BETHANY
CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
“The
true and grand idea of a church is a society for the purpose of making
man like Christ, earth like heaven, the kingdom of the world the
kingdom of Christ.”
About
the year 1858 Bethany congregation had its beginning, not then as an
organization, but as a mission point or outpost of the Jackson Center
Church. For the
first two or three years Sunday school and preaching services were held
in the schoolhouse, which is within a quart of a mile of the present
church house.
Rev. A. M. Blackford was the
first preacher to this people. He,
however, did continue this relation very long; and the one to follow
him was the Rev. J. M. Gallagher,
so well known to most Pennsylvania Cumberland Presbyterians. He took charge of the work
about the year 1860, and soon after the beginning of his ministry here
the present house of worship was erected, although it might be well to say that several
changed have been made on the
first building within the last fifteen years.
Dr. Gallagher continued to have
charge of the
work, until the organization of the church, at which time he was called
as
pastor and he continued in this relation until he resigned in the
spring of
1895. Thus, the church was favored with a long pastorate in
the beginning
of her work as Dr. Gallagher was
in charge of the
work for about thirty-five years.
While this
people were apparently quite strong in numbers and had a good
house of worship for that day, they were satisfied to continue as part
of the
Jackson Center work until the spring of 1876, at which time they
petitioned the
Allegheny Presbytery to allow them to organize into a separate
congregation to
be known as the Bethany
congregation of
continued
|