LEDYARD - Ledyard United Methodist Church is a perfect example of an old-fashioned small community church.

White, with a high rising steeple, and set back from Route 34B, behind a smattering of green trees, the church has remained much the same since the present structure was erected in 1875.

On Sunday, congregation and community members gathered to celebrate that rich history and look toward the church's future, marking its 175th anniversary as well as commemorate the completion of a new stained glass window that graces the front facade.

According to Pastor Russell Riddell, this remembrance of the past with an eye on the future is important to any church.

“I think it is integral to any pastoral ministry,” Riddell said. “We have to remember where we came from and we have to look to the next generation, without them the church does not go on. This is a day about the faithful, those that were there in times when the church was struggling and those that are here now when we are experiencing a time of growth, not just in numbers but also spiritually as well.”

After a Sunday morning worship service with guest preacher the Rev. Deborah O'Connor-Slater, superintendent of the Central Lakes District, guests were welcomed to walk through the church, which was adorned with period clothing on loan from the Scipioville Presbyterian Church, as well as documents pertaining to the Ledyard church, such as the deed to the property.

Kris Minster, the celebration committee chairperson, said the idea was to focus on activities from when the church was founded.

“We have carriages and buggy rides,” Minster said. “We have food, like a good old-fashioned church picnic. Inside we have the clothes and pictures from the time period, some where you can see that there are as many as 50 horse and buggies tied up outside. We just wanted to do something that would feel kind of like the 1800s.”

Meta Riester worked on creating some games that would date back to the 1800s, one called graces in which participants try to catch and throw a hoop from one pair of sticks to another, as well as stilts and lawn croquet.

Riester said she took a field trip with her Junior Grange members to learn about games from the time period. Riester set up the play area near the small cemetery behind the church.

“In the Victorian days that is what they did,” Riester said. “Places like Fort Hill in Auburn, people would go and have a picnic and play games, like going to the park, so that is what we did here.”

Mike Moscato, 15, of King Ferry, along with other members of Boy Scout Troop 95, were on hand volunteering to help as well as enjoying the games.

“We use the church as a meeting place,” Moscato said. “So we thought it would be good to volunteer and give something back and the games are pretty fun.”

But as much as it was a day to celebrate the past, it was also a day to look toward the future.

Minster said that over the past several years, while new stained glass windows were being created, parts of the church were boarded up, making it look closed.

“This is to let people know we are still here,” Minster said. “That we are still active in the community.”

The new stained glass windows which line the building, as well as one massive window, which covers much of the front exterior from the ground up, were made possible by the hard work of Donna and B.J. Riester.

Donna said her husband's family has deep roots with the church and they still attend services. In 2000, the Riesters lost their son, Corey, in an automobile accident. In lieu of flowers and similar things, the family asked for donations to be made to the church for its upkeep.

Along the way, the idea evolved into replacing the stained glass windows. Through donations made in the name of the Riester family as well as others for church members that passed, this dream came true.

Donna designed much of the large window, which depicts a peaceful scene of sunset with flowers and dragonflies, as the white dove descends, depicting the Holy Spirit, while the constellation Orion sits in the sky, representing the heavens.

“It is very emotional,” Donna said. “A lot of time and love and effort have been invested into this. We're happy to be able to give this window to the church and the community, it really was an effort that was made possible by the hard work of a lot of people and we are very pleased to see this completed.”

Laura Avery, 96, has lived next door to the church since 1939, when she married her husband, whose family deeded the land the church sits on.

Since the late 30s, she has also been a church member and was pleased to see all the activity around her. “It is lovely,” Avery said. “Everything is really beautiful. I'm really happy with all of it today.”