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January 2010 Newsletter Article

175 Reasons to Celebrate

New Concord Presbyterian Church was established in 1835.  That means that 2010 is New Concord’s 175th anniversary!  First, a very brief history:

    New Concord was established under what was then New Hanover Presbytery.  The charter members of New Concord came mostly from the membership of Old Concord Presbyterian Church.  For the first 50 years of New Concord’s existence it shared a wooden building with a Methodist congregation.  This “plain humble building” served the community “with entire satisfaction to all parties.”  In 1885, what is now our present-day sanctuary was built and New Concord was firmly planted at 5588 New Chapel Road.

    This brief history has not begun to do service to the rich history of New Concord but it is a beginning.  Throughout this year, I would like to challenge you, the members and friends of New Concord, to come up with 175 reasons to celebrate New Concord.  Below are a few reasons I have come up with to get us started.

1. I celebrate New Concord because it is a current and historical witness to the saving grace of God.
2. I celebrate New Concord because it is a place where children can grow in laughter and faith.
3. I celebrate New Concord because the members had the faith to hire a full-time minister while at the same time raising funds for a capitol campaign to renovate the kitchen.

What are your reasons to celebrate the rich heritage of New Concord as we journey into the future?  What do you look forward to happening at New Concord?  Throughout this year, I look forward to hearing your answers to these questions.  In each month’s newsletter I hope to include more reasons to celebrate 175 years of Christian witness at New Concord.  Let’s see if we can come up with 175 reasons to celebrate.

As we boldly walk into the future, may God’s Spirit continue to guide us, provoke us, and encourage us to follow the one who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6).  To God be the glory!

In Christ,
Emily Schlaman Larsen

(I am indebted to a history done for the 150th anniversary of the church for information about the church’s beginnings.)