Holy Cross United Methodist Church marks 200th anniversary
Sep. 24—Holy Cross United Methodist Church, which has locations at 329 N. Fifth St., Reading, and 831 N. Wyomissing Blvd., Wyomissing, will celebrate its 200th anniversary today and Sunday
There will be a community block party in the parking lot at the Reading campus today from 2 to 4 p.m. Learn about the organizations that use the building, find out how you might become involved with them, eat a hot dog and enjoy a shaved ice.
On Sunday, there will be one worship service at the Reading sanctuary at 11 a.m. It will also be available on Zoom. Visit https://holycrossumc.com for the link. The bell choir, chancel choir and organist Barbara Woods will provide music.
The Rev. Dr. William Shillady will preach. Following the service, lunch will be served in Wesley Hall (basement).
Shillady recently retired after 43 years of service as a United Methodist pastor. He was baptized in 1956 at Holy Cross Church and was encouraged by members of the church to become a minister. He is a 1974 graduate of Reading High School. He then attended Lebanon Valley College and graduated with honors in 1978 with a double major in religion and economics and business administration. He attended the Divinity School at Duke University and graduated in 1981.
For the last 14 years, he has served as the executive director of the United Methodist City Society, the urban mission agency of the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. For 29 years he served three churches in the New York Annual Conference: Asbury Crestwood UMC in Yonkers; the Mamaroneck UMC on the Sound shore in Westchester; and the Park Avenue UMC on the upper east side of Manhattan.
Holy Cross continues to collect a special offering honoring its commitment as a Reconciling Congregation within the UMC. The offering will be given to the LGBTQ Center of Greater Reading. Money can be sent to the church office or placed in the offering any Sunday through September (envelopes are available at each sanctuary).
