Top 25 memories in 25 years

I have been reflecting on my 25 years in Norwich and was trying to come up with the twenty five biggest events to have occurred in our ministry together, Here is the beginning of my list. Can you think of anything else? We can rank them later.

*200th Anniversary Weekend - July 2000

We started it all with a recognition service on Friday night at church. Several special guests were in attendance and several proclamations were read. On Saturday we held a public baptism at Spaulding Pond in Mohegan Park.

*Miracle Sunday - October 1995

In July we began work on the renovation of our sanctuary. We stripped and repainted the ceiling and walls, upgraded the electrical and installed a new sound system. The total cost was just over $30,ooo. In October we planned a special one day campaign to pay for the project. We asked everyone for gifts and pledges to help with the expense. At the end of the day we raised 29,065.45 for the project. special music included a trio of George Rezendes, Nancy Allen and me.

*Building Projects 1996 - 1999

The Access 2000 project kicked off with an exciting ground breaking ceremony on June 6th. Several officials and dignitaries were present as George H. Strouse Jr, and Edith Robinson (our longest standing members) and Brian Grillo (our newest and youngest member) dug in with the first shovels. In January 2000 we celebrated the completion of our major building project which added offices and restroom upstairs and modern bathrooms and increased accessibility to our Fellowship Hall area.

This project was a nice complement to the work done at the back entrance of the church. Cliff Vanase oversaw a project in which a new entrance was made off the parking lot which allowed access to both the upstairs and downstairs in a single entryway.

*First joint worship service with Central Baptist - Jan 2006

On January 15 we began meeting with Central Baptist for eight weeks in the height of winter. We spent two weeks in each place and then moved back and forth accordingly. Rev. Sheldon Keller and I led the services and our choirs came together to form a mass choir. Although there were some adjustments to be made by everyone, it was great fun and very exciting. The first weeks saw record attendance figures as the excitement and novelty of the experiment captured our imaginations. Although the services and the ensuing talks about merger never took hold, we did have a great time and several good things came out of it. The two biggest ministries were the Joint Mission trips and service at the Community Luncheons at St. Mark's.

*Installation Service - October 1985

Rev. Michale Kary (our most recent interim minister) gave the charge to the candidate and Dr. Robert Roberts (Our Executive Minister) gave the charge to the congregation at the service. Dr. Dick Bowser ( The Pastor's mentor) offered the prayer as I was installed as pastor of the church in October 1985. Several colleagues were in attendance including Rev. Carole Simpkins, Rabbi Stuart Altshuler, Monsignor Joseph King, Rev. Ed Bradley, Rev. Bruce Elsensohn, as well as many from the church. It was a beautiful day as Lori sang "No Man is an Island" and the choir sang "Surely The Presence of the Lord is in this Place." Representatives from the SUNL Association and my friends from my home church, Lebanon Baptist came together to mark the official start of our ministry together.

*Youth Group to Colorado - July 2000

When we heard about the opportunity to go to Estes Park with 3,000 kids and group leaders from across the country, our kids got excited. We had never done anything like this before. We had a very large group of senior high students and it seemed perfect. We began raising money in the fall of 1999 and continued right up through July. It was a great experience for all who went. We not only attended ID2K Conference but we also had the opportunity to see God's handiwork in the Rocky Mountain National Park and to travel to the Continental Divide. Travelers included Becky Lord, Joanne Clubine, Amanda Guillemette, Stacia Green, April Rezendes, Jonathan Vanase, Timothy Rezendes, Roland Widstrom Jr. and their chaperons Buffy McFalls, Kay Lautzenheiser, Cliff Vanase and myself.

This trip launched a series of yearly trip which included a mission trip to Florida, Biennial meetings in Providence Rhode Island, a trip to Soul Fest Music Festival in New Hampshire and a second trip to Colorado in 2004.


*First Mission trip to Mexico Feb 2007

After a visit by Mercy Gonzales Barnes Pastor Sheldon Keller and I began talking about a joint mission trip to Mexico. We put together a team of fifteen from the two churches and set off for Mexicali at the end of April 2007. It started an annual trek back to Mexico for the next three years and spurred two stateside mission trips too. Each trip has been a life changing experience for those who went along.

*First Pumpkin Festival - October 1994

We were looking for a new fundraiser when Curt and Mary Brockway suggested a Fall festival featuring painted pumpkins. It blossomed into a great time with pumpkins, crafts, food and games. George Rezendes even built a couple of booths for outside. Kathy Duntz, Patty Bell and the Brockways chaired the event for the four years it ran. We only stopped it when construction began on the new addition and there was no place to hold the festival.


*25th Anniversary service - June 2010

It had to be the hottest day of the summer but it was way too cool. Tiger Lilies adorned the sanctuary and several dignitaries and special friends were on hand to celebrate 25 years of joint ministry. Rev. Greg Hamby preached and Lori and I sang. So did the choir, Steve, Cheryl and Paul and my girls. It was a great day.

*Big 50 Sunday - June 2008

This was a wild idea to help me ease the pain of my 50th birthday. It just so happened that we had a dozen others in the congregation celebrating at the same time and a half dozen couples celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. We added in those celebrating 50 years of membership and made it a great day of worship and praise.

* 190th Anniversary celebration with Rev. Walter Loomis - June 1990 & Rev. Orice Gracey - October 1990

We invited our former pastors back to help us celebrate our 190th Anniversary. Rev. Walter & Marguerite Loomis came in from Ohio to visit and they joined us for a pot luck supper in June/ Rev. Loomis (1944-1951) shared memories of his time in Norwich. In October Rev. Orice & Machon Gracey came up from south Carolina to visit. Rev. Gracey (1952-56) gave the message at our worship service and talked about his ministry in the community back in the 1950's. Doris Royce, our historian, posted wonderful displays to remind us of god's faithfulness down through the years.

* Homecoming - October 1987

We invited friends and family back for a day and honored Louise Strouse for a lifetime of service. Louise came to the church as a young women in the 1940's and it became the center of her life. Working with the women, teaching in the Sunday School, singing in the choir and serving in leadership and service, Louise embodied what it meant to serve the Lord. We had a great day and a wonderful recpetion following worship.

* Celebration of Rev. George Strouse's ministry - May 1988 & October 1999.

There were two times when the ministry of Rev. George H. Strouse was celebrated with gifts and homage. In May of 1988 we received new choir robes in his memory. They were beautiful and the choir felt honored to receive them. Rev. Strouse always appreciated the music of the church and his son and daughter-in-law thought this was an appropriate way to honor his memory. Then in the fall of 1999 money was given by the family to build a new organ in honor of Rev. Strouse. Alan McNeely began working on it during the summer of 99 and completed it in time for it's dedication in October of 1999 in conjunction with our 200th Anniversary service. That month we hosted the Annual Choir Festival and proudly used the organ for the first time in public.

*Christmas Joy - December 1991

We decided to do something different on Christmas Eve and had a living Nativity Scene with actors presenting a tableaux of the Christmas story. Amy Rezendes and Mike Keithley portray Mary & Joseph. The choir presented a Cantata titled "A Simple Gift" and the adults put on a skit at the Christmas Party & Pageant titled, "A Christmas Gift."

*The Bowling League - May 1992

We started a Christian bowling league with hopes that we could fill the norwich Ten Pin with church people during the summer. We had eight teams that year and has as many as twelve teams in our 17 seasons of play. It was a great night out for couples and a lot of fun for all.

* We co-hosted the Annual Meeting of ABCCONN with Central Baptist - April 1994

We welcomed delegates from across the state for the Annual Gathering of Connecticut Baptists. Lee McFalls and Will Willey did a lot of organizing as we painted and spruced up the building and grounds. On Friday we hosted the Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Baptist Minister's Council and treated them to an excellent meal. On Saturday the venue switched to downtown and we helped greet the guests alongside our sister church. It was quite a week-end.