by Drew Page
CANTERBURY (August 10, 2011) -- It is difficult to image what life was like three hundred years ago. The greatest technological advancement of that year was the invention of the tuning fork. Connecticut was a developing colony claiming land all the way east to the Narragansett Bay, and much of that land was clear cut for pasture and farming, crisscrossed by stone walls that we now find aged with moss and hidden in the forests.
This past June, the First Congregational Church of Canterbury celebrated its 300th Anniversary. Like many small towns in CT, Canterbury saw several reconstructions of its meeting place, the most recent finishing in 1965. Likewise the congregation has seen centuries of change. Imagine a church today being reconstructed by members who took out second mortgages on their own homes in order to rebuild after a fire.
One thing has remained the same according to Rev. Oscar Brockmeyer.
"For three centuries the church has preached the gospel of Jesus Christ and shared God’s love in his name," says Brockmeyer. "Traditional Reformation values such as liberty of conscience and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit are alive and well here."
Yet Canterbury is also a "new" church that has responded to social changes throughout the centuries.
"Here people are free to be who they really are without fear of rejection," says Brockmeyer. "They soon learn that our members and friends experience God and express faith in a variety of ways—and that’s a good thing that enhances the spiritual growth of all! As a result, un-churched members of the wider community are comfortable coming to us."
Canterbury has celebrated its anniversary with several special services at the church, a church picnic on June 12th - the anniversary date of the church, a float in the July 4 parade, and special "Old Home Day" on the church lawn.
The Greens Farms Congregational Church in Westport is also celebrating its 300th anniversary. Just as Canterbury had separated from Plainfield, Greens Farms began when its community separated from Fairfield, creating the West Parish of Fairfield, and eventually Westport.
Greens Farms, whose anniversary was also June 12th, was recognized through proclamations from the U.S. Congress, the Connecticut Governor and General Assembly and the Town of Westport as well as through an all-Church picnic. The Church has engaged in a host of events during the past year to celebrate its three centuries of worship. Its theme for the year - Remember, Rejoice, Renew - has guided the congregation through a variety of activities, from the restoration of grave markers in the church's cemetery and an oral history session conducted by its more senior members (Remember), the musical celebration of the church which included the commissioning of an original concerto for organ and brass quintet, a new anthem and a new hymn (Rejoice), and a congregation-wide effort to rededicate their church mission toward both local and global outreach (Renew). For a complete list of Green's Farms celebration activities which continue this fall, visit the Greens Farms website: www.greensfarmschurch.org/300years.
