Religion was a very important part of the community. It seemed that wherever a community began a church was soon to follow. If a church wasn't built a travelling minister did the ceremony in the schoolhouse. It was a very important part of the community. In earlier days mass was done in Latin or French and it was hard to understand, they had longer services, and Lent was very strict (you had to fast). Also everyone attended midnight mass at Christmas time. Churches helped the community by having fowl suppers, box socials, etc.