A Review of our Guest Book
When I arrive to the Church on Sunday and prepare for the Mass, I take a look at the guest book on the wall pedestal by the door. Every Sunday I am greeted by usually cheerful messages from the visitors who come by during the week. This book was getting a little beat up, so I brought a fresh one and took 20 months of signatures home – and read them. I took some notes.
It is interesting how many people visit. There are about 320 entries between January 2021 and August 2022. Its amazing to me that there are so many signatures during the Winter, let alone how many in total. Transfiguration of Woodstock is just below the summit of Overlook Mountain at an elevation of just under 3000 feet. Our little chapel is very much out of the way even in even in favorable climes.
I wonder where they all come from? Hiking is very popular in the area. I imagine some are drawn from the church’s listing in the National Landmarks Register. There were signatures in English, French, Hebrew and Greek. The book had signatures from New York, New Jersey Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Montreal, Quebec, Brooklyn, Long Island, Florida, California, England, Germany, Finland, India, and Nepal.
Most of the signatures were from couples or with three names. The majority of the entries are exclamations at the beautiful solace that permeates this tiny wooden chapel. Many leave a word of thanks for keeping the location alive and making the church available to pray in. Many leave their full names and hometown. Some leave a short paragraph recalling their baptism or wedding here. Families leave names of the whole family. Children leave parent-guided expressions.
Some recall memories as children of the beloved Father Francis, and more recently our beloved Father John who, after restoring this place, passed 5 years ago and is buried on the grounds. Some record their own blessing or altruistic comment. A few give thanks. Some just sign. There isn’t a single angry or disrespectful word throughout the entire 20 months.
There are sometimes deeply thoughtful entries in the week’s signatures. There is no shortage of heartfelt pleas for God’s Mercy in these pages. Some communicate requests for God’s guidance and some offer only Praise Him. Whether it be for their beloved who is sick or for the stability of a loved one, the messages can be compelling and are with us when we pray.
According to this ledger, some sprinkle ashes here and leave a note of thanks for a Holy place to do so. Some come to pray for their departed. Many pray for our troubled world. The book has some pages that are torn to scribble out a request for the prayer box near the book. The evening’s reading of these pages was truly stirring and sometimes inspiring. May God hear their prayers!
We at Transfiguration wish to thank all who wrote in this book for your kind words, and in some cases, for invoking a call to prayer. Although we are few we carry some of these entries with us as we gather to Glorify God and ask for His Blessings. We hope to see you again some Sunday.
Fr. Vincent, thank you for honoring Fr. John and validating my belief that someone with intent would at some time review and appreciate the inadequate words that found their way through my hand into the book by the door on the few occasions I was lucky enough to visit that precious Church on the mount. We love you all so much.