“Let’s Reminisce” (pages 57 & 58)

Presbyterian Church of Hastings

1919 

In our pleasant little town many years ago was formed a Free Will Baptist Society, the first organization for the pursuit of cultivating the Spirit of Christianity in Hastings. Mr. Phinney who was then an old man administered the gospel for about ten years to not only the good sized congregation of Hastings but also Carleys Mills and at Bardeens.  He was ably and faithfully sited with music by his two daughters, Clara and Mate, also Henry Gardner and his wife Elize, Francis Sill and Salva Morse.

When Mr. Coit from west of Hastings Center died, he left some money so that if a Presbyterian church was built in this town, this money should be used to help support it.

Taking advantage of such a generous offer the present Presbyterian church of Hastings was built in 1888. Most of the Baptists turned Presbyterian in order that a community church might flourish and might worship the same God in the same way.

The leaders of the newly established church were Dr. and Mrs. Dimon, Mrs. Mary Hoisington, Mrs. Prescott and Ann Morse.  The charter members, besides these already mentioned, were Mrs. Andrew Cartner, Mrs. Lizzie Louisa Avery, Mrs. Grant, Mrs. Caroline Nellis, Miss Kathrene Nellis and Miss Charlotte Nellis.

At the beginning there were only about fifteen members but now in June 1919 there are thirty.  Some have gone to their homes above, but none are now living in Hastings.

The first Presbyterian pastor was Herbert A Manchester who organized and helped to build the church. He then was a student at Syracuse but later served as pastor in one of the larger churches there.  He finally went to Boston where he remained many years.  At the time of his service in Hastings he was not an ordained preacher.  Mr. Lucas served communion and performed baptism and marriage ceremonies.  In the absence of Mr. Manchester, Wm. Murray then a student, but now Dr. William of Constantinople, Turkey, took over.

The church not being financially able to support a pastor had supply students from Auburn Theological Seminary. Because of the poverty of the two charges of Hastings and Parish, they were united.  Now and then there were ministers who remained short lengths of time but who soon found larger fields in which to labor.  Some of these were Rev. Twitchell, Green, Jones, Thorpe, Snyder, Dennis and others.

Once when we had no pastor, Rev. Horace Snow, a Methodist from Palermo filled the vacancy during the summer.  Billy Sunday men from Syracuse or Peacock men from Parish have often times been with us to give us help and encouragement or perhaps a well-deserved scolding.  Mr. Gere, Mr. McDonald and Mr. Roberts have also been very kind to supply the pulpit for us and give us helpful talks.

Sometimes the congregation has backslidden and there have been various revivals.  One of these conducted by Gordon had about fifty converts among those converted were three little girls; Blanche Mattheu, Edith Dimon, Ethel Ingersol Coe. They have always remained steadfast to the faith all these years.

Rev. John Steele has also successfully conducted several revivals in the most recent years.  He has taken quite an interest in Hastings for which we are very grateful.

When the church was first built, the choir was organized with Mrs. Alice Hoisington as organist and the principal singers were Mr. and Mrs. Homer Prescott, Miss Daisy Tourot, the Misses Clara and Mate Phinney, Mr. Salvo Morse and Mr. Francis Sill.  The later organists were Clinton Hoisington, Daisy Tourot, Bernice Wadsworth and at present Reta Benson.

The first Sunday school superintendents were Dr. and Mrs. Dimon, aided in general Sunday school work by Alice Driesnack, Ernest Tourot, Clint Hoisington and some other young men and women.

In later years Mrs. Gladys Wright, Arthur Dunn, John Baldwin, Merton Benson, Charles Matthiew, Bernice Wadsworth, Leon Sharer and others.  The present Supt. Is Olen Butman who served well always being much interested and helpful.

There are four classes:  the primary taught by volunteers, the juniors formed by combining the boys and girls classes.  It is taught by Mrs. Butman who succeeded Mrs. Dimon.

There is also the Gleaner class composed of young men and women and it is taught by the minister.  The Bible class is made up of older men and women of the church instructed by Mr. Edinburg.

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Echoes of Parish Past, A history of the Town of Parish, New York

Pg. 88

PARISH HASTINGS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH  (now New Hope Presbyterian Church)

The Society of the First Presbyterian Church of Parish was organized in August 1889.  Students from Auburn Seminary filled the pulpit.  Services and Sunday School were held at the Parish Town Hall.  Mr. L. S. Crandall donated a lot on South Street (now Rider Street) to build the Church.  The building was completed and dedicated on November 22, 1892.  It was completely paid for by the summer of 1893.  The first pastor was Rev. E. W. Twichell, who began work on September 30, 1893.

The Hastings Church was dedicated in 1888. Through the years both churches shared ministers from time to time.  Sometimes each church had their own services and other times they worshipped together.  Both churches voted to merge and on October 29, 1996 it became the Parish Hastings Presbyterian Church.  Services are held in Parish.

In October 1995 the Parish church negotiated to buy the lot next to the church with the purpose of building the Parish Community Preschool.  The lot was purchased and the preschool opened in the spring of 1997...

Ministers serving one or both churches:

 

Rev. E. W. Twichell

Rev. Edward F. Green

Rev. J. B. Ogden

Rev. Linain

Rev. A. L. Burger

Rev. John Hines

Rev. Max House

Rev. J.H. Watkins

Rev. E. M. Jones

Rev. George Dennis

Rev. Elden Lacy

Rev. H. W. McGilray

Rev. Henry H. Lykes

Rev. John Thorpe

Rev. Isaac N. Steelman

Rev. Edgar Mitchell

Rev.  T. A. Maderson

Rev. Charles Ellwanger

 

Rev. Joseph Clarke                 Nov ’56- Nov 8, ‘61

Rev. Norman Gebbs               Nov. ’62- June ‘63

Gary Meier                              June-Sept ‘63

Rev. Kenneth Rodarmel         July’65

Rev. Robert L Slusher             Sept ‘67

Rev. Richard Beishline           Sept ’67- Sept ‘73

Rev. Frederico Agner             Sept ‘72- Sept ‘74

Rev. Richard Cheffey             Feb ’75- Feb ‘78

Rev. Jerald Shave                   Oct. ’79- Dec 30, ‘93

Rev. Earl Arnold                    Mar. ’94- Sept. ‘96

Rev. Susan Wilhelm                Feb. ’97- May ‘01

Rev. Dr. Susan Alloway         June ’01-Oct. 3, ‘10

Rev. Danial McCollister         Oct. ’11- Dec. ‘13

Rev. Lorrie Cooney                July 1, ’14 - present

 

Mexico Mother of Towns

 

Pg. 480

…”Priest” Dixon as he was generally called, presided over a large parish, not only covering Mexico  Township, but extending into Richland, Albion, and Parish   as well, with Prattville as its eastern and larger center and Mexicoville as the western and smaller one.  A strong contingent lived in the town of Parish and on February 26m 1831 John Miller of that town was made an  elder in addition to John Becker who had earlier been elected.  There being no church edifice, meetings were held in the Alfred house and barn, the house of Simeon Hopson, Josiah Southworth, Joel Savage, George Kingsbury, John Ames, Jabin Wood, Joseph Everts, Lucius Webb, Joseph Edick, and at Mr. Dison’s parsonage, in the Praville or Slack schoolhouse, the Edick schoolhouse in Parish, in schoolhouses 5 and 8 and the brick “Academy of Mexicoville, in Calvin Tiffany’s tavern, and in the schoolhouse by the dug way in southern Albion.”

Pg. 484

After Mr. Dixon’s pastorate of eighteen years, the church for the next ten years experienced a succession of short pastorates and shorter periods of supplies, among them a son of the church, the Rev. Samuel Cole and Waita Everts.  It was during this period that a great temperance reform was sweeping the country   and this church took such a firm stand that in 1836 some of the members residing in Parish desiring greater liverty withdrew from the Prattville church.  It was on February 7, 1836 that one of the elders residing in Parish, John Miller, and his wife Margaret and Philip Crim and his wife Hannah and others opposed to the pledge of total abstinence offered their petition for permission to withdraw from the church in order to join a Lutheran Church then contemplated in Parish.  The session expressed deep regret that such was the cause of the petition, yet thought it best to grant the request and Mr. Dixon,   who was  acting as supply for six months, was authorized to make out the letters of dismissal.  John and Margaret Miller later returned their letters  but on July 26, 1940 they joined with Nancy Gripman, Catherine Carpen(?), Thomas Och, Coonrad Mours, Margaret Macky, in taking letters to form the Presbyterian Church of Parish