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In
the early 1860's when Kennett Square numbered between 500 and
600 people, The Reverend D.W. Moore, pastor of Lower Brandywine
Presbyterian Church, was led by the Lord to hold services in
the Methodist Church that was located on East Linden Street.
At this time, there was but one Presbyterian living in the town
but the services attracted a small group of people. Mr. Moore
and other members of New Castle Presbytery were confident that
the flourishing little town would grow. They believed that there
was a future for a church that proclaimed Jesus Christ and provided
discipleship. In May of 1862 reverend John S. Gilmor came to
assist in the work at the invitation of New Castle Presbytery.
He preached his first sermon on Sunday afternoon, May 18, in
the borough hall to a congregation of 20 people. A Sunday School
was organized and the congregation grew in numbers. At the request
of the people through New Castle Presbytery, a committee was
appointed for the purpose of organizing a Presbyterian Church
and this was effected on Saturday, November 1, 1862. There were
24 charter members.
In the
autumn of 1865 a brick church building was erected at a cost
of $6,200. The land for the church building was purchased from
Harvey Lang, one of the organizers of the new church. The Reverend
John S. Gilmor purchased the land and in turn deeded the land
to the church in 1864. Mr. Gilmor served the church for 20 years
and was succeeded by the scholarly Reverend James Fraser. During
his pastorate, on November 18, 1882, the twentieth anniversary
was celebrated. The church has a membership of 97.
In 1884,
during the pastorate of The Reverend D. W. Moore, the manse
(the pastor's home) was erected and was used as a manse from
that year to the 1960's.
During
the pastorate of The Reverend Vanderveer Van Arsdale Nicholas
(1909-1916), the major portion of the present church building
was erected. Mr. Nicholas saw a need for a larger church building
and watched the new church grow stone upon stone, and rejoiced
in the beauty of its completion.
There have
been some times of amazing blessing by our Lord. On Tuesday
evening, May 26, 1925, during The Reverend George Allen Leukel's
pastorate, mortgage burning ceremonies were held at the church.
The building was further remodeled in 1928, after a damaging
fire. The work of restoration brought many improvements, including
a new Aeolian-Votey organ, installed at the cost of $6,500.
Mr. Leukel
came to The Presbyterian Church of Kennett Square in 1921. His
pastorate was the longest in the history of the church, continuing
for more than 27 years. In 1921, the church's membership was
about 340 and the Sunday School membership was 182. When he
completed his pastorate at this church, membership was more
than 800, more than 700 of whom had been received into membership
since 1921. During Mr. Leukel's pastorate, 75th birthday anniversary
services were held from November 7 through the 10th of 1937.
In 1941, much work was done in the sanctuary to enlarge and
beautify it. A special dedication program was held on Sunday,
June 13, 1943. The beautiful stained-glass windows were placed
at this time with additional stained-glass windows being placed
between 1945 and 1947. Most of these were given by families
in memory of loved ones who were faithful members of the church.
This particular project was begun in 1941 and was completed
in 1943.
Work on
the new and remodeled Christian Education facility was completed
in 1954. This included the adding of a wing to the rear of the
main building as well as extensive renovations to the basement
of the old building. A dedication week was held September 25
to October 3, 1954.
The Presbyterian
Church of Kennett Square has had a number of well-officered
and well-attended service organizations, such as the Women's
Missionary Society, Young Women's Missionary Society and Loyal
Worker's Guild, were combined into the Women's Association.
In January,
1960, The Lord led us to call the first woman elder in this
congregation, Mrs. Eleanor Scherer. In 1962, The Reverend William
Weber, our first Assistant Pastor, was called. Also in 1962,
Mrs. Thomas Kinsey became the first paid Director of Children's
Work.
The Presbyterian
Church of Kennett Square celebrated it's 100th year of service
to the Lord in 1962. Under the direction of The Reverend Frank
Y. Ramsey and Assistant Minister, The Reverend William L. Davis
(1961-1963), a Centennial Sunday, November 4, 1962, was orchestrated
to commemorate those who established the church and have led
it through the years. Some former ministers, such as Messrs.
William Weber, Russell, Landes, and Leukel, returned to participate
in the service and celebrations.
In January,
1966, the congregation participated in the first Ecumenical
Week of Prayer Nationwide, uniting Roman Catholics, Protestants
and Orthodox Christians in the common cause of Christ.
A major
building renovation project was completed with a new kitchen,
renovation of offices, and upgrading of the music room in 1967.
Also in the same year, our congregation took a leadership role
in forming the Kennett Area Joint Action Committee to deal with
community problems of shortage of low-cost housing and racial
unrest.
Our church
opened its doors to the newly created Rotary Senior Center,
later the name was changed to the Kennett Area Senior Center.
In 1983,
PCKS purchased the smaller church building directly across the
street to provide for growing junior and senior high youth groups
plus a community service to all including; training for nurses'
aids, well-baby clinic, prenatal care, support groups for recovering
alcohol and drug abusers, etc.
In 1986,
the church provided office space for the chaplain of Chester
County Migrant Ministry and his secretary. Other community services
include: provision of space for a polling place twice each year,
a meeting place for Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts.
In February, 1997, a special Scout Week church service was held,
followed by a reception recognizing this church's 50th year
of sponsoring Boy Scout Troop 24 and Cub Pack 24.
After many
years of having a Kindergarten, 1996 marked the beginning of,
Great Beginnings Preschool, a specifically Christian preschool
experience for 3 and 4 year olds. Many men and women have distinguished
themselves by faith in and service to our Lord & Savior,
Jesus Christ. The 21st century is in view, the vision and mission
of the church continues to be, the pursuit of God's will in
serving a fallen world.
| Senior
Pastors |
Record
of Service |
| John
Scott Gilmor |
1863
-1872 |
James
Fraser
(spent one year in Holy Land) |
1872
- 1875, 1876 -1883 |
| David
W. Moore |
1883
- 1886 |
| Robert
A. Hunter |
1890
- 1905 |
| Robert
C. Williamson |
1906
- 1907 |
| V.
Van Arsdale Nicholas |
1908
- 1916 |
James
Hawley Rendall
(served overseas as chaplain in 1917) |
1916
- 1921 |
| George
Allen Leukel |
1921
- 1949 |
| Herbert
Price Landes |
1949
- 1956 |
| Frank
Y. Ramsey |
1956
- 1967 |
| Paul
R. Ritter |
1967
- 1977 |
Donald
C. Weber
(Associate Pastor 1967-1978) |
1978
- 1986 |
| Roy
Moses Pope, Jr. |
1987
- 1994 |
| Stephen
P. Gutridge |
1996
- 2006 |
| John
King |
2006
- 2008 |
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