[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 151 (Friday, August 27, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATING 250 YEARS OF THE JOHN CORBLY MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GUY RESCHENTHALER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 27, 2021

  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the John Corbly 
Memorial Baptist Church and congratulate them on serving God and 
western Pennsylvania for 250 years.
  Originally called Goshen Baptist Church, what would become John 
Corbly Memorial Baptist Church consisted of two congregations. Meetings 
were held as early as 1769 on Muddy Creek and 1770 on Big Whiteley 
Creek. In April 1771, their first log meeting house was erected on Big 
Whiteley Creek in Garards Fort.
  The congregation's first brick structure was completed in 1843, with 
the first service held on December 9 of that year. On February 24, 
1907, a motion was made to rename the church in honor of John Corbly, 
the church's founder and former minister.
  John Corbly was an Irish immigrant and prominent early settler of 
southwestern Pennsylvania. In, 1747, at 14, he started his life in the 
New World and was apprenticed to a Pennsylvania Quaker family. At the 
end of his term of indentured servitude, Corbly settled in Winchester, 
Virginia, and found God.
  In Virginia, Corbly met Elder John Garrard, an emerging Baptist 
preacher in the area. He converted soon after their first encounter and 
became a reverend. His subsequent preaching was so impassioned and 
effective that it led to persecution from other Virginia religious 
groups. Reverend Corbly was consequently imprisoned for his beliefs.
  Following his imprisonment, Reverend Corbly settled near Whiteley 
Creek with other Baptists. While he planned to practice his religion in 
peace, our nation's war for independence began and Reverend Corbly 
enlisted to fight, ultimately aiding in the founding of our nation.
  After the Revolutionary War, Reverend Corbly returned home to raise 
his family and preach. Sadly, in May 1782, his wife and three children 
were killed on their way to church. Despite the incredible emotional 
toll, Reverend Corbly continued to preach and established 30 Baptist 
churches in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky before his death 
in 1803.
  Madam Speaker, the story of the John Corbly Memorial Baptist Church 
is uniquely American. Their founder and original congregants endured 
religious persecution, the American Revolution, and the hardships of 
frontier life, yet maintained their commitment to the Gospel. The 
church has stood as a testament to their faith for 250 years and I look 
forward to what the next chapter has in store for their congregation 
and community.

                          ____________________