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One hundred and sixty years ago, a church was born out of the desire of a
group of individuals to do God's work in western North Carolina. Over the years, a lot
has changed. Open fields are now paved with fast-food franchises, while
tens of thousands of vehicles travel on Routes 321 and 70. Slavery was
ended and schools were eventually integrated. Yesterday, the settlers were
of German descent; today, they are Latino and Hmong.
The Reformed Church has said "goodbye," and
the United Church of Christ "hello." The churched society of the
19th century has become the postmodern society of the 21st century. And
yet, in a society with so many broken or displaced families, there is still
a church where people can remember that we have been adopted into a larger
family; in a world where we are known by our account numbers, there is
still a place "where everybody knows your name." That place
is this church…our church…your church.
In 160 years there has been one constant…there is
still a church family committed to sustaining, comforting, healing and
ministering to the people of Catawba County.
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