Friends and Members:
In 1990 I was serving a church in a small New Hampshire town, I decided to become a census taker for the government that year .. It was a very interesting experience. Some people were courteous and willing to answer the questions others not so welcoming. It gave me a chance to meet many of the people of the town and countryside. Census records are a good way to find relatives and also to see the life in the times they were taken. I do not know how many of you have had the opportunity to view a page from the US Census reports of the mid-1800s. The information was entered on the form by hand but most interesting were the categories as listed at the tops of each column. They were as follows: Dwellings-houses numbered in the order of visitation, Families numbered in the order of visitation, The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of the month was in the family, Age, Sex, Color (White, Black or Malatto), Profession, Occupation, Trade of each Male Person over 15 years of age. Value of Real Estate owned, Place of Birth-Naming the State, Territory, or Country, Married within the year, Attended School within the year, Person over 20 years of age who cannot read and write and the last column “Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper or convict.” When you read the headings on those columns you get a picture of the difficulties that those living then must have faced. Also you become aware of the way that families included all members of the family regardless of there mental, physical or financial circumstances. Every page I read had a number of family units that were at least 6-10 persons and every page had at least one who was unable to read and write and a person who fit into one of the last column of description. When reading old census reports one is drawn into the lives of these families and one cannot help but feel the difficulties of their existence. Written history comes alive when we allow ourselves to live within that spirit and time. If we treat the way we read and study our Biblical record we can also feel the Spirit of God moving through history and coming alive within and around us. There is a saying, “The past is the key to the present.” How true that is when one travels through the living past as seen in census reports and the spirits of those who traveled our roads before us both in faith and family.
OPPORTUNITIES
Sunday, March 6th— 10:30 am Sunday Worship and Communion First Sunday of Lent
Scriptures: Deuteronomy 26:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13
Sermon: “Wilderness Companions”
THURSDAY, March 10th—11:00 am—Bible Study – Book of Joshua
Sunday, March 13th –Daylight Savings Begins
11:30 AM Church Council
Tuesday, March 15th –11:30 am The Bethlehem Diners will have lunch at the Southern Kitchen in New Market
Sunday, April 17th—Easter
Saturday, May 21st—Spring Bazaar
Proverb for the Week: “Plans fail for lack of counsel but with many advisors they succeed” Proverbs 15:22
Bob Edwards, Minister
In 1990 I was serving a church in a small New Hampshire town, I decided to become a census taker for the government that year .. It was a very interesting experience. Some people were courteous and willing to answer the questions others not so welcoming. It gave me a chance to meet many of the people of the town and countryside. Census records are a good way to find relatives and also to see the life in the times they were taken. I do not know how many of you have had the opportunity to view a page from the US Census reports of the mid-1800s. The information was entered on the form by hand but most interesting were the categories as listed at the tops of each column. They were as follows: Dwellings-houses numbered in the order of visitation, Families numbered in the order of visitation, The name of every person whose usual place of abode on the first day of the month was in the family, Age, Sex, Color (White, Black or Malatto), Profession, Occupation, Trade of each Male Person over 15 years of age. Value of Real Estate owned, Place of Birth-Naming the State, Territory, or Country, Married within the year, Attended School within the year, Person over 20 years of age who cannot read and write and the last column “Whether deaf and dumb, blind, insane, idiotic, pauper or convict.” When you read the headings on those columns you get a picture of the difficulties that those living then must have faced. Also you become aware of the way that families included all members of the family regardless of there mental, physical or financial circumstances. Every page I read had a number of family units that were at least 6-10 persons and every page had at least one who was unable to read and write and a person who fit into one of the last column of description. When reading old census reports one is drawn into the lives of these families and one cannot help but feel the difficulties of their existence. Written history comes alive when we allow ourselves to live within that spirit and time. If we treat the way we read and study our Biblical record we can also feel the Spirit of God moving through history and coming alive within and around us. There is a saying, “The past is the key to the present.” How true that is when one travels through the living past as seen in census reports and the spirits of those who traveled our roads before us both in faith and family.
OPPORTUNITIES
Sunday, March 6th— 10:30 am Sunday Worship and Communion First Sunday of Lent
Scriptures: Deuteronomy 26:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13
Sermon: “Wilderness Companions”
THURSDAY, March 10th—11:00 am—Bible Study – Book of Joshua
Sunday, March 13th –Daylight Savings Begins
11:30 AM Church Council
Tuesday, March 15th –11:30 am The Bethlehem Diners will have lunch at the Southern Kitchen in New Market
Sunday, April 17th—Easter
Saturday, May 21st—Spring Bazaar
Proverb for the Week: “Plans fail for lack of counsel but with many advisors they succeed” Proverbs 15:22
Bob Edwards, Minister