Congratulations to the Bergen (NY) First Presbyterian Church as they celebrate their 200th anniversary later this month. The church began as a commissioned group of East Guilford, Conn., Congregationalists. In reading an article from the Westside News about the anniversary and events one item at the very end of the article sparked my interest. The church met in homes and school buildings before it built its first building in 1828. In 1854 the church moved about a mile north when the railroad came through and they wanted to be part of the developing community. The location of the original church building became a cemetery and has a stone marking the location of the church. What attracted my attention was where the article says:
It is also said, according to historical accounts, that some families who were members of the congregation in 1854, picked their burial plots in Mt. Rest Cemetery to be in the spots where their pews had been when the church building stood there.
Not to be irreverent, but I can think of about a dozen one-liners that could be said about that, many related to listening to sermons. I had considered the title of “Descently and in Order” for this post but thought that pun was a bit much, even for me.