Celebration

During a two-day celebration, approximately 150 past and current members, former pastors, family members and friends, both local and from across the denomination, gathered to give thanks to God for His faithfulness to the Rose Point congregation during the past 175 years. It was also a time to honor the saints of the past who set a godly example for current and future generations.

Rev. Robert McFarland, the 11th pastor (served 1959-1963), delivered two messages: “Reasons Why Rose Point RPC Remains Healthy Today” and “How to Prepare for the Next 175 Years.” Current pastor Charles Brown’s Sabbath evening message, “The House of the Lord,” closed the celebration.

Brief History

As early as 1800, Rev. John Black ministered among Reformed Presbyterians west of the Allegheny Mountains. The Lord’s blessing on his ministry and that of several other men led to the formation of several prayer societies and congregations in five counties of western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio by 1833. After the denominational division of 1833, members of the “old light” group (now the RPCNA) were left with no ministers and only two church buildings.

On April 12, 1834, the Pittsburgh Presbytery (now Presbytery of the Alleghenies) organized the remaining members and officers into one congregation with seven branches or places of preaching. That fall, the Slippery Rock branch, located in Rose Point, was added. In his pastoral duties for this 40-by-50 mile area, the first pastor, James Blackwood, annually traveled more than 1,000 miles over poor roads on the back of his mare, Jewel. Communion seasons saw as many as 20 or 30 people hosted in one home as those from other branches joined in.

In the following years, new preaching sites were added while others were closed in this widespread congregation. Some were organized into separate congregations in 1838, 1852 and 1871. By 1885, Slippery Rock was the only preaching site remaining with the original congregation.

The name was formally changed to Rose Point in 1928. In 1959, the Springfield congregation (org. 1852) united with Rose Point. Members from the New Castle congregation (org. 1871) became part of Rose Point at the end of 1984.

Godly Leaders

During its 175-year history, God has blessed the congregation with godly men serving in various offices. There have been 16 pastors. The third and longest-serving pastor, John Calvin Smith (served 1863-1889), was known as an advocate of freedom, temperance and national and moral reform.

One of the first ruling elders, Thomas Willson, has a special place in the congregation’s history. When Thomas married in 1815, he made his home along the Slippery Rock Creek on land that had been purchased and settled by his father. After being elected as an elder in the Neshannock congregation in 1828, he walked more than 300 miles to fulfill his responsibilities as a delegate to the 1833 meeting of Synod in Philadelphia. Following the denominational division of 1833, while worshiping at Harlansburg, he worked to establish a branch at Rose Point in 1834. In 1844 he deeded to the Slippery Rock congregation the one-acre lot where the church sat. The present church is located on that site. Three of his grandsons became Covenanter ministers, a great-granddaughter was a missionary, and seven of his descendants have served as elders in this congregation.

Prior to the Civil War a number of members, including Rev. Blackwood, Thomas Willson, George Magee, Dr. Cowden, Thomas Speer and William Boyd, were active in the Underground Railroad, assisting runaway slaves.

Workers Sent Out

In the first 50 years, 12 ministers were sent out from the bounds of the original congregation, including three from Slippery Rock: D.C. Martin, T.A. McElwain and C.M. Smith. Medical missionary Dr. J.M. Balph was sent to Syria in 1877. Two daughters of the congregation served as missionaries: Ethel Rose Wilson (India, UP Mission Board) and Rose Munnell (Cyprus).

The Future

In a time of covenant renewal, the following, adapted from the Covenant of 1871, was recited by all who wished to take the pledge:

“Aiming to live for the glory of God as my chief end, I will, in reliance upon God’s grace, and feeling my inability to perform any spiritual duty in my own strength, diligently attend to searching the Scriptures, religious conversation, private prayer, family worship, the prayer meeting and the sanctuary, and will seek in them to worship God in spirit and in truth. I do solemnly promise to depart from all iniquity and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this world, commending and encouraging by my example, temperance, love and godliness.”

—Dawn McKelvy

Dawn and her husband, Ralph, have been members of Rose Point for 25 years.