Parishioners sang the praises of the Collingwood First Baptist Church on Sunday while gathering to celebrate the 145th anniversary of the church.
The church celebrated with a special service and lunch on Sunday welcoming a guest pastor to speak, Pastor Craig Pitts.
Judith Ann Morrill, chair of the board of the First Baptist Church, says she’s been a member of the church for 71 years as she first attended as a child with her family. She says her grandparents were also parishioners.
“I was just a babe in arms when I first came,” laughs Morrill.
Morrill has seen declining numbers in the congregations as well as an aging population, but it doesn’t shake her faith and the church works to try to do outreach in the community.
“We have a planning committee right now that is looking at ways to get us more involved in the town,” says Morrill, pointing to initiatives already underway, including assisting with Home Horizons and Housing First.
Collingwood First Baptist Church started in 1873 with 13 parishioners who met in a stable. The first organizational meeting was at the home of William Russell on Second Street in Collingwood.
According to Pastor Paul Wilkes, the main difference between the Baptist faith and other Christian faiths is the baptism. In the Baptist faith, emphasis is put on the baptism of the whole body and it isn’t administered until a person can consent to the symbolic ritual.
Back in 1873, parishioners were baptized directly in the South Georgian Bay.
Paul Dulmage grew up in the United church, but converted to become a Baptist for love.
“My wife and I were married in this church in 1961,” says Dulmage. While he spent a lot of his life travelling around the county, he eventually retired to Collingwood and has attended First Baptist ever since.
Pastor Paul Wilkes has visited the church before as an interim pastor, but has been with the congregation full time since May 2017.
“I’ve known (this church) for 11 years,” says Wilkes. “The folk are friendly and we (Wilkes and his wife, Sandy) fell in love with the people.”
While it’s nice to celebrate 145 years of history, Wilkes has his eyes firmly forward.
“I’d like to encourage the church to move forward to new things,” says Wilkes. “The past is the past, I’d like to move things into the future.”
Wilkes says the group is looking for any opportunities they can find to help and serve in the community.
“We like to open the doors for people in the community to just see the building and the history,” he says.
While the church has a total of 26 members presently, Pastor Wilkes sees the small congregation as being a positive.
“The smaller congregation... people know each other,” says Wilkes. “We can support each other. When there’s a need, we can share it.”
“I’ve attended a church that was big and for two years... I didn’t really get involved in anything because you’re kind of just anonymous. Here, you’re made to feel welcomed.”
Dulmage puts a specific term on the feeling of a small congregation.
“We’re a family,” says Dulmage. “Everybody knows everybody, and it’s like a family gathering. It’s a nice feeling.”
