FORTY FORT, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — It’s a remarkable milestone for a local church whose history dates back to the 1800s. On Sunday, that church celebrated its sesquicentennial as the Forty Fort United Methodist Church celebrated 150 years of worship in a special way.
Members of Forty Fort United Methodist Church packed into the house of worship Sunday to mark the milestone anniversary.
They held a worship service in the morning and a dinner later on. They had plenty to celebrate.
“All in the era of the times we were in, through the depression through the world wars, through the flood, and also now even through a pandemic so we’re celebrating how far God’s brought us,” said Forty Fort United Methodist Church Pastor Richard Bradshaw.
A longtime member of Forty Fort United Methodist Church says she keeps coming back because there’s nowhere quite like this.
“Forever. I’m 84 years old. My grandparents were here. My parents were here. I’ve been here with my family and I haven’t left. I’ve been here my whole life,” said Forty Fort United Methodist Church member Lois Schwartz.
Not only is this church a part of her family’s history but also it’s where she’s worked for years.
“I have been a nursery schoolteacher here for three years and after that, I became the church secretary, and I was the church secretary for 40 years,” Schwartz explained.
After the service, they opened a time capsule from 1981.
“There were some bulletins, things that we did you know all the former services pictures of the folks also some newspaper clippings of what was going on in the world at the time,” Bradshaw described.
“It’s a wonderful, wonderful church to belong to,” said Schwartz.
The congregation at Forty Fort United Methodist Church plans on opening another time capsule in 2024 that hasn’t been opened in the past 100 years.
