Girard
 | |
|---|---|
| Branches: | ACCA |
| Date Founded: | 1864 |
| Date Closed: | 1989 |
| Address: | 1226 Naylor-Lloyd Road |
| Website: | N/A |
History
[edit]The small church formerly located at Girard, Ohio, situated only 15 miles from the Pennsylvania state line midway between Warren and Youngstown, was symbolic of the few extremely small churches in the Apostolic Christian denomination that, despite disappointment and small numbers, continued on year after year faithful to the stewardship placed on them. It is a credit to the worthy concepts of diligence and obedience that this stalwart church continued on and remained devoted to the Lord and to the rich heritage of the Apostolic Christian Church. By 1981, the Girard congregation consisted of less than five families and thirteen members. Church activity began here in 1864 when a few believers gathered together for worship services. These services were held infrequently and were conducted by Isaac Gehring of Sardis, Ohio, and John Kreinbill of lllinois.72 The fact that the latter helped in establishing
the Girard church bears testimony to his far-flung travels on behalf of
the fledgling denomination.
Included in the original group were the William Ludt and Charles
Schoenfeld families along with Mary Thatchfield. The Girard
Youngstown area has traditionally been one of heavy industry, and
this is one of the reasons brethren came to the area.
The first resident minister was John Bakody. In 1874, the group
was officially organized by Jacob Bollinger who served as minister.
In 1878, the assembly had grown to the point where a permanent
place of worship was required. A one-story frame church was built at
29 West Wilson Avenue in Girard at a cost of $1,600. In 1905, the
church building was elevated and a basement placed underneath. Isaac
Emch, who had moved to Girard from Sardis, engineered the project.
With some additions and remodeling, this building served the
congregation until 1966. During this time, Karl Schladenhauffen was
the senior minister. He had emigrated from Germany and served as
minister from 1896-1925.
Some of the early brethren at Girard had come from the church at
Sardis, Ohio, which was a "stopping-off' place for early immigrants
of the faith. Abraham Emch, who attended church at New Martinsville,
West Virginia (located across the Ohio River from Sardis), was another
example of one who moved from that area to the Girard-Youngstown
area. He ministered for many years at Girard and was the father of
Jesse Emch and Lorentz Emch who also served as ministers.
The Hafely and Klotzle families also hailed from Sardis. Lydia
Klotzle, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Hafely, recalled how her
parents, along with the Benedict Emch family and a Brother
Schupbach, left Aargau, Switzerland, on March 17, 1874, and later
arrived in Sardis, Ohio.
They were on an America-bound ship for several days. On the
seventh day, they were shjpwrecked and forced to transfer to another
ship.
On January 16, 1896, Lydia Hafely was married to John Klotzle,
and the next day they moved to a farm near Girard. This union bore
six children, among them a son Joseph who served as a minister at
Girard. He later moved to Altadena, California, where he also served as
minister.
When the congregation moved into its new church on January 16, 1966,
they had fifty members. Groundbreaking for the new church took place
on Sunday, June 20, 1965, at 1226 Naylor-Lloyd Road, about three
miles northeast of the old location. The new building was comprised of
brick, concrete block, and exposed laminated wood arches. It cost
$104,000. The sanctuary seated 175.
Declining membership resulted from a separation in 1972 which
took several members, including all the young people of the church.
This, along with the death of several older members, left the church
with only thirteen members in 1981. Average age was seventy-six,
with only three members under seventy-five. Harold L. Emch served
alone in the ministry.
Over the years, Girard had been served by Elders Joseph Bella
and Isaac Gehring of Sardis; Sigmund Sorg, Henry Schwier, and
Samuel Engwiller of Mansfield; and Ernest Graf, Sr., and Rudolph
Graf of Akron, Ohio.
The Girard church was closed in 1989 due to lack of numbers.
This was a sad occasion. For 125 years, a church had existed at Girard,
Ohio.
- Taken from Marching to Zion
Ministers
[edit]| Name | Born | Baptized | Minister | Deacon | Elder | Retired | Wife | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George A. Emch | 6/10/1856 | 1910's | 1/1/1941 | Mary Fuchs | ||||
| Joseph Haegelen | 7/2/1833 | Elizabeth | ||||||
| John Metzger | 2/11/1870 | Emma Bakody | ||||||
| Henry Ostertag | 6/1/1831 | Mataline | ||||||
| John Bakody | 12/10/1828 | 1/1/1869 | ? | Elizabeth Reizen | ||||
| Jacob Bolliger | 7/1/1850 | 1/1/1874 | ? | Minnie | ||||
| Karl Schladenhauffen | 5/16/1853 | 1/1/1896 | 12/16/1923 | Sophia Klotzle | ||||
| Isaac Emch | 8/10/1857 | 1/1/1910 | 1/1/1942 | Catherine Schupbach | ||||
| Joseph Klotzle | 10/24/1897 | 4/3/1905 | 1/1/1928 | 1/1/1948 | Helen Graf | |||
| Jesse Emch | 11/11/1892 | 1/1/1923 | 1/1/1939 | 1/1/1975 | Marie Smeltz | |||
| J. L. Emch | 9/24/1896 | 12/25/1929 | 1/1/1942 | 1/1/1972 | Caroline Winkler | |||
| Robert Stoll | 8/12/1925 | 12/24/1944 | 6/28/1959 | 1/1/1972 | Arlene Brown |
Attendance
[edit]| Year | Total | Members | Sunday School | Year | Total | Members | Sunday School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | - | 46 | 32 | 1974 | - | 18 | 9 | |
| 1956 | - | 41 | 40 | 1977 | - | 16 | 5 | |
| 1959 | - | 44 | 40 | 1980 | - | 14 | 0 | |
| 1962 | - | 44 | 42 | 1983 | - | 15 | 0 | |
| 1965 | - | 38 | 40 | 1986 | - | 12 | 0 | |
| 1968 | - | 47 | 40 | 1989 | - | 4 | 0 | |
| 1971 | - | 40 | 40 |