|
Published - Oct 29th, 2009
By By Rev. W. Martin Dawson, Arthur United Church
A few weeks ago I was doing some research into the worship tradition of the Moravian Church called the “love feast”. I was viewing an old video recording from Labrador, and I had noticed this service performed in the church at Makkovik, Labrador. My interest sprung from the fact that John Wesley, the founder of the Methodists, had incorporated the same practice of sharing a communal fellowship meal in his new expression of Christian faith. (Wesley was greatly inspired by the Moravians, as he travelled with them on a stormy voyage back to England from America.) Secondly, my interest was stirred because I can remember the Makkovik school volleyball team playing against our local team in Lumsden, Newfoundland, when I was posted there back in 1998. The Makkovik team seemed to come from the most isolated place that I had ever heard of, as there are no roads to Makkovik. A coastal ship brings in all the supplies. However, after viewing the video, I found that it seemed much like the communities that I served in northern Newfoundland (except that we had a road). Thus, they appeared not to be as isolated as I supposed at first.
I gazed at the map of Labrador further, and then I noticed the abandoned settlement of Hebron, Labrador. Now, that is truly remote! It is hundreds of miles north of Makkovik. The Moravian Church started a mission at Hebron in 1831. Soon a trading store and medical services followed. However, life was a constant struggle there. Europeans brought diseases that killed many inhabitants. There was little firewood, so heating was always tenuous. A large mission church and residence was built to try to cope with the hardships, but by 1959, it was decided to abandon the site. Fifty-eight families moved on to other towns. Today, a cruise ship will take you to the old settlement, and the buildings still stand in good condition, but now there remains a ghostly feel about the place.
Sometimes, people can feel as isolated as the abandoned settlement of Hebron. Family and friends seem distant. Perhaps, they only come at seasonal intervals like the old coastal supply ships. When they depart, you are left with the howling wind and hollow sound of your own voice for company. In the Bible you will find many of the Psalms address this feeling of isolation. David appears to have suffered from it greatly. His writings call on God for comfort and relief. He sounds so lonely. But, it is unlikely that David was actually as isolated as the Hebron mission site. David had lots of people around him. The problem was that they were all seen as enemies. David calls to God for help and refuge, but what David actually wants is a combination of vindication and retribution. Had he forgotten the advice of Proverbs 25, where we are instructed to actually aid our enemies? What David really needs is reconciliation and reintegration. Later, the apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans (Chapter 12), informs us that we should bless those who persecute us. Indeed, we should try to overcome evil with good.
I have often wondered what the world would be like if we each took the initiative in attempting to restore relationships, instead of waiting for someone else to start first. Today, Hebron is truly isolated, but as you gaze upon it, it stands as a reminder to us that we, like the former inhabitants, have to move on.
Related Stories
| |
|
|
|
|
On occasion I am able to listen to the radio while driving around our area as I do pastoral care. One station seems to have a regular program where listeners are allowed to phone in and air their frustrations. Usually, these grievances are political in nature, but oftentimes the lack of social etiquette is questioned. I usually snicker, as I share
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Wow! What a time it was at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on the second Sunday of November. A person would have to travel a long way from the town of Arthur to get the same amount of inspiration. This event was organized by Karl Watson and Willaby Cotton, and they should be recognized for all their hard organizational work. Moreover, Karl p
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
By September of 1871 work on the newly created Toronto-Grey Bruce railway line was just about completed in the Arthur area. In December of that year, the first freight train chugged into the Arthur station to be followed a week later by the first passenger train.
The original station at Arthur was built on the north side (Luther side) of the tracks
|
|
|
|
