My Grandpa Cairns is mentioned in a sermon at Bethel Baptist Church in Erie, PA

Click to enlarge: Thomas G Cairns, my Grandpa Cairns, Dad’s dad, with Grandma (Geneva Cairns, née Bauer), and his grandkids: Dan Young (held by Grandpa), then L-R, Tom Tom, Carolee, Dee Dee, Linda, me, and Tom.

Pastor Jim Storey has been sharing the pulpit at Bethel Baptist Church in Erie, PA while the church is between pastors. (I attended Bethel as boy and have always considered it home.)

I’ve been listening to Bethel’s podcasts each week, and Pastor Storey’s sermon on Sept 9, 2013 referenced my grandpa, Thomas G Cairns, who eventually became a district director for Loblaws in Pennsylvania and New York. Pastor Storey tells us that he was hired by "Mr Cairns" at Loblaws instead of working at Waldameer; this allowed him to have a job and not work on Sundays. (Loblaws is a grocery chain. They are a Canadian company that once had a strong presence in the northeast US.)

Click to enlarge: Top: Bethel Baptist Church when it was at 737 E 26th Street in Erie, PA. Bottom: Bethel Baptist Church at 1781 W 38th Street in Erie, PA today; this is a view from 38th street.

You can listen to the podcast here:

 

Pastor Storey at Bethel Baptist Church in Erie, PA, Sunday Sept. 9, 2013 >

 

It happens to be a communion service, so if you’re interested in how Baptists talk about communion, you may find it interesting. Note that though Pastor Storey talks about other communion practices - and obviously has an opinion on them - he doesn’t say any of them are wrong.

 

I suspect he might allow for some leeway between transubstantiation and reverent symbolism, but all Baptists I know lean way over toward the second, and in fact don’t really consider any other possibilities; not because they choose not to, but because there's no reason to. It would be like asking “What if vanilla tasted like chocolate?” Rather pointless.

 

[2013-09-09]

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