Month: April 2024

2024 marks the 300th anniversary of Derry Church. Throughout the 20th century, Derry has made the effort to mark its anniversaries by studying the our church’s history and remembering the church family members who helped Derry Church grow and serve God and their community. As the years progressed, anniversary celebrations grew from a simple weekend celebration to a year-long celebration with special events held almost every month during the anniversary year. This approach to recognizing a significant anniversary was first used during Derry Church’s 250th anniversary in 1974. This anniversary occurred just as the United States was making plans to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial in 1976.

At that time, Derry Church was being led by Reverend Ira Reed, who had been called as Derry’s pastor in 1959. Derry Church enjoyed significant growth during his tenure, which led to the construction of the Sanctuary, completed in 1966. In 1971 staff also expanded. Nancy Joiner Reinert was hired as Derry’s first full-time Director of Christian Education and Herbert Fowler joined Derry as the first full-time Director of Music.

Like many of Derry’s previous pastors, Reverend Reed had a strong interest in Derry’s history. He and his wife, Winnie, both advocated for a year-long celebration of Derry Church’s 250th anniversary.

Derry members Grant Custer and Leonard Snyder were asked to co-chair the anniversary committee. The group made plans for a varieties of activities and events that would be held throughout the year. The celebration would include noteworthy visiting preachers, dinners and picnics, as well as musical events, plays, and pageants. In addition the Presbyterian Women, organized by Winnie Reed, planned to hold a fair that would celebrate Derry Church’s colonial roots. The Old Derry Colonial Fair would feature hand crafted items for sale as well as demonstrations of different colonial era crafts.

There were special Anniversary events almost every month. In January, Reverend Sheldon Blair, Derry’s pastor from 1950-1959, was invited to start off the celebration by preaching at a worship service. In February, the church celebrated a Family Night and Historical Fair. In true church tradition, the congregation gathered to enjoy a covered dish dinner in the social room. A special guest, Reverend William Swaim, an authority on Presbyterian history, presented a talk on Derry and early Pennsylvania Presbyterian history. At this event, historical items that Derry had been collecting since the 205th anniversary (1929), were displayed. Women attending the event were encouraged to wear period dresses.

In May, Senator Mark Hatfield, former Governor of Oregon and a member of the United States Senate, was the guest preacher. According to news articles, Senator Hatfield’s message was that hunger, not enemy weapons, was the greatest threat to America. He also referenced the widening gap between the “haves and have nots.” He asked for Christians to be good stewards of the land and to consider what our lavish lifestyle was costing in terms of environmental destruction. His words from 50 years ago are even more compelling today.

In June, the church celebrated with a Homecoming picnic following worship to commemorate how members of Derry might have gathered on Sundays 250 years ago. This is a tradition that we still continue today, with our annual end of church school year picnic under the oaks.

September was a very busy month, especially for the Presbyterian Women’s group. Since February, Derry women had been meeting monthly to craft items that recalled earlier centuries such as pinecone candle rings and wreaths, rag dolls, corn husk dolls, herb wreaths and sachets. To craft these and other items, the women — with the help of congregants and friends — collected egg cartons, Christmas cards, used photo flashcubes, spray can tops, toothpaste tube tops, jar rings, old pieces of brick, sewing odds and ends and Styrofoam trays. Households were also urged to collect meat drippings and fats that could be used to make candles and soap.

This was such an involved event that workshops were conducted for volunteers to learn how to make the many craft items. The various workshops were led by members with special skills. The Holiday House Workshop, co-chaired by Marion Alexander and Karen Nestler Carns, provided instructions on pine cone candle rings and wreaths. Another workshop, the Pins and Needles Workshop, chaired by Vera Dinner, taught participants how to  make rag dolls.

The Old Derry Colonial Fair was held on September 6-7 and was advertised as an old fashioned fair with 11 booths operating on the church grounds, tours of the church, and interludes of organ music throughout both days. The booths offered items for sale and demonstrations of the different crafts. Booths were imaginatively named: Holiday House, Cousin Jennie’s Playhouse, Colonial Reproductions, Whatnot Shoppe, Clipper Ship, Needlework Basket, Aunt Emma Hope Chest, Grandmother’s Pantry, and Uncle John’s Garden.

This fair was such a success that the women had to continue to meet and craft additional items after they oversold their entire stock. The money raised from this project was directed toward mission projects.

Later in September, Derry hosted Reverend Dr. Robert C. Lamar, Moderator of the 186th General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States (UPCUS). At the time, Dr. Lamar held the highest elective office of the Presbyterian denomination. He also served as Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Albany, New York.

During October, Director of Music Herbert Fowler presented a Festival of Music as part of Derry’s Vesper Series (today known as Arts Alive). The program, Bach’s first masterpiece in the cantata genre, Cantata 106, was presented by an augmented Sanctuary Choir and a six-piece orchestra. Later in October, the Celtic Fellowship youth group presented Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town, a story of life in a small New Hampshire town, providing insightful thoughts as to the important things in life.

To conclude the year’s celebratory events, the Vesper Series presented A Historical Pageant. Herbert Fowler composed a score of 13 movements and Gwen Myers wrote an original script for five choirs, actors, and dancers to present a historical pageant celebrating 250 years of Derry’s history. Over 150 people were involved in this production, either as actors or behind the scene, building sets, handling and operating lights, or working as the stage crew. The pageant told the story of 250 years in seven scenes and included early settlers, Indians, dancers, session meetings, women’s missionary society meetings and a short 18th century sermon. The present church was portrayed through a multi-media presentation that included simultaneous projection and sound track, and a professional recording was made and available as a souvenir.

This was a very ambitious year-long celebration, much like we are experiencing this year. Similarly, other events not associated with the anniversary, also took place. The Vesper Series prepared and presented other performances, the Celtic Fellowship presented other dramas, and the corn roast was held in August.

This week, on Heritage Sunday, April 28, we will recognize those people in our Derry family who have been members for 50 years or more with a luncheon following worship. Those being recognized were here during the 250th and 275th anniversary milestones, and many were actively involved and volunteered their time to participate in anniversary activities. Many are still active, serving as Elders or Deacons, chairing and participating in our many committees, or just by doing odd jobs around the church. The strength and longevity of this church was and is very much dependent upon the faith and devotion of those worshipping here. Let us give glory to God, who is and has always been with us and for us.

An Era of Presbyterian Unity

In North America, the Presbyterian Church emerged from the Great Awakening with renewed strength, as Enlightenment values nudged clergy and laypersons toward a religious life that tempered the evangelical zeal of New Light clergy and parishioners with the reason and logic valued by Old Light adherents. After roughly two decades of theological extremism, congregations and individuals moved toward moderation and reunification. (See the March 21 Derry 300 article for more background on these events.)

Historian John Fea writes, “The values of love, brotherhood, and unity gained popularity in provincial life as a means of sustaining social cohesiveness and moral order in an era of political instability, imperial war with France, and its corresponding threat to British civilization, demographic changes and ethnic strife stemming from new patterns of immigration, and of course, an acrimonious religious revival.” [1]

With so many enemies at the gates, Presbyterians perhaps subconsciously realized they could no longer afford to make enemies of each other. Moderate Presbyterians accelerated their rise through ongoing support of the College of New Jersey at Princeton (later Princeton University), where Presbyterian ministers received training in the values of both the Enlightenment and of evangelicalism. In short, a new generation of clergy learned that their religious passions (and indeed, all human emotions) must be guided by reason and logic.

Enlightenment-era Presbyterians also cemented their belief in a God of order. Since that period, anyone who has spent much time in a Presbyterian pew (and certainly at a session or presbytery meeting), has become familiar with 1 Corinthians 14:40: “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

The benefits of this renewed unity can be seen in church growth. Fea reports, “Between 1744 and 1770, nearly half of all Presbyterian congregations…constructed, renovated, or enlarged their church buildings.” [2]

Derry Church participated in this trend, raising the structure now known as “Old Derry” in 1769 under the pastorate of Reverend John Roan. That building would serve Derry for over a century, until it was ruled dangerously unstable and demolished in 1883 to make way for the Memorial Chapel. Between 1763 and 1789, Derry also acquired the various pieces of the pewter communion set still in use today.

As the sparks of revolution ignited during the 1760s and 1770s, colonists landed all over a spectrum between absolute loyalty and violent rebellion. Renewed unity in civil and religious ideals among Presbyterians had the politically significant effect of creating more unified opposition to the British crown and its agents. The role theology played in the American Revolution is often debated, but what is true is that religious dissenters frequently became political rebels. In many (though not all) cases, members of the Church of England once again faced down Presbyterians and other protestant dissenters, as they had in the religious wars of the 1600s in Great Britain and Ireland. 

Paying for War

The first battles of the American Revolution were fought at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775 (https://www.nps.gov/mima/learn/historyculture/april-19-1775.htm). But wars seldom begin with the first shots fired. Often, they are rooted in previous conflicts, and new battles rage over old wounds.

From 1754-1763, Great Britain and France vied for control of North America in a conflict known as the French and Indian War (https://history.state.gov/milestones/1750-1775/french-indian-war). Great Britain emerged triumphant—and struggling to pay even the interest on its swollen national debt. Attempting to replenish Great Britain’s coffers, Parliament imposed various taxes on the North American colonies over the next decade.

From Parliament’s perspective, this was fair: Great Britain had protected its colonists’ lives and property from the French and their Indian allies, at great cost; now, the colonists were expected to pay it back. The new taxes rankled many, even when they didn’t lead to episodes of outright violence. As British subjects, many colonists reasoned, weren’t they entitled to British protection? They were, after all, doing the daily dirty work of empire. Now they were expected to pay the government for the privilege? Furthermore, Parliament had no right to tax them anyway, as each colony had its own perfectly legal legislative body that answered to the royal governor and the king, whereas Parliament represented only the people of Great Britain itself.

It was less than a century since the Ulster Scots held off Jacobite forces for 105 days at the Siege of Londonderry in 1689, and memories were long. In their view, the victorious protestant co-regents William III and Mary II had never shown themselves sufficiently grateful. Their successor, Mary’s younger sister, Anne, had overseen the ongoing religious discrimination that eventually impelled so many to leave for North America. Now the Stuarts’ German Protestant cousins, the Hanovers, who inherited the throne upon Anne’s death in 1714, were proving no better. [3] (See the January 25 Derry 300 article for more background on this topic.)

A New Canaan

There was another, more personal, issue at play. Now on their third violently contested frontier in as many centuries, what we might today call generational trauma may have been catching up with the Scots-Irish, whose desire for land and personal security (and the willingness to use violence to secure both) can hardly be overstated.

The Scots-Irish had no scruples about occupying land that did not belong to them, claiming large portions of the frontier by right of conquest and occupancy. In 1731, Pennsylvania secretary James Logan summarized the Scots-Irish perspective in a letter to the Penn brothers, declaring that Scots-Irish settlers believed it to be “against the Laws of God and Nature that so much Land Should lie idle while so many Christians wanted it to labour on and raise their bread.” [4]

A generation later, other Scots-Irish settlers challenged a group of pacifist Quakers, “Joshua was ordained to drive the heathen out of the land. Do you believe the scriptures?” [5]

Their interpretation of scripture and the two centuries of religious warfare at their backs gave the Scots-Irish settlers permission to take the land they needed to secure their own lives and their families’ futures. God had given Canaan over to the Israelites. Here, at last, was the New Canaan God meant for them.

Whatever permission God had given the Israelites to possess Canaan, the British government had no intention of giving the Scots-Irish similar authorization in North America. From the Scots-Irish perspective, both London and Philadelphia honored the claims of various indigenous groups over those of their fellow Christians. Accustomed by the preceding centuries of religious warfare to expect favor from those who shared their beliefs, this was a maddening blow for the Scots-Irish.

However, Great Britain always understood the need for indigenous support to remain the dominant European power in North America. As a result, throughout the late colonial period, government forces razed many unauthorized settlements, curtailing the westward movement of Scots-Irish settlers all along the Appalachian Mountains. Great Britain meant to avoid antagonizing their indigenous allies by allowing its subjects to settle on contested land, but this provided yet another reason for the Scots-Irish to turn against the government when revolution came.

The Conestoga Massacre

In December 1763, these conditions erupted in the most infamous and egregious incident involving the Scots-Irish Presbyterians in this part of Pennsylvania: the massacre of two groups of unarmed Conestoga Indians, including elderly people and young children, living under the direct protection of Pennsylvania’s proprietary government. While the individual names of most of the perpetrators cannot be known, what is certain is that a vigilante group of Scots-Irish Presbyterians now known as the Paxton Boys (they called themselves by various names) traveled down the Susquehanna Valley from Paxton Township, through the townships of Donegal and Derry, recruiting additional Scots-Irish Presbyterians on the way.

The group of about fifty included men from Cumberland, York, Berks, and Northampton Counties as well as Lancaster County, so it is impossible to say how many were members of Derry. [6] However, it is near certain that members of both Paxton and Derry Churches participated in the massacre.

John Elder, then the pastor at Paxton, held immense local power as the leader of the local Scots-Irish community and commander of the Paxton Rangers, a government-authorized frontier militia. From 1775, Elder would serve Derry in addition to Paxton. He certainly was already well-acquainted with both congregations. In the investigation that followed the massacre, the authorities in Philadelphia insisted he must have known the identities of the perpetrators. Elder blamed “some hot headed ill advised persons” and, Pilate-like, washed his hands of the situation, conveniently glossing over any role his own leadership may have played in inspiring the Paxton Boys’ actions. [7] However, his protestations of personal innocence were not enough to prevent his removal as the commander of the Paxton Rangers. Elder was not alone in his reaction, as more than a few prominent Pennsylvanians of the time seemed to think it was more than their lives were worth to try to bring the Paxton Boys to justice.

It is often necessary to provide explanation for violent acts while avoiding justification. In understanding the history of Derry Church, it is essential to note that the Scots-Irish Presbyterians living on the frontier were enraged with a fury born of terror by recent Indian attacks on settlements upriver. [8] In recent months, the Susquehanna Valley had been targeted as part of the Indian uprising named for its most famous combatant, Pontiac’s War (https://susqnha.org/riverroots-pontiacs-war-and-the-paxton-boys/), in which horrific acts of violence were perpetrated by and against both sides.

The Move Toward Revolution

On the frontier, there was no long pause in hostilities between the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Settlers, the proprietary governments of several colonies, and various indigenous powers all battled among themselves and with each other for land and power, creating a world of truly unimaginable brutality. Not without reason, the Paxton Boys and others like them held the British government responsible for leaving them largely unprotected in a dangerous contact zone and denying them the right to possess the land they believed God had ordained for them.

In A Declaration and Remonstrance of the Distressed and Bleeding Frontier Inhabitants of the Province of Pennsylvania, apologists for the Paxton Boys wrote that they considered themselves, “grossly abused, unrighteously burdened, and made Dupes and Slaves to Indians…while at the same Time hundreds of poor distressed Families of his Majesty’s Subjects…were left to starve neglected.”[9] From this perspective, the attack on the protected Conestoga Indians in Lancaster County can be seen as an early episode of armed revolt. John Penn, grandson of Pennsylvania’s founder and then governor, “claimed the assault was a personal affront against him as an agent of the king.” [10]

As the war of words between those who defended and those who opposed the massacre heated up, Lancaster County Chief Magistrate Edward Shippen wrote, “God only knows where this Tragical affair will terminate. I fear the Consequences; yet I am hoping it will not bring on a Civil war.” [11] The Conestoga Massacre alone did not lead to the American Revolution, but there is no question that issues surrounding westward expansion were a major source of conflict and a training ground for combatants. By the time revolution came in 1775, armed violence had long been a defining feature of American life.

Bibliography

Brubaker, Jack. 2010. Massacre of the Conestogas: On the Trail of the Paxton Boys in Lancaster County. History Press.

Fea, John. “In Search of Unity: Presbyterians in the Wake of the First Great Awakening.” The Journal of Presbyterian History (1997-) 86, no. 2 (2008): 53–60.

Kenny, Kevin. 2009. Peaceable Kingdom Lost: The Paxton Boys and the Destruction of William Penn’s Holy Experiment. Oxford University Press.

[1] Fea, 56.

[2] Fea, 59.

[3] The Act of Settlement of 1701 provided for the continuation of a Protestant monarchy. Upon Anne’s death, Parliament passed over roughly fifty Catholics with better claims than George, Elector of Hanover, setting the stage for continued Jacobite uprisings throughout the first half of the 18^th century.

[4] Qtd. in Kenny, 4.

[5] Thomas Wright, qtd. in Brubaker, 23.

[6] Dauphin County was part of Lancaster County until 1785.

[7] Qtd. in Brubaker, 27.

[8] There is much debate over the terms used to refer to the indigenous people of North America. When possible, it is preferable to use the name of the specific group. In this essay, I use “Indian” to encompass several groups (when all participants cannot be known), when the specific group cannot be known, or when—as in the case of the Conestoga Indians—it is the established term.

[9] Qtd. in Brubaker, 48.

[10] Brubaker, 27

[11] Qtd. in Brubaker, 44.

I started my freshman year of college at Point Park University last fall. Entering college not only creates new experiences, but broadens my perspective as a result. 

The major I’m studying (film production) without a doubt opens up pathways to gain new knowledge through versatility. This whole first year has gone by extremely fast as I think to myself how much content I have learned in what seems like such a small period of time. Living on a campus located right in downtown Pittsburgh honestly is a complete culture shock to me coming from Hershey (from a small town to a full on city). When living in a fast paced environment, there is always something going on. This helped me understand even more the importance of living in the moment and finding peace throughout the day. To branch off of this, college is no doubt a gateway into creating connections and meeting new people whether in a class, at a job, or at an event. I came to realize how meaningful this opportunity has become as I am able to get to know people with unique backgrounds, their life stories, as well as getting to study the major I thoroughly enjoy.

Pittsburgh contains a wide variety of museums, restaurants, and events/activities. Just recently Pittsburgh held its St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This parade is one of the biggest parades held in the country as Irish culture is extremely prominent around this region of Pennsylvania. Polish culture also immigrated to this area since perogies are a staple in every restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh. What I love so much about this city is the traditions it still upholds and recognizes its importance in how this city has evolved over a historical period of time. Sports of course is a major part of the society here with three major national teams playing throughout the year. I try to wallow in as much as possible all that goes on in order to carry all the new memories I have gained in a completely different place and tie it with my studies. 

Film is all about telling stories and this is a great setting to start at and eventually develop into other locations. My school gives us the opportunity to come up with our own stories based on our own unique experiences and apply it to a visual medium. I am very grateful to have hands-on learning my freshman year to grasp the beginning fundamentals of such a complex major. During the winter I traveled with a student production in Clairton, PA. My role was a production assistant which was basically entitled to hold lights, put away equipment, and assist with anything else. Even if this is such a little role, this enables my experience to be diverse in this field. From this to where I am now in creating short films with official equipment, I am growing in knowledge and broadening my perspective, going all the way back to stepping foot into Point Park University in Pittsburgh. A new chapter in my life as a student pursuing new adventures.

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, the eNews feature article highlights the mission focus for the month. In April we’re lifting up community involvement, and Derry’s partnership with Rebuilding Together Greater Harrisburg. Join Derry members to repair a home in Harrisburg on Saturday, April 27: contact Pete Feil or Charlie Koch for more information.

At Rebuilding Together, we make essential repairs to help our neighbors stay in their homes.

Who We Are

RTGH is an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization with a local volunteer Board of Directors who selects the homes to be worked on, raises the funds and recruits the volunteers to do the work. RTGH employs one part-time executive director who works from home. Overhead is kept to a minimum and funds are utilized where it is most needed: repairing and modifying homes at no cost to the homeowner.

Volunteers are the cornerstone of RTGH’s work, and their investment of time and resources makes a significant difference in our program.  

Repairing homes, revitalizing communities, rebuilding lives. Rebuilding Together’s program reaches out to the most vulnerable individuals within our community—the low-income elderly, the disabled, families with children and veterans of war. They live on a fixed income, so they lack the resources to make the necessary home repairs because they must choose between food, medications and utilities. When a homeowner lacks the financial resources to maintain their home, unhealthy and dangerous situations increase. No one should have to call an unsafe place home.  

Through grants and donations from various sources, volunteers and contractors are able to reach out to these homeowners and make the necessary repairs and modifications to ensure these homeowners live in a safe, warm and dry environment and remain independent—“age in place.” Rebuilding Together Greater Harrisburg is one of the few agencies in the area that provides home repairs and modifications at no cost to the homeowner on a year-round basis. 

Rebuilding Together’s volunteer home inspectors evaluate each home. Assessing the repair needs ensures that the homeowner and family members are living in a safe, warm and dry environment. Elizabethtown College and Messiah University occupational/physical therapy graduate students conduct safety assessments for our homeowners to ensure they are living in a safe and accessible environment. The students generate a report for each homeowner in which the volunteers utilize to help modify the home.  It is a very rewarding experience for the students because it helps them develop their communication skills along with understanding the need within our low-income homeowners.