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Big ship, small church
The Rev. Sid Burgess
And so it begins. Our centennial year is underway: 1912 to 2012. In anticipation, church historian Kenny Smith is writing a detailed church history, and our Presbyterian Women are compiling a commemorative cookbook. Session is looking toward spring for a capital funds drive to pay off existing debt, to provide funds for building and grounds maintenance, and to support development of Living River, Presbytery’s long-awaited camp and conference center on the Cahaba River. A new church photo directory has already been produced and is accessible in print and online.
What the world remembers most about 1912 is the sinking of the Titanic. At the time, RMS Titanic was the largest passenger steamship afloat. The ship was designed by experienced engineers, using some of the most advanced technologies and extensive safety features of the time. The first-class section had a swimming pool, a gymnasium, squash court, Turkish bath, electric bath and a verandah café. First-class common rooms were adorned with ornate wood paneling, expensive furniture and other decorations. Some of the most prominent people of the day were among the 2,240 on board for Titanic’s the maiden – and only – voyage.
By contrast, here at the corner of Oxmoor Road and Peerless Avenue in 1912, the founders of Edgewood Church erected a canvass tent, using sawdust for flooring. The fledgling congregation numbered about 50 members, then as now people of modest means. It took the church about a year to erect a simple wooden church building. But the price was right: $800! It took another year to obtain pews – second hand from a sister church, but again, a bargain at $108. More details to come in Kenny’s history, but I find delicious irony that the Titanic, a great symbol of wealth and prestige, lies at the bottom of the frigid North Atlantic while humble Edgewood Church sits solidly here on our original site.
Of course, the intervening years have not all provided smooth sailing for us. Our younger siblings here on Homewood’s “church row” have far exceeded us in membership and resources. But we are still here. And, God willing, we shall still be here 100 years hence, still proclaiming the great mystery of faith: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”
Shalom!