Formally,
the Presbyterian congregation in Raven Creek was organized August 12, 1859
by permission of Northumberland Presbytery but the stirrings of the church
began as far back at 1810. The first
Presbyterian meetings took place in Sugarloaf Log Church. This was a church of hewn logs near the present
site of the St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church. It was finished in 1812 but not
officially dedicated until July 15, 1828.
The ceremony of dedication on that date was conducted by Rev. Henry
H. Onderdonk, Episcopalian minister.
The building
at that site was jointly owned by Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Lutherans.
How these congregations formed is unknown.
This building was occupied for 64 years before it burned on Palm Sunday,
April 9, 1876. It was in that place that the Presbyterian
congregation first held meetings about 1812.
Little additional
information is available until 1859 when a number of persons from Cole’s Mills
petitioned Northumberland Presbytery, then meeting at Berwick, for a church
organization in that area. John Doty,
Esq., Rev. D.J. Waller, and John Thomas were appointed as a committee to look
into this proposal. They met at the
Log church on Friday, August 12, 1859 to organize the church.
The congregation included Earl Boston, Frederick Laubach, James Wilson,
Simon W. Tubbs, Freas Conner, and others. In October of 1859 a congregation
of 20 members was reported with two elders ordained and installed. An
1864 note speaks of a Mr. Ferguson who was laboring here. He was a member of Luzerne Presbytery.
Sometime
between 1859 and 1872 the meeting place of this congregation was changed from
the Log Church to the original Hamline Church building which was built in
1845. The present Hamline Church building was built in 1879 near the original
site. The Presbyterian congregation had been without its own place of worship
throughout this time meeting in the homes of various members and then at the
Hamline Church since the location was convenient to its members. These two
congregations continued to be closely associated through the years. Some of the members of the congregation at this
time (1910) included Blanche Shultz Hartman, Susie Shultz Hess, Anna Drescher,
Ray Shultz, Arthur VanHorn, Francis Drescher Diltz, Stephen Drescher, Josephine
Shultz Gearheart, Letha Laubach Mendenhall, Charity Laubach Keefer, Clarence
Albertson, Frank I. Shultz, and Harvey Belles.
At a congregational
meeting held July 1, 1872 in the Hamline Church building it was decided to
build a place of worship for the Presbyterian congregation. The name was to
be Raven Creek Presbyterian Church. The
church history records that the land for the church and cemetery was donated
from Rhoda Laubach Harrison but the
property transfer was actually recorded July 5, 1872 from Hannah Buss of Nescopeck
Township, Luzerne County (Deed Book #25, page #555) purchase of one acre “to
erect and build or cause to be build on said lot of land, a house or place
of worship.” The price recorded for
the land was $80.00.
The first
grave in the Raven Creek Cemetery was Phepa Shotz, daughter of h. & E.
Shotz who died August of 1877. This
Shotz family lived across the valley from the home of Marie Albertson Bailey.
The building committee consisted of Peter Laubach, Samuel Wilson, Samuel
Krickbaum, and the Rev. William R. Mather.
According to Peter Laubach’s diary the dedication sermon was preached
on November 7, 1872 (a Thursday) by Stewart Michael.
According to the History of Columbia County by Battle the building
was dedicated on November 7, 1874 (a Saturday)?
In any case, in December of 1872 Rev. N. Spear brought a request to
Presbytery which was granted allowing the name “Sugar Loaf” to be changed
to “The Raven Creek Church.”
In October
of 1915 Benton and Raven Creek churches became one charge during the pastorate
of Rev. John H. Sanders. At that time
the manse was built in Benton. The Raven Creek Church has shared a minister
with various other church congregations through the years. These churches include Rohrsburg, Orangeville,
Benton, and Columbia Hill. The Benton
and Raven Creek churches shared the ownership of a manse to house the minister
until 1979. The trustees minutes of
the Raven Creek Church go back to June 21, 1922 when the following officers
were elected. President was Perry Dietrick,
Vice President was Joseph Letteer, and Secretary was R.D. Wenner.
No major
changes were made in the building until 1924 when the original reed organ
was replaced with the present Blasius piano. This
organ was later sold at an auction to raise funds for the church. In 1925
extensive remodeling was begun with the work led by Edmond and Emory Lutz. The windows were replaced with stained glass windows which were donated
in memory of former members, in honor of members, and in memory of a former
pastor and his wife, Rev. & Mrs. William R. Mather who was minister from
1888 to 1915. A hot air furnace replaced
the two pot-bellied stoves, wall to wall carpeting was laid, gasoline lights
were installed, and new pulpit furniture and pews replaced the original furniture
and “back-breaker” pews. According
to the trustees minutes of July 4, 1925 the church was then painted and a
re-dedication service was held.
At the August
31, 1925 meeting of the congregation the house and lots of Mr. T. A. Hess
adjoining the church property were purchased for $800.00 to be used a “fellowship
hall”, burying ground and other church purposes (Book 101, page 469).
In early 1926 work was done on the property and the accompanying house
to convert it into a dining hall. It was christened the “Raven Creek Community
Hall’ because of its intended use.
In September
and October of 1929 the elders and trustees of the church, under the leadership
of Rev. L. V. Barber, met and decided to set up an incorporation of the church
and cemetery to provide for it’s support and care. A.R. Smith, E.G. Albertson, Stephen K. Drescher,
J.R. Phillips, and W.F. Keefer were appointed to prepare the by-laws and a
charter was applied for. The charter,
granted by Charles C. Evans, presiding judge of Columbia County courts, on
March 9, 1931, was accepted and adopted,
along with the by-laws, on May 24, 1931 at a congregational meeting at the
church making the church name officially the Raven Creek Presbyterian Church,
Incorporated.
In 1930
all of the Elders of the three churches (Raven Creek, Benton, & Orangeville)
were meeting three times a year. Elmer
E. Shultz was serving as the Clerk of Session. Other members of the session in Raven Creek
were Jonathan Phillips. A. Ray Smith & E. Guy Albertson. The Trustees were William Michael, President,
Stephen Drescher, E. K. Shultz, Donald Smith, Ralph R. Smith, John R. Phillips,
and Thomas Shultz. The Sunday School officers were: Marion R. Smith, Superintendent; Donald Smith, Assist. Superintendent;
Miss Martha Minnier, Secretary; Mrs. Pearl Davis, Cradle Roll; Miss Marie
Albertson, pianist; Miss Blanche Shultz, Assist. Pianist; Miss Blanche Shultz,
Treasurer.
In 1949
the buildings were wired for electricity, the first bill being dated
In 1959
the 1933 edition of the Presbyterian Hymnal was incorporated into the
worship service. The history of this
church congregation was assembled by Stephen K. Drescher, Anna Drescher, A.
Marie Albertson Bailey, Mrs. O. Keefer, Connie Carson, and Rev. Robert L.
Cobb, pastor, for the Centennial Homecoming celebration held on Sunday, November
29, 1959. The session members in 1959
were: Stephen K. Drescher, Clerk of Session, E.K. Shultz, J. Brandon McDaniels,
Fred DePoe, and Fred E. Houseweart. The
church Treasurer was Lydia (Mrs. J. Brandon) McDaniels.
On April
24, 1962 the Fishing Creek United Presbyterian Parish was formed consisting
of Benton, Raven Creek, Orangeville, and Columbia Hill churches.
The list
of ministers serving this congregation up to this time (1959) were:
| Rev. D. J. Waller Jr. | 1875-1877 | |
| Rev. A.W. Spear | Supply | |
| Rev. C.K. Canfield | Supply | |
| Rev. R.G. Hemingway Sr. | Supply | |
| Rev. William R. Mather | 1888-1915 | |
| Rev. John H. Sanders | 1915-1917 | |
| Rev. Samuel Moddy | 1918-1922 | |
| Rev. W.H. Sugden | 1923 & 1925 (student) | |
| Rev. L.V. Barber | 1925- 1943 | |
| Rev. Carl Woll | 1944-1946 | |
| Rev. Harry Buck | 1947-1950 | |
| Rev. Edgar Datesman | 1951 (student) | |
| Rev. Donald Sears & others | (students) | |
| Rev. David I. Shaffer | 1954-1956 |
|
| Rev. Robert L. Cobb | 1957
- June 1962 |
|
| later came: | ||
| Rev. Clair V. McNeil | November 1, 1962 - November 30, 1964 | |
|
Rev.
C. Patrick Chase
|
Sept. 1965-Feb. 1, 1969 (during this period a pulpit exchange took place with Rev. Russell Ferry of Philadelphia) | |
| Supply ministers | 1969-July 1970 | |
| Rev. Richard Lichti | July 19, 1970 - June 8, 1972 | |
| Supply ministers | 1972-1974 | |
| Rev. William Bostrum | October 1,1974 - April 1976 | |
| Supply ministers | 1976- 1987 (services once/month) | |
| Rev. Jesse Fritz | January 18, 1987 - October 1994(supply part-time, temporary) | |
| Rev. Wallace Pabst | November
1994 - June 7, 1995 (supply |
|
| Rev. Leslie Drayer | June 1996 - March 14, 1999 | |
| Supply ministers | ||
On May 24,
1970 the congregation and officers of the church voted to separate the cemetery
and the Community Hall from the church property, the new corporation being
called the “Raven Creek Memorial Inc.” This
finally became legally effective on January 5, 1979. On November 2, 1972 the congregation voted
to withdraw from the Fishing Creek Parish which consisted of Raven Creek,
Benton, and Orangeville Presbyterian churches. This became effective March
29, 1973.
On April
6, 1975, Steven Drescher, one of the oldest and most active members of the
congregation died and later that same year the oldest member, Mrs. Guy (Ida)
Albertson died. Both were laid to
rest in the Raven Creek Cemetery.
On January
5, 1979 the Raven Creek Memorial Incorporated was officially begun.
In early 1979 the transfer of ownership of the manse in Benton, jointly
owned since 1919, was completed with the Benton Presbyterian Church paying
$1,800 for Raven Creek’s 40% share. Also in 1979 the ceiling of the church building
was lowered and ceiling tiles placed there. The interior was repainted.
In August of 1979, while waiting for new carpet to be installed, the
old converted oil furnace burned and the building was filled with smoke and
oil. Some ceiling tiles had to be replaced and cleaning and repainting
was done. Afterward, new carpet and
a new oil furnace was installed. The
Rev. C. Patrick Chase came to conduct a re-dedication service on October 14,
1979.
Most of
the time between 1972 and 1986 our church was classed as a “Sunday School
church” with ministers leading worship services as available and as we could
find them. For a while services were
held only the first Sunday of each month, although Sunday School continued
every Sunday morning. The Sunday School
remained active and various events were planned throughout the year such as
Children’s Day, attendance contests, a
community Thanksgiving celebration, Sunday School picnics and ice cream festivals. The flock survived without a pastor during
this time.
On December
12, 1983, a dark and rainy night, one half of two beautiful memorial stained-glass windows in the rear
of the church building, were stolen. These
windows were placed there in 1925. Through generous donations the $1,120 needed to replace them with
replicas was obtained and they were installed on March 15, 1985. The balance of funds raised from the Window
Fund was put in a “building fund” to go toward additional Sunday School space.
In the Spring
of 1986 members of the congregation decided that they would like to strive
for a more active church and a pastor to lead them. A committee was formed and alternatives were
considered for hiring a part-time pastor, perhaps shared with another local
church. Letters were sent to local
ministers in an attempt to move in that direction. In January of 1987 a part-time temporary supply pastor was hired
and church services were again held every week.
In 1987
work was begun to dig the ground out from under the church to put in new walls,
a concrete floor, and new joists and sills.
This resulted in a stairway leading to the basement and five Sunday
School rooms.
A rededication
service was held on July 17, 1988.
In 1991
the interior of the church was redone with the drop ceiling removed. The ceiling was redone in wood and the walls
were painted off-white instead of green.
A re-dedication service was held on July
28, 1991. During the summer of 1993
a vestibule and bell tower were added
to the building. Stained glass windows
in the vestibule were created by Karl Poust.
In 1995
a Mission Study Assessment was completed. In
October 1996 we received a Mission Capital Grant from of the General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) which enabled us to purchase a new heating/cooling
system adequate for the enlarged church and Sunday School area and some other
improvements. The funds were received in December of 1996.
Raven Creek
Church Session members for 2002 (all elder/trustees) are:
Carol McCarty
Bailey (2004)
Matthew
Covington (2003)
Nancy Dreisbach
(2002)
Joann Heimbach (2004)
Richard
Lukashewski (2003)
Genevieve
Richardson Houseweart (2003)
Mariann
Houseweart (2002)
Kay Campbell
Stanton (2002)
Mark Wech
(2004)
The MISSION
of the Raven Creek Presbyterian Church continues to be:
to provide
all who desire to come with an open place of Christian worship and:
- To provide
support for those in need of spiritual guidance and stability, and to minister
to the personal needs of individual and families.
- To respond
to the love of God with faith and understanding in all we do.
- To learn,
know, proclaim and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world.
- To provide
the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to the congregation.
Our part-time
supply pastor is Rev. E. Dean Luther.
IMPORTANT DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE RAVEN CREEK CHURCH
| 1845 | Hamline Church building built (original) |
| August 12, 1859 | Raven Creek congregation organized by permission of Northumberland Presbytery |
| July 1, 1872 | congregation voted to build a place of worship to be Raven Creek Presbyterian Church |
| July 5, 1872 | land from Hannah Buss of Nescopeck Township, Luzerne Co. Deed book #25 page #555 one acre to “erect and build or cause to be built on said lot of land, a house or place of worship” |
| Thursday, November 7, 1872 | Dedication sermon preached by Stewart Michael (per Peter Laubach) |
| Saturday, November 7, 1874 | Building completed and Dedicated (per Battle) |
| 1877 | first burial in Raven Creek Cemetery |
| 1879 | present Hamline Church
building built |
| 1925 | RC Remodeling - hot air furnace, stained glass windows, carpet, gasoline lights and new pews |
| July 1925 | RC Re-dedication service
held |
| August 31, 1925 |
land from Stella Hess and T.A. Hess Book 101 Page 469 |
| March 9, 1931 | Raven Creek Church Incorporated
legally |
| April 1949 | buildings wired for electricity |
| November 29, 1959 | 1859-1959 Centennial Homecoming |
| May 24, 1970 | voted to separate church
and community hall |
| November 2, 1972 | voted to withdraw from Fishing Creek Parish effective march 29, 1973 |
| January 5,1979 | Raven Creek Memorial Inc. began |
| October 14, 1979 | rededication of building
(ceiling, painting & carpet after oil furnace fire) |
| December 12, 1983 | windows stolen |
| July 17. 1988 | Rededication of building |
| July 28, 1991 | Re-dedication of remodeled
sanctuary |
| 1993 | Vestibule and bell tower
added. Stained glass windows by Karl Poust. |
| 1996 | new furnace and air |
SOURCES:
Diary of
Peter Laubach
History
of Columbia County by Battle
The 1959
Centennial program prepared by Rev. Robert Cox and a committee
Marie Albertson
Bailey
Minutes
of the session of the Raven Creek Church.
One Hundred
and Fifty Years of Evangelism: The History of Northumberland Presbytery 1811-1961
by Rev. Robert S. Cocks, General Presbyter.
COMPILED
BY: Mariann
M. Houseweart , November 2002
