These five lay ministers take turns on Sundays to run Freshwater United Church services. From left, they are Jennifer Adams, David Reitkoetter, David Moriarty, Lynne Priddle and Andrew Peacock. (Lindsay Bird/CBC)
Each Sunday morning, the grand ceilings of Freshwater United Church fill with hymns.
The elegant clapboard church, built nearly a century ago for a congregation of hundreds, now sees only about 20 turn out each weekend in this largely retiree community.
It appears, at a glance, as another story of fading churchgoing in rural Newfoundland and Labrador in the 21st century..
But that glance is deceiving.
At the front of this week’s crowd, a diminutive woman steps to
