Final worship at Maberly United Church

Karen Prytula | Oct 01, 2015

On Sunday, September 27, Maberly United Church, founded in 1885, hosted their final worship to mark the official closing, and de-commissioning of the church in an open service with special music provided by Fiddlers and Friends. The congregation will now gather for their Sunday services at Sharbot Lake.

During the hour-long ceremony Amanda Avery lit the Christ Candle and between hymns, prayers, and scripture readings, members of the congregation stood up, one by one, and recounted their favourite memories of Maberly United Church: Reverend Rock, from the rock (Newfoundland) led a Sunday service from this church on a rock; the excellent meals that were served after some services; the people who arrived late because they had earlier chores to do.

Then there was the memory of the groom whose father turned the car around at the top of the church hill, and backed over the other side. Someone from Maberly had to come with their tractor and pull the car back up.

Sue Munro expressed that she started playing the organ there in 1995, and worries that she might have been responsible for the dwindling congregation over the years!

There were touching memories as well, especially when Paul Pospisil shared his thoughts on the power of prayer.

Not all memories were good ones: Irene Hawley shared her worst memory - the hill in winter! Maberly United Church was built up on a rock; to get up there you have to walk up a steep hill. Irene recounted that while a couple of people might have made it up the icy hill, most did not, and ended up sliding back down on their rear-ends, the women ruining their stockings!

Even though population patterns are moving targets and are often the reason for a declining congregation, if one were to consider the number of people who were in attendance at this last ceremony, one would wonder why the church is closing. People came from as far away as Brockville, Ottawa, and the far reaches of Lanark County, and totalled over 90.

The Maberly congregation has generously donated their organ to the Anglican Church up the road since the one they have is very old and doesn’t sound so good anymore. Other items inside the church may be offered back to the families that donated them, or they might be moved to Sharbot Lake United Church. Other items might be dispersed among other United Churches, depending on their needs.

When the ceremony ended, Rev. Jean Brown walked the Christ Candle down the aisle and placed it on a table inside the entrance to the church. The parishioners exited past the candle and made their way towards Maberly Hall, where lunch was served. The church was locked up.

Since Grace was said at the church, it was agreed that no mealtime prayer was needed and so the line-up started. It was a bountiful meal that included all types of baked beans, jello salads and casseroles, and, of course, desserts, and was enjoyed by all.

A brief history of the Maberly United Church

As told at the church's final service on Sunday, September 27, 2015

Built on a rock on top of a hill in Maberly, the Maberly United Church is one of the many United churches across Canada that have been closing at the rate of one per week over the last 12 years. Church services began in Maberly long before the present day church was built and in the early decades of the 1800s were performed by a Methodist circuit rider from Perth. Prior to 1845, the first church in Maberly, which was located in the Laidley's Maberly United Church cemetery, was a Methodist church built entirely of cedar logs and aptly called the Cedar Chapel.

The second church, which was built in 1845, was located one mile west of the village since in those days of the horses and buggies, churches were built based on the distance that a horse and buggy could easily travel.

The present day Maberly United Church was built in 1885 by George Charlton and was at that time called the Maberly Methodist Church. The story goes that Charlton and Richard Duffy had sat for many hours on a large stone on a hill top in the village to discuss the building site for the new church and that long after dark the two men reached their final decision and these words were expressed, “On this rock we shall build our church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” That rock still lies under the existing church floor roughly 10 feet from the pulpit.

In January 1885, a service led by Rev. Whitting was held dedicating the new church. At that time the church included a very tall spire, which was built on the floor of the entry vestibule and was pulled with ropes and pulleys through an opening in the roof that caused many involved to fear for the safety of the volunteers.

It is believed that Art Munro's grandfather, Joe Munro, placed the ball on top of the spire that was engraved with his initials. The spire unfortunately was later struck by lightening and a fire bucket brigade that stretched from the Fall River to the church saved the building from burning down. Around 1940 the wind blew the spire away and the hole it left in the roof was filled in. Back in June 1925 with the founding of the United Church of Canada the Maberly Methodist Church was renamed the Maberly United church and a newly formed pastoral charge that included the churches of Maberly, Brooke and Bolingbroke was formed.

On October 6, 1935 the church celebrated its 50th anniversary with Rev. G.A. Beatty of Balderson presiding. The program was formatted on a Seth Parker old-fashioned song style service and included choruses, duets, stories, prayers, poems and addresses and the event was attended by 270 people.

In 1947 Maberly's sister church, Bethel United Church, built in 1893 and located eight miles north of Maberly on the 11th concession of Bathurst Township, collapsed. Twenty years later the Maberly church united with the United churches of Sharbot Lake and Parham to form the Centenary Pastoral Charge. On June 23, 1985 the congregation celebrated their 100th anniversary with former minister Rev. Ron Smeaton as guest speaker and presiding clergy Rev. James Armstrong. Over the year the church congregation took part in a regular joint Sunday school and joint women's and men's groups with Maberly's Anglican church.

Countless funerals, weddings, baptisms, communions, lunches, suppers, weekly worships and confirmations have been held at the United church over the years along with special events for the annual Maberly Fair.

In the winter of 2015 the members of the Maberly congregation made the decision and chose to worship in Sharbot Lake. On May 20, 2015 the church voted to amalgamate with Sharbot Lake United. On September 3, 2015 the Maberly church trustees introduced a letter requesting that the Maberly church be sold. At Sunday's final service, the spoken history of the church concluded with the words “As the doors of Maberly United close in the final service of September 27, God is opening new doors of opportunity and hope and new ways of being the church.”

This history is a condensed version that was written with files by Josephine VanAlstine, Rosetta McInnes, Bethel Women's Institute Tweedsmuir History Books, Dayle VanAlstine, and conversations with many, including Doreen and Roy Warwick. It was read at the service by Doreen Warwick and Amanda Avery.