Liberty Chapel celebrating 200th anniversary
A play highlighting a woman who was integral to the church’s history will be part of Liberty Chapel’s Sunday worship service commemorating its 200th anniversary.
The celebration for the former Liberty Methodist Church is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at 1330 Banetown Road in Amwell Township. Jeff Greenway, president pro-tem of Allegheny West Conference of the Global Methodist Church, is scheduled to speak, and a combined choir featuring members of Liberty Chapel and sister church Amity Methodist Church will sing. The churches share the Rev. Laura A. Saffell, who is in her sixth year as Liberty Chapel’s pastor.
After the service, refreshments will be available.
“It’s going to be a big celebration,” said Sandy Gullborg, church historian and Liberty Chapel member for more than four decades.
Gullborg has presented a display of pictures depicting the church’s history each Sunday as the anniversary date approaches.
The church was known as Liberty Chapel in the 1800s and renamed Liberty Methodist Church before voting in 2023 to return to the name Liberty Chapel.
Liberty Chapel is considered a Global Methodist church.
“Global Methodism is more conservative than the United Methodist Church,” Gullborg said.
Liberty Chapel dates back to the beginning of Western Pennsylvania Methodism.
“Our history goes back to the 1700s,” Gullborg said. “We were originally part of First United Methodist in Washington, then we split in the 1800s.”
Services took place for a number of years at various locations, eventually separating from the First Methodist Church in Washington March 4, 1824. The first church building was erected on the farm of Thomas Bebout, who donated the ground “for as long as it was used for church purposes.”
Spiritual disinterest nearly caused the abandonment of the church in 1884.
Up stepped Mary Chambers, the subject of Sunday’s play. The young woman, barely out of her teens, led a revival of interest both financially and spiritually that helped the church survive. Chambers never saw the results of her efforts, passing away on March 28, 1893.
“Our church was ready to close,” said Gullborg, who is the play’s director. “People were going elsewhere or they weren’t coming. She actually rallied people on her horse. She went around to houses, got interest back in the church again and saved it. She was a teenager and she was allowed to go on a horse to all the neighbors and it worked. She didn’t live too much longer after that, so she didn’t see her full vision realized. We owe a lot to her.”
The play was written 50 years ago and performed at the 150th anniversary celebration.
The current church building was constructed in 1898-99 and dedicated June 26, 1899.
A new educational unit was built in 1958 and a new entrance vestibule added in 1966.
Liberty Chapel currently has about 100 members. The weekly service typically is held at 11 a.m. but Sunday’s start time was moved to 10:30 a.m. to allow time for the play.
Sunday is also Heritage Sunday at Liberty Chapel, when church members with at least 50 years of membership will be recognized.
Gullborg is proud of the church as it continues its ministry, even though it hasn’t had water for about four years. It forced the church to stop offering its monthly chicken and biscuit dinners. Gullborg said efforts have been made to restore the water supply.
“We had a well and a cistern that did not meet regulations, so the (Department of Environmental Protection) shut it down,” Gullborg said. “It’s a big stumbling block in our whole congregation because we could do so much more. But we’ve kept going.”
The church offers Vacation Bible School in the summer, and members participate in various activities such as a Ramps of Grace ministry in which wheelchair ramps are built for those who cannot afford a contractor. Its Christmastime Mitten Tree project benefits local men’s and women’s shelters.
“Anyone who has ever been involved or has any interest is welcome,” Gullborg said.