I ran errands on Tuesday. My list contained those pricey, un-sexy items I hate to spend money on. Printer cartridges. Electric toothbrush heads. Dog medicine.
I left the vet’s office with a much smaller bank account balance and headed for the thrift store next door. I wouldn’t spend much time there. I was looking for just one thing: Church plates.
I collect church commemorative plates for several reasons:
- Old church buildings are interesting. Most of them reflect their time and place, or their denomination. And most old churches, with their steeples and stained glass windows, are a good bit prettier than the big-box churches that are all the rage today.
- Stories about churches are stories of hope. When a church commissioned a plate, they had the option of furnishing a paragraph to be stamped on the back. Those paragraphs speak of hope and purpose. They quote scripture, and celebrate the ministry of their congregation. The stories remind me that a church is not a building. A church is a group of believers, doing life together.
- Each plate connects me to history. I own a plate from the church where my parents were married, and one from the church where my husband grew up. I used to have a beautiful plate from Denmark, Iowa, the town my father-in-law is from. I displayed it on a shelf in my kitchen until it broke in the Great Door Slamming Incident of 2001. I kept the broken pieces for years.
The plates I’ve collected from thrift stores and garage sales are clues to the settling of America. One history begins, “St. Paul’s Evangelical and Reformed Church, Knox, Pennsylvania, founded by German pioneers from Westmoreland County, was organized formally on January 9, 1813.” Another says, “Shell Creek Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized on February 2, 1874, at Newman Grove, Nebraska. Its founders were Norwegian pioneer settlers.”
The plate I bought on Tuesday has the most interesting history paragraph of my collection:
“The Armourdale Baptist Church was chartered in 1887. The buildings pictured here speak both of the unique stability of this congregation, and of its historic determination to remain as a witness in the Armourdale community. In spite of four floods and a devastating fire, the present facility stands less than one block from the site of the original building.”
The plate celebrated the church’s 100th anniversary: 1887-1987, but Armourdale Baptist Church is still in operation in Kansas City, Kansas. Today it reflects its neighborhood’s changed demographics by partnering with a Spanish-speaking church and offering services in English and Spanish.
In my research for this post I found loads of church plates for sale on e-bay, and I read about the world’s largest church plate collection—over 3,000! None of that appeals to me. My collection is strictly small-time, a low-budget diversion at thrift stores and a curiosity to display in my home.
What do you collect, and why?
I collect T-shirts, though I only display them by wearing them (and of course they wear out). These shirts remind me of all the places I’ve lived or visited. I also have a collection of coffee cups, though that collection came about purely by accident. Some represent places I’ve lived, some where I’ve worked, and others that once belonged to my grandmother (those are fast becoming antiques). My mom has a plate of a church she attended as a girl. I’ll have to look at the back of it and see if there is any info there about the church.
I love your sense of humor–The Great Door Slamming Incident of 2001.
Your collections are pieces of history too, Deb. I like that.
I collect angels to remind me I am always surrounded by God’s messengers who care for me. I also have a church plate, from the old Mennonite Brethren Church in Enid, OK. My parents were married there and most of my relatives are buried in the adjoining cemetery. The Mennonites must have missed out on the opportunity to write an inspirational paragraph on the back. My plate says, “For decorative use only.”
I’ve been trying to decide what to do with the mug produced by the tiny country church my family was part of all those years ago. It has since closed its doors as so many small country churches have. Once they were the lifeblood of the communities. Now…. It makes me sad. Maybe I’ll put that mug in my cupboard and use it. It will probably remind me to pray for that community. That’s a good thing.
I hope the mug will bring back good memories for you too, SuZan. Use it in good health.
I collect angels to remind me I am surrounded by God’s messengers who care for me. I also have a church plate – from the old Mennonite Brethren Church in Enid, OK. My parents were married there and most of my relatives are buried in the adjoining cemetery. The Mennonites must have missed out on the opportunity to write an inspirational paragraph on the back. My plate says, “For decorative use only.”
I have one plate with no writing on the back. I wonder if it was thriftiness that kept them from doing that part. Maybe the paragraph cost extra.
I collect dust, mostly. I’d rather write!
Funny! I once visited a collectibles shop with my grandmother. We admired all the pretty china tchotchkes and I asked her if she ever thought about collecting them. She wrinkled her nose. “One more thing to dust,” she said.
Grandma is a wise woman!