This past Sunday, the Banner United Church community came together to celebrate its 161 years of existence.
Throughout the service, we were blessed with the honour of listening to the talented voices of the Metropolitan United Church Choir School from London. These choristers, ages 8-18, are currently preparing for their 16 day trip to England in August. They will be performing across the country, including a week in residency at Chester Cathedral, where they will be singing the daily services. We are thrilled that they joined us here at Banner.
A wonderful sermon was officiated by Rev. Herb Summer. His sermon spoke of perspective and the importance of understanding the viewpoint of others. We thank him for a wonderfully officiated service.
A significant part of our Anniversary Service this year was the theme of community. After 161 years, Banner United Church has truly established itself as the heart of this small community. We were thrilled to incorporate a segment into this service that we called "A Banner Story", where we had community members come up and share their memories of Banner. It was wonderful to hear and we would like to thank Patricia Baigent, Jack Hammond, and Anne (Clark) Wilton for sharing their wonderful stories.
After our service ended, we gathered on the grounds of the church to enjoy a BBQ. It was a great afternoon of community with lots of joy, sun, and of course hamburgers and hot dogs.
Our 161st anniversary was a wonderful success and we hope to see all of you next year for our 162nd.