I Remember: Happy Sunday

I love Sunday. When I was a girl everyone kept the Sabbath. No stores or businesses were open and families attended church together. In my small community there were three churches, United, Catholic and LDS. Not bad for a community of 500 people. Of course there were the farmers and their families that lived throughout the prairies who also joined in the sabbath day worship.

Our LDS congregation was a pretty good size and our white church house seemed very large to me. However, looking back I realize it was really quite small. The upstairs of the church held the foyer, chapel, bishop's office, bathrooms and a couple of classrooms. There were no cushions on the benches of the chapel but I don't remember ever thinking they were uncomfortable.

The basement was our recreation room with curtains that could split off four classrooms from the main room. There were shuffle board courts painted on the wood floor that we could use for activities. There was also a kitchen downstairs which doubled as my classroom when I was six years old. My junior Sunday School teachers at that time were my two great aunts, Aunt Lucille Stanford and Aunt Leah Rogers. How blessed I was to have these two incredible woman in my life. To this day I remember the lesson they taught on "The Good Shepherd." They had what was called a groove board in which they could stand figures. They had a figure of Jesus and then many lambs. They stood Jesus in the center of the board and then one by one they added the little lambs. There was a lamb to represent each one of us children. My life at that time was very sad and I will never forget that lesson and the comfort it was to me. To sense that I had a Father and a Savior who loved me was carried deep into my heart. I don't remember a time when I did not have this faith.

One of my dearest memories of my old Coutts church family is of Brother Fred Ortlie leading the music. He brought his family to Coutts from Switzerland. Their youngest daughter Susie was just a year older than I. Anyway, back to the music, Brother Ortlie didn't use the regular conducting patterns but would lead according to the feel of the music. It was truly beautiful. We didn't have air-conditioning in our building and so in the summer time the windows would be open to let in the cool breezes. We would sing with all our hearts fully drawn out in praise and devotion "I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me." and "Come come ye Saints." and my childhood favorite "Onward Christian soldiers marching as to war." I wondered if the whole town could hear. I was sure we sounded magnificent. My faith grew as I joined my young voice with those dear saints in Coutts as we lifted our voices of testimony. How grateful I am for a faithful grandmother who saw to it that I had the privilege of going to church.