Essays

Derry Church celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2024. Over the course of that year, we collected stories written by Derry members that detail elements of our history in roughly chronological order:

January 18, 2024: Becoming Ulster Scots: Presbyterian Migration from Scotland to Ulster by Courtney McKinney-Whitaker

January 25, 2024: Becoming Scots-Irish: Scottish Presbyterian Migration from Ulster to Pennsylvania by Courtney McKinney-Whitaker

February 15, 2024: Arriving Like a Swarm of Bees by C. Richard Carty

March 21, 2024: Schism and Reunion: Derry Church in the Great Awakening by Courtney McKinney-Whitaker

April 18, 2024: An Era of Presbyterian Unity by Courtney McKinney-Whitaker

May 16, 2024: Derry Church in the American Revolution and Early Republic (1774-1800) by Courtney McKinney-Whitaker

June 13, 2024: Derry in Decline: 1800 to the Sunday School Movement by Courtney McKinney-Whitaker

July 16, 2024: Get the Urchins off the Street by C. Richard Carty

July 25, 2024: Building the Chapel by Pam Whitenack

August 15, 2024: The Impact of Milton S. Hershey on Derry Church by Pam Whitenack

September 19, 2024: A New Beginning: Derry Church in the Early 20th Century by Pam Whitenack

October 17, 2024: How Derry Church Weathered the Great Depression and World War II by C. Richard Carty.

November 14, 2024: Derry Church in Post-War America by C. Richard Carty

December 12, 2024: Derry Church’s History of Mission by Pam Whitenack