The Cape Cod church in eastern Massachusetts recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its current building with a heart-warming, God-centered weekend. The five still-living former pastors and their wives were ecstatic about attending. “The entire theme of the weekend was to involve them in every way we could,” said Cape Cod head elder Charlie Case. On Friday night, the former pastors and the current pastor, Chuck Holtry, each had 15 minutes to share their memories, what they learned, and where they went after leaving Cape Cod. Even the youth of the church attended this service, showed interest, and were really quite engaged.
For Sabbath School, each pastor taught one day of the lesson quarterly. Southern New England Conference president, Robert Folkenberg, Jr., preached the sermon, and each of the pastors was hand-picked to participate in a different portion of the church service based on his giftedness.
In the afternoon, everyone enjoyed a musical program—again featuring the five pastors and a duet by Folkenberg and his wife, Audrey. Case presented a history of the church, and charter member Susan Duenas presented a slideshow featuring photos of their Pathfinders, youth programs, and the Bayberry Elementary School.
“The whole weekend glorified God,” said Case. “God was the focus of the entire weekend—no glory to self, people, or church.”
In a warm-hearted, thoughtful gesture, the church arranged for all six pastors to stay for two nights at one large inn, where they could mingle and chat before and after programs if they wished.
The Southern New England Conference praises God for the unity and love shown, and wishes the Cape Cod church another 50 years of serving God and the community, or until our Lord returns.
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Sandra Dombrowski, communication team, Southern New England Conference
Photo: Former Cape Cod church pastors and their wives, from left, George and Susan Whitsett, Cliff and Sue Gleason, Steve and Tina Jencks, Mark and Pam Gagnon, and John and Carmen Piroski, pose with Chuck and Christina Holtry, the current church pastor and his wife.
