A Congregation Reborn in the Park
After a two-year hiatus, members of the Christian Church in Richland hold services in Amon Park while planning for a permanent hall.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
There are about forty people in this district who profess to follow the tenets of the Christian church. At one time there was a regularly organized church here, but there has been none now for the past two years. Not long since, Rev. Meredith, a Christian minister, moved into the district on a ranch five miles north of town. After being asked to preach in the park two Sundays ago, he aroused such interest that steps were taken towards reorganization. Last Sunday services were again held in Amon Park, after which the work of plans for reorganization were taken up, and Frank B. Petsel was elected clerk. Regular Sunday services will be held in the park as long as the weather will permit; in the meantime, plans will be making toward a regular hall or place of worship. After the services last Sunday, an outdoor dinner was served in the park, the membership having come prepared to supply physical nourishment after being given spiritual.
“The membership having come prepared to supply physical nourishment after being given spiritual.”
Amon Park remains a vital public space in Richland, even if its role in congregational organization has evolved. This story captures the way small, semi-rural communities in early 20th-century Washington built social infrastructure through outdoor gathering.
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