prayers for those who labor for Him. He commended the practice of setting aside a day of prayer for some specific purpose and stressed the importance of the individual setting aside some time each day to spend alone with God. Following the sermon there was a time of voluntary prayer. The Colby Choir came down and sang two beautiful anthems, "If Christ Should Come" and "God Gives His People Strength." We appreciated their fine contribution to our service and their fellowship. The congregational singing of "Jesus the Very Though of Thee" and the spoken hymn "Breathe On Me Breath Of God" added to the deep meaningfulness of the service. Some of our people left the church saying it was one of the finest services they had ever attened. And the very presence of this retired minister who had loved and served his Master and his fellow men for so many years was like a benediction.

The Men’s Breakfast Fellowship was held on Saturday morning at the usual hour with Christ Mueller of Marshfield as guest speaker. He told about his safari trip to Africa. The breakfast was prepared by Eugene Landwehr and Roger Engel and was not only well appreciated but provided a receptive audience for Mr. Mueller’s interesting talk.

Our final worship services was held Sunday, November 4 at 10:45 A.M. instead of the usual 9:00 o’clock Schedule. Colby church took the first service and some of them drove down to hear our Bishop DeWitt speak. Bishop DeWitt preached a stirring sermon on "The Future Is Now" pointing out to us the challenges and the task of the church in today’s troubled world. Many of us had never met Bishop DeWitt and it was a pleasure and a privilege to visit with him in our Fellowship Hall before and after the dinner. He is a very warm hearted friendly person. One could sense his genuine interest in and his love for people. He enjoyed mingling with us. It was indeed a fitting and inspiring conclusion to our Centennial Week.

There was a brief Afterglow Service held at 2:00 P.M. with 36 in attendance. The Centennial Committee was recognized and a number of individuals shared their thoughts on "What the Centennial Meant to Me." Pastor Charles then spoke on the coming stewartship campaign. Total attendance at all the meetings throughout the week was 685.

This gala week was preceded by many committee meetings, careful planning and a lot of hard work on the part of its members with the exception of this writer (the senior member) who attended only the first meeting in January and whose sole contribution in the line of work was the writing done for the Centennial Book. Much depends upon the chairman and we had a very able one, Orville Syring. He fulfilled all the hope and expectations of his pastor as well as all others in the committee membership. He in turn, would be the first to salute his fellow workers for their whole hearted co-operation, their devotion to the task and their efficient service. Each member assumed certain responsibilities and faithfully executed the same plus other added duties which came up from time to time as the centennial date drew near. It is difficult to find words to do justice to the service given by Pastor Charles in preparation for the big event. In addition to his regular pastoral duties he spent many hours in his office at the church planning and making ready the printing of the programs for each service. As to his leadership in each of those services and his role as official host, no other minister of whatever age or experience could have surpassed him. Putting it in the old time vernacular, he did himself and our church up proud and increased our appreciation and our love. We hope he will, in years to come, look back upon it as one of the finest weeks of his ministry.

There were many outside the committee who gave valuable help. We are mindful of the women who worked in the kitchen for the dinners and coffee hours, and for the beautiful large anniversary cake provided by our cake specialist, Dorla Hinrichsen for the Sunday dinner. Nor do we fail to recognized the estra hours put in by our custodian, Harold Walterbach. He was at the church early and late to see that everything was in order for each service. Another labor of love on Harold’s part. If we were passing out flowers we would give a dozen long stemmed roses to June Ingham who spent hours with Rosa Benson helping to get the invitations ready for the mailing and most of all for her drawing of our church which appeared on all of our centennial programs. Another beautiful service as rendered by three Catholic girls, Deanna and Toni Stephens and Debra Jakel who took charge of the nursery on Sunday November 4 so that no United Methodist need be deprived of hearing their Bishop speak.

The memory of the Colby church people and their continued presence and cooperation throughout the week warms our hearts and commands our gratitude and love. On Tuesday evening some of the ladies brought food for the coffee hour. Then there was their choir providing special music on Thursday evening and flowers given by the Colby United Methodist Women. They came; they became one of us and rejoiced with us.

Our sanctuary was made beautiful with flowers and banners. The flowers were given by individuals, a local business firm (Spencer Farm Supply Co.) and the Colby and Spencer United Methodist Women. Monetary gifts were also given for flowers. The two large banners in the chancel with the words "Praise God We Celebrate" printed in beautiful white letters on a red background and the words "100 years of Methodism" on the other were made by Bettye Nall. On one side wall of the sanctuary was a banner bearing a lovely replica of our church and the words "Always Becoming" made by our parsonage lady, Linda Strong. On the other side wall another banner upon which were three symbols, the sun, a star and the sky with the following words for each respective symbol – "Walk in His Sunshine," "Wish on a Star," "Reach For the Sky." This unusual and beautiful banner was made by Nanette Hastings and Judy Jensen, both members of Linda’s Sunday School class. The banners still remain on the walls for our enjoyment.

Our Union Thanksgiving Day service will be held at the Colby church this year. We will go with thankful hearts as we remember our material, National and spiritual blessings and the joy and blessings of our Centennial Week. While there we will make earnest pleas to our Heavenly Father for the safe return of our hostages in Iran and for their families here at home and we shall not forget the sick, hungry, frightened people in Cambodia.

Shortly thereafter we enter another Advent Season, a time of looking back to the first advent and a looking forward to the second one which is why the start and the cross as Christmas symbols cannot be separated. Had there been no star over Bethlehim’s mager and no cross on Calvary’s hill, we would have no church anniversaries to celebrate. And so we shall walk again the Christmas road as we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child. We will be singing the old familiar Christmas carols and there will be the lighting of the advent candles both at church and in our homes. On Christmas Eve we will wond our way to church for the candlelight service and receive our individual candle as we enter the sanctuary. How better to end our Centennial year than to share in the lighting of one anothers candle and then in the semi-darkness sing "Silent Night".