By Staff
POKAGON – The Old Rugged Cross anniversary celebration on Saturday, Sept. 8, and Sunday, Sept. 9, will feature the talents of The Garretts, a country gospel performing duo from Canada, and the Rev. Michael Smith, senior pastor of Hope Community Church in Niles.
The Garretts, whose fifth and newest CD includes their rendition of the hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross," will perform at Saturday's praise service, which will begin at 7 p.m.
The service will be conducted in The Old Rugged Cross Memorial Garden, at the corner of Kansas and East streets in Pokagon.
If the weather is not conducive to an outdoor service, it will be held in the adjacent Pokagon United Methodist Church (PUMC).
The Garretts will join the Pokagon United Methodist Church congregation for their regular 10 a.m. Sunday service on Sept. 9.
They will perform briefly during that service. They will perform again at the Sunday, Sept. 9, afternoon celebration service, which will begin at 2 p.m.
That service will be held in the garden, if the weather allows, or in the PUMC, in case of bad weather.
Pastor Smith will present a sermon, "The Purpose of the Cross," during the Sunday afternoon event.
The Sunday afternoon service also will include the dedication of The Original Old Rugged Cross Church's replica bell tower, which is scheduled for installation on Sept. 5 (weather permitting).
The Garretts, Deb and Jesse, live in Cavan, Ontario, Canada. They are natives of Toronto. They started performing together in 1995 and volunteer a significant amount of time to help the ill and elderly, and in enriching the lives of others through their testimony and music.
In addition to performing for youth groups, missions, numerous benefit concerts and in other venues, they performed the gospel portion of the Havelock Jamboree, one of the largest Jamborees in Canada.
They opened for Ricky Skaggs and sang some of their original gospel songs on the 25th annual Country Music Awards Show.
Their Pokagon performances will include both original compositions and "everyone's favorite" songs of faith.
Pastor Smith has lived in the Niles area for about 35 years. He is a graduate of Niles High School. He is licensed and ordained through the Church of God (Anderson, Ind.), and has been in ministry since 1992.
Pastor Smith and the Garretts have had significant life experiences which have shaped their ministries.
There is no admission charge for the celebration events, which commemorate the 1913 public debut of the newly-completed hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross," in the former Methodist Episcopal Church of Pokagon.
The church is now known as The Original Old Rugged Cross Church.
The public is invited to attend.
There will be opportunities for free will offerings. Attendees are urged to bring their own lawn chairs and to dress for the weather for the outdoor events.
The Old Rugged Cross Historic Site is one block south of Pokagon Highway, just east of M-51, halfway between Niles and Dowagiac. The one-acre site includes the church and The Old Rugged Cross Memorial Garden.
The Original Old Rugged Cross Church is a Registered Michigan Historic Site and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Old Rugged Cross Foundation is managing restoration of the historic church to as close as possible to its 1913 appearance and materials.
The restored structure will be a museum and community center for special, scheduled events such as services, weddings and funerals.
Tours of the church will be available during the anniversary celebration.
The half-acre Old Rugged Cross Memorial Garden is available for group tours, weddings and other special, scheduled activities.
It also is available for unscheduled meditation.
Information about the anniversary celebration and the Old Rugged Cross Historic Site is available by writing to the Old Rugged Cross Foundation at P.O. Box 41, Niles, MI 49120.
The foundation's e-mail address is orcf@aol.com. The telephone number is (269) 683-4540. The Internet address is www.the-oldruggedcross.org.