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Community Corner

First Presbyterian Church of Amagansett Celebrates 150th Anniversary

Sesquicentennial celebrated over pot luck dinner.

Nearly 100 members of the turned out at the pot luck dinner in to celebrate the church's sesquicentennial anniversary on Saturday evening.

It was 150 years to the day since 82 members of the left to found a place of worship in Amagansett where they lived. Since then, the annals of the church have grown long and rich.

Pastor Emeritus the Rev. Robert Stuart spoke about its longevity. "One thing that strikes me about this church almost from the beginning is that it is a very stable church." He said, "Looking into the future, no matter what the configuration may be, it has good leadership and good people."

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Elizabeth Rossuck, a member since 1991, said that the church has been a source of comfort and support to her. "The people here are very friendly and warm," she said. "As soon as I walked into this church, I felt like I was at home."

She joined the church in the wake of a personal tragedy after attending several healing services. "Rob Stuart was very supportive when my husband died. It was very important. I don't have any brothers or sisters or cousins or anything."

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Community seemed to be a theme which was underscored by the potluck dinner where people brought their own special dishes to share. "My aunt Barbara made the bean salad. It's delicious," said Juliette Logie. She and several of her family members attended the event.  John Mark, a member of the family, said that they haven't been with the church long, "but we certainly do like it."

Town Crier Hugh King was on hand to help commemorate the event. He officially proclaimed the original church building of 1860 to be "the second oldest building in the hamlet of Amagansett."

King also offered interesting history about the church. He explained that the first pastor of the church, A.A Haines, left to fight in the Civil War after his brother, a Union soldier was killed. Haines never came back to pastor the church but retired to New Jersey.

East Hampton Town Councilman Dominick Stanzione was also at the event to present a proclamation on behalf of the , congratulating and recognizing the church for its longevity and value in the community. Stanzione also took time to personally thank the church for comforting him and his family when he lost one of his parents years ago.

Rev. Steven Howarth, was moved by the recognition that the church had received. He read several letters of congratulations including letters from New York State Assemblyman, Fred Thiele and Governor David Patterson.

"I'm just so very proud of it. We have a rich, vibrant heritage passed down to us – a lovely group of people." He continued "This church has in a rather quite but steady way held fast to its understanding of the presence of God in the community and the church has lived that out by being of love and service to those outside the community and this continues to be our vision."

Clergy from other churches were also at the event. Joking about the origins of the church, when members of the East Hampton First Presbyterian left to form the Amagansett church, Pastor Howarth said, "In light of that, I'm particularly grateful that the pastor of the East Hampton Presbyterian Church is here to show that there are no hard feelings."

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