As Part of the Celebration of Our Anniversary We Are Recognizing Individuals Who Have Been

As part of the celebration of our Anniversary we are recognizing individuals who have been members at ColonialPark for over 50 years. Listed below are the members and the year that they joined the church.

Vi Bretz1932William McCahan1956

Burton Rudy1936Betty Todoroff1956

Margee Wolf1936Charles Gallagher1957

Kathryn Usner1939Giles Light, Jr.1957

Fred Rudy1939Nancy Linville1957

Bill Rudy1944Peg Reda1957

Lee Witman1944Mildred Artz1958

Elaine Bogar1945Carol Bartoski1958

Evelyn Venarchik1946Mary Mensch1959

Ray Hoover1946William Mensch1959

Richard Mauck Sr.1946Bella Sees1959

Rachel Lenker1947Mary Jones1960

Shirley McCahan1947Ferne Folk1961

Beth Rudy1948Arlene Broberg1961

Janet Slough1948Marie Keiser1961

Betty Light1949David Jones1962

Donald Rudy1949Dorothy Snell1962

Robert Stammel1950Wid Hughes1963

Carol Boyanowski1951Mary Rudy1963

Mary Ann Maguire1953B.J. Turgeon1963

Betty Fleisher1954Deborah Trombley1963

Don Fleisher1954Jane Shultz1963

Julia Goodman1954LaRue Hyde1963

Fran Rudy1954Linda Bender1964

Willard Busler1955Thomas O. Potts1964

Peg Kreiser1956

If we’ve missed your name on this list, please tell us so we can fix for next year!

Colonial Park

United Church of Christ

Anniversary Sunday

April 27, 2014

1783 - Present

The Germans that laid the foundation for our church came from early settlements in LebanonCounty. It is known that sometime after 1733 the German Lutherans and the German Reformed settlers built a church in what was then Tulpehocken but is now North Annville Township, Lebanon County.

In 1765, there were schools, in what is now LowerPaxtonTownship, connected to Shoop’s and Wenrich’s congregations. In 1783, the German Lutheran and German Reformed people united for the purpose of erecting a union church building. It was finished and used for worship on November 9, 1784.

The congregations were then known as “The United German Lutheran and German Reformed Churches in the Township of Lower Paxton.” This building was located on the north side of the highway, Route 22, approximately two blocks west of what is now Colonial Road. In 1829 a new house of worship was erected on the south side of Route 22.

As the community grew, there was a need for the individual churches to go their own ways. After 141 years of worshipping together, the two congregations held an auction for the complete ownership of the grounds in September 1924. Under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Elias H. Phillips, the German Reformed Congregation planned for a new building. The site for the new building was at North Arlington and Jonestown Roads. The change of name from Shoop’s Reformed congregation to Colonial Park Reformed Church was made on November 16, 1925. The church was completed March 1927.

In 1934, the Reformed Church merged with the Evangelical Union of North America andbecame Colonial Park Evangelical Reformed Church. In 1957, it merged with the Congregational Christian Churches, requiring another change of name to the present Colonial Park United Church of Christ.

In 1957, to make way for the Federal Highway Extension Program through Harrisburg, the Church was compelled to abandon the spacious and serviceable building erected in 1925 and to erect the church building now located on Devonshire Road, west of Route 22. The old church was condemned and the last service was held September 27, 1959. CentralDauphinSchool District permitted the congregation to hold its services in the NorthsideElementary School until our present church was completed in October, 1960.