Albion Nazarene Church

CHURCH HISTORY
ALBION

The initial attempt to begin a church in Albion was made in the late 1930’s by Rev. Paul Gilmore of the Springboro church. In 1941 the Erie pastor, Rev. Mountford began holding services in a hall above the post office on Sunday afternoons.


Two years later the Presbyterian Church at Orchard and Pearl Streets was purchased with the assistance of the Pittsburgh District.

In 1945, Frank Heberle was called to be the first pastor. The church was organized on July 13, 1947. Pastors serving the church were Wm. Slick, Paul Black, and H. Hoover. Rev. Donald Hennen, who passed away July 4, 1991, served the church for 38 years. He spent his entire ministerial career in the Albion church.

The church was destroyed by fire in 1958, and rebuilt in 1961. In 1981, a new building was built 4 miles west of town on 10 acres of ground. The building in town was being used as a local food pantry when the 1985 killer tornadoes hit, totally destroying it. As a result of the insurance settlement, the mortgage on the new building was paid off eleven years early and a group from the church went on a Work & Witness mission to help build a home mission church at Paradise Park in Hawaii.

The Albion church has been involved in starting the Edinboro and Millcreek churches.

Several members of the church have gone out as pastors, missionaries, pastor’s wives, and Christian workers. One of these, Rev. Wayne Hennen, has been the pastor of the Albion church for the past 15 years. The church is continuing to reach out into northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio to meet the needs of their neighbors and introduce them to Jesus Christ