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Wind damage didn’t deter Immanuel Service

By Staff | Jun 17, 2011

Participants in a service at Old Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sunday, June 12, were (seated): Mrs. Shirley Walter, Farragut and organist at UM Church there; (standing L-R): the Reverend Jack Delaney, pastor of Lycoming Valley Baptist Church, Montoursville; Carl Wentzler of Montoursville, Vice President Board of Directors at Old Immanuel; and Mrs. Stephanie Hampton, Hughesville, guest vocalist.

HUGHESVILLE – Wind damage from a recent storm did not deter a summer gathering at the historic Old Immanuel Lutheran Church along Lime Bluff Road on Sunday afternoon, June 12. “A Thursday evening storm blew six panes of window glass into the church,” announced Carl Wentzler, as he welcomed guests to the site where for 220 years, religious gatherings have occurred. Compared to the devastation around it, this third edifice built in 1869 is truly on a firm foundation.

Perhaps apropos to this recent ravage of weather, one of two selections by soloist Mrs. Stephanie Hampton included “The Church’s One Foundation.” Hampton was accompanied by Mrs. Shirley Walter at the pump organ.

Voices of the 50 attendees reverberated about the grand sanctuary as they sang “Lord of the Worlds above,” “Father of Mercies” and “Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies.”

The Reverend Jack Delaney, pastor at Montoursville’s Lycoming Valley Baptist Church, confessed his interest in history. A Vietnam War veteran, he quoted President George Washington as saying, “To forget our nation’s past is to insure our nation’s destruction.” He also gave reference to Martin Luther who in 1517 became a religious dissident. “We must get away from thinking we’re self sufficient and trust the God of our forefathers,” he said. “I hardly recognize the America of today and blame my generation, not the schools, for forsaking the religious freedoms our ancestors embraced.”

A service of remembrance at the cemetery is a tradition where prayer included: “Blessings are beseeched for the hallow ground were Thy servants and handmaidens rest. Grant us grace to follow their good example that we may someday be together with them in Thy eternal kingdom.”

Current officers of the historic site include: President: Raymond Hoover; Vice President: Carl Wentzler; Secretary, Herbert Hoover; Treasurer, John L. Bruch, Jr.; Assistant Treasurer, Mrs. Cheryl Frantz; and members William Corson, Mrs. Kathy Heilman and Marshall Frye.

A fall hymn sing is scheduled for Sunday afternoon September 18 at 2:30.