First UCC celebrates sesquicentennial
On Sunday, Nov. 1, the First United Church of Christ at 201 Fair Avenue NW, New Philadelphia, will celebrate its 150th anniversary and All Saints Day at its 10 a.m. service.Rev. David Cleaver-Bartholomew, UCC association minister, will preach a special message, and Pastors Jeff Gerber and Jill Lovett will conduct the traditional elements of the service. Following tradition, music will play an important part in the service, with gathering music beginning at 9:45 a.m. The chancel choir, under the direction of organist/pianist Rick Michel, will sing Answer God's Call, an anthem Michel wrote and arranged for the occasion. Member Amber Pottmeyer will accompany the composition on flute, with Michel on piano. Church cantor Stephanie Levengood will sing and direct the children's choir. A brass ensemble from B5 (Big, Bad Bodacious Brass Band) will join the organ in accompanying traditional hymns.
A light lunch will be served after the service in the fellowship hall, and the public is invited to attend. The church is handicap accessible through its Fair Avenue parking lot entrance.
The First United Church of Christ stands in the Reformed tradition, tracing its history to the Reformation movement under Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin. Men and women of the Reformed faith came to the United States from Germany and Switzerland in the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1857, when a few Christians began gathering each Sunday to praise God, they could not have envisioned that their simple worship assemblies in New Philadelphia would shape the course of a congregation. Their sole intent was to be loyal to the German Reformed faith. Without the leadership of a minister, the faithful met in the homes of fellow believers, read their own sermons, and conducted worship in their native German language. Although they later welcomed assistance from a missionary, it was February 1859 when they called their first minister, Rev. John Rettig, who organized a congregation of 42 charter members into the "New Philadelphia charge."
During the early history of the church, the small but growing congregation began meeting in the local Lutheran church building, but like other struggling young congregations, longed for their own house of worship. Their solution was to join in a building project with the St. Paul Evangelicals, constructing a church in 1861 on the corner of Fair Avenue and Third Street NE, now part of the Sacred Heart Catholic parish campus. The joint venture provided both the Evangelical congregation and the German Reformed congregation with a church building, though they maintained separate worship services and separate pastors for the next 25 years.
In 1886, the two groups merged into the German Evangelical Reformed Church and selected a Reformed minister to serve their blended congregation. Nine years later, they constructed a more-centrally located church building at Second Street and Fair Avenue NW, the site of the church today, and soon thereafter discontinued worship services in German.
A new church school building, reflecting the Gothic style of architecture, was built at the rear of the church and dedicated in 1934; in 1940-41 the old church building was razed and the new sanctuary was built on the original foundation in the same Gothic style. The congregation grew in number, with membership frequently approaching the 1,000 mark under the ministry of Dr. T.W. Hoernemann, which extended from 1929 to 1962.
During this time of spiritual and physical growth locally, the Reformed Churches in the United States and the Evangelical Synod of North America were considering a merger, an idea that was finalized in 1934. In that year, the local German Evangelical Reformed Church became part of the Evangelical and Reformed Church. Seventeen years later, in 1957, another denominational union was realized. This one, a merger between the Evangelical and Reformed Churches and the Congregational Christian churches across the country created the United Church of Christ.
In 2004 a new addition was erected on the west side of the building to provide handicap accessibility, a new nursery, a youth lounge and a commercial-quality kitchen. The fellowship hall was significantly refurbished, allowing the congregation to more hospitably welcome and serve the community.
First Church's long and noble history reflects God's grace and power along with the dedication of faithful members. The congregation seeks to share the love and teaching of Jesus Christ through worship, care and service to all people.