Mother's Day in Ardbeg 1957

Ardbeg was a village hidden way back off the beaten path. By nature this town was special; a small grouping of houses far away from a main road but on the main line of the CNR. This small village had a one room school and very little else except children.

I was the principal of the local school and a lay preacher at the time and was called out to take service from time to time, to help the resident minister who had a five point charge. My minister was having a special Mother's Day service followed by a luncheon and family activities at his main charge. He asked me if I could take the service at Ardbeg. He warned me that it would be a service like no other I ever had and not to expect too much.

He gave me some short and long prayers which he deemed appropriate. I wrote a casual sermon extolling the virtues of motherhood and so on. I asked my girl friend to come along and read the long prayer which I wrote. It was a long drive and I never knew the way on the back roads. She was from the area and was familiar with the village. She also knew what to expect. Service was to begin around 1:30 pm and last for a while.

We arrived at the schoolhouse and it was locked. A young chap at the adjoining ball field said he would get the key. He was gone for quite a while but returned with his mother and six children. She apologized but said that she thought there would be no church as there was to be a ball game there at 2 pm.

I told her I was the preacher for the day and yes there would be a service. We waited nervously in the classroom and tried to give some order to the room to make it look like a church. After half an hour some children wandered in and a mother who looked so poorly I was shaken. There were now two women, twenty seven children attending and every seat was filled. I scrapped the service order and we opened with a short but caring prayer followed by several well known hymns sung and led by the haggard lady. She also played the piano and led the children in their little hymns.

At sermon time I sat on one of the desks and talked to the children like a school teacher and we had a discussion about mothers. These little children told me more about what a mother was than I ever realized. I never knew at the time that this little town was where many unmarried ladies lived with their children away from the prying eyes of the holy. At this time church society was not so kind to people in this situation.

I had a living moment in the trials of people who never met the mold of church society. The two ladies made Freshie and produced from nowhere cookies for the children. After closing the service I was reminded by a little red headed boy that we never took up the collection. I said it was alright this week but he insisted as it was his turn. We took the collection and had the little hymn and he proudly came and gave me the collection in an envelope. $.35 he shouted, better than last week. We all smiled and understood that here was a real living church with needy people. I was reminded of the well known verse which said that wherever two or more are gathered in my name I am there also.

We shook hand and said goodbye and Roma and I never spoke for a while. I helped out many more times taking service but I never left at the end of the day feeling like I did on Mother's Day in 1957.