The publication is reproduced in full below:
CELEBRATING 250 YEARS OF THE JOHN CORBLY MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH
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HON. GUY RESCHENTHALER
of pennsylvania
in the house of representatives
Friday, August 27, 2021
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the John Corbly Memorial Baptist Church and congratulate them on serving God and western Pennsylvania for 250 years.
Originally called Goshen Baptist Church, what would become John Corbly Memorial Baptist Church consisted of two congregations. Meetings were held as early as 1769 on Muddy Creek and 1770 on Big Whiteley Creek. In April 1771, their first log meeting house was erected on Big Whiteley Creek in Garards Fort.
The congregation's first brick structure was completed in 1843, with the first service held on December 9 of that year. On February 24, 1907, a motion was made to rename the church in honor of John Corbly, the church's founder and former minister.
John Corbly was an Irish immigrant and prominent early settler of southwestern Pennsylvania. In, 1747, at 14, he started his life in the New World and was apprenticed to a Pennsylvania Quaker family. At the end of his term of indentured servitude, Corbly settled in Winchester, Virginia, and found God.
In Virginia, Corbly met Elder John Garrard, an emerging Baptist preacher in the area. He converted soon after their first encounter and became a reverend. His subsequent preaching was so impassioned and effective that it led to persecution from other Virginia religious groups. Reverend Corbly was consequently imprisoned for his beliefs.
Following his imprisonment, Reverend Corbly settled near Whiteley Creek with other Baptists. While he planned to practice his religion in peace, our nation's war for independence began and Reverend Corbly enlisted to fight, ultimately aiding in the founding of our nation.
After the Revolutionary War, Reverend Corbly returned home to raise his family and preach. Sadly, in May 1782, his wife and three children were killed on their way to church. Despite the incredible emotional toll, Reverend Corbly continued to preach and established 30 Baptist churches in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky before his death in 1803.
Madam Speaker, the story of the John Corbly Memorial Baptist Church is uniquely American. Their founder and original congregants endured religious persecution, the American Revolution, and the hardships of frontier life, yet maintained their commitment to the Gospel. The church has stood as a testament to their faith for 250 years and I look forward to what the next chapter has in store for their congregation and community.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 151
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