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Grand River Mission Past and Future (by :Cnos T. Montour) Twenty-two years ago this spring, the Grand River Jviissforr lay in a serni-circle from Tiillow Grove, through New Credit to Lartin 1 s Corner. There had been no resident £1in- ister there for several rwnths. · The church buildings were in a diSiJlal state of dis- repair. Only i n · Opsweken was there hydro, gr ;::i.vell:,d roads, phones or i.ridoor pl umbing. v\lhen the frost: went out in the spring, the side roads became impassable. . In all this, there was one visible and :oromising .!=Jsset.; the United Church people. Hen, women and children were there; ready to respond to spiritual leadership. Near Smoothtown, the Delaware Church had only recently been reopened aftgr ten years of disuse. It sat flat on the grrnmd without basement or hall. It was heated by an ancient wood stove; had a wheezy old organ and was lighted by fizzing gasoline lamps. The Grand River Church sat: along the river f ar away from where the action was. Its brick veneer was sagging, the rear wall was bulging out and it had no toner or porch. New Credit had its 100 year old brick church with tall spire a:.r1d spidery long stove pip_es th.at rose .to the high ceili.rig. The Band Council looked aft er its upkeep. · .. Th~ Stone Ridge (yes, Stone Ridge) was the best kept of all the United Churches. Built of stone and brick , and .with a devoted volunt eer janitor, it was kept spotless inside and out. A small devout group met there awaiting the arrival of the new minister. At that time, there was no suitable residence for the minister. Of course at Hew Credit • there stood a red brick parsonage built in the early 1820 1 s. It was falling apart with age and neglect. Its doors swurig open, not with welcome, but with neglect. Presby- tery oversight was casual. · About that time an historic meeting was called i~ the rented Orange Hall in Ohsweken. It was a banquet or pot~luck supper, and its aim was to centralize and co-ordinate all the .United Church work. It was unique and a bit awkward since it brought together three different tribes as well as church districts. The venerable Dr. Dorey was there from Tor6nto, arriving a bit late. The meeting decided to take steps to build a J'fanse in Ohsweken and centralize the Reserve work. The renovat ion of the churches followed, .with locoµ meetings to decide and plcl!l. At Delawq.re, they came over dark and rrruddy roads to the church lit by fizzi.rig gasoline lamps, casting an eerie glow over the room. After much discussion, a little tense at times, it was decided to put a basement under the ancient church. Hext day "all hands" pitched in. One devout lady filled the wagons at 10 P .L. , aft er the men had finished the day ' s work • .A. local engineer was found to supervise the lif ting of the old church. At Grand -River the church board met and, with the co-operation of the ~resbytery and Home Hissions Board, renovation was planned. The contract, .for the removal of the sagging bricks, was let to the Davis Bros. of Cainsville. lJilbur i,onture built a cement ·buttress at -the rear, and a tower was erected at the front entrance. New Credit . ·and Stone · Ridge Churches needed no special work. Gala opening ceremonies were held on Sunday afternoons for t he reopening of the Dela- ware and. Grand River Churches. A special one wa s held for the dedication of the nod- ern Ohsweken Eanse with attached garage. On opening day, this large sign graced the front vernandah "Akwekon kwahonkar.awis omisaway!" (ask Rev . . GSS to translate this.) 1,fomens Associations arose at Delaware and at Grand River. There was already a Ladies Aid at New Credit with the faithful Flo ICing as Director and worrier. A strong cent- ral l{anse Committee was appointed and enjoyed their work . These womens groups have gone und~r several names, now UCWs - but the dear ladies, called by any other name, would be as, er-nice! The spiritual side was not neglected. lfany young parents now, on and off the reserve, had their 11 Hour of Decision" when, after study and prayer, they walked up the isle to sign the Book of Faith. Some may still remember t his sublime occasion. The Res erve 1'-'iinisterial met regularly to pl an Religious Instruction in all 13 schools,. A Stlecial one was for the visit of Lord and Lady ~uexander to dedicate the _war memorial at Ohs- weken. 11Hr Canada" , John Ji.sher paid us a visit and left an autographed caopy of his book with the minister. '.Jhen the council f arewelled lawyer Le~d.ux, the U.C. minister was asked to address him in 11high school french" (C'est magnifique, mais ce n 1 est pas Francais " ) The .Social Hall (Rumpus Room) at New Credit was built and equipped for basketball, pl ayed l a.rgely without r ul ::;s. CGIT groups and Boys Clubs were organized. l.felding and rop e t yi ng were t aught, and a CG Rally was held at Ohsweken during a lfarch storm. Brantford CGers came down to mingle with us. ( cont' d )