Postcard from the Past: Do, Lord, Do Remember Me
Compiled by Dick Perue
“Do, Lord, Do Remember Me” was the hymn which rang out at the First Presbyterian Church of Saratoga during a recent Sunday morning worship.
Members of the congregation sang not only for their souls and salvation, but in remembrance of the first 135 years of Saratoga’s second-oldest church which was established July 10, 1890.
This remembrance will be celebrated this coming Sunday morning, July 13, beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall located on the corner of Bridge and Third streets. The celebration is not just to mark a milestone century-plus 35 years of organization and worship, but to heed God’s call for all to come together.
During the centennial celebration back in 1990, the pastor led the worship with the following call and response.
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who built it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of hosts.
My soul longs, yeah, faints for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
Blessed are those who dwell in thy house, always singing thy praise.
The message is still relevant today.
Records show in 1889 the Ladies of the Home Missionary Society was organized in Saratoga before a church existed. At the time the aid was established there was neither church or minister.
A 1890 newspaper account states, “All the good Christian people of the valley who believed in God were united in Christian work regardless of creed. All united in the belief to have a Sunday School for their children and to have a society for their women folk would better the newly-born town, giving the traveler and the newcomers to the valley more of a desire to settle down and establish a decent place to live.”
This philosophy has prevailed throughout the decades and is the guideline for many more years to come at the First Presbyterian Church of Saratoga.
Over the past century and a third, the Presbyterian Church has evolved into the “community church” with its doors open to all those who seek the Lord and Jesus Christ.
Its organization is the second oldest in the valley, yet it has been in continuous ministry the longest of any congregation here. St. Barnabas Episcopal Church was Saratoga’s first, being established in 1888.
A 1990 news item noted the purchase and hanging of the church bell in 1896 marked another step in the rapid advancement of the Presbyterian Church.
The item further declared, “Now as then, the church is out of debt, has a good membership and is, even now, none too large to accommodate the interested congregation which assembles there to listen to the teachings of its pastor.”
All those interested are invited to attend the 135th birthday celebration this Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church of Saratoga.
And keeping with tradition, the ladies – in this case the Deacons – of the church will provide a fried chicken dinner with all the fixins, plus cake and ice cream at noon to which all are invited.
As the Presbyterian Church celebrates its 135th birthday this Sunday, may all Christians remember, “Do, Lord, Do Remember Me” and also recall the hymn which many sang as they marched from the sanctuary pews to Sunday School held in the soggy basement – “Onward Christian Soldiers.”
Happy 135th birthday to the First Presbyterian Church of Saratoga and its congregation.
Everyone is invited to join in the celebration Sunday morning, July 13, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
