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2016 hopes to be another banner year of informative programs offered by the Charleroi Area Historical Society. Its first speaker for the new year will be Kelly Linn, presenting on March 21 at 7 p.m. Ms. Linn describes her topic “For Where Two or Three are Gathered…’ A History of the First Christian Church of Charleroi” in this way:

“Like many church histories, the narratives are limited to a list of pastors that served the congregation, major dates of building campaigns and an account of early trustees. The life of a church can be as fluid as the individuals that comprise the congregation and often facts are misconstrued over time, dates are muddied and the lives of pastors are seemingly limited to their tenure at respective pulpits.”

Linn’s undertaking, in honor of the 125th Anniversary of the founding of the First Christian Church of Charleroi in 2015, drills down through the history of the region to find the true roots of those held to be the original congregation. Things are not always as they seem!

Further, Linn examines the lives of the pastors who served the Charleroi Church to reveal what led them to the pulpit and, in some cases, what caused them to fall. The work shows the human side of a church’s beginnings and its tandem development with the growth of the Charleroi community.

Kelly Linn, wife of the late Reverend Jim Linn, who served the First Christian Church of Charleroi from1996 until his passing in 2013, holds a master’s degree in cultural resource management from California University of PA and currently works as a freelance historian and museum professional. She undertook the task of revising and expanding the existing historical narrative of the church as a memorial to her husband and as a legacy to one of Charleroi’s earliest churches.

The Society invites the public to also observe Charleroi’s birthday with cake and ice cream at this annual March celebration. And, don’t forget to wear something green in recognition of St. Patrick’s Day! It seems like all of us claim some Irish roots when this day rolls around.

The Society meets on the third Monday of every month March through November in Riverside Place, 303 Chamber Plaza (the former Montgomery Wards building). The program begins at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Look for signs at 5th and McKean Aves. and in the SPHS Center parking lot. For more information, call Ken Thompson, program coordinator, at 724-925-1742.

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