Vernon Lutheran Church: keeping history alive

Eleven months out of the year, 12 empty rows of pews at the Vernon Lutheran Church of rural Dows stand in quiet testimony to the families that worshipped there for more than a century. But in June, the memories will come alive once again when visitors come flooding back for the seventh annual yearly service.

Due to population changes which resulted in low attendance, the brick country church closed in 2010, with a final service held on June 27. The church’s strong local history, however, keeps visitors coming back.

“We have a lot of friends of Vernon,” said Matt Schutt, a church committee member.

The church committee maintains the church and plan the yearly service, and have done so for the past seven years. This year’s annual service will be a “one-hour, unrehearsed, spontaneous and spiritual” homage to the Vacation Bible School services the church’s children would attend during the summer. There will be a special children’s message, songs, and words from Dave McDermott, the director of Riverside Bible Camp. The service will be June 4 at 11 a.m.

For the full story, see the May 25 edition of the Monitor.