We Are Family...
When we asked recently “what makes this church special” it didn’t come as a surprise that many, young and old, responded that the church was their “home” and its people “felt like family.”
The spirit of family has been a continuous theme in the Ruth Morton church song, a song which has taken 100 years to write, and plays in worship of our Heavenly Father and our Redeemer. Born out in page after page of church records, lovingly preserved in photo after photo, and lived out in the lives of members past and present, is the sense of belonging. We belong to a family built and bound together in Christian love, a body of believers who together in faith can accomplish what no single one of us can accomplish alone. And that was what God had in mind all along…
Ruth Morton church was officially organized in April 1912 with 65 members. Within a decade, it became the third largest Baptist church in British Columbia. By mid-century, the church counted 373 members and over 600 in its Sunday School -- big numbers back in the day. Since it began, the church has weathered many a storm, many a division and as with any family, it celebrated success and suffered loss. The church thrived in a time when church life and social life were very much intertwined. One hundred years later, in an increasingly secular world with attractions and distractions, the church continues to stand firm.
And how did God work that out in Ruth Morton church? Through the prayer and faith of its families. Through ministry that made a difference in individuals - one child at a time, one neighbour at a time. So much so that even as families moved away from the neighbourhood, they continue to call Ruth Morton their home. Some who were once toddlers in the church are now its teachers. There are children now in the church who are third and fourth generation Ruth Mortonites. Several (and not just seniors) can number in decades their years of service here.
And God is not finished with us yet. Only He can say with authority what contributions the church has made to His Kingdom in the last one hundred years or will make in the next hundred. As we celebrate what God has done through this church over this century, and praise Him for the saints that came before us, we look forward to what God will empower us to do in the place where He planted His people -- His family.