Church at the Park during the Summer Season by Sandra Rafuse

I love the four seasons that we get to experience here in Saskatchewan every year. Each one is so different from the others. They arrive within days of their scheduled time, they stay for their allotted days, and then they leave...sometimes stealthily...sometimes swiftly, and meanwhile we get to experience the arrival of  the next season. The people in our church get to have a change of environment every time summer arrives. We start driving to our local regional park to attend church services starting on the long weekend in May and ending on the long weekend in September, so long as the weather remains good until then. We've done this for years and it's what we're doing right now. 

We all look forward to the change from using the town hall in a tiny hamlet; a very nice hall indeed with a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a large adjoining room for storage of the folding tables and chairs...to using a bare-bones rectangular building with a few plug-ins, three fairly new windows, a back door, and a wide sliding door that opens at the front to allow people to go in and out. Inside there are no ceiling tiles so you can see the rafters holding up the roof. The stacking wooden chairs and a couple of tables are stored in the C Can (a shipping container) outside, along with all the paraphernalia needed for potlucks.

Speaking of potlucks...they take place after the service almost every Sunday of the year. Since we all come from different locations and we all drive different distances, it makes a lot of sense to bring a dish of food to share with each other while we visit and enjoy a home cooked meal. 

This season at the park reminds us of what we sometimes forget. We're a good church family. We're made up of a collection of many kinds of people, especially, in this area, farmers and ranchers. Just like other church families, we help each other whenever help is needed. We share our good news and our bad news and we rally around those who need prayer. And we're a close church family. We are all friends. We might not all be best friends but we are brothers and sisters in Christ and that keeps us together. 

Something wonderful happened today at the annual men's retreat and trail ride out at Mitchell's Meadow. Even though this did not happen at the park, it was an important day in this season. Several of our men church members were in attendance there. It happened that the thirteen year old son of one of the organizers had requested to be baptized at the church service. When the time came, we walked out to a grass covered field and spread out in a large circle around the big black stock waterer that was sitting there. The pastor spoke to the boy about what the act of baptism involved, and the boy's mom and dad each spoke words of love and encouragement to their son before he was baptized. A short time later, he was walking around his circle of friends with a huge smile on his face, hugging those he felt closest to. Several minutes later we were back in our chairs, and having taken communion, we were ready for the service to end. Just then a young man asked if he could say a few words. He was a new Christian and had been so moved by the baptism he had just witnessed, and so touched by the words he had just heard, that after he spoke, he asked if he could be baptized right there and then. Immediately some of the men went up to hug him...to hold him close...most with tears in their eyes. Then we all walked back to where the stock waterer was still sitting and witnessed the second baptism of the day!

 

Sandra Rafuse lives in the small town of Rockglen, Saskatchewan with her husband Bob, a Gordon Setter named Sadie, an elderly and much loved cat named Kitty, and a Peregrine falcon named Peet. She is a retired teacher and an amateur writer and is enjoying having the opportunity to share what God has been teaching her through her life experiences.                                                                                                                                                                          

P.S. Mitchell's Meadow is a meadow in land owned by one of our church families. The young man who got baptized is one of our former students.