Our Mission
We are the body of Christ, a congregation that seeks the presence of God, the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, our lives and our community.
We open ourselves to the Spirit of God as we worship in spirit and truth.
We reach out to our redeemer as we share with Him our joys and needs in communal prayer.
We seek guidance of the Holy Spirit through the Holy Scriptures and Christian fellowship.
As Christ’s disciples, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, giving of our time and talents, sharing our faith, supporting missions, and serving our neighbors and community. Join us, that together Christ’s transforming Spirit will come alive in and through us.
We open ourselves to the Spirit of God as we worship in spirit and truth.
We reach out to our redeemer as we share with Him our joys and needs in communal prayer.
We seek guidance of the Holy Spirit through the Holy Scriptures and Christian fellowship.
As Christ’s disciples, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, giving of our time and talents, sharing our faith, supporting missions, and serving our neighbors and community. Join us, that together Christ’s transforming Spirit will come alive in and through us.
Some of Our Projects and Activities
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BirthRight—The women’s association with support from the congregation has held collections of supplies and baby items for BirthRight. The crafters have been involved in making bibs, baby clothes and other items also to support the work of BirthRight.
Medi-Hospice—The Colver Crafters have made blankets and memory bears for Medi-Hospice to assist those in need and their families through troubling times. Funeral Dinners—Our women’s association plans and implements funeral dinners for those members and friends that have lost loved ones. Presbyterian Mission Blanket Fund—The women’s association annually participates in collecting donations to support this mission project. CARE bags—The congregation collects items and creates bags of personal hygiene items and some “time-fillers’ to distribute to those in the hospital. Ecumenical Services– We join with the other two churches in Colver and hold a special Thanksgiving Community Service. Extending the Communion Table—Following communion on a Sunday, elders are available to extend the table to provide communion to shut-ins. Little Free Library—A youth project begun a couple of years ago, makes books available for children of the community to read. Children can come to the library and take a book to read. When they are finished with the book, they can return it for another one. Books are changed out on a regular basis. |
Election Day Soup/Bake Sale—The women’s association sells soup and donated baked goods on election day. The proceeds benefit the work of the women’s association.
Service of Hope and Healing—A special service was recently held to pray for friends, loved ones, and our community as we struggle with addiction. We look forward to holding more. Children and Worship—We encourage children to participate in the worship service. We have a children’s sermon during the worship service then take those interested downstairs for a children’s story time/activity. When the sermon is finished the children return to the sanctuary to continue participating in worship. We have children’s bulletins and coloring pages for older children (of all ages) in the pews. Prayer List--We have a prayer list that gets updated monthly. Anyone is welcome to add a name to the list of those in need of prayer. Each January the list starts over. Community Shelter—With support from the Colver Co-Gen and others, our church has the ability to be used as a community shelter in case of emergencies. Our community has had this need twice in the last 10 years. Food—We love to eat. We enjoy hosting breakfasts, lunches and dinners! Christmas Mission Project—varies from year to year. |
Our Church History
According to the records of the former Blairsville Presbytery, Rev. Thomas R Taggart of Ebensburg came to Colver and preached one or two Sunday services during the spring of 1912. After a number of visits, the superintendent of missions discovered an interest in Colver to begin a church. The mission committee decided to go to Colver on October 12, 1912, "if the way be clear to organize a church." The Colver Presbyterian Church was formally organized on October 18, 1912, the church was founded with members of the old Salem Church, and the Herman Congregational Church. The coal company is said to not want to “overchurch” the town. That has been why we are the only Protestant church and other two churches are the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Ascension Orthodox Church.
In the early years, there were two church services, a morning and evening service. Records report that there was a period of six weeks in 1919 that the town of Colver was closed due to the influenza epidemic. All schools, churches, and other public meeting sites were closed. There were a number of Sunday School classes as well.
The church began with two governing bodies: the Trustees and the Session which were served by male deacons and elders. Since that time, the responsibilities of the trustees has been turned over to the session and women have been included among the elders and leaders of the church.
The Building
Architect Horace Trumbauer designed the Presbyterian Church building and it took more than three years to complete. The organizing committee consisted of Rev. C. C. Hayes, D. D., Rev. A. H. Jolly, Rev. T. R. Taggart, Rev. W. C. Wallace, and elders F. H. Barker and T. D. Evans. Coleman and Weaver met most of the construction costs. The final cost was estimated at $10,000 not including a $2500 pipe organ. The church was dedicated on October 1, 1915. A mortgage was taken to purchase the church in the sum of $3,000 in January of 1916. In May of 1921, the session voted to install two toilets, two wash bowls and one urinal and the necessary sewer pipe in the basement of the church. The Sunday school rooms were added and dedicated in 1956. The pipe organ was refurbished in 1943. At that time, it was moved from the platform to its present position. Another refurbishing was done in May 1987 at the cost of $40,000. The organ was donated by the Coleman family. The last refurbishing began in March 1987 and was completed in May 1987.
The stained-glass windows were installed in 1977 – 1978. The organ and the stained-glass windows projects were financed solely by donations.
Church Finances: The church relied on generous donations from the coal company as well as the C&I Railroad for financial support. In the beginning, they also received financial support from the Presbytery and Synod itself. The church struggled with finances in the past and had annual financial drives in an effort to help support itself. One annual effort was the Every Member Canvas. With this canvas, ruling elders were assigned streets and/or areas. These elders were charged with the task to go door-to-door to members’ houses and solicit money for the church.
Today, the church remains a vital part of the community. There are ecumenical services between all three churches. Vacation Bible school, held every year, has become a community-wide activity. The various social events in the life of the church, including the annual bazaar and calendar party, provide support and an atmosphere of friendship and fellowship.
The Ministers
Rev. E. J. Travers Rev. Boyd Dickey Rev. Tom Jones
Rev. D. M. Lyle Rev. Wilber Neff Mr. Jim Tomb
Rev. Arthur Llewelyn Rev. Raymond Howland Rev. Stanley Bhasker
Rev. E. I. Gilmore Rev. Gordon Cummings Rev. Charles Blasdell
Rev. A. G. Becker Rev. Richard Mawry Rev. James Farrer
Rev. James Martin Rev. Fred Bennett Rev. Laura Blank
Rev. J. R. Millin, D.D. Rev. Jack Marsh Rev. Owar Ojulu
Rev. Daniel Schnebly Rev. James Hayes, D.D.
In the early years, there were two church services, a morning and evening service. Records report that there was a period of six weeks in 1919 that the town of Colver was closed due to the influenza epidemic. All schools, churches, and other public meeting sites were closed. There were a number of Sunday School classes as well.
The church began with two governing bodies: the Trustees and the Session which were served by male deacons and elders. Since that time, the responsibilities of the trustees has been turned over to the session and women have been included among the elders and leaders of the church.
The Building
Architect Horace Trumbauer designed the Presbyterian Church building and it took more than three years to complete. The organizing committee consisted of Rev. C. C. Hayes, D. D., Rev. A. H. Jolly, Rev. T. R. Taggart, Rev. W. C. Wallace, and elders F. H. Barker and T. D. Evans. Coleman and Weaver met most of the construction costs. The final cost was estimated at $10,000 not including a $2500 pipe organ. The church was dedicated on October 1, 1915. A mortgage was taken to purchase the church in the sum of $3,000 in January of 1916. In May of 1921, the session voted to install two toilets, two wash bowls and one urinal and the necessary sewer pipe in the basement of the church. The Sunday school rooms were added and dedicated in 1956. The pipe organ was refurbished in 1943. At that time, it was moved from the platform to its present position. Another refurbishing was done in May 1987 at the cost of $40,000. The organ was donated by the Coleman family. The last refurbishing began in March 1987 and was completed in May 1987.
The stained-glass windows were installed in 1977 – 1978. The organ and the stained-glass windows projects were financed solely by donations.
Church Finances: The church relied on generous donations from the coal company as well as the C&I Railroad for financial support. In the beginning, they also received financial support from the Presbytery and Synod itself. The church struggled with finances in the past and had annual financial drives in an effort to help support itself. One annual effort was the Every Member Canvas. With this canvas, ruling elders were assigned streets and/or areas. These elders were charged with the task to go door-to-door to members’ houses and solicit money for the church.
Today, the church remains a vital part of the community. There are ecumenical services between all three churches. Vacation Bible school, held every year, has become a community-wide activity. The various social events in the life of the church, including the annual bazaar and calendar party, provide support and an atmosphere of friendship and fellowship.
The Ministers
Rev. E. J. Travers Rev. Boyd Dickey Rev. Tom Jones
Rev. D. M. Lyle Rev. Wilber Neff Mr. Jim Tomb
Rev. Arthur Llewelyn Rev. Raymond Howland Rev. Stanley Bhasker
Rev. E. I. Gilmore Rev. Gordon Cummings Rev. Charles Blasdell
Rev. A. G. Becker Rev. Richard Mawry Rev. James Farrer
Rev. James Martin Rev. Fred Bennett Rev. Laura Blank
Rev. J. R. Millin, D.D. Rev. Jack Marsh Rev. Owar Ojulu
Rev. Daniel Schnebly Rev. James Hayes, D.D.
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