- Greater Shiloh Church of Easton is celebrating its 119th anniversary this coming weekend
- Events include a night of worship with musical guests, a day of community service and a mortgage-burning
- The church plans on utilizing funds that would have gone to the mortgage to fund a new community center on their property
UPDATE: Due to inclement weather, Greater Shiloh Church of Easton is postponing all outdoor events originally scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23. A new date will be announced soon.
EASTON, Pa. — It may seem odd to honor a 119th anniversary, but Greater Shiloh Church of Easton is celebrating its birthday this weekend with a plethora of community-centric activities, culminating with a "mortgage burning" to commemorate a significant milestone.
Starting this Friday, Greater Shiloh will host a whole weekend of activities celebrating the big event by giving back to the community and spreading the love in a celebration that Pastor Phillip Davis called “a bit surreal.”
“To participate in something that is so historic, to know that the church has endured through over a century, coming up on almost a century and two decades, is pretty overwhelming, and to be leading and serving in an organization like this. it's really great. It's really satisfying,” Davis said.
“I think it speaks volumes to just the faithfulness and commitment of the people, the stewardship of the leadership of the church, wise investments, integrity and transparency with our congregation."Pastor Phillip Davis
The church holds a position as a bastion of the African-American community in the Lehigh Valley, dating back to the flight of men, women and children from the Jim Crow South. The promise of solid work at Bethlehem Steel was a huge selling point “that promised the opportunity to build a sustainable future for them and for their families,” Davis said.
Friday kicks off with a Night of Worship, set to start at 7 p.m. The event is open to everyone, free of charge and will feature musical performances by Geoffry Golden and special guest Percy Harvin.
On Saturday, the church will sponsor a Service Day in Easton, Bethlehem and Stroudsburg, with church members distributing free gas vouchers in the downtown of Easton, assisting with grocery bills at CTown Supermarket in Bethlehem, and offering blessings to people at a local gas station in Stroudsburg.
But the big event is set for 3 p.m. on Sunday, when the church will ceremoniously burn the mortgage for their building at 403 Pastor Fred Davis Street, with “this monumental event represent[ing] a significant milestone in the church’s history and a symbol of financial stability and growth,” as per a release from Greater Shiloh.
“We're burning a mortgage of $4.3 million which was taken out in 2004 for 30 years, and we're burning it in 2023. So that's about 11 years early, or 12, depending on when we actually signed the paperwork. But, you know, saving the church a significant amount in payments and interest. And then it frees up our resources to be able to continue to do the kind of ministry that we've been used to doing over these last years,” Davis said.
That accomplishment builds off of the church’s successful payoff of a mortgage in 1980, “and then, to be able to do it again, shows wonderful resilience, faithfulness of our congregation and God,” Davis said.
And what might the ministry do now that they own their church? Right in line with their mission, they plan on building up funding over the next six months before embarking on a new goal – Phase Two, which will come to fruition on a lot adjacent to the church.
“Phase Two is our community center that will focus on education, inspiration, recreation and vocation, probably somewhere around 30 to 40,000 square feet. That will include, of course, a gym, recreation for the kids, a workout facility, an educational facility in partnership with some of our local educational folks,” Davis said.
“We're hoping to be able to get a job training center in there, as well as some medical partners to help us reach our community. So we're really excited about that next phase, and we'll be presenting that to the congregation Sunday at the mortgage burning program.”
This isn’t anything new for Greater Shiloh, as the church runs an emergency homeless shelter and a food pantry, and oversees and funds a community shower for the homeless. There are educational programs they front in partnership with Easton schools, and emergency rental assistance for Northampton County residents. There is the Nehemiah House, which serves as a transitional home for men coming out of prison and rehabilitation. In Haiti, the church helps to sponsor children so they can attend school.
With freed-up funding, the church can continue with those initiatives, the Phase Two project and other community-focused philanthropical endeavors.
“I think it speaks volumes to just the faithfulness and commitment of the people, the stewardship of the leadership of the church, wise investments, integrity and transparency with our congregation,” Davis said.
And while church members are certain to attend the vibrant weekend, rainstorms or otherwise, Davis wishes to extend the opportunity to each and every member of the community, a core tenant of his congregation’s beliefs.
“It's going to be a really tremendous weekend, all are welcome. The more the merrier. It’ll be a great time of celebration for the community,” Davis said.
