The Rev. William Lukesh, pastor, and Nickie McCarthy and Debbie Koch, long-time parishioners of Forty Fort Presbyterian Church, will celebrate the church’s history during a special service on Sunday. The church has closed, and members have been welcomed to nearby Stella Presbyterian Church, which Lukesh also pastors.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Church to hold celebration on April 21
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“It’s hard,” Debbie Koch admitted.
“We’re still adjusting,” said Nickie McCarthy.
It’s “definitely” bittersweet, the Rev. William Lukesh said. “But it’s a spiritual victory in a sense.”
All three individuals were talking about Forty Fort Presbyterian Church, where dwindling numbers have led to plans for the church’s formal dissolution during a service that begins at 2 p.m. Sunday.
While it’s sad for long-time church members McCarthy, Koch, and other friends to bid farewell to the place where they worshipped for years, the spiritual victory that Lukesh talked about is that the entire congregation has been welcomed to nearby Stella Presbyterian Church, which he also has served as pastor for the past 12 years.
Forty Fort Presbyterian stopped regular worship services as of Dec. 31, and the congregation has been attending Stella Presbyterian ever since. They’re taking their faith with them, he said, and that’s what’s important.
As he pointed out, Sunday’s service, which will be held at Forty Fort Presbyterian, is “a celebration of our faithful witness to the Gospel of Christ for over 100 years, and of being an inclusive, caring community.”
During past decades Forty Fort Presbyterian welcomed various groups to hold Korean-language services, a Hispanic Fellowship and an Ecumenical Men’s Fellowship. For many Decembers it also welcomed the public to view hundreds of Nativity sets displayed in an exhibit called “No Room at the Inn.”
The original church building dates back to 1895, Lukesh said, and an addition was built in the 1960s, complete with a large stained glass window that features a cross surrounded by a brilliant sunburst.
Church members recall the days when as many as 125 children would attend Vacation Bible School and the pastor said when he first came to Forty Fort Presbyterian 30 years ago, he typically would see 90 people in the pews on Sunday. The numbers just aren’t there anymore, he said, noting nowadays attendance is close to two dozen people.
“The older people are dying and the younger ones move away,” Lukesh said, offering an example from his own family. “My aunt had four daughters, and they all moved away.”
“Times change and people lose interest,” McCarthy added. “People say, ‘I’m not religious. I’m spiritual,’ and kids are more interested in high school sports than spending an hour in Sunday School.”
“Just let them know,” she said, “we’re here if they need us.”
Actually the Forty Fort Presbyterian folks are likely to be found at Stella Presbyterian, 1700 Wyoming Ave., where they’ve been attending the 10:30 a.m. worship services for months.
“The whole congregation has come to our church and it’s really nice to have them,” said Shirley Coutts, a long-time Stella Presbyterian member. “We’re all friends. We all grew up in the same town.”
The 2 p.m. April 21 celebration to commemorate Forty Fort Presbyterian will be in that building, at 1224 Wyoming Ave. in Forty Fort. The Rev. Dr. Robert Zanicky from First Presbyterian in Wilkes-Barre will give the homily and all are welcome.