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by YankeeJim | April 3, 2011 at 05:40 am
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Religion has deep roots in my family history, though today, I admit that I am not at all religious. Why is that? 60% of Americans have some sort of “faith” the polls tell us. I don’t know if that is a good thing, bad thing, or if it means anything at all.
Far back into history on my mother’s side one Robert Bedwell of St. Giles Parish, London, worked as a translator for King James to produce the King James Version of the Bible. Coincidently, much later, an ancestor on the George side of the family translated the English Bible into Welsh.
Then in 1779, Henry George and Mary Beven departed Talgarth Wales for the USA and landed in Chester Pennsylvania. There, they hooked up with a guide who would lead them and their ox drawn wagon into the western wilds of what would become Ohio Territory. The Baptists took up a collection and sent them in hopes they would establish a Welsh community, which they did.
Now, made possible by Google, HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY, is on the web and captures the story. “The first religious denomination represented in the township was the Old School Baptists. Henry George was a Welsh preacher of that faith, was given a farm on condition that he would give four acres for church purposes. Accordingly, in 1819, a hewed-log cabin was erected on this land. About three years before this, however, Preacher George had formed a church organization. The first church edifice stood on a comer of the George farm, was about twenty by twenty-five feet and had greased paper windows and a huge fireplace at one end. In 1830 a frame building was erected. About 1836 there was a division of the church, the Old School part withdrawing and establishing a church in Harmony.” Henry George was my great-great ancestor who established the first church. Then my Great-Great Grandfather, Richard D. left for Harmony Township to establish an extension of the Welsh community and the George clan. I know many details about that. The family established another church in Granville Ohio and in the cemetery on Welsh Hills is where Great-Great Grandpa Richard lays at rest. My Great-Grandpa James Almond George devoted his life to farming. He had ten children and my Grandpa Oscar was one of them. He became the County Sheriff. Sunday school
“FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--Bible Storying is the intentional use of complete stories (not interrupted) that are used to share the message of salvation with persons who cannot read. As these stories are presented the emotion and the drama of the event as well as the actions and spiritual truths of the narrative are preserved. The Bible is a book of stories. Estimates vary between 60-70 percent narrative format with the remainder being teaching and meditative. The Bible is a story which is the story of God and mankind's relationship. The stories link together and move toward the focus of God's provision in Christ for restoring the broken relationship because of mankind's sin. The Old Testament stories provide the needed preparation for seekers as the stories explore the matter of sin and need for forgiveness. The stories provide a widely acceptable way of describing the characteristics of God, those of the natural (carnal) man, those of Jesus as both sinless man and the sinless Son of God, and those of the born again believer whose sins are forgiven and what God expects of believers.”
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YankeeJim
Arlington, Virginia, United States
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 22:14 on April 5th, 2011
Jim,
I know Chester PA well. I attended High School in Coatesville. From a theological standpoint, those who claim Christianity and those who actually practice the faith are quite different.
Many like to call Amercia a Christian nation, when the founders wanted to separate the denominational activities that forced folks to abide by some religious dogma.
I think the founders ideas of speration of church and state are much different than what is being taught in our schools today, in that, the Church of England forced certain religious practices on those who lived in the new world.
I think it is more factual to understand the separation ideas our founders wanted instituted were to keep a particular denominations rules like the Church of England from ruling from a legal system in America as was the case in many areas of New England.
Freedom fro religion was never the goal. Freedom to worship as one pleased was the actual goal. But all that would be too complicated for an hour block of instruction in our schools.
The right to worship as one pleases made it possible for one to travel to the next town to fetch some dinner without being subject to the churches rules on travel on the sabbath.
The truth is that those who really follow the faith as described in the New testament is a very small number indeed.
Having said that,, it was nice to see a rendition of some of the goings on in the old world, especially Chester County, Pa
at 02:07 on April 6th, 2011
I have been Methodist, attended a synagogue, and converted to Catholicism before going my own way with spirituality. I think it is valuable to have an idea that there is something much bigger out there than we mortals. There is a higher purpose to being.
My religious instruction left its mark, more because my deeply religious mother and grandparents passed on essential values rooted in tolerance and kind treatment for others. I do my best with that.