Have you ever been north of the Number 7 highway anywhere in eastern Ontario? Its God's country up there, and the residents are a little more reverent, more plain spoken and generally more down to Earth ... Yes I'm stereotyping, but if you've ever been to Havelock or Marmora or Madoc you know what I mean. All human settlements  north east of Peterbourgh look like they've been hit with a time warp - the farmers use old equipment and their fields are small patches of stoney ground. They pasture a few cows, goats and chickens - they are self sufficient but have little else to trade for.. The ones closest to lakes and streams have long since sold out .. this is cottage country now

Look at this McCormack wheat thresher that I lensed while on an adventure north of Hwy #7 iback in the summer of 2008 ; I wrote a piece wherein Dumpdiggers visit the Gut Conservation Area because i was out seeking relics then but what I remember most was the entropy visible in the farm yards and on the front lawns of the people's homes in the area.

It looks like life up there has gone backwards but yet, its more honest. Everything is on display, This is life in the Canadian Shield and its a granite experience, marshy and full of small lakes upon which city folks now build cottages. City dwellers drive up here and develop the properties, put sand on the shores, and build long docks upon which to admire the sunsets and hear only the call of the loons

This summer I will be venturing a little further north exploring Bracebridge and staying in a cottage right on Lake Muskoka. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go to church in cottage country? Do you think its any different? Here are three choices for people with Muskoka cottages - I hope to visit all three this summer.

Sunday Service for Muskoka Cottagers

The Muskoka Cottage Online profiled three churches in Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville to give you an idea of what it might be like to drop in for a Sunday service...

For example at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Bracebridge, Ontario (705) 645-2294  Carol, who works for the church office says that summer service might swell by as many as 200 families. And they see more visitors every year.

St. Joseph’s celebrates mass with great music and they have a popular Saturday evening mass at 7:00 PM that has a folk band with guitars and tambourines.  and the choir sings on Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM.

At St. James Anglican Church in Gravenhurst, Ontario (705) 687-4624 

This parish lists only a hundred people but this number inflates over the summer cottage season. Lois in the church office tells cottagers that they can 'come in and sit wherever they like–nobody owns the pew.”

At Riverside Baptist Church in Huntsville, Ontario (705) 789-5660 the Sunday service starts at 10:00 AM and lasts an hour, and as you may have guessed, cottagers are welcome.

“Sometimes the ministers will ask if there’s any visitors, they’ll welcome them from the pulpit, and of course the ministers will shake the hands of the visitors afterward,” says Gloria, who will be retiring in August after working for the church for 40 years.

Gloria reports that music is very important at Riverside: “We have a choir and organist and there’s a different musician every week. " she proudly boasts. "We have a fantastic minister. The sermons are fantastic and the music is always good.”  Thanks Gloria.

The size of the congregation at Riverside Baptist Church in Huntsville shrinks during the summer months; many members leave the region for their own vacations. So there should be lots of elbow room for me when I get there in June, July or August.