by Michelle A. Dick
When the Erie Canal was first built, entertainment was a frequent pastime on the canal. Often families would meet each year at the same location to share stories and adventures.
Years later, the Erie Canal became a place where the faithful gathered to celebrate God. Between 1825 and 1837, the Erie Canal became a breeding ground for revivalism, evangelism, perfectionism, utopianism, as well as many other social reforms. Charles Finney was a leader in the Second Great Awakening and an American Presbyterian minister. He ministered along the Erie Canal from September 1830 to March 1831. Together with several other evangelical leaders, his religious views led him to promote social reforms, such as the abolition of slavery and equal education for women and African Americans. People used the Erie Canal to travel to hear Finney speak and tell stories — as far away as 100 miles.
Fast forward to May 3, 2009: Pastor Jurjen Hoomans poured water from the Sea of Galilee into the Erie Canal in front of a group of interested people who gathered in Spencerport. The Sea of Galilee was where Jesus walked on water and spoke in parables to teach others how to live. The pouring of the Sea of Galilee’s water into the Erie Canal symbolized bringing Jesus’ teachings and influence to Spencerport and the canal through His use of parables and storytelling of ordinary events.
Recently, there has been a group of people who have a means to bring back Christian storytelling to the Erie Canal Heritage Corridor through another spiritual awakening on the Glory Barge.
It’s Time to Share Stories Again on the Erie Canal’s Glory Barge
The Glory Barge crew — founding board members Professor Joel Hoomans, Steve Von Berg, John Hoben, and a core team — have been meeting over the past few years to discuss plans of building the Erie Canal Heritage Corridor Glory Barge. Jurgen Hoomans, Joel’s father, is the visionary who dreamt of the Glory Barge, but he passed before he could see it come to fruition.
Although Jurjen passed before his vision to spread God’s Word through storytelling on the canal came to light, the dream still lives on through Jurjen’s family and friends who are part of the non-profit organization Erie Canal Light Transformations, Inc. (ECLTI). Joel is honoring his father’s vision by spearheading the barge project and making it a reality.
Jurgen’s Visions Take a Leap of Faith
According to Joel, over the years, Jurgen had many “visions.” The first vision provoked him to escape from an alcoholic father to attend college at West Virginia Wesleyan to pursue a Heavenly Father. His second vision was to develop a large youth program while serving as a minister in the United Methodist church in Connecticut. Years later, another vision led Jurgen to purchase two islands in Northern New York (one, nine acres and the other, 16 acres in size). Joel said, “He built a cottage on one of those islands, bringing electric underwater, adding a bunkhouse, etc.” Jurgen also “had a dream to convert one of the barns on the property where he grew up to a house, and another to a non-denominational church called The Well. He accomplished both of those things,” according to Joel.
Jurjen’s final vision was to create the Glory Barge as a place where storytelling would thrive again on the Erie Canal, spreading news of Jesus’ Word, His death on the cross, and the glory of His resurrection.
Jurgen’s wife of 57 years, Judy, said that “Jurgen never felt like this vision was his own — but it came in a dream quite remarkedly showing him that the Erie Canal was … to use for bringing understanding of the ‘Kingdom of God’ into daily life. Through storytelling, song, and drama, people would have a picture and hopefully life-altering experiences.” Jurgen and Judy would have celebrated 60 years together this past summer.
Joel recalls the day he heard about his dad’s Glory Barge vision. He said, “My parents moved from North Chili to a townhouse they purchased on the Erie Canal in Spencerport in the fall of 2007.” This was about the time his dad began talking about his vision to move God along the Erie Canal corridor. But when Joel initially spoke to his father about the topic, he did not discuss it in very much detail. Joel said, “It was my dad’s encounter with John Hoben that changed that; John was able to help my father articulate the vision in more detail.”
John Hoben recalls the encounter, “I went for a morning canal-side walk in June 2017 and saw a young octogenarian sitting in front of the Spencerport Depot and Canal Museum.” The octogenarian was Jurgen. Hoben greeted him, and within the first 15 minutes, Jurjen shared the vision he had nearly 12 years prior (circa 2005). Jurgen’s vision was to see the Erie Canal become “God’s Birth Canal” for the next major Christian revival, both nationally and internationally. Spencerport was identified in the vision as the first “birthing station” for this revival, serving as the epicenter throughout the Erie Canal Heritage Corridor.
After the encounter, John Hoben, being the soldier of Bible ministry that he is, understood there was a reason for this encounter. It was no coincidence. Hoben said, “Having been born and raised in Spencerport, this vision the Lord had put on Jurjen’s heart, then bringing us together on that fateful morning became part of my daily bread and walk. I want to see the Glory Barge become the vessel to fulfill Jurgen’s vision.”
A 90-Foot Cross on the Erie Canal Is Ridiculous
The plan is to build a 90-foot Glory Barge in the shape of a cross, which seems ridiculous to most. The logistics seem impossible, but ECLTI has agreed to contract with MGB Building, Inc. in Spencerport to build the Glory Barge once funding has been secured (go to www.glorybarge.org for more information). The schematics and plan have been created. Current pro forma is estimated at a total of $3 million for the first three years of operation, which includes construction and Coast Guard certification of the Glory Barge. A team of volunteers are planning and implementing ECLTI supports with a growing list of partnering individuals and organizations.
What excites Founding Board Member Steve Von Berg most about the Glory Barge is “the size of the undertaking. It seems so significant, and when I consider the resources we are starting with — this can only succeed if God is in it. And I want to witness that!”
Get on Board! It’s an Attention Grabber
The Glory Barge is designed and has the potential to become a national news story — even a worldwide news story. Organizers believe that when they send out aerial footage of a 90-foot cross floating down the canal, backed by an internet marketing campaign, they are sure to get attention from the masses. The shape is not to draw attention to the Glory Barge, but most importantly, to get people to remember the cross as a symbol of God’s love and His saving grace. They say it’s a shout-out that Jesus’ Holy Spirit is thriving in you.
Patrons on the Glory Barge will find Free Bibles and bookmarks, storytelling of God’s Word in action, miraculous stories, networking, videos with testimonials from credible witnesses, compassionate conversation, prayer, and ministry on tough topics, such as suicide, death of loved ones, drug and alcohol addiction, poverty, abuse and neglect, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. These are all topics that can make people feel helpless and confused in today’s world.
The vision of this barge is to reach out and give everyone the Word of God, to give them hope and purpose in a world that seems to be falling apart. All are welcome.
Go to www.glorybarge.org for more information or follow the Glory Barge Facebook page.
Michelle A. Dick is a freelance content specialist, providing writing, editorial expertise, and graphic imagery to clients. Prior to becoming a free agent, she was an executive editor for AAPC, editor-in-chief at Eli Research, and editor at Element K Journals. After earning a Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo State, Michelle entered the publishing industry as a graphic artist, ad coordinator, and web designer for White Directory Publishers, Inc. She is also the owner of My Garden Gal, a garden service business in Spencerport.
Glory Barge Members (below). Provided photos
