A TALE OF A PIONEER CHURCH
The earliest beginnings of the Somerset congregation date back to the summer of 1812 when a lady named Mary Ogle was immersed by a Baptist minister from Uniontown, at the old stone mill one and a half miles south of town. In 1813 a second Mary, Mary Morrison, was immersed and joined Mary Ogle for scripture reading and prayers. later they added to their services the sharing of a volume of sermons and the singing of hymns.
In 1815 these two Mary's established the first Sunday school in the county, following which a third Mary, Mary Graft, lent her services to the work. Together they formed "The female society for the use of the gospel." The group grew with both male and female members until 1817 when two Baptist ministers were called to institute "A church of immersed believers," with twenty-three initial members.
The congregation was popularly called "The Church of the Three Mary's." Later it became "The Congregation of the Disciples of Christ of Somerset, Pa." Since 1829 the congregation has been known as the First Christian Church of Somerset.
The first "meeting house" of the congregation was dedicated in 1844 with 144 members. That building still stands at the corner of South Center Avenue and West Patriot Street.
From "A History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties" written in 1844 we find the first house of worship was built in 1845. It was brick and cost $4,000.00. In 1871 its walls were considered dangerous, and the whole structure was replaced with another brick edifice in 1873, at a cost of $6,000.00. The first parsonage of the church was constructed in 1883 for $2,000.00, on a piece of land donated by Somerset County Judge Jeremiah S. Black, a member of the congregation until his death. The present church building was begun in 1910, and completed in 1912.
Having no creed but Christ, no book but the Bible, and no name but the Divine, we recognize Christ as the sole head of the church. We accept His life and teachings as sufficient rules for us to live by, for He is "the same yesterday, and today, and forever."
We practice New Testament baptism, the total immersion of the penitent believer in water, symbolizing death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
Communion is an important part of Christian worship. We observe the Lord's Supper each Lord's Day, in keeping with the apostolic precedent that "upon the first day of the week . . . . . the disciples came together to break bread."
The First Christian Church of Somerset, "A Pioneer Church," was established as part of a movement not to reform the church, but to restore it to its original Biblical form, in belief and practice. We invite and welcome all into its fellowship.
139 East Main Street · Somerset, Pennsylvania 15501 · 814-445-8112 · Email Us: fccsomerset@comcast.net
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