Bluffton, Indiana - September 20, 2008

Street Fair

All Photographs Copyright © 2008 by Robert E Pence First Reformed Church

On the Saturday of Street Fair, the Bluffton High School Class of 1957 held a get-together at First
Reformed Church. It was the first time I had been inside the building in nearly 40 years, so I took
advantage of the opportunity to roam around a little bit with my camera. Some things have changed
a lot, and some haven't changed much. The sanctuary is very similar in appearance to when I
attended there in my teen years, except for some padding on the pews, a nicer paint scheme and
some changes to the choir loft.

Philsophically things haven't changed much, either. In 1934 the Evangelical Church and the Reformed
Church merged to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church. In 1957 that body merged with the
Congregational Christian Churches to form the United Church of Christ. As the United Church of Christ
took positions supportive of Lesbian and Gay members, and most recently when the UCC formally
endorsed same-sex unions, I marveled that the congregation I grew up in would have come so far in
tolerance and social consciousness.

My surprise was ill-founded though. The Bluffton congregation, as well as those in nearby Berne
and Decatur, have separated from the United Church of Christ and renamed themselves as
Reformed Churches, turning the calendar back to before 1934.

Seen in the church parking lot. I'm a Liberal and I have more than one gun -
and I'm pretty good with them.

Street Fair

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