wfn.org | `Vigor and Enthusiasm' Fuel Church's Continuing Growth

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14-January-1999 
99023 
 
    `Vigor and Enthusiasm' Fuel 
    Church's Continuing Growth 
 
    by John Corr 
    Philadelphia Inquirer 
    Reprinted with permission 
 
WESTTOWN, Pa. - Nationally, Gallup polls indicate that church attendance is 
flat, but that's certainly not the case with the Westminster Presbyterian 
Church. 
 
    It opened its new, 27,000-square-foot church just five years ago, and, 
come May or June, it expects to open a 20,000-square-foot addition. 
 
    Westminster Presbyterian left its old home on Church Street in West 
Chester with a congregation numbering just more than 1,000. The number now 
stands at more than 1,400 and is growing at the rate of 130 new members a 
year. 
 
    Presently overseeing the growth at Westminster Presbyterian is the Rev. 
Graham Hardy, who says the growing pains are dwarfed by the growing 
pleasures. 
 
    "I have been amazed at the vigor and enthusiasm of this church as much 
as by the warmth and fellowship with which it has accepted me," Mr. Hardy 
said. 
 
    Mr. Hardy knows vigor and enthusiasm when he sees it.  At 76, after 
almost a half-century in the ministry, he seems the very embodiment of 
these two qualities. 
 
    Mr. Hardy arrived in August, his ninth move in 10 years.  A native of 
Scotland and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, he retired 
at 65 after 20 years as pastor of a church in Sydney, Australia. 
 
    He wasn't ready for the rocking chair, however, and decided to take on 
the role of interim pastor. 
 
    "After my service here," he said, "I will really retire.  After nine 
moves in 10 years, my wife has finally put her foot down." 
 
    Mr. Hardy and his wife of 51 years, Hazel Ruth Hardy, will retire to 
Gainesville, Fla., where he had previously served as an interim pastor. 
Meanwhile, he's got a busy, growing church on his hands. 
 
    The associate pastor, the Rev. Ann Dickey, says one of the reasons 
people come to the church is its new, highly visible location.  But that's 
not the reason they stay, she said. 
 
    "Many of our new members have told me that they decided to become 
members because of the warmth and friendliness with which they were greeted 
here," she said.  "We are a very caring, friendly church." 
 
    Many people learn about the church and its programs because of the 
preschool program, which is open to all and now has 140 students.  Mrs. 
Dickey expects that number will rise to 175 in 1999. 
 
    Newcomers can become involved in any number of church activities, 
including the 70-member choir, the single's club, social clubs and 
fellowship events, and even its thrift shop, which has raised more than 
$150,000 over the last eight years, said Mrs. Dickey. 
 
    The thrift shop, whose income is equally divided between the church and 
its mission activities, is in Westminster's former home, which is now the 
home of the Emmanuel Baptist Church. 
 
    In addition there is the extensive Christian Education Program for all 
ages, the gospel and art exhibitions, and the church's extensive Caring 
Ministries, which help people struggling with emotional and other cries. 
 
    There is also a busy youth program, which is now conducting rehearsals 
for the musical "Godspell," which will be staged with sets, costumes and a 
full rock band on March 19 and 20 at Fugett Middle School. 
 
    Henry Fisher has been a member of the congregation for about 20 years, 
and he believes that one of the church's most important roles is reaching 
out to the community.  He was active in the church's effort to establish a 
Habitat for Humanity chapter in Chester County and works with its Safe 
Haven program for the homeless. 
 
    "I think the move has had terrific benefits, including new ideas, new 
people," Fisher said.  "It's really exciting." 
 
    Fisher was at first opposed to the idea of moving the church to new 
facilities.  Once the decision had been made, however, he backed it fully 
and took over as head of the expansion committee.  He is delighted with the 
present vitality of the church and with its growth since the move. 
 
    But Westminster Presbyterian has been growing pretty steadily since 
1892, when a group interested in the idea of forming a Presbyterian church 
placed a small newspaper notice saying a Sunday service would be held at 
Smith's Hall on Gay Street in West Chester. 
 
    According to the church's official history, 35 people attended that 
Sunday in an upstairs room with a seating capacity of 100.  Six months 
later, services had to me moved to larger quarters. 
 
    As interest grew in building a new church, a split developed between 
those who wanted the church established in the borough and those who 
preferred a location south of town.  The in-town option prevailed because, 
according to one argument, quoted anonymously in the church history, people 
"naturally tend toward the center of town ... because they could put up 
their horses at hotels and livery stables and find the church near by." 
 
    The church was built in town at 200 S. Church St. in 1899. But, almost 
a century later, the idea of locating the church south of town finally 
prevailed when Westminster Presbyterian moved into its new $3.5 million 
home at Route 202 and Mount Pleasant Road, Westtown, in December 1993. 
 
    The Rev. Robert Young, who retired last summer after 32 years as 
pastor, said the division of opinion a century ago about where to locate 
the church was reflected in the vigorous debate during the late 1980s and 
early 1990s over whether to renovate the existing church in West Chester or 
to move out of the borough. 
 
    At a congregational meeting in January 1989, two-thirds of the 
congregation voted to renovate the existing church rather than move. 
However, those in favor of moving persisted, and their cause got a boost 
with the offer by J.K. Robinson, owner of Crebilly farms in Westtown, to 
donate 12 acres of prime real estate just off Route 202. 
 
    Mr. Young thought it was time to reconsider. 
 
    "It seemed to me that prospects for our future were not bright if we 
remained at that location," he said, citing scant parking and other 
problems. 
 
    He persuaded the church governing body to send a letter asking members 
of the church if they wished to reconsider the issue.  In September 1990, 
another congregation meeting was held, at which the previous vote was 
pretty much reversed, with two-thirds voting in favor of moving. 
 
    The new building was paid off in 1997, and the church immediately 
started construction of the addition, which will contain a new chapel and 
allow Westminster to expand its administrative and educational facilities. 
 
    The completion of the new addition in May will give the church some 
badly needed space and a new chapel, to be named the Dr. Robert Young 
Memorial Chapel. 
 
    Mr. Young is reluctant to take credit for the creation of the new 
church, but no one is more thrilled about its success than he.  And it's 
not just the growth in numbers that pleases him. 
 
    Although there is a good balance of older and younger church members, 
he said, the church has a young and vigorous feel about it. 
 
    "There is now a wonderful youthfulness of spirit," he said. 

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