Part Thirteen - Published in Parish News - January 2012

  The Reverend William Sherman was our pastor from 1971  to 1974. He had a short term pastorate with us.  Although he was with us for only a short time, he is still remembered fondly by many of our members. He left St. Mary’s for a pastorate in Pennsylvania and still resides in this neighboring state.

  Reverend Kenneth Heasley served as our pastor From November 1974 through the summer of 1982. He came to us from St. John ’s UCC in Powhatan Point , Ohio .  He came to St. Mary’s during a period of some congregational turmoil and worked hard to accomplish reconciliation and healing during his time with us. An upgrade to the basement was completed; however, the congregation voted down a proposal to create a new addition to the church. He initiated a system of parish structure through the use of the blue book. The blue book outlined the areas of concern for each of the standing committees of the church. Each year the consistory members received one of these and used it to assist and lead their various committees. The Caring for Others and the Caring for our Own committees were organized under Pastor Heasley’s ministry. These are two ministries that continue to be a very important part of our emphasis today. They certainly reflect the caring nature of our congregation. We celebrated the nation’s bicentennial anniversary during this time. As part of that celebration, Rev. Heasley conducted a service and offered a sermon while portraying his interpretation of Jacob Lischy. Rev. Lischy was the pastor who served our congregation when it was originally organized back in the 1762.   Also as part of the Bicentennial celebration, Rev. Heasley, along with one of our church members, put together a pamphlet entitled Mine, Mills and Men. This traced some of the history of the Union Mills/Silver Run communities and was used as part of the celebration conducted at the Union Mills Homestead. After eight years, Kenneth Heasley left us here at St. Mary’s and continued his ministry at the UCC church in Catonsville , Maryland .  He now resides in Hanover , Pennsylvania

  Rev. Julian Hall served St. Mary’s from 1983 to 1995. He came here after having served a congregation in the state of Maine . A major accomplishment that occurred during his time here was the successful completion of our “new addition”.  This new construction was discussed for a number of years and became a reality.  Once the membership accepted this proposal, the effort was widely supported throughout the congregation in the form of pledges of donations and fund raising activities of many kinds. These fund raisers included broad support throughout. A two story brick structure was added to the rear of our church. The upstairs included a church office, pastor’s office, nursery, restroom facilities and meeting rooms. A ramp provided handicapped access to both the lower and upper levels. The first level was left unfinished and was to be available for future expansion. The two octaves of bells were donated by Jim and Sandy Lloyd and a third octave was added later. The grand piano was donated by Joe and Pat Humbert. We still continue to enjoy these magnificent gifts in our worship services. During this time, a new social opportunity became available to our members which aptly became known as “The Group”.  Open to all members of the congregation, “The Group” met regularly and went on outings, shared dinner, and provided a social outlet for couples and singles alike. Several members of our church attended the Evangelism Institute and brought back ideas and concepts. Many of these were initiated by our Evangelism Committee and continue as integral activities of our church. These included – A structured orientation for new members, the Welcomers program, retreats, Change a Pew Sunday, after church fellowship, and our Prayer Chain. Pastor Hall rode in on a horse at the time of our celebration of St. Mary’s’ 225^th anniversary, dressed in colonial clothes and conducted the service as our founding pastor. Some of our members also came dressed in historic period attire. During Rev. Hall’s tenure, our church became a more welcoming and friendly congregation of members that worked well together to accomplish common goals. He left St. Mary’s to serve a congregation in Hanover , Pennsylvania and continues to reside there. He has since retired from the position of full time pastor, but has accepted interim pastorate positions as needed.