|
Gracious God,
We gather here today as part of something much bigger than ourselves:
a 175-year legacy. In the Scriptures, the Psalmist David writes in Psalm 90:4,
“A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by.”
In many ways, this fair reflects the truth of those words. So much has changed in one and three-quarters of a century. The first fairgoers didn’t carry their livestock in trucks and trailers; rather, their livestock carried them by horse and buggy. The Ferris wheel wouldn’t even be invented for the first several decades. In place of carnival rides and flashing lights, there were card games and bonfires.
Yet, with all that has changed, I suspect what matters most has stayed the same. For 175 years, people have paused their busy lives to gather with family, friends, and neighbors in one place, to marvel at the many signs and wonders of Your created world.
Men and women have shown off the fruit of their faithful stewardship over land and livestock, talents and gifts. Children have forgotten the worries of the outside world as they’ve entered a place full of encouragement, inspiration, and the invitation to be part of something greater.
Perhaps the best way we can celebrate 175 years of the Walworth County Fair is by leaning into the things that never change— which also happen to be the things that matter most.
Keep us safe, grant us Your peace, and invite all who enter this place to be swept into a legacy that reaches far beyond themselves.
With thanksgiving to You, the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of all things, we pray.
Amen.
Pastor Tom De Groot
| 
