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Black
and White Photos Reveal a Colorful Past by Kate McGinn, Archivist, Marston Memorial Historical Center  Most
of the thousands of photographs housed in the Marston Historical Center
are black and white; many of them faded. Still, they manage to convey the
vibrancy and color of the Free Methodist Church over many years.  Photographs
taken by missionaries document the lives of Asians and Africans and Latin
Americans as well as the people who ministered to and with them. Whether
it is missionaries in South Africa or the Dominican Republic working with
locals to establish schools, hospitals, and churches, or Pentecost Band
workers in India doing the same, the historical photographs of the Free
Methodist Church highlight the denomination's efforts to spread Christianity
to all people and to empower them with Christ's love. Missionaries
relied on photographs (and before that, slides, originally made of glass)
to tell their stories to the "home churches." Their scrapbooks
chronicle everyday life in foreign lands, often including photographs of
nationals who were instrumental in the ministry. These presentations did
more than raise funds. They bridged the distances between places and people
that were then long boat and train rides apart.Historical photographs excite interest, as do most relics of by-gone eras. But they are also instructive tools for the present. In witnessing the strides and struggles of earlier generations to incorporate all races in worship, these photographs inspire us to strive to do the same. Similarly, photographs of Deaconess and Olive Branch missions remind us that community outreach is still a critical a component of Christianity's world mission. The sepia-toned images that gaze back at one from the Historical Center's collection can be deceptive. At first glance they suggest that the lives of those captured on film long ago are ended. But a second look confirms that belief translated into action is a continuous moving picture. |
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