The Churches of the Forest City Area
Due to the historical influx of immigrants settling in primary sector of the economy towns such as Forest City, as each successive ethnic minority would build their own church. In its height in the 1920s, Forest City was known as "the town with the most churches in it" to the locals.
Until recently, Forest City's overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population boasted five churches: St. Anthony, St. Michael, St. Agnes, St. Joseph, and Sacred Heart. Each of these churches were ethnic, St. Agnes being Irish, St. Anthony's was Lithuanian; St. Michael's was Slovak; St. Joseph's was Slovenian; and Sacred Heart was Polish. Early consolidations were planned in the 1970s, but public resistance kept some of the buildings intermittently open for decades. The Ascension of Our Lord Parish was created and dedicated in 2010, and the worship site, St. Joseph's Church, was renovated to accommodate the merger.
Forest City is also home to an Episcopal church, a Byzantine Catholic church, and a non-denominational church. The Methodist Church closed May 2013 and the building was generously donated to the Forest City Area Historical Society which is now the society headquarters and museum.
Until recently, Forest City's overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population boasted five churches: St. Anthony, St. Michael, St. Agnes, St. Joseph, and Sacred Heart. Each of these churches were ethnic, St. Agnes being Irish, St. Anthony's was Lithuanian; St. Michael's was Slovak; St. Joseph's was Slovenian; and Sacred Heart was Polish. Early consolidations were planned in the 1970s, but public resistance kept some of the buildings intermittently open for decades. The Ascension of Our Lord Parish was created and dedicated in 2010, and the worship site, St. Joseph's Church, was renovated to accommodate the merger.
Forest City is also home to an Episcopal church, a Byzantine Catholic church, and a non-denominational church. The Methodist Church closed May 2013 and the building was generously donated to the Forest City Area Historical Society which is now the society headquarters and museum.
Forest City Centennial ME
Address: 61 Dundaff Street
Municipality: borough of Forest City
County: Susquehanna County
State: PA
Directions:
Dundaff Street is PA 247. The church is on the southwest corner of the intersection of PA 171 and PA 247 heading west.
Historic Conference:
Wyoming Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Journal references:
Brief History:
Regular Methodist preaching services in Forest City were began in 1881 by the preacher from Union Dale. The Methodist church building was dedicated November 17, 1886.
Final disposition:
Closed May 2013 and donated to the Forest City Area Historical Society.
Historical Sketch of the Forest City Methodist Church
In the year 1784 American Methodism was organized. One hundred years later, the centennial of the American Methodism, 1884 the Centennial Methodist Episcopal Church was organized at Forest City, Pa. In one of the of the old record books of the church the following account is found, signed by Robert P. Christopher, the first pastor, and dated May 10th 1886:
The Forest City Centennial M. E. Church was founded in the spring of March 31, 1884, and united with No. 4 at Carbondale; was constituted or called the Forest City and No. 4 charge Honesdale District, Wyoming Conference, Rev. Wm. M. Hiller, presiding elder.
“At the session of the Wyoming Conference held at Hyde Park, Scranton, March 26th to the 31st, 1884, Bishop H. W. Warren presiding, Robert P. Christopher of Dundaff, Susquehanna County, Pa., was appointed as the first pastor of the new charge. The first preaching service at Forest City was held in what was known as the old schoolhouse, and was well attended. The order of services being at Forest City at half past ten A. M. and at No. 4 at quarter to three P. M. In about three months after the appointment the pastor in company with Brother Will Pentecost went to Providence, Scranton, and waited on Mr. E. W. Weston, general land agent of the D. & H. Canal Company, and petitioned for a lot of land upon which to build a church. This was granted and a very finely located lot was granted 100 feet front by 150 feet deep and deeded or leased to the trustees which had been legally incorporated as Trustees of the Forest City Centennial M. E. Church. First board of trustees under the incorporation or charter being W. J. Gilchrist, Robert Dunn, William Pentecost, George Johnson, and Benjamin Maxey. At the next session of the Wyoming Conference, held at Owego, N. Y., April 9, 1885, Bishop Randolph S. Foster presiding, Robert P. Christopher was again returned as pastor for the second year.
“In the later part of the first year subscriptions were promised toward the building of the new church amounting to about three hundred dollars, and besides this, on application by the pastor to Mr. W. A. May, the superintendent of the Hillside Coal and Iron Company, the whole amount of hemlock lumber necessary to the building of the church according to plan prepared (lumber required about 14,000 feet) was given by Mr. May on behalf of the company.
“With this state of facts and the prospect so encouraging it was the design of the pastor R. P. Christopher, with the co-operation of the official brethren and people of Forest City to commence to bid build the church early in the summer of 1885, but local circumstances existing led to an impression on the part of some that the building of the church had better be postponed. (Notwithstanding the pastor’s intense desire to push forward the enterprise.) Steps, however, were taken by R. P. Christopher, the pastor, to lay up the foundation walls of the proposed new church, he being determined that some progress should be made for the building of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Forest City before the session of the Wyoming Conference in the spring of 1886.
“Notwithstanding the unanimous resolution of the official brethren of Forest City and also of No. 4 at the last quarterly conference held Forest City before the annual meeting of the Conference, that I should be returned is their pastor for the third year, yet in view of the delay in the past (regarding the building of the church which I could not see the necessity of nor justify it), and believing that a change in the pastoral relation would perhaps facilitate the desirable and much-needed project of a M. E. Church in Forest City, I urged the Presiding Elder, the Rev. Wm. Hiller, the importance of sending a new man on the field. Notwithstanding my high appreciation of the unanimous vote of the brethren in Forest City and No. 4 for my return, I felt that it would be better for the good of the cause I loved so much that it should be otherwise.
“At the session of the Wyoming Conference held at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., April 8, 1886, Bishop Willard F. Mallalieu presiding, the Rev. J. L. Thomas was appointed as my successor.
“That God may abundantly bless him in his labors on this field and by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the people, leading to union of feeling and a concert of action, and the speedy dedication of the Forest City Centennial M. E. Church, is prayer of the outgoing pastor Rev. Robert P. Christopher.”
According to other data we learned that the church was dedicated November 17, 1886, and that in 1893-94 the parsonage by the side of the church was built at a cost of $2000.00. In 1889 the Vandling Congregational Church was purchased by the Methodist society and that charge joined to Forest City.
In July, 1906, under the leadership of the pastor, E. A. Martin, the rebuilding of the church was ordered, and the work committed to Contractor E. A. Bloxham to “remodel and enlarge the First M. E. Church… according to plans and specifications prepared by Davey and Crowther, with the exception of the changes as marked on said specifications. The said E. A. Bloxham shall have the privilege of taking down the present church should he desire to do so.”
In the pastorate of Rev. G. V. McAllister, who came to the pulpit in 1921, excavation was made under the entire church and social rooms prepared. The same improvement was made at Vandling so that the two churches have commodious social rooms with kitchens attached.
During subsequent pastorates various repairs and improvements to the property have been made so that now we have a fine parsonage with garage underneath, two church buildings which will comfortably house the congregations in Forest City and Vandling. Many of the leading business men and substantial citizens of Forest City and Vandling compose the officiary and membership of these Methodist Churches, so that it can be said that these societies play their part in the affairs of this section of Susquehanna County.
The Forest City Centennial M. E. Church was founded in the spring of March 31, 1884, and united with No. 4 at Carbondale; was constituted or called the Forest City and No. 4 charge Honesdale District, Wyoming Conference, Rev. Wm. M. Hiller, presiding elder.
“At the session of the Wyoming Conference held at Hyde Park, Scranton, March 26th to the 31st, 1884, Bishop H. W. Warren presiding, Robert P. Christopher of Dundaff, Susquehanna County, Pa., was appointed as the first pastor of the new charge. The first preaching service at Forest City was held in what was known as the old schoolhouse, and was well attended. The order of services being at Forest City at half past ten A. M. and at No. 4 at quarter to three P. M. In about three months after the appointment the pastor in company with Brother Will Pentecost went to Providence, Scranton, and waited on Mr. E. W. Weston, general land agent of the D. & H. Canal Company, and petitioned for a lot of land upon which to build a church. This was granted and a very finely located lot was granted 100 feet front by 150 feet deep and deeded or leased to the trustees which had been legally incorporated as Trustees of the Forest City Centennial M. E. Church. First board of trustees under the incorporation or charter being W. J. Gilchrist, Robert Dunn, William Pentecost, George Johnson, and Benjamin Maxey. At the next session of the Wyoming Conference, held at Owego, N. Y., April 9, 1885, Bishop Randolph S. Foster presiding, Robert P. Christopher was again returned as pastor for the second year.
“In the later part of the first year subscriptions were promised toward the building of the new church amounting to about three hundred dollars, and besides this, on application by the pastor to Mr. W. A. May, the superintendent of the Hillside Coal and Iron Company, the whole amount of hemlock lumber necessary to the building of the church according to plan prepared (lumber required about 14,000 feet) was given by Mr. May on behalf of the company.
“With this state of facts and the prospect so encouraging it was the design of the pastor R. P. Christopher, with the co-operation of the official brethren and people of Forest City to commence to bid build the church early in the summer of 1885, but local circumstances existing led to an impression on the part of some that the building of the church had better be postponed. (Notwithstanding the pastor’s intense desire to push forward the enterprise.) Steps, however, were taken by R. P. Christopher, the pastor, to lay up the foundation walls of the proposed new church, he being determined that some progress should be made for the building of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Forest City before the session of the Wyoming Conference in the spring of 1886.
“Notwithstanding the unanimous resolution of the official brethren of Forest City and also of No. 4 at the last quarterly conference held Forest City before the annual meeting of the Conference, that I should be returned is their pastor for the third year, yet in view of the delay in the past (regarding the building of the church which I could not see the necessity of nor justify it), and believing that a change in the pastoral relation would perhaps facilitate the desirable and much-needed project of a M. E. Church in Forest City, I urged the Presiding Elder, the Rev. Wm. Hiller, the importance of sending a new man on the field. Notwithstanding my high appreciation of the unanimous vote of the brethren in Forest City and No. 4 for my return, I felt that it would be better for the good of the cause I loved so much that it should be otherwise.
“At the session of the Wyoming Conference held at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., April 8, 1886, Bishop Willard F. Mallalieu presiding, the Rev. J. L. Thomas was appointed as my successor.
“That God may abundantly bless him in his labors on this field and by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the people, leading to union of feeling and a concert of action, and the speedy dedication of the Forest City Centennial M. E. Church, is prayer of the outgoing pastor Rev. Robert P. Christopher.”
According to other data we learned that the church was dedicated November 17, 1886, and that in 1893-94 the parsonage by the side of the church was built at a cost of $2000.00. In 1889 the Vandling Congregational Church was purchased by the Methodist society and that charge joined to Forest City.
In July, 1906, under the leadership of the pastor, E. A. Martin, the rebuilding of the church was ordered, and the work committed to Contractor E. A. Bloxham to “remodel and enlarge the First M. E. Church… according to plans and specifications prepared by Davey and Crowther, with the exception of the changes as marked on said specifications. The said E. A. Bloxham shall have the privilege of taking down the present church should he desire to do so.”
In the pastorate of Rev. G. V. McAllister, who came to the pulpit in 1921, excavation was made under the entire church and social rooms prepared. The same improvement was made at Vandling so that the two churches have commodious social rooms with kitchens attached.
During subsequent pastorates various repairs and improvements to the property have been made so that now we have a fine parsonage with garage underneath, two church buildings which will comfortably house the congregations in Forest City and Vandling. Many of the leading business men and substantial citizens of Forest City and Vandling compose the officiary and membership of these Methodist Churches, so that it can be said that these societies play their part in the affairs of this section of Susquehanna County.
History of Saint Joseph Slovenian Church
Of the 6 Catholic Churches in Forest City, Saint Joseph’s R.C. Slovenian is the largest in population and most representative of the people who have come into the Forest City area, i.e. Browndale, Vandling. During the general migration of 1890 from Slovenia and settled in the industrial and mining area of eastern U.S.
It is the only Slovenian church in the Scranton Dioceses of which the Most Reverend Jerome D. Hannan, D.D., is head, in which comprises 242 parishes.
Honestly, a natural born love of work and a most fervent devotion to God and his Church, prompted these people who in 1902 number some 500 souls, to go to the most Reverend Michael J. Hoban, then Bishop of Scranton and through their Lodge, Saint Joseph's requesting His Excellency permission to establish a church.
Consequently, in January 23, 1904, the Reverend Father Joseph Thomas from Leed, S. D. came and serve these people as pastor.
On August 24, 1904 the Most Reverend Michael J. Hoban blessed the cornerstone for the new church, which was completed in that year and solemnly dedicated the following year, March 19, 1905, the Feast of Saint Joseph, the Patron of the Church, by Msgr. Thomas C. Coffey of Saint Rose Church, Carbondale, Pennsylvania.
Father Thomsic served as first pastor to 1920, when the Reverend James Drev, 1920-1921; Reverend Valentine Mihele, 1921-1922; Father Stephen 1922-1923; followed in that order for brief stays until Father Francis Jevnik came to continue the work in a growing parish from 1923 to 1956, when he was followed by Father John P. Kameen, a native of the parish but after a brief period of hard, consecrated work, God chose to call him to his internal reward in January of 1957.
The most Reverend Bishop Jerome D. Hannan, D. D., appointed the Reverend Albin Joseph Satkowski, February 8, 1957 to serve this Citadel Parish of the Slovenians in the Scranton Diocese to the present, retaining the language, the customs, and the hollowed traditions of these people who now have 3 masses on Sunday to accommodate not the original 500 souls but some 500 family units, in their spiritual needs and worship of the God of their Father’s in Saint Joseph’s Church, Forest City, Pennsylvania.
The by-products, as it were, of the spiritual growth of this parish are those priest, Father Augustine Swetter, OFM.; Rev. Andrew Swetter, OFM; Rev. John P. Kameen; Rev. Francis Kovacic, U. S. Air Force Chaplain, Kentucky; Rev. Henry Planinsek, Congregation of the Holy Spirit, California.
Also, these women, serving the Lord in His Vineyard, Sister M. Frances, OSF the former Theresa Marincic, Sister M. Gemma (Anna Zedaro); Sister M. Cornelia (Anna Brager); Sister M. Carmelita (Josephine Shuma).
“Susquehanna County Sesquicentennial Celebration 1810 – 1960”
Of the 6 Catholic Churches in Forest City, Saint Joseph’s R.C. Slovenian is the largest in population and most representative of the people who have come into the Forest City area, i.e. Browndale, Vandling. During the general migration of 1890 from Slovenia and settled in the industrial and mining area of eastern U.S.
It is the only Slovenian church in the Scranton Dioceses of which the Most Reverend Jerome D. Hannan, D.D., is head, in which comprises 242 parishes.
Honestly, a natural born love of work and a most fervent devotion to God and his Church, prompted these people who in 1902 number some 500 souls, to go to the most Reverend Michael J. Hoban, then Bishop of Scranton and through their Lodge, Saint Joseph's requesting His Excellency permission to establish a church.
Consequently, in January 23, 1904, the Reverend Father Joseph Thomas from Leed, S. D. came and serve these people as pastor.
On August 24, 1904 the Most Reverend Michael J. Hoban blessed the cornerstone for the new church, which was completed in that year and solemnly dedicated the following year, March 19, 1905, the Feast of Saint Joseph, the Patron of the Church, by Msgr. Thomas C. Coffey of Saint Rose Church, Carbondale, Pennsylvania.
Father Thomsic served as first pastor to 1920, when the Reverend James Drev, 1920-1921; Reverend Valentine Mihele, 1921-1922; Father Stephen 1922-1923; followed in that order for brief stays until Father Francis Jevnik came to continue the work in a growing parish from 1923 to 1956, when he was followed by Father John P. Kameen, a native of the parish but after a brief period of hard, consecrated work, God chose to call him to his internal reward in January of 1957.
The most Reverend Bishop Jerome D. Hannan, D. D., appointed the Reverend Albin Joseph Satkowski, February 8, 1957 to serve this Citadel Parish of the Slovenians in the Scranton Diocese to the present, retaining the language, the customs, and the hollowed traditions of these people who now have 3 masses on Sunday to accommodate not the original 500 souls but some 500 family units, in their spiritual needs and worship of the God of their Father’s in Saint Joseph’s Church, Forest City, Pennsylvania.
The by-products, as it were, of the spiritual growth of this parish are those priest, Father Augustine Swetter, OFM.; Rev. Andrew Swetter, OFM; Rev. John P. Kameen; Rev. Francis Kovacic, U. S. Air Force Chaplain, Kentucky; Rev. Henry Planinsek, Congregation of the Holy Spirit, California.
Also, these women, serving the Lord in His Vineyard, Sister M. Frances, OSF the former Theresa Marincic, Sister M. Gemma (Anna Zedaro); Sister M. Cornelia (Anna Brager); Sister M. Carmelita (Josephine Shuma).
“Susquehanna County Sesquicentennial Celebration 1810 – 1960”
Saint John’s Church, Forest City
Saint John’s Greek Catholic Church was founded in 1898. It was constructed by E. A. Bloxham for $5000. The church has two cemetery sites, one in Richmonddale, PA, and the other in Forest City, purchased in 1911. The rectory was built in 1914 for $2800. The cantor’s home was built in 1925 for $5000.
During the prosperity of World War II and the post war years, extensive improvements were made, such as rubber tile flooring, stain glass windows, interior decorating and other improvements in the church properties. Then in 1948 the Golden Jubilee was celebrated. In 1959, aluminum siding was placed on the church.
The first pastor was Father A. Deyock. Another longtime pastor was Father Joseph Shakaley, who had been pastor starting in 1947. The church at that time serviced approximately 85 families in Susquehanna, Lackawanna, and Wayne Counties.
The church is of the Byzantine Rite Exarchate of Pittsburgh.
“Susquehanna County Sesquicentennial Celebration 1810 – 1960”
Saint John’s Greek Catholic Church was founded in 1898. It was constructed by E. A. Bloxham for $5000. The church has two cemetery sites, one in Richmonddale, PA, and the other in Forest City, purchased in 1911. The rectory was built in 1914 for $2800. The cantor’s home was built in 1925 for $5000.
During the prosperity of World War II and the post war years, extensive improvements were made, such as rubber tile flooring, stain glass windows, interior decorating and other improvements in the church properties. Then in 1948 the Golden Jubilee was celebrated. In 1959, aluminum siding was placed on the church.
The first pastor was Father A. Deyock. Another longtime pastor was Father Joseph Shakaley, who had been pastor starting in 1947. The church at that time serviced approximately 85 families in Susquehanna, Lackawanna, and Wayne Counties.
The church is of the Byzantine Rite Exarchate of Pittsburgh.
“Susquehanna County Sesquicentennial Celebration 1810 – 1960”