Members and guests of Jacob's United Church of Christ in Weissport marked their 175th anniversary on Sunday with worship and fellowship.

The service was the last in a series to mark the church's history and the end of a yearlong "journey to 175 years." Each service was used to recognize past and current leaders in the congregation, including clergy and worship leaders, acolytes and choir members."We have been celebrating for the entire year," said the Rev. Lillian Andreas, the current pastor at Jacob's. "We are very community-oriented, and we wanted this to be something that people will remember for the next 25 years."Joining Andreas for this service were three former pastors from Jacob's UCC, the Rev. Dr. Dean D. Frey, the Rev. John Hoff, and the Rev. Nevin L. Kershner.Also joining the worship service were choir members from Ben Salem UCC in Andreas. Ben Salem's organist, Kathy Smith, served as guest organist and accompanist.Andreas noted that the service's music was chosen by several different groups, including the adult choir and men's choir, but still managed to portray a common theme."It all came together to celebrate who we are. We are the people of Jacob's United Church of Christ, and we are climbing Jacob's Ladder," she said, noting that this was the first hymn used in the call to worship."We are climbing the ladder that was built by our forefathers 175 years ago," said Andreas. "What are we doing? We're keeping our faith alive through Christian faith and fellowship."The sermon was given by the Rev. Alan Miller, conference minister for the Penn Northeast Conference of the United Church of Christ. The theme of the sermon was "When Angels Hold Their Breath," a description first used by C.S. Lewis to describe a turning point, those decisive moments when all things seem to hang in the balance.He noted that one of these moments occurred in the fall of 1940 as Adolf Hitler prepared to bomb the cities of Durham and Coventry in Great Britain.These cities had several things in common, said Miller: Both were industrial strongholds and had many manufacturing companies dedicated to the war effort. Both also held beautiful cathedrals. And both were targeted by Hitler's bombers while clear weather was predicted.Instead of clear skies, the bombers hit dense fog over Durham. Unable to see the city, they aimed using coordinates instead of sight. The bombs missed the city entirely and no lives were lost.There was no fog in Coventry."They bombed Coventry to oblivion, and the beautiful cathedral fell to rubble and ash," said Miller.He added that when events like this happen, it's common for people to ask if God sent the fog to Durham, but forgot to protect Coventry or if it was perhaps God's will that Coventry be destroyed."Be careful how you answer that question. God is not partial. He does not love one more than the other," said Miller. "Sometimes we get stuck. We shake our hand at the heavens and ask, 'How could this happen?' "There is a real danger of being stuck in the past instead of moving forward with faith, Miller added. Instead of remaining stuck in the past, the citizens of Coventry began to dig out and rebuild immediately. Grateful to be spared, the people of Durham took their tools to Coventry to help."The people had chosen to move forward," he said.Miller than called the members of Jacob's UCC to recognize their anniversary as a likely time when angels would hold their breath and to use this knowledge to keep moving forward, growing and changing as a congregation and members of the community.There are no "good old days," he added, noting that the past only seems more positive because there is no uncertainly."The power of our faith is that God is always with us, in the present, and is with us in that uncertainty," said Miller. "Today we have gathered to celebrate Jacob's church's 175th anniversary. But remember, in the retelling of your church's history, that the faithful of the past had no more certainty of their future than you do today. Powered by faith, they boldly moved forward. Today is our chance to step boldly to the future."