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Thursday, September 3, 2015

Old Church and Birds

Sea Pines TT Campground
Cape May Court House,  NJ

Here we are back at Sea Pines.  Just for another couple of days, pulling out early Saturday.

As is our usual practice, we look for the nearest United Methodist Church to the campground.  This one I've been curious about for many years.  Sunday seemed the perfect time to stop in.


Methodism was founded in the late 1700's by John Wesley and his brother Charles who were members of the Church of England.  Francis Asbury was an itinerant preacher to America.  He rode horseback starting new congregations and local Meeting Houses.  Look in any hymnal sometime.....you would be amazed at the hymns written by Charles.  O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing;  Arise, My Soul Arise; Jesus, Lover of my Soul; A Charge to Keep I Have; I Want a Principle Within; Love Divine All Loves Excelling; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing;  Christ the Lord is Risen Today and thousands more.


 What I found especially interesting are these two gravestones.



My paternal grandmother's maiden name was Ford.  I know much of the family settled along the Mullica River in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, about 35 miles from here.  However, one of her sisters lived in nearby Avalon.  Also, my mother always told me that my grandmother wanted me to be named Rachel, an old family name.  The names on these stones?  Charles Ford and Rachel Ford. Curious.

Now for the birds.  Driving down near the bay is this a common sight.  Egrets nesting.


Here in the campground it's the Rusty Blackbirds


And while driving around Granddaughter Abby spotted this fellow.  No idea what it is.  Judy?


6 comments:

  1. Little town I grew up in had 3 churches, Baptist, Penecostal and Bible church, didnt even know what a Methodist was until my brother met his wife

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  2. I bet you will find out who these folks were. May be that they are your relations

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  3. Love visiting old churches and graveyards, such great history there. Have recently been in several that were built in the mid 1700's

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  4. We really enjoy visiting old churches. The south has some really neat churches with tons of history. Yours looks beautiful. We don't get to many graveyards but have found the ones we have visited so interesting.

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  5. Sorry I missed this post somehow. It's a young yellow-crowned night heron. :)

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  6. How cool to find gravestones of potential relatives. I love those old hymns too, we sing them in the Lutheran church.

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