Palmerton’s First United Church of Christ held its mortgage burning ceremony Sunday with several hundred members of the congregation and guests giving thanks at the day-long ceremonies.

The worship service was conducted by the Rev. Howard R. Whitehead, former pastor and current minister at the Church of Christ, Wethersfied, CT. Later in the day, the mortgage burning took place in the new church sanctuary, where Dr. William Longsdorf, minister of the Penn Northeast Conference and a former pastor, spoke on the theme, “The Past is Prologue.”

Among the other participants included Foster Olseon, chairman of the building committee, and Dr. Robert Mensen, president of the church council.