[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 108 (Friday, June 23, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E894-E895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IN RECOGNITION OF ST. LUKE'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN LANESBOROUGH, 
                             MASSACHUSETTS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 23, 2017

  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to recognize 
St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Lanesborough, Massachusetts as they 
celebrate their 250th Anniversary on June 25th. The continued 
dedication of the congregation of St. Luke's was pivotal in the church 
becoming the oldest active Episcopal parish in Western Massachusetts.
  The origins of St. Luke's Episcopal Church begin in 1767 when a small 
group of Church of England members would meet in a private home to 
worship together. From there they moved to a school house where they 
continued their worship until they were able to move their small 
congregation to a wooden church located in the center of town in 1769. 
During these early years, the church seldom had a pastor and was kept 
alive by the dedication of its lay members. In 1862, the parish built 
the ``Old Stone Church,'' an impressive Gothic Revival structure that 
was added. to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Along 
with many of its original 19th century fixtures, the Old Stone Church 
also boasts a 450-pipe, hand-pumped organ that was crafted by William 
Johnson of Westfield, Massachusetts. The organ has gone through several 
restorations and is currently the fifth-oldest organ in use in 
Massachusetts.
  In 1898, the congregation moved into a new structure called the 
Village Church and temporarily ceased operating out of the Old Stone 
Church. A major restoration effort in the 1980s, aided by the 
Massachusetts Historical Society, and returned the church to functional 
condition. Since then, the Old Stone Church serves as the parish's 
summer home as a place of worship for parishioners during the summer 
months, while a second building, the Village Church is the parish's 
winter home.
  Mr. Speaker, St. Luke's Episcopal Church serves as a vital link to 
our region's history and still has much to offer to its parishioners 
even after all these years. As they celebrate their semiquincentennial, 
I wish them all the best in continuing to preserve their rich history 
and community involvement that has been the legacy of St. Luke's.

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