Foundations on Mackinac Island - Rocks and Faith

What is your reaction when you see a bulky door with crackling paint and rusted hinges? Or, a church with stones of various shapes and sizes forming walls that hold windows filled with intricate stained glass. Perhaps a stately house sporting uneven bricks surely cured by hands instead of those mass-produced.  What thoughts race through your mind?

What do you think is beyond this gate at right? Who lives there? And for how long? Is this house a new purchase or a family heirloom from the onset of Mackinac Island in the 19th century? Can you imagine all the little feet stepping into an enchanted courtyard? What games did they play over the years?

When I see an old building or other relic from the past, I stop. I cannot help myself. As I stand in awe, I first wonder at the people who turned the creaky handle and opened the thick door to pass through. How many over the years? What did they wear, eat, and how did they work? Did they believe in God? Serve Him? Did they marry? Have children and grandchildren? What prayers emanated from the pews? If the structures are historic, how many walked across the floors? Imagine all the people...

Here is a prime example at left. One glance and ten photos later I was still attempting to ascertain what this was and how it arrived in its present form.This conglomerate rests near the bay in Le Havre, France. Question-inducing to be sure. It appears at face-value to have multiple additions over time using varied styles and materials. Fodder for thought. Itching to go beyond the door, aren't you? Me too. Sadly, that wasn't an option. We will just have to wonder.

A similar sequence of events transpired as we passed the Little Stone Church on Mackinac Island. (Photo at right.) At the onset, I thought this was the only other church on the island aside from St. Anne's. Later as I researched, I learned there are a few other churches that called Mackinac home.

We visited Fort Michilimackinac the last two posts. If you missed the insider details, links are at the bottom. I shared that St. Anne's (built by the French) existed at the original fort (photo below left) and the latter constructed St. Ann's Church (built by the British) remains on Mackinac island (below right).

So how did faith make a way to an island, now home to 500 people and a tourist destination? Jesuit priests delivered Roman Catholicism to the Straits of Mackinac and in 1670, Father Jacques Marquette and his band of Huron landed on Mackinac Island. Though the poor soil discouraged the Huron, and they left a year later. After, Jesuits ministered within the palisade of Fort Michilimackinac beginning in 1715. As the British struggled to defend the fort, they transferred to Mackinac. Not only did they build a new fort, but dismantled and recreated Ste. Anne’s Church on the island. At that time, logs formed the walls, and the building sat along the shore. Eventually, Magdelaine Laframboise, a notable fur trader, donated land near her home. The church moved to its new location in 1820. In exchange of the land, Mme Laframboise asked to be buried under the altar. Father Henri Van Renterghem granted her request after she passed in 1846. There she remained until the church renovations of the 1990s. She was moved to the garden when the museum opened.

The oldest surviving church building in Michigan, known as Mission Church started in 1829. Missionaries Reverend William Ferry and wife, Amanda founded the Protestant church while serving the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission,. To fulfill their calling, the couple sought to teach Native American children. With the decline of the fur trade, church attendance waned. The history of the building itself then featured private use, a meeting house, a substitute location for the Catholic church, among other purposes until Mackinac developed as a summer destination in the late 1800s. The restored building held services again in 1895. The State of Michigan assumed ownership in 1955. Now a State Park, from May through October, couples have the option to marry within this historic, New England style church.

In 1899 the Union Church Society formed the Union Congregational Church. In 1904 the construction of this adorable church consisted of assembling walls of fieldstone. If you read the first post on Castle Farms, you learned how farmers joked of the plethora of stones in Michigan. There are three ornate stained-glass windows that shed light on the history of Mackinac Island. From the fur trade to missionary William Ferry. Now an historic site, The Little Stone Church is a popular wedding destination. Visitors can tour the interior of the church and grounds in summer months.

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The final two churches on Mackinac are Trinity Episcopal Church and Mackinac Island Bible Church. Trinity Episcopal Church as a building was erected in 1882. Yet John O’Brien, an Episcopalian and Irishman, placed the cornerstone in 1842. In 1994, Mackinac Island Bible Church started. This church is unique as it is a church in name of the body, not in a building. The congregation meets at the Mission Point Resort in the theater.

An interesting point many sites offer is while the different congregations sought the same populations, which would seem to foster competition. Due to the nature of the geography, the denominations worked together. Case in point, multiple denominations worshipped inside the Little Stone Church.

For an island with 3.8 square miles in total area, it is home to many churches. Though, consider where we live. On the main street outside my neighborhood, I can count three churches. There are even more in the near vicinity. Are there numerous churches where you live? Are any of them over 350 years old?

If you missed the prior posts on Fort Michilimackinac you can find them here: Unearthing the Past at Fort Michilimackinac and Sneaking Inside the Walls of Fort Michilimackinac.

Sources below if you would like to read a bit more about the Mackinac churches and their histories.
https://steannechurch.org/history/
https://www.mackinacparks.com/blog/historic-mission-church/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.14321/j.ctt7zt6cw
https://www.mackinacparks.com/mackinac-venue/historic-mission-church-wedding/
https://www.littlestonechurch.com/history.htm
https://www.mackinacisland.org/blog/post/churches-of-mackinac-island-350-years-of-historic-beauty/

As a child, Rebecca loved to write. She nurtured this skill as an educator and later as an editor for anonline magazine. Rebecca then joined the Cru Ministry - NBS2GO/Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO, at its inception. She serves as the YouVersion Content Creator, with over 130 Plans, in 44 languages on the Bible.com app.

Rebecca lives near the mountains with her husband and a rescued dog named Ranger. She is a proud mom of an American soldier and a college senior. If it were up to Rebecca, she would be traveling - right now. First up, trips to see their two grown sons. As a member of ACFW and FHLCW, she tackles the craft of fiction while learning from a host of generous writers.

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