[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11463]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  MARKING 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH IN HOLLIDAYSBURG, 
                              PENNSYLVANIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark a significant 
historical event in the community of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. This 
month the Zion Lutheran Church in Hollidaysburg will mark its 200th 
anniversary. The rich history of Zion Lutheran is a testament to its 
founders and all of its congregants to this day.
  By 1803, population centers in the United States were expanding 
westward. As small groups of people started to settle west of the 
Allegheny Mountains for the first time, a small group of German 
immigrants, led by Pastor Frederick Haas, started the first 
congregation of Zion Lutheran Church in a log building in Frankstown, 
Pennsylvania, 200 years ago.
  While many of the original members were used to the grand cathedrals 
of Europe, and the new log building was certainly a different way to 
worship for many settlers, their desire to worship and develop 
community moved them to embrace their new surroundings.
  With the opening of the Pennsylvania Canal and the Allegheny Portage 
Railroad in 1830, Hollidaysburg flourished and became the county seat. 
As the town continued to grow, congregants needed a larger building to 
worship, and a new church opened its doors to the spiritual needs of 
the community in 1853. Today congregants of Zion Lutheran still make 
this building their center of spiritual community, and it also serves 
as a central feature of the historic section of the Hollidaysburg 
borough.
  While the building is, itself, an historic, stately church and 
provides a beautiful place to worship, it is the people themselves, the 
congregants, that make Zion Lutheran a real natural treasure.
  With 965 members, Zion Lutheran is the largest Lutheran church in 
Blair County. Leading the congregation is no small task, and its 
pastors, the Reverends Scott and Carol Custead, are the latest in a 
long line of God's servants who have provided the community with 
religious guidance that has brought stability and hope through God's 
teachings.
  The word ``Zion'' literally means ``the dwelling place of God, where 
God meets His people.'' It gives me great honor to recognize Zion 
Lutheran Church in Hollidaysburg on its bicentennial, a place where God 
truly meets His followers.

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