Bethlen Naptár, 1986 (Ligonier)
Kálvin Egyházkerület
1986 135 McKEESPORT, PA Lelkipásztor: Dr. Fábián M. Éva President: Harvey J. Barnum With consolidation completed, New Covenant United Church of Christ established — the life of our Church was in danger of coming to a standstill. We could have easily rationalized a sweet little laziness and procrastination. We were exhausted and wanted to rest. But who can rest without the danger of rusting? To keep the momentum going toward our future, further courageous, risky and radical steps were needed. In December, 1984 the Pastor bought a house and with the permission of the congregation, she moved out of the parsonage and moved into her own home in January, 1985. The outpouring love and generosity of the membership had no limit in supporting this new arrangement. (We wish that other churches would follow in our footsteps. They would have less headache with the upkeep of parsonages and much happier pastors to serve them.) After prayerful discussions and studied deliberations, our March 17, 1985 annual congregational meeting decided to sell both the parsonage and our crumbling church building, buy a lot somewhere in an area more exposed to public transportation and build our new sanctuary there. Hardly did the ink dry on our sales agreement with Century 21, when signs of movement and life began surfacing in our immediate vicinity. The Riverside Nursing Center, Inc. began constructing their beautiful facilities next to our church and parsonage. Since early summer their buildings have been growing with the speed of mushrooms. We could not help noticing this most favorable development. Our dead neighborhood had come alive again with beauty and life. New deliberations and discussions were needed and prayers for guidance. Our September 1, 1985 special congregational meeting decided to cancel the sales agreement with our real estate company, demolish the old buildings and build the new sanctuary on our old site. Following the above resolution, a workshop prepared the parsonage for demolition. On October 17, 1985 we said good bye to that ancient relic of the past, the home of several pastors
