S
G reen e Sce n e of the Pa st
moke and flames were still “pouring from the roof ” of Swarts Bible Church as staff writer Bob Niedballa snapped this photo on April 10, 2004. The story that ran in the Observer Reporter the next day – Easter Sunday was grim but hopeful - the 157 year old church was gutted but salvageable and its new congregation, led by Pastor Jeff Hughes was willing to do the work. Swarts United Methodist Church closed its doors in 1996 and the old building stood idle for seven years. The Bible Church had leased the building just four months earlier and members worked hard to get ready for Palm Sunday services. They installed a gas line, replaced electrical wiring and scrubbed and painted the interior. Now they would be spending the rest of the year replacing the roof and floor, removing plaster and installing new wiring, trusses and eaves. Happily, the congregation was committed to rebuilding the church much the way it was before the fire and many in the community were willing to pitch in and help out. “It’s a landmark in the area. People know where Swarts Church is,” Pastor Hughes told OR religious editor Don Hershell when he stopped by during an outdoor Sunday service on the lawn later that year. “I’m finding out that this is an event that is bringing people together.” Brother Mutual, the church’s insurance provider was also covering the cost of a pavilion, chairs and a storage shed for outdoor services and the church would
be raised to prevent flooding. The fine stained glass windows had been saved along with most of the pews and three of the four solid oak walls. “God called us here and that call is still on,” Pastor Hughes said. “God called us here for a reason and the reason is to build a church.” When the church finally reopened its doors it had a new name – Resurrection Bible Church. Resurrected, that is, for the second time. When Methodist brethren built Reverend Simpson’s Chapel in 1854 it sat on the hill overlooking the old Baptist church at the mouth of Fonner Run near Swarts. For reasons now lost to time, parishioners moved their chapel “stick by stick” to the intersection of Dillie and WW Railroad roads in 1877 and renamed it Swarts Methodist Church. They also added on to it, a good indication the congregation was growing. That year the W&W Railroad began its 50-some year run through the Bates Fork valley and the
church now had a front street view of the passenger and freight trains that chugged through Swarts, loading and unloading at the village depot. Prosperous times had come and a new century of progress was at hand. Life along Bates Fork was good. In 1940, Pastor Hughes tells me, “the church building was lifted up and a basement was put in, along with stained glass in the sanctuary and an auditorium style floor.” I didn’t find any Methodist church history listed for Swarts
by Colleen Nelson
at Cornerstone Genealogy Society in Waynesburg, so there’s no paper trail to tell why the doors of the Swarts United Methodist Church closed in 1996. Still, it’s heartening to know that those stained glass windows, pews and the three solid oak walls of Simpson’s Chapel have survived to bless a new generation of churchgoers with their presence. Pastor Hughes tells me that Dave Staggers is their Sunday school teacher and the congregation is doing well. Amen!
Smoke and flames pour from the roof of Swarts Bible Church on April 10, 2004. The Church has been given new life as Resurrection Bible Church.
If you have an interesting old photo from the area you’d like to share, just send it to: GreeneScene of the Past, 185 Wade Street, Waynesburg, PA 15370. Or email to: info@greenescene.com with GreeneScene Past in subject line. The GreeneScene Community Magazine can even scan your original in just a few minutes if you bring it to our office.
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GreeneScene Magazine •
JULY
2019
