Historical Beacons
The BEACON has been keeping the members and friends of the Church on the Hill informed since 1935. The old issues are bound in books and stored in the Church office. The web staff has been going through the old issues and picked out some stories of interest. What we have found is that, more often than not, the articles reflect many concerns shared by members throughout the decades - service to the Church, finances, roles for parents, and, most importantly, a desire to advance God's work.
The texts that follow are recreations of the BEACON articles. While we have tried to keep as much of the style and formatting as possible, not all the style elements can be translated onto the web. The articles may look a bit different than the originals, but the texts are as they were originally read by the members and friends of the Church on the Hill.
October, 1980
In the October 1980 issue, Rev. Perless said, "Let me briefly suggest some reasons why I think YOU should be in church regularly."
March, 1978
In March 1978, Rev. Perless asked the congregation, "What does the church mean to you?"
January, 1978
In his message of January 1978, Rev. Perless discussed his experience as a visitor to another church and his hopes for what a visitor to the Church on the Hill might encounter.
February, 1977
In 1977, The Church On the Hill celebrated its 50th anniversary. As part of that celebration, The Beacon ran a series of remembrances. In the first installment recorded here, Howard Knag offers his recollections of the first months of the COTH
January, 1977
Rev. John de Maagd tells about his period of service to the COTH.
January, 1975
Repeated articles in the Beacon? Well, perhaps some things bear repeating. The following letter appeared in the May 1964 issue of the Beacon. It was then used by Rev. Perless in the January 1975 issue.
May, 1973
In this May 1973 letter, Rev. Perless discusses what people can get from their involvement in a church.
February, 1970
In February 1970, Rev. Perless offered his first message for the Beacon.
January, 1970
In January 1970, after 22 years as the Minister of the Church on the Hill, Rev. Bosch wrote his last front page for the Beacon.
October, 1968
In one of his final articles, Rev. Bosch discussed what he saw happening to youth in 1968 and his experiences with the youth of the Church on the Hill. Note: Some of your web staff attended the musical festival in upper New York State mentioned in the article. We can report that pretty much everything Rev. Bosch mentioned was true at one time or another.
April, 1968
In his Easter message for the April 1968 Beacon, Rev. Bosch discussed why, in Protestant churches, Christ is not on the Cross.
March, 1957
Ever wonder about the Sunday School's memory work program? This selection from the front page of the March 1957 edition of the Beacon explains the rationale for the program. How many of the required selections do you know?
June, 1952
Rev. de Maagd and his wife left the Church on the Hill to return to Japan as missionaries. They frequently updated their friends through letters that were printed in the Beacon . The selection that follows is a sample from p.2 of the June 1952 issue.
November, 1947
The Rev. Frederick R. Bosch was installed as the third minister of the Church on the Hill on September 21, 1947. The following selection is the first Beacon front page by Rev. Bosch, and it ran in the November 1947 issue.
May, 1947
In April 1947, Rev. John de Maagd announced his resignation as Pastor of the Church on the Hill to return as a missionary to Japan. The following from p.2 of the May 1947 issue of the Beacon describes Rev. de Maagd's announcement.
February, 1944
On January 9, 1944, the Rev. John C. de Maagd was installed as the second minister of the Church on the Hill. Rev. de Maagd had been serving as interim Minister since Rev. Bradley J. Folensbee was called to active service in 1941. The following article from p.3 of the February 1944 Beacon describes the installation service
December, 1943
Good news was reported on p.2 of the December 1943 issue of the Beacon.
May, 1941
The front page text of the May 1941 issue of the Church on the Hill Beacon. In this selection, Rev. Bradley Folensbee announces that he has been called to serve as Chaplain in the US Army.
December, 1938
Rev Folensbee provided some questions and answers about the proposed 1939 budget.
May, 1938
The front page text from May 1938. The article is written by the director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover.
February, 1938
One of the early service groups of the Church was the Girls' Auxiliary to Lepers. Here is a piece from p.2 of the February 1939 issue of the Beacon describing an upcoming activity.
June, 1937
In this article from the June 1937 issue, the Rev. Folensbee outlined expansion plans. The Church on the Hill was a growing institution!
November, 1935
The front page text from the second issue of the Beacon. It provides a brief history of the formation of the Church on the Hill from the view of the Church's first Minister, the Rev. Bradley J. Folensbee.
