Rocky Ford enterprise., 1906-02-16
Last Days Services 10 the 0sd n. q.
Church. rf

Sunday wns specially Interesting
day In the II. +. church. II was the
last day Of the usc Of the church pre-
vious to It's being dismanticd prcpars-
tory to thc erection OF a much larger
and finer building.
Al the morning hour the PASTORS
short sermon was followed by the
sacrament Of the Lords Supper. there
being almost 200 communicates. Sew
ernl new members were received.
In the afternoon members platform
meeting was held for the purpose Of
! reviewing the past and giving some
prophecy Of the future. A. c. Conner
presided and made the opening ad-
dr-ss. speaking Of the organization Of
the church which was proceeded BY
union services and union Sunday
school. MIR. Eastwood was given COM
plimcntary mention for faithfuiness to
the early church. In the early days Of
church services the pastor had to COM
pete with open stores and the click ~
glasses in the saloon Just across Main
street. To secure quictncss during
church services q. W. Swink inter-
viewed the saloon keeper and said to
him. II you don't keep your saloon
shut while the Mcthodists have prcRch-
Ing they Will knock you clear out Of
business. Ut took several years. hut
Mr.. Swink's proph.sy was vcrincd).
J. II. Burr spoke OF his western
Z Kansas experience. walking seven
miles to church. ns compared with the
privileges OF today. The outlook for
! Methodism In Rocky Ford is most pro-
i pitious. The church can be n great
power for good " the membership is
ever faithful to Its trust.
Mr.. Badger gave some recollcctiona
Of former members who were jealous
In the work OF the church In the early
days. Among these he mentioned a. e.
Conner and wife. ani Mr.. Eastwood.
who was Sunday school supcrintend-
ent for many years. Mr.. and Mrs. FL
ser were also valuable members. as
was Mrs. Kennedy. who walked n long
distance to enjoy the church services.
d. w. Barklcy gave some rccollec-
| tions Of former pastors, In the order
Of their work. as follows: John II.
Wood. d. w. Burt. II. r: Antes. NJ. +.
Sapp. II. NJ. Mayo. ]. c.. GIN. e. T.
Burton. J. c. Horn. c. !. Mills. Thos.
Andrew. and J. T. knuckey.,
John Little made a comparison OF
the Epworth Leagues OF the. early days
with present. and incidentally mem
toned the great value OF church menu
bcrs giving strangers pleasant social
greeting. ''.~--''r-
p. ]. Rcifel spoke of the harmony
which prevailed among church people,
| In the early days before any denomi-
| nation had enough members TO organ
| ize II church. and OF several good
workers.. also of the rapid growth Of
the church up to it's present propor-
tons. His view of the future was most
optimistic.
l.. w Babcock said that the church
was now on the threshold of larger
opportunities and greater usefulness.
and that all the varied agencies OF the
church were actively at work and do
ing good service. He placed empha-
, sis on the duty of the church to main
tain its effective zeal In opposition to
| tho saloon.
This meeting was followed by an
old fashioned Love Feast, which was
opened by the time honored custom
of passing bread and water. eating to-
gcther as n symbol of fellowship.
The church being torn down this
week, was built in 1898. The building
committee was composed OF A. C. CO.
mer. j. ]. Elser and H. T.. Ellingwood.
Mrs. J. f. Godding was the largest
contributor to the building fund and in
recognition of her lilIerality she was
given the privilege of selecting from
| the various Church Extension plans
| the design best suited to the needs 'of
Rocky Ford. The building sha select
ed has now been in. use for almost
thirteen years and proved admirably
! ada pied ito the purpose. Its abandsn-
ment at this time Is.selcly because the
demands OF the congregation have out-
sFs&h NJ slsnllra. ana,ntat,d Tor sever:
al years before his death and many Of
| the meetings to discuss church build
ing matters were held at his home.
The board extended to Mrs Elser the
y privilege of selecting the colored glass