Weirton church marks 75th anniversary

WEIRTON -- Longtime members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church can recall the first Christmas Eve service held at its present building on Three Springs Drive in 1969. 

Rich Mergen, the church's treasurer, noted the church's pews hadn't been installed, so those attending sat in folding chairs and stood along the walls. 

But before them were the cross, altar and bishop's chair that had been used at the church's former location at the corner of Elm and Mildren streets, said Wendy Speer, a lay minister at St. Thomas. 

And it was not the first location for the church, which had begun meeting in the Main Street offices of Monongahela Power Co. on May 27, 1947.  

The church initially was known as Trinity Episcopal Church, but members changed the name to avoid confusion with Trinity Lutheran, another Weirton church.  

Members met next at St. Nicholas' Russian Orthodox Church before purchasing a former auto repair shop at Elm and Mildren. 

The former garage may have seemed an odd place to worship. But Carol Village, a longtime member, said through the efforts of charter member Lloyd Culler and others, it became a beautiful place. 

On Dec. 21, 1948, the new church was dedicated by the Rev. Robert Strider, then bishop of the West Virginia Episcopal Diocese.  

Village was 6 years old when she began attending St. Thomas and recalled being in the Canterbury Club, a youth group that met for Bible studies and excursions such as a picnic at the Sandscrest Conference Center near Wheeling. 

"That group is scattered across the country now," she said. 

Mergen and Speer said a two-story house near the church doubled as the rectory, or priest's residence, and space for its Sunday school classes. Mergen's mother, Dorothy, was one of the teachers. 

In time, the church grew to 75 members who arrived a half-hour early on Christmas Eve to ensure they had a seat. 

With more space needed, members secured loans from a local bank and St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, pledged contributions and held fundraisers to build the present building on Three Springs Drive. 

With nearby U.S. Route 22 still under construction, the street included no more than a small airport at the present site of Aldi's and Big Lots and a root beer stand, members noted. 

Speer recalled her father showing her the foundation for the future church. 

"Daddy showed me when the first layer of blocks was put down. He said this is where the kitchen will be, this is where the social hall will be. To me, as a little girl, it just looked like a bunch of blocks," she said. 

Speer said the Rev. Bill Swing, the church's priest through much of the 1960s, had been a leading force in the building's development.  

Long-time member Dorothy Hawkes noted Swing also initiated the Peach Festival, a church fundraiser that's now in its 59th year. 

"He was a nice man, very outgoing," she said.  

Now retired, Swing went on to become bishop of the California Episcopal Diocese and sent a card and note congratulating the church on its anniversary. 

The milestone was celebrated following a baptismal service Wednesday presided by the Rev. Matthew Cowden, current bishop of the West Virginia Episcopal Diocese. 

Many past and present members in attendance shared good memories of it. 

Gerry DeCesare recalled joining as a young adult, serving as secretary to two priests, teaching Sunday school there and attending softball games played by men from the church against other church teams. 

"Our guys just wore regular clothes. Once there was a team that came in regular uniforms, but we beat them," she said. 

"They (the St. Thomas team) didn't beat many, but it was something for them to do," said DeCesare. 

Also attending was Christian Keener, now a member at St. Matthew's, who noted his late mother, Pam, was behind the Noah's Ark mural found in the Sunday school area. 

Speer noted Pam drew it and she painted it, while other murals there were painted by her son, Roger Jr. 

Many attending reflected on the impact the church has had on their families and their lives. 

Bruce Parrish said he will always be thankful to the church for moving the usual date of the Peach Festival so he and his wife, Cecelia, could be married there 31 years ago. 

He noted he had started attending St. Thomas after his children were invited there by neighbors Bob and Ella Knierim.