Oswego RPC

Location: Oswego, N.Y.

Presbytery: St. Lawrence

Membership: 86 communicant; 16 baptized

Organized: 1980

Pastor: “Kit” Schwartz (Walter); installed 1980

I don’t know why anyone would ask me to write a history of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Oswego, N.Y. In the first place, I wasn’t even there back in October 1980 when the congregation was formed. Why not ask Frank Soranno, our oldest member? He was here at the beginning, along with the Howes and Hubers. He was here back when I was still a Pentecostal. And yet they ask me, when there are, like 85 other members to choose from. You’d think there would be someone who could do it, but I guess not.

All through 1980 the Good RPs were worshiping God at the YMCA. Then Kit (not his real name) Swartz showed up. I don’t even know what a DA Lodge is, but the congregation met there from 1980 through 1983. I went there once. Just once. It was a Saturday, and special guest speaker Ed Robson was there, talking about the relationship of “kai” to the book of Revelation. Or maybe the relationship of Revelation to “kai.” But anyway, it was upstairs, dark, and rented, and we were studying “kai” and Revelation.

Some time after that, I joined. My Pentecostal wife, Deb, came over kicking and screaming (she’s fine now). By then the congregation had moved to the American Legion hall. It is an old Presbyterian church, used as a bar in the basement and a banquet hall in the sanctuary. We rented the hall on Sundays. Around this time, 1993, I wrote an article for this publication about my first year as a Reformed Presbyterian, an article that to this day the editors of this fine publication regret not putting on the cover. We also had our first election of deaconesses, Mella McGrath, Deb Weiners and Carol House. You’d think that one of them would be qualified to write a simple history, wouldn’t you?

Speaking of the Legion, kids nowadays don’t know how hard it was in the old days. We had to sweep up cigarette butts before worship and deal with the ever-present smell of old beer. And don’t get me started on the week that we were in the middle of communion, elements in hand, every eye staring in horror at Pastor Kit (not his real name) Swartz, with the strains of Elvis Presley singing “Blue Suede Shoes” coming up from downstairs. No one dared move or make eye contact with each other, lest they break out in laughter. This is the stuff that makes or breaks a Christian. A “Here I stand, I can do no other, God help me” moment if there ever was one.

At this time we had our Pentecostal Revival period, with Billy Bock (now our treasurer), the O’Brien family (John is now an elder), the Rounds and Austin families joining. Peter and Gary now run the Thursday night men’s meeting.

So we got out of there and moved into the sweetest deal of our congregational life. The local Methodist Church. They paint the walls, shovel the snow, mow the lawn, clean the sanctuary, and shovel the snow (we get lots of snow). We just show up at a time they designate, and have full run of their very formidable facilities. But Noooo! We’ve got to have our own Identity. That means our own Building.

So in 2000 we moved to our present facility on City Line Road. Not to put to fine a point on it, but we’re on the Scriba side of City line road, so technically, we’re the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scriba, but at least the building faces Oswego.

Why can’t Kit (not his real name) Swartz write this history? He was here pastoring since December 1980, and I’m sure he knows this stuff better than I do. I know he’s kind of busy, what with the preaching twice on the Lords Day, teaching, administering the sacraments, Wednesday night Bible study, college ministry at SUNY Oswego, and all that mysterious stuff he does for the presbytery and Synod. (Whoa! He disappears for days at a time!) Plus, he and his wife Karen raised three kids through it all.

There is also a Thursday night men’s fellowship at Austins that he never comes to, even though it is indisputably the best men’s meeting in the entire denomination. And I know for a fact that there is not a Baptist congregation in the nation that has a men’s meeting that can hold a candle to it.

Plus he has no choice but to put up with the various members of the growing congregation. He does attend the monthly mens breakfast, but elder John O’Brien is in charge of that. John probably shouldn’t write the history, because I’ve been here longer than he.

Kit, (not his real name) could probably give you the tasty details of our two church splits—albeit friendly ones. Pastor Nick Iamaio took a bunch of people back in 1994 and started a daughter Church in Fulton, about 10 miles south. Then in 1999 Aaron Goerner and his family took off and started a church in New Hartford, about 50 miles east. Inasmuch as there is an ever-expanding universe of Goerners, it’s probably a good thing they left because our church building could otherwise not contain them.

And what about the other elders, Kevin Plummer and John McGrath? Kevin must have a word processor. I know he can write, because he sure can preach. And John is always filling in for Kit (not his real name) whenever Kit (not his real name) is called away on church business. You’d think that one of them could find the time for a simple history. What about Deacon Andy Curran? No way they’d ask him to write a history. He knows where all the bodies are buried, and probably buried a few himself. Now, that would be a church history worth reading. But Nooo! Let’s ask Steve to do it.

Chris and Krista Dahar are too busy with the monthly fellowship dinners and all the fellowship activities in the church, so I guess they are out. And Peggy Armstrong has her hands full with the bulletin (come on, how hard can that be?) so she can’t do it either. So, I guess it’s up to me. If anything comes to mind, I’ll make note of it and send you a copy. But don’t hold your breath, because I can’t think of a thing.

–Stephen Standish

Prayer Requests

• Please pray with us for wisdom for our session and congregation concerning building plans and finances.

• Rejoice with us and pray for our two engaged couples: Susan McWilliams & Rich Friedrich to be married in October and Carolyn Austin & Peter Work to be married in January.

• Pray with our congregation for greater participation in the Bible studies in Ruth and the college campus group, Ixthus, as we begin a new year.