OSCEOLA MILLS – The 125th anniversary of the consecration of St. Laurence Episcopal Church in Osceola Mills will be celebrated at a special service to be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, announced Fr. William Walker, the church?s pastor.
?We?re so happy that our beautiful church has reached such an important milestone,? Fr. Walker says.
?We will be adapting for our service the consecration ceremony from the Book of Common Prayer, with special scripture readings and a litany of Thanksgiving included.?
In addition, there will be special music by church organist Luther Gette. He will coordinate with the ringing of the three bronze bells of the church, which were restored just this year, and are ready to ring out for this festive occasion.
?We?ve been looking high and low to find organ compositions that are suggestive of the ringing of bells,? says Gette.
?It?s surprising how many there are. Bach?s First Organ Concerto has a movement that sounds very bell-like, and there?s a Prelude by Nicolas le Begue, organist of the Church of St. Merry in Paris in the 17th century, that imitates the bells of Paris as le Begue would have heard them in that day.
?I?ve also taken some liberties with the old standby ?The Bells of St. Mary?s??the new title is ?The Bells of St. Laurence,? which we will use for congregational singing at the offertory.?
?Luther has written some new verses for that one,? says Fr. Walker.
?We hope that many people from the larger community will be moved to join us, as we sing along, in praise of all those who labored with love to build St. Laurence, and to keep it joyfully in operation over these many years.
?Luther will also give a short talk, in place of the sermon, on the history of the church, which he has been researching for some time. Following the service there will be a reception in the church hall to which all are invited.?
Osceola was founded in the 1850?s, but there was no Episcopal Church in the community until Mr. A. S. R. Richards moved from Ridgway to Osceola in 1883. He had been a lay reader at Grace Church in Ridgway.
In April of 1883, he was ordained a deacon at Holy Trinity Church in Houtzdale, where he then assisted the priest in holding services. He also held services in the Masonic Lodge in Osceola.
In 1887 Thomas Brereton came to Osceola as Superintendent of the Tyrone & Clearfield Railroad. The Rev. Richards and Brereton became acquainted and decided to build a chapel on the Rev. Richards? property.
This was done and on Oct. 2, 1890 Bishop Whitehead of Pittsburgh held the first confirmation service.
The first baptism on record, before the chapel was built, was that of Marian Brisbin Houtz, on Aug. 9, 1888 in the home of her parents.
The first marriage was of Emma Jane Dale and Jonathan Taylor in the home of the groom.
The chapel only served for two years, because in that short time the congregation became too large, and it was decided to build a church at the corner of Hale and Lingle streets.
This is the present sanctuary, consecrated to the honor of the martyr St. Laurence on Nov. 14, 1892.
Recalling Osceola?s days as a lumber town, the interior of St. Laurence is lined entirely with locally milled hemlock and white pine, which gives it a very distinctive and spiritual appearance.
The three bells, cast by the McShane Foundry in Baltimore, were dedicated around 1898. They were first housed in a temporary tower, until the current bell tower was erected by the Osceola Lumber Co. in 1904.
Around 1935, a beautiful set of stained glass windows was installed by the Hunt Studio of Pittsburgh. All these beautiful adornments make for a very rewarding experience of worship at St. Laurence.
