Hi Friends,

It takes at least three weeks to plan for Reformation Sunday and Lowville United Church’s Anniversary celebration, all happening on Sunday October 25th 2026. It is hard to determine when the first church was erected.  Some historians suggest that the land was given by Joseph Colling as far back as 1834, deeded for five shillings for the building of a small wooden church, on his property.  The publication “One Hundred Years” researched and compiled by Eleanor Coulter, states that in 1855 Collings Church was renamed the Lowville Wesleyan Methodist Church. Following a fire that consumed the wooden structure, the new red brick Lowville Wesleyan Methodist Church in new vernacular Gothic style was later built and was officially opened on Sunday, September 1873. In 1925, following the formation of the United Church of Canada, Lowville Wesleyan Methodist Church, voted to become a part of the church union and became Lowville United Church.  It appeared that the church was consistently being reformed.  It also required great faith to be a settler far from one’s home country and embrace new beginnings. It is impossible to transform wilderness into habitable space without faith.  New friendships and alliances had to be formed to thrive in this new land, far from England. 

On Sunday October 25th 2026, we celebrate Lowville United Church 153rd Anniversary (dated to 1873) and Reformation Sunday, where we recall that ‘we are redeemed (saved) by faith, through grace it is a gift from God’.  It is impossible to serve God without faith and grace.  Yet, through faith in Christ and through grace,  God can do infinitely more through us, than we can imagine. As we gather to celebrate this special occasion we will also reflect on the faith of our settler ancestry, our own faith and our current frontier, as we celebrate and ponder next faithful steps. Whether you are fifty, seventy, eighty, ninety or approaching 153, prayerfully consider the legacy of faith you are creating, at Lowville United Church, as we prepare to mark this milestone anniversary.“In life, in death, in life beyond death; God is with us, we are not alone. Thanks be to God! Amen.” (The New Creed). What is the hope that we carry within us? 

Plan to join us for worship at 10:30 am as we celebrate our history, mark this milestone of faith and maybe make a little history of our own! Let’s also embrace our reforming. tradition. We will be having some special anniversary cake!

Blessings, Rev. Roni