TORRINGTON, CONN (SZS) — On August 4, 2013, St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Mt. Carmel, PA celebrated its 125th anniversary with a festival Eucharist followed by a banquet at a local restaurant. The Bishop of the Synod, the Rev. Wilma S. Kucharek, officiated and preached at the morning worship and brought words of congratulations from the “younger” brother and sister congregations of the Synod. The presentation of a commemorative citation from the Synod was presented by Bishop Kucharek, and a congratulatory citation from the State Senate was read by member Donna Lindemuth.
Organized in April 1888, the congregation has the distinction of being the oldest congregation of the Slovak Zion Synod—ELCA. Soon after the congregation was organized, land for the building of a church building was purchased for fifty dollars. November 1888 saw the dedication of the church cornerstone, and the fledgling congregation eagerly began worship in their church edifice the following month—even though the windows had not yet been placed; the final cost of the original building totaled less than $1200.
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