The Komstad Mission Church:
( An
article from the church's celebration of its Seventy-Fifth Anniversary
in 1949 )
It is
seventy-five years since the last square-headed nail was driven into
the first Komstad Church. The architectural design could hardly qualify
as Gothic. It was just as plain and severe as its builders. Strong?
Certainly. It was reinforced to withstand the sweeping
winds of the prairies. The builders were Pioneers. Among them were
teamsters, stone masons, carpenters, cabinet makers and (I suppose)
designers, so the new project went forward with dispatch and was
completed before the driving snows of winter.
Here it stood. At the time there was nothing but blue joint-grass to
obstruct the view. And now, the building having been completed, it
seems to me that I can see one of the builders step back a few paces in
order to properly view the finished structure, and after a few moments
of deliberation and perhaps a silent prayer, announce in a clear
strong voice, "That building will stand." And stand it did for many
years, but the ravages of time have long since crumbled it and its
successor also.
The present edifice is the third in order of these structures, and
nothing about it indicates that it was even thought of 75 years ago.
Yet we have gathered to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Komstad
Mission Church. Clearly it is not the birthday of the building we have
in mind. The first builder said: "This building will stand!" That
statement, I believe, requires spiritual interpretation, and we of the
second, third and fourth generations are here today answering "present"
to that roll call of the decades. The Komstad Church stands, and what
is more important, it lives on this 75th Anniversary.
The occasion brings up the question of age. How old is it? How old are
you? These are pointed questions, and we have only answered partially
when we say, 75 years. Answers involving the question of age are
sometimes evasive. When Jacob was forced down to Egypt in search of
food, and upon being introduced to the great Pharaoh by an illustrious
son, one of the first questions asked him was, how old are you? Jacob
could have answered 130, but he did not. There was more involved than
merely having lived 75 or 130 years. Jacob qualified his answer thus:
"Few and evil have been the days and years of my life and they have not
attained to the days and years of my fathers." In other words, his
answer implied an admission on his part that he had not quite measured
up to the high standard of living attained by his predecessors.
We say the Komstad Church is 75 years old. What's 75 years about it?
Not this building. Not a single member now living or present can arise
and say: I was there at the first meeting, or, I too drove square nails
into the first walls. There is one, and only one sufficient reason for
this celebration: The Komstad Church lives! That fact alone justifies
our assembling here for the purpose which we have stated.
Dead churches hold no further celebrations. Dead institutions take no
pains to perpetuate themselves. Some of them do not even have a decent
funeral. But this church lives on October 15, 1949, and the reason it
lives is because men and women have walked in and out of her for all
these 75 years. But they have not merely walked. They have thought.
They have worked. They have prayed. They have sacrificed in the face of
hardships from which most of us would shrink today. Perhaps we should
make public admission of a fact, which I hope we have admitted to
ourselves, at least privately. It is this: Churches No's. 1, 2, and 3
were built and paid for by the same generation of men. They were
organized. They were established. They were placed upon such solid
foundations (spiritually speaking) that this present Komstad Church,
which stands today, is the lengthened shadow of the men who drove the
first square nails. We may quite properly ask: "Where are the builders
of 1949?"
There once was an Alexander. The Roman Empire resulted. There was a
Bismarck. A great Germany resulted. There also was a Hitler. The once
great Germany is now headed for the abyss of oblivion. Having a great
past is no guarantee for a secure future. The question we should ask
ourselves on this 75th anniversary of the Komstad Church is, "What kind
of celebration will be here on the 100th and perhaps the 150th
anniversaries?" The answer no longer depends on the men of 1874. We of
the 1949 variety will, whether we like it or not, supply the answer.
History leads me to believe that the men who founded and builded the
first church did not roll the logs down hill. I think they rolled up
their sleeves and spat in their hands. A perusal of Church records
clearly indicates that they were "go-getters." But what is more
important, they were also "go-givers." And the results of their efforts
stand out in bold relief and as a challenge to us on the 75th
anniversary. How old are we? Perhaps we should admit with Jacob of
ancient times: "We have not attained to the days and years of fathers."
From the foregoing it might be assumed that too much emphasis is placed
on the value of human effort; that this church resulted because sturdy
and strong men lived here and struggled, worked and sacrificed. All of
these qualities are important. Without them progress is impossible. We
may also be assured that, unless the Lord doth bless the work, they
that labor, labor in vain. This then is also an opportune time for a
little stock-taking. What did these original builders leave us in
addition to church property and cometary grounds? These are all
tangible
things. Did we inherit, more properly, did we appropriate any of those
other qualities which evidently they not only possessed but put to
daily use? What qualities were they? Let us see if we can remember some
of them.
Altars
"Their children remember their Altars," so spake Jeremiah. And so do
we.
I do not believe it is an exaggeration to say there was a daily Altar
in nearly every home. I am familiar with a number of them. They were
maintained when the weather was hot and when it was cold. It was not
set aside because the threshers came or unexpected company had come to
the house. I have heard the elders pray for the church, for the pastor,
for the community, and for themselves and their families. Apparently,
the Lord heard those prayers. The Church lives today. Will it live
tomorrow?
Arrangements
Success of any institution calls for preparation and arrangement. These
were made on Saturday so that nothing would hinder attendance at Divine
Services on Sunday. The buggy was washed, clothes were brushed, shoes
were shined. The Sunday School Text was gone over, and then retirement
early so that no one would be late on Sunday for services. This
practice infused such vigor in the church that it sent it thundering
down more than seven decades, and it lives in 1949.
Attendance
"I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his
people; in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O
Jerusalem, Praise ye the Lord." These two verses from Psalm. 116 were
not
only read, they were applied, in the most literal sense. It could
hardly be otherwise after having made the arrangements. This practice
kept the church healthy, and it is the direct cause for the expansion
which took place at regular intervals. This constitutes another
challenge to those now living.
Assistance
The foregoing program cannot stop at the portals of the church, nor
inside of it. It is reflected in the entire community and in other
parts of the world. Missions were supported on a regular and systematic
basis. There was an old-age assistance then, too. When some member
required assistance, whether it was spiritual or temporal, it was
supplied promptly and on the spot. Oh, no! They called upon no Public
Charity Organization. They did it themselves in the most emphatic
manner. Those now living will have no difficulty recalling cases which
required years in their performance. Somewhere in the book there is
promise of regard for that kind of service. I think it has been
claimed. Because of its doing, the "Church lives today."
Association
They associated with one another in the church and in their homes.
There was genuine Christian hospitality, very little entertaining.
Ministers of the Gospel were not unwelcome guests. They were sought
after, and when they came the conversation and general attitude of the
home required no particular upheaval. This, too, has promise of
reward and, incidentally, resulted in stamina for the church.
Ashes
There are two questions which were frequently propounded. "Who is
authority for the statement?" and, "What does Scripture say?" In other
words, the founders were slow to accept questionable rumors or accept
false doctrines. Gossip was promptly consigned to the ash-heap. They
placed the best possible construction on any statement effecting their
neighbor or their church. Is it any wonder that it still lives in 1949?
Assurance
I know! I know in whom I have believed. This was not merely sentiment.
It was genuine knowledge. It was part of life itself. The element of
doubt, if it ever existed, was exchanged for something more permanent
through the study of the Word, through regular attendance in their
church, through practicing and living the faith which they professed.
These are some of the Lengthened Shadows which have survived through
the decades. They have reached down to 1949, the 75th Anniversary of
this Church. May we truthfully say, with them: "Oh, Lord, thou hast
been our dwelling place for generations."
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The Lord is the portion of my inheritance
and my cup.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Indeed, my inheritance
is beautiful to me!
Psalm 16:5-6
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