BETHANY
CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
“The true and
grand idea of a church is a society for the purpose of making man like
Christ, earth like heaven, the kingdom of the world the kingdom of
Christ.”
About the year 1858
Bethany congregation had its beginning, not then as an organization, but
as a mission point or outpost of the Jackson Center Church.
For the first two or three years Sunday school and preaching
services were held in the schoolhouse, which is within a quart of a mile
of the present church house.
Rev.
A. M. Blackford was the first preacher to this people.
He, however, did continue this relation very long; and the one to
follow him was the Rev. J. M. Gallagher, so
well known to most Pennsylvania Cumberland Presbyterians.
He took charge of the work about the year 1860, and soon after the
beginning of his ministry here the present house of worship was erected, although it might be well to say that several changed have been made on the
first building within the last fifteen years.
Dr. Gallagher continued to have charge of the
work, until the organization of the church, at which time he was called as
pastor and he continued in this relation until he resigned in the spring of
1895. Thus, the church was favored with a long pastorate in the beginning
of her work as Dr. Gallagher was in charge of the
work for about thirty-five years.
While this people were apparently quite strong in numbers and had a good
house of worship for that day, they were satisfied to continue as part of the
Jackson Center work until the spring of 1876, at which time they petitioned the
Allegheny Presbytery to allow them to organize into a separate congregation to
be known as the
continued
Mercer
County Genealogy
The
Bethany Congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized
April 1, 1870, in Lake Township, by Rev. J. M. Gallagher, 
