Going to Church!

Union Chapel Methodist Church has been my families church on my father’s side since my Grandmother Esther was officially received alongside my Robert Paul with a Profession of Faith on April 17, 1949.

On a warm June day, I sat with the kindest woman, Miss Katie, the membership director as she pulled out old membership books to see marriages, deaths, baptisms and more over the years. Large, heavy volumes covered in dust, and a history. I was even able to help her fill in some of the blanks with death dates and burial places, and was able to offer my assistance in a book they are putting together on the beautiful stained glass windows.

Before I left home I sent some prayers up to the ancestors before me, and the first thing I saw as I walked in the church was this stained glass window my grandmother dedicated to her parents in 1972. I had forgotten about that window. As a child I didn’t really know the significance. Great Grandad John Wareham Morgan is my brick wall, my rabbit hole, the guy who leaves me frustrated and all the more determined. And his wife Marie is my great grandmother from Germany so there is a lot to be learned about her life there. The Robinson family windows are Grandmother Esther’s half sisters family. The love of this church ran deep.

As I left and drove down Old Joppa Road, a road that has seen much of my family history happen… I had not 1, not 2, but 3 red cardinals fly in front of me. One even sat on a limb at the stop sign for a couple of minutes so I could ask some questions. My family history is unfolding… one visit, one phone call, one cemetery at a time.