What a week of weather! We started with unseasonably mild temperatures in the 50s, only to end 2024 with the year’s most dramatic thunder and lightning storm just before the ball dropped in Times Square. Then, the new year swept in with sustained winds gusting up to 50 MPH, paving the way for an arctic blast that promises frigid temperatures and predictions of snow in the coming days. Winter has officially arrived, bringing with it the doldrums of the season.
By Monday, communities south of Buffalo are expected to see more than 18 inches of fresh snow. These neighborhoods, nestled near Lake Erie, are no strangers to winter’s extremes, with average January snowfall exceeding three feet thanks to relentless lake-effect storms. Why, then, would anyone living there be interested in something designed to lower the temperature of their homes?
Take the Village of Angola, NY, for example. Located about two miles east of Lake Erie and 20 miles southwest of Buffalo, Angola knows cold. It snows an average of 17 days in January, and the temperature dips below freezing on 28 days.
That’s why it’s ironic that someone so deeply rooted in this frosty climate became a global champion of cool. Angola’s own Willis Carrier revolutionized the world when, on January 2, 1906, a bureaucrat approved his patent for an “Apparatus for Treating Air.” Carrier, the father of modern air conditioning, made even the planet’s most oppressive environments livable.
While Angola, NY, may not have been the greatest beneficiary of Carrier’s invention, the village’s Quaker roots hint at a global connection. Angola was originally called Evans Station but was renamed to honor local residents supporting missionary efforts in the African colony of Angola—a land with an enduringly humid climate, perfect for Carrier’s groundbreaking technology.
We won’t need air conditioners in New York this week—the cold is coming. Instead of Carrier’s cooling, we invite you to bask in the warmth of Christ’s light. Join us for worship on Sunday, January 5, at 9:30 AM, as we celebrate the Star of Bethlehem, illuminating our faith.
