In 2026, the United States celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which brought 13 colonies together to form one, united country. This year, the gatherings that were held throughout the now 50 states to honor the nation’s semiquincentennial didn’t necessarily have that same unifying effect.
In an attempt to bring togetherness to the region, several congregations within Beaver-Butler Presbytery have organized an “all-church gathering” on Sunday, Oct. 4, with the country’s 250th anniversary being the backdrop for an event the organizers hope will be both meaningful and fulfilling.
“We hope that folk leaving here will feel a sense of reconnection within the presbytery,” said the Rev. Todd Allen, one of the organizers of the event. “Our country is sadly just so divided right now. We hope this service is one where Democrats and Republicans can leave their party affiliation at the door and we can just come together as Americans and grateful citizens.
“We hope it will be a unifying experience for all who come. Because it is toward the end of the 250th year, maybe it’ll be a nice way of bringing some completeness to the year than some people have had the opportunity to experience.”
The gathering will center around the hymn “Now Thank We All Our God” and be held at 3 p.m. on Oct. 4 at Park Presbyterian Church in Beaver where Todd is the pastor. Among the highlights will be a unified choir led by Chele DiCioccio that will be comprised of singers from most – if not all – of the congregations in the presbytery. A brass choir will accompany the singers, and a bagpiper – true to the Scottish heritage of the Presbyterian denomination – will open and close the service.
“Invites have gone to all 60 churches in Beaver-Butler,” Todd explained. “We want it to be very much a non-partisan thing. We look at it to be an opportunity for Christians, Presbyterians in this case, to come together and to celebrate the blessings we enjoy as Americans.”
Aside from Todd, the event planning team also includes David Oyler, Jamie Fowler, Lauren Cesnales and Robert Jarsulic.
“Part of the purpose of the service is to remind us of our founding generation in terms of their thoughts about religion and its place and the need for virtue,” Todd said. “We wanted to share as part of the service a bit of local history in the Beaver-Butler area in terms of Presbyterian churches during the founding years.”
Readings from letters from a few of the country’s founders like John Adams and John Witherspoon will also be a component of the gathering.
“We wanted to have lay people lead that, so we have a nice blend of clergy and laity in the service,” Todd said. “We really tried to make this a little more lay led than say a typical church service.
“We’ve thought about it as a service of thanksgiving that is non-partisan, that has a historical component and a very strong musical component.”
No guest speakers are lined up to preach or deliver a message on this Sunday afternoon. That’s intentional in hopes of making the gathering a little less formal and more relaxed.
“There’s going to be a word proclaimed in a variety of ways that we hope will resonate with people,” Todd said. “It’s a little different than a worship service, although we certainly believe it has the feel of that.”
A highlight will be a special litany of hope and commitment that will be read during the service.
“It is more or less designed to say here’s where we’ve come from, here’s where God is leading us in the future and we are confident in God’s leading not just as American citizens but as Christians as well,” Todd said.
Todd hopes as many congregations as possible will participate.
“We have looked at this as being a chance for especially smaller churches in our presbytery – there are quite a number,” he said. “If folk wanted to sing, maybe their choir was one or two voices, here we could combine forces and really have a nice time together of reconnection over something we hope will be inspiring.”
A reception with food and drinks will follow the service at Park Church, which was chosen as the site for the service mostly due to its central location in the presbytery.
Whether this event morphs into future combined gatherings remains to be seen, but it is something that could emerge.
“The planning group, given our busyness, hasn’t thought beyond this one time,” Todd said. “So many of the smaller congregations here in Beaver-Butler sometimes feel a little left out. Also, they remember days when their choir loft was more filled. To come together like this and to think about that, if there’s some energy in that direction after this event, I would say don’t put it back in the bottle, let’s run with it.
“We would be open to it. We’ll just see how this goes first.”
Oct. 4 is also World Communion Sunday, which ties in nicely with the unity theme of the all-church gathering. It provides an appropriate theme for an afternoon of fellowship and connection for these Presbyterian congregations in far western Pennsylvania.
“I hope to see God in this event for giving us joy and simply being together, reminding us that we stand on some very broad shoulders as Americans,” Todd said. “I hope that we will see that our founding was truly a remarkable achievement and that we have some God-given responsibilities, not only as Christians but as citizens because we are very blessed in this country.”