[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1326-E1327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CELEBRATING 240 YEARS OF THE MINGO CREEK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GUY RESCHENTHALER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 21, 2022

  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize and 
congratulate the congregation of The Mingo Creek Presbyterian Church 
for 240 years of service to God and their community in southwestern 
Pennsylvania.
  As early as 1774, Scotch-Irish settlers of America's first western 
frontier gathered at the site of Mingo Creek Presbyterian Church. 
Records show that the first official Christian worship services took 
place in 1782 and have continued uninterrupted to this day. The 
original meeting house was used by The Mingo Creek Society, a group of 
dissidents involved in the protest against the federal whiskey excise 
tax beginning in 1794. The Mingo Creek log structure and the 
surrounding grounds served as ``the cradle of the Whisky Rebellion.'' 
There, militia leaders met and plotted the first revolt to test our 
young republic. Major James McFarlane, a veteran of the American 
Revolution, was one of the few killed in the uprising and is among the 
rebel figures buried in the Mingo Cemetery.
  The Church's first permanent pastor, Dr. Samuel Ralston, arrived as 
an Irish missionary in 1796 and served until 1837. His legacy was far-
reaching, as his descendants remained active in the Mingo Creek Church 
through the 1960s. Throughout this time, the Church underwent several 
changes. Mingo Creek began its Mission and community outwork in 1841, 
which are still critical ventures. Curved walls were added in 1903, 
while a manse and Christian education building were built in 1924 and 
1958, respectively. These changes allowed the Church to welcome more 
inside its walls, including traveling dignitaries. Among those was 
President Harry S. Truman, who delivered a speech at the Church's early 
19th-century wooden pulpit.

[[Page E1327]]

  Madam Speaker, the Mingo Creek Presbyterian Church's story, is deeply 
rooted in our great Nation's origins. The Church has stood as a 
testament of faith for 240 years, and its storied history has earned 
the religious institution a standing in the National Registry for 
Historic Places. I look forward to what the next chapter has in store 
for the congregation and community.

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