Harmony Evangelical Presbyterian Church looks back on 225 years of history
HARRISVILLE — A church just off North Main Street in Harrisville may not be operating out of the same building where it was founded in 1800, but as pastor, Jeff Jones told his congregation on Sunday, July 27, it isn’t about the brickwork.
Harmony Evangelical Presbyterian Church commemorated its 225th anniversary over the weekend with music, food and a special worship service focused on recounting the history of the church.
Festivities kicked off at 6 p.m. on Saturday with the Harrisville Community Band performing at the church. Activities resumed at 11 a.m. Sunday morning, when the congregation gathered for a special service and a luncheon.
Jones led the service, which focused on walking the congregation through the church’s history using written and spoken accounts. Attendees were encouraged throughout the service to speak about memories or moments where the congregation affected them positively.
Jones read letters written to the church to mark the occasion, including one from Josh Hayes, a former youth pastor.
“When I arrived at Harmony in 2004, I was incredibly immature in my faith, even more so in my knowledge of the Scripture of the Lord,” Hayes said in his letter. “God had certainly provided me with a zeal and hunger to know him, but there was much for me to learn. The Harmony family showed me the depth of the riches that existed in God’s word.”
The accounts ranged from members of the congregation to former pastors.
John McElwain, one such former pastor at the church, returned to the pulpit to share a short sermon.
McElwain explained through passages from the Gospel of Luke that even though time may pass and people grow old, there should be a level of peace because the future of the church will be placed in the next generation’s hands.
Before ending the service, Jones reminded the congregation that it isn’t the building that ties them together, but God.
“It’s not about bricks, and we love our bricks,” Jones said. “We love our stained-glass windows — they are glorious and they represent a heritage — but ultimately, this is about God and what God has done here, in this place, in all these people. Take that away with you.”
Jones said the congregation started in a log cabin, but by the mid-1800s, a frame church was built at Harmony Cemetery on West Prairie Street. In 1925, the church was dismantled and moved to its current location at 234 N. Main St.
On Sunday, he said he was glad he was able to mark the anniversary with the congregation.
“One thing as the pastor, you get to be a part of significant occasions in peoples’ lives and in the church’s life,” Jones said. “If I had gone to a different church last year, I wouldn’t have been here. To be here for this anniversary is a great thing.”
Bernie Hooper, 67, started attending Harmony Church a few years after moving from Pittsburgh to Harrisville and has remained a steady member for 36 years.
“We had not been up here for very long, maybe about five years,” she said. “I’m like, ‘I have Yellow Pages,’ so I open it to churches and I find one that has the area exchange for Harrisville. Harmony was the first one I came to.”
Having been present for the church’s 200th and 225th celebration, Hooper said she feels that marking the church’s age is extremely important, especially now.
“I think it’s important for people to see that in every era, whether everybody’s worshiping or whether we’re at a time where it’s not as many people going to church, that there is a physical reminder that God is present and God is working,” she said. “Even people who don’t go to church still know that if you need help, you can ask the church.”
