Our Story

In May of 1969 the Fort Burd United Presbyterian Church was formed by uniting the Central Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church in Brownsville. First Presbyterian Church had suffered a devastating fire in June 1967 and had planned to build a new church with the insurance proceeds. Following the fire Central Presbyterian Church invited the First Presbyterian Church to worship in its building. Two services were held: first Presbyterian worshipped before the Sunday school hour and Central Presbyterian worshipped following it. However Redstone Presbytery ordered a consolidation of the two churches. Predictably the pending merger unsettled the two churches as both congregations wished to keep their separate identities and positions in the community. The congregations presented petitions to the Redstone Presbytery opposing the merger but to no avail. The Presbytery mandated the unification.

A ” Consummation Service for the union of the Central Presbyterian Church and the First Presbyterian Church” was held Sunday, May 25, 1969. Participating in the service were the presbytery commission, comprising four pastors and three ruling elders from various churches as well as the interim pastor, Rev. Reid Stewart. Following this service, each session member and deacon from both congregations continued to serve until their terms expired.
In September 1969 the session recommended that “Fort Burd United Presbyterian Church of Brownsville” replace “United Presbyterian Church of Brownsville” as the name for the new united congregation. Fort Burd had local historical significance as it referenced the fort that Col. James Burd built in 1759 on what is now Front Street. Brownsville had historically been known as Fort Burd or Redstone Old Fort. The name was well received by the merged congregation as being meaningful to them and the local area.

In July 1969, the congregation appointed a building committee, chaired by Clayton Lanham, consisting of members of the Property, Facility and Finance committees to seek a location for the new church. The committee recommended a tract of land in Redstone Township known as the Hustead Farm, at the intersection of Simpson Road and Route 166, also known as Thornton Road. The session voted to purchase 4.2 acres from the Marion McClelland Brown estate for $10,000. The Presbytery of Redstone, Inc acquired the property on June 28,1969 on behalf of the consolidated churches and later conveyed it to Fort Burd United Presbyterian Church on January 8, 1970. The congregation approved the plans for the new building in May 1971 and awarded the building contract to Monessen Construction Company in August 1971. A groundbreaking service was held for the new church building on October 3,1971 with Rev. Stewart presiding.

The congregation of the Fort Burd United Presbyterian Church met for the first time in their new building on August 20, 1972. Rev. Donald J. Dilley accepted Fort Burd’s call and preached his first sermon as pastor on Sunday, November 26, 1972. At this time the congregation was comprised of approximately 300 families.

In October 1974 the Fort Burd Preschool was begun as an outreach program under the supervision of the Christian Education Committee. Gillian Bauman was the first teacher and director. The preschool grew and in November 1978 Session expanded the school to two sessions per day. Currently the preschool operates on Monday-Wednesday-Friday mornings for pre-kindergarten age children and on Tuesday-Thursday mornings for preschool age children.

The bell which for many years had hung in the belfry of the First Presbyterian Church had survived the disastrous fire that destroyed the church. In May 1976 approval was given to install the bell on the front lawn of Fort Burd Church where it remains today. Fort Burd Church has a significant presence in the community. Although our membership numbers have dropped, several service projects are maintained by diligent caring people of the congregation. We stock a “Blessing Box” with food for needy families at the top of our driveway, we provide back to school supplies in the Fall, we give out winter coats, we supply “Snacks & Sneakers” to those in need, we support the Salvation Army “Angel Tree” each Christmas, we support “Food For Falcons” and participate in Bible Release Time and community Bible School. Our current pastor, Kristen Emrick started a Cross Walk-through town on Good Friday which was held for the third year in a row this year!