by Bonnie Seely

The congregation of Shiremanstown United Methodist Church observed the bicentennial anniversary of its first recorded meeting, March 24, 1800, on Sunday, March 19, 2000, in a special service characterized by joyful celebration and good fellowship. The Reverend John A. Ile kept the service moving, in his role as host pastor to Bishop Neil L. Irons, who was with the congregation as guest speaker on this momentous occasion. In honor of the special service Sunday School was canceled and the church service moved forward a half hour to begin at 10:00 a.m.

The service began on a bittersweet note, with an announcement by Gwen Burridge of the appointment of John Kurtz to serve as pastor of SUMC effective July 1, following the retirement of current pastor, John Ile, who, along with his lovely wife Anna Mae, will be sorely missed. Following that announcement, John Wolfe gave the Bicentennial Minute, the subject of which was the Shopp family, and the importance of their contributions to the church. He reminded the congregation that, in addition to Johannes and Anna Shopp opening their home to pioneer preachers, a practice continued by Johann and Louise Shopp, who also contributed the land for the first church, built in 1827, subsequent family members contributed leadership and financial support, and some have served in the ministry. The Shopp cemetery remains as part of our heritage.

The service abounded in music and praise. In addition to three moving and inspirational numbers by the senior choir, which included "Washed Anew" by Thomas Keesecker, the lyrics of which rejoice in our cleansing by the Lord’s mercy, and "Christ is the King" arranged by Donald Busarow, which speaks of church purpose throughout history and of unity, there were also numbers by the bell choir, the youth choir, and the children’s choir. The bells liquid notes cascaded forth the hymn "Crown Him With Many Crowns." After leading the congregation in the "old" chorus "Blessed Be the Name," the youth choir challenged us to again join them, this time in a hand-clapping updated "new" version of the theme, with the words, "Blessed be the Lord of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. And all the people said, ‘Amen!’" The children’s choir did a fine performance of "O Sing to the Lord," but their favorite verse was "Shout!" The bicentennial theme song composed by choir director Charles (Chip) Custer was introduced to the congregation for the first time at this service, and sung with enthusiasm. The words, modeled after the theme for the year, "Hope for the future through faith from the past," are as follows:

Other out of the usual additions to the service included a responsive litany of thanks and petition, in which Pastor John Ile led and the congregation responded:

L - As we begin the third century for this congregation, we rejoice in the wonderful blessings of the past. You have been our guide, our guardian, and most of all our Savior.

P - We thank you for the many leaders who have been instrumental in guiding us through challenging times and times of joy, through trials and tribulations leading us to a sense of peace of God and contentment.

L - You, O Lord, have been our hope and we know that You still offer that hope for the future. You have promised to build the Church and keep it safe by Your power.

P - Today we humble ourselves before You in the understanding that You still offer that hope for the future. You have promised to build the Church and keep it safe by Your power.

L - As our forefathers started this congregation two centuries ago, using the faith that You instilled in each one of them, may we continue to exhibit that trusting faith as well.

P - May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire us. May Your Word speak to our hearts, and may we find in You the strength and courage we need to face the future, realizing that apart from You we can do nothing. Amen.

Following the pastoral prayer, given by Pastor Ile, Irene Pheasant prayed the Lord’s Prayer in German, in remembrance of the fact that the German language was prevalent in this area 200 years ago, and is quite likely the language in which the earliest meetings of this congregation were conducted. The Juniors for Jesus youth group gave a thought provoking performance of a skit which could be entitled "The Boring Youth Group." The conclusion reached by the characters in the skit was that using biblical principles to plan youth group events is the way NOT to be "boring!"

SUMC was honored to have the message of the morning presented by Bishop Neil L. Irons, a native of West Virginia, who first served in the pastorate in the states of West Virginia and Tennessee. In July of 1984 he was elected to the episcopacy, following which he spent 12 years in service in New Jersey. On September of 1996 he became bishop of the Harrisburg area. His son, Andrew resides in Hershey, and daughter Ann in Reading. Central to Bishop Iron’s message was the concept of learning to dream God’s vision of and for the world. He opened with remarks on the universal nature of the work done by the local church, past and present. In keeping with the bicentennial event, he reflected back 200 years, reminding his listeners of the world in which that first gathering of this congregation occurred: with Thomas Jefferson president, and the Louisiana Purchase not yet made; most of Pennsylvania recently - within a generation ( 20 years) - purchased from Native Americans; and the newly formed church sitting on the edge of a frontier, in a society that was only 10% to 15% Christian. From that thought, he moved to define the word Dream. He defined "dream" as one’s spiritual capacity, disciplined by prayer and scripture; as the ability to see a world that is different from the one in which we live. When we dream by this definition, says Bishop Irons, "God begins to pull us into the new reality." The scriptural example the Bishop used was that of Moses’ mother, who, finding herself in a world where her infant son was to be killed by order of Pharaoh, envisioned a way in which he might live, and acted on that vision to make it reality. Bishop Irons reminded the congregation that God empowers us if we immerse ourselves in prayer and scripture. He gives us faith — conviction about things not seen — and gives us capacity to see beyond ourselves to how He wishes us to be. We bring ourselves to church, said Bishop Irons, in order that we might learn to Dream — to give ourselves to the God who comes and sits with us in our pews. When the way is hard, God makes it clear that there is another way. Like Moses’ mother, we, with God’s help, dream Life into the world, and not Death. The work of the church is the work of Moses’ mother; to dream, plan, create a better world for the people who are still in need. We have not only assurance, but CONVICTION about the future, so that we begin to DO something! Our task is to be so in touch with God that we see the places that we need to move. He closed with the reminder that we live in a "long, glorious, splendid" line of people who were willing to take on the evil of the day. We need strength, power and vision to carry the vision of the church into our community. Following the Bishop’s benediction, the senior choir closed the service with the stirring anthem "Carry the Light," sung as a choral response. Coffee, punch and donut holes were served in the fellowship hall following the service. Two hundred eighty persons were in attendance.

No account of this bicentennial service would be complete without mention of the hard work and long hours of planning done by the bicentennial committee, with special thanks to Carol Wilson and Joe Seidel, co-chairpersons, who have worked with the committee for four years on planning a year-long celebration of the bicentennial. The bulletin, printed on special stock, was Joe Seidel’s creation, with an attractive cover featuring artwork (a sketch) taken from some old note cards found in the archives. In addition to the order of service, the bulletin contained the bicentennial calendar for the year, a brief history of Shiremanstown Church, and a listing, in order of dates of service, of former pastors.

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