Old Union Church to hold 229th anniversary service Oct. 14

The Old Union Church Society invites the public to attend its 229th Anniversary Service at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 14, at the church in Townsend. The guest speaker will be the Rev. Joseph F. DiPaolo, author of “Wide Views and a Loving Heart  - The Life of Bishop Levi Scott.” After the service, there will be a book signing, and everyone will have the opportunity to purchase a softcover copy for $25 as a fundraiser for Old Union Church. A GoFundMe page at www.gofundme.com/Old-Union-Church-repairs has also been created for donations to the ceiling repairs needed at the church; the goal is $16,000.

DiPaolo’s book was three years in the making and tells the amazing story of the life of Bishop Levi Scott including his beginnings in Odessa, his world travels, circuit riding and service to his community in Delaware. Among his accomplishments, Scott was the first person from Delaware to become a bishop in the Methodist Church. It is fitting that Bishop Scott’s final resting place is a prominent one in the Old Union Cemetery. 

Old Union Church is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. The original log church, known as Dickinson’s Chapel, was completed in 1792. In 1847, the present brick church was built, facing east toward The King’s Highway, the original stagecoach road from New Castle to Dover. That highway was later replaced by DuPont Highway, which runs behind the church.

The adjacent cemetery reveals the names of Delaware’s early settlers including Dutch, Swedes, French Huguenots, Scotch-Irish and English, with the oldest tombstone that of Sarah Fields, who died March 27, 1799. Then known as Union Methodist  Episcopal Church, Old Union continued to serve the families of Appoquinimink Hundred until the early 1900s when regular services were discontinued. Old Union Church Society organizes two services each year, and the church is also available for weddings and private events. Old Union Church is located at the corner of Route 13 (Dupont Highway) and Union Church Road, just south of Willey Farms and just north of Blackbird. 

There will be a picnic after the service, weather permitting.