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by Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

When the Rev. Susan Beehler read the classified ad from Strawbridge Shrine in the UMConnection last year, she found herself looking up the word 'curator' in the dictionary. A few months later, she became one.

Beehler is the newest curator of the Robert Strawbridge Shrine in Carroll County.

The shrine honors Strawbridge, the first preacher of Methodism in America, his wife Elizabeth who made the first convert to Methodism in her kitchen, and the first American class meeting, held at the John Evans House.

Visitors can tour several buildings on the 32-acre site including Strawbridge's restored home and outbuildings, the Evans House and a replica of a 1764 log meeting house. Beehler's house sits next to these historic sites and is attached to the shrine's visitor's center.

The shrine is open on weekends March 15 to Oct. 3 and at other times by appointment. When visitors arrive ? by the hundreds each year ? Beehler shows them around and answers questions.

Already she has learned that each visitor takes away something different from a visit to the shrine. For Beehler, it is the firsts that unfolded in the landscape on which she now lives that pique her interest.

Visitors to the shrine discover several interesting facts: 'Robert Strawbridge was the first preacher of Wesleyan Methodism in America, organized the first class meeting in America, built the first Methodist meeting house, performed the first Methodist baptism, conducted the first Methodist communion service, converted the first American-born Methodist local preacher and established Methodism so strongly in Maryland and Virginia that at the first Methodist annual conference in 1773, 600 of the 1,100 Methodists in the 12 colonies were in those two colonies.'

As she learns more about the people who walked on the same ground that is before her, Beehler is struck at how each individual is blessed with gifts and graces. The Strawbridges remind us of that, she said. Robert was out and about, preaching throughout the countryside, making deals; Elizabeth was at home with her five children, caring for the farm and closing deals. Each gave something of themselves to God.

'It isn't just the historical facts that are important to me,' Beehler said.

'I value the story, and that sense of connectedness.'

Within the past few years, under the leadership of a 14-member board of directors, the shrine has made tremendous leaps in providing opportunities for people to build connections with the past.

Beehler and some of the board members believe this may be the time for increased programming at the shrine.

Recently, members of the New Windsor Ministerial Association were welcomed by the shrine as they celebrated a progressive Advent with a candlelit worship service in the log meeting house.

When she daydreams, Beehler sees the stream behind the property being used for baptisms, a Celtic music festival, a fun run through Strawbridge country, and an interactive Web site featuring the shrine that is designed for youth preparing to be confirmed into the church.

Ideas abound, and they all stem back to telling God's story in a way that helps people feel connected with who they are, Beehler said.

The Strawbridge story is one of daring great things, of claiming God's gifts and putting them to use, and of spreading the Gospel message. While introducing programs to help this story come to life in new ways energizes Beehler, working at the shrine also provides her with 'a season of healing.'

In 1999, Beehler moved to El Paso to be near her aging mother. The move enabled them to share valuable time together. But when her mother died recently, Beehler found comfort in many of the relationships she had with people in the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

While her grief is still tender, the shrine provides a 'sacred space,' where the presence of God is keenly felt.

In the living room of the curator's house is a grand piano on which Beehler, a classically-trained musician, expresses her faith and writes music.

She is beginning to write a song to observe the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women in the Methodist Church in 2006. On a bright day, the chords float over the house where more than 240 years ago, other Methodists sang their holy songs.
It's a heritage worth tending to.

The new curator plans to do just that.