Lakefield Herald Special Report

United Church Moderator visits Lakefield

by Christina Millington

Moderator Gary Patterson, the 41st elected into the United Church, spoke to a group of young adults at Lakefield United Church regarding his journey as a newly elected moderator on Feb. 6.

Colourful jelly beans were distributed amongst various groups with strict instructions not to eat them as they would require some story telling depending on the colours each person had.

Adam, a participant in the jelly bean game had a yellow bean which asked the question, “What would you do if you won $500?”

“I would donate the $500 to the Canadian Cancer Society,” Adam responded.

Selfless acts were a common theme throughout the activity as the young participants weren’t focused on material things, rather taking the opportunity to voice that they would help other people granted they had the chance to do so.

After the activity commenced everyone gathered around in a circle to allow Patterson to share his experiences as a moderator.

A confident Patterson talked about his childhood and a story that had everyone on the edge of their seats.

Patterson recalled an incident that he often refers to as “a really gross story” which resulted in the “explorer” losing half of his finger when he was only one-year-old.

“I was one-year-old living up in the Yukon,” said Patterson.

“The telephone rang and my Mom went upstairs to answer it so I decided to explore. I stuck my hand underneath the washing machine and the fan belt took off half of my finger.”

Gasps filled the room as Patterson continued on to share the details of his exploration days gone terribly wrong.

“I screamed as my beloved dog picks up the little piece of finger and heads upstairs,” said Patterson. “He dropped the finger in front of my Mom. That then had us rushing to the hospital.”

Patterson then concluded his introduction saying that he will always be remembered as the moderator with half a finger.

Patterson will be continuing his journey around Canada visiting various churches sharing the trials and tribulations of his life as moderator.

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