Dr. Milton Loyer, Conference Archivist
May – 100 years ago
The new church building at Marsh Hill on the Ralston charge, Lycoming County, was dedicated May 15, 1921. Although there are hints of Methodist services in Marsh Hill as early as 1873, the congregation always considered its official beginning to be 1895, when the nearby lumbering town of Red Burn was abandoned and its church building given to the people of Marsh Hill. That structure was disassembled, hauled by horse and wagon, and rebuilt on a donated lot. The property was formally transferred to the Methodists in 1919, and the original building was replaced as noted above in 1921. Adjacent land was purchased for a parking lot in 1956. That small congregation, with an average regular attendance of 16, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1995.
The congregation never was large, however, and opted to discontinue in 2004. A closing service was held August 29, 2004 with longtime member Jeannie Hayes leading a time of history and memories and Pastor Ann Overmiller preaching a sermon on “New Forms of Ministry.” The church property reverted to the heirs of the original owner, and the separate parking lot was sold in 2006 for $1000. The building is now a private home.
June – 50 years ago
The Central Pennsylvania Conference UMC held its annual sessions June 14-17, 1971, at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove PA. Business included a report by the Preacher’s Aid Society on the details of the transfer of all Lycoming College stock owned by the Society to the Board of Directors of Lycoming College. That transfer included three stipulations:
1. that the President of the college always be a member of the UMC
2. that at least 2/3 of the Board of Directors always be members of the UMC
3. that the college continue to provide pre-ministerial training and to offer financial assistance to children of UMC ministers
This was a change from the college’s founding condition that the President always be a Methodist clergyperson.
In 2007, the College and the Society agreed to a further formal modification to coincide with current trends in higher education. Stipulations 1 and 2 were changed to require that the President and the Directors be “persons who reflect spiritual standards representative of the Ecumenical Christian Community.” Stipulation 3 remained unchanged. Lycoming College continues to operate on this basis as an active member of the National Association of Schools and Colleges of the UMC, with ties to the General Board of Higher Education of the UMC.
