Rev. Gloria

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not “in sync” with some changes in our denomination in recent years, I am forever grateful to the United Church of Canada for allowing me to minister to wonderful folks in

Dundas, Annandale, and Georgetown (Prince Edward Island), Grandview, Manitoba, Emo and Devlin, Ontario, and, untiljune, at Rosser and Grosse Isle in Manitoba. But my earliest love of the church, its faith and its people, go back to all of you, in Lot 16, when I was a young man in my twenties. My time among you laid the foundation for my faith and life ever since . . . and for the good part your con- gregation played in that, I deeply thank you!

Rev. Gloria MacLean Written by Rev. [Wuhan

Every family has a past that is rich and unique, having a distinctive tapestry all of its own. All too often one’s heritage is left unexplored and thus unappreciated. While recently reviewing the history of our local church and of the MacGregor-MacLean family, I became more aware of the tremendous contributions of my ancestors for the advancement of the Gospel and, undoubtedly, for the betterment of the communities they settled. I am a pro- foundly grateful beneficiary of the sacrifice of those early missionaries who left ‘all’ to answer the ‘call’ in a new land across the sea.

On a September afternoon in 1997 after my paternal grandmother, Isabel MacGregor MacLean, aged 100, was laid to rest in the churchyard at Lot 16 United Church, I wandered over to the tombstone of the Rev. William MacGregor, Grandma’s great-grandfather, who came as a missionary from Scotland in 1820. There I read the words “faithful and zealous,” testifying of a life lived in service to God and his fellowman for thirty years in the Richmond Bay Parish. In that moment, I welcomed the inheritance of faith that had been handed down to me, his great-great-great granddaughter.

As a youngster back on the farm, I found enjoyment in solitary pursuits, especially lengthy walks to a special place in the woods. There I experienced a closeness to God and,

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