Церковь «Стратфорд Кристиан Реформед» празднует 75-летие и приглашает на открытую встречу

Stratford Christian Reformed Church celebrates 75 years To mark the anniversary, the church is hosting an open house on Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m Article content As she looks back on the 75-year history of the Stratford Christian Reformed Church, there is one thing that sticks out to Betty DeWeerd – the number of families, both multigenerational and newcomers, that have called the church home over the years. “The matriarch of (one family) turned 97 last week, and she has been part of this congregation since 1955. She has children worshipping here. She has grandchildren worshipping here, and she has great-grandchildren worshipping here,” said DeWeerd, who has been the church’s administrative assistant for seven years. Recommended Videos The church can actually trace its roots back for more than 75 years to a group of Dutch immigrants who attended church in Kitchener before founding their own congregation in the Festival City on Nov. 25, 1951. The church has seen incredible growth since that first meeting, held at the former YMCA at Waterloo, where the Nancy Campbell Academy now resides. From just 77 members at that first worship service, the church has now grown to a congregation of roughly 500 members. “We have a lot of growth from babies being born. I think we’ve just had our 10th baby this year. Our growth is also a lot of families who have done research on different churches and find that our church has a lot of children, so they’re finding a place for their children to grow up and be part of a group of children. . . . We have a number of different programs designed to keep our children here, to keep them engaged in the church,” DeWeerd said. That sustained growth has also forced the church to change addressess several times over the decades. The Stratford Christian Reformed Church has had locations at Easson and Church streets, Ontario Street and its current Athlone Crescent location, which it moved to in 2005. The 75th anniversary also has a personal significance for DeWeerd, who has been a member since 1979 after moving here from Chatham. She and her husband have “grown” with the church, DeWeerd said. “It feels like home, especially now that I’m working here. This is just so much a part of my life that it’s just been amazing. It’s been an amazing journey for me . . . and that’s just what it feels like – that we’ve grown with this church,” she said. However, given that the church has a small number of paid staff members, it relies on the continuing efforts of volunteers, who run many of the church’s programs, including Sunday school, youth programs and cooking for its monthly community meals. “To me, that’s what makes it special – everybody has such a love for each other and for the families in this church that they’re willing to give up a Tuesday night. They’re willing to give up a Sunday morning. They’re willing to give up any time, just so that they can help out and make sure that our kids are engaged and other people are engaged,” DeWeerd said. To mark the anniversary, the church is hosting an open house on Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., which will be followed by a special worship service at 10 a.m. the next day.