"Until recently on an eminence about 12 miles southwest of McMinnville on the Salem road stood the old Hopewell church, whose spire had pointed heavenward for 59 years, where the people had worshipped, had married and had been given in marriage, and where the last sad rites of burial had been observed," began an article in the Nov. 19, 1915, edition of the Telephone-Register, predecessor of the News-Register.

The article announced the dedication of a new building, erected for the princely sum of $5,000 to house Hopewell's United Brethren Church. While a large addition was put up in 1983, the remainder of the church looks much the same as it did then, some 93 years ago - at least from the outside.

This Sunday, the church will celebrate its 150th anniversary. Activities include a 9:30 a.m. skit and 10:30 a.m. worship service, the latter closely paralleling the dedication service from 1915.

A potluck will follow, along with an open mike session allowing members to share their memories. Memorabilia will be on display as well.

"We've been working real hard to get to 150 years," said member Robin Kirkpatrick, who has been helping coordinate the celebration.

Hopewell Church has a congregation about 80 strong, according to the Rev. Gordon McCann, now in his 13th year as pastor. Members hail from an area encompassing McMinnville, Amity, Dayton and Salem.

Several families include members, now in their 70s and 80s, who attended preschool and Sunday School at the church as children. And they still participate.

---

McMinnville's Fern Tresham, who turns 80 in December, recalls attending Sunday School at the church. She started at age 6.

Her mother, Leona Compton, would walk the children about a half-mile to the church every Sunday morning. She has a brother, Earl Compton, who also remains a member today.

The late Mrs. N.O. Pearse, who gathered historical data on the church for more than 30 years ago, was one of Tresham's Sunday School teachers. Active members of the church, she and her husband, William, operated a nearby dairy farm, Tresham recalled.

She remembers parties and taffy pulls. She also remembers a dirt floor in the basement, where a wood furnace was located.

She and her siblings chopped wood to feed the fire, warming the sanctuary for services. As the service time drew near, they knew it was time to ring the bell.

The 3-foot-tall bell, which hangs in the belfry, is older than the building itself, according to McCann. He said it was installed in the original church in 1880, and moved to the new building when it was put up in 1915.

---

A cemetery preceded the church, according to the Telephone-Register.

As the story goes, an elderly woman who was quite ill asked her neighbors to place her on a horse and accompany her to the spot where she wanted to be buried. She took them to the hill where the Hopewell Church stands today.

Land for the cemetery was donated by the pioneer Matheny family, and Mrs. Sarah Matheny became the second person buried there. The church came along in 1858.

According to information compiled by Mrs. Pearse in April 1976, the church traces its history back to Jason Lee, a pioneer Methodist missionary. He arrived before the series of 1843 wagon trains and established a mission across the Willamette River, two miles from Wheatland, to minister to the local Indians.

When the wagon trains began to arrive, they brought malaria and smallpox, which decimated the Indian population. Lee then organized a circuit of preaching points around Yamhill County, one of them in Hopewell.

Because the Methodists were not able to be there on a regular basis, Northern Baptists, Southern Baptists and United Brethren each accepted responsibility for supplying a pastor one Sunday a month. Whenever a month featured a fifth Sunday, the Christian Church in Amity stepped into the breech.

Regular services began at the site in 1847.

The first church building was put up 11 years later, fashioned out of hand-planed lumber shipped from Oregon City. The land was donated by Rachel Cooper Matheny, who farmed a donation land claim just to the south.

The roof was covered with shakes of white fir. The interior was sealed with lumber.

The building was painted white both inside and out, with the exception of a strip of brown wainscoting. Candles resting in brackets provided the lighting.

A stove was put in at the back of the church. A mourner's bench was installed up front and amen corners on each side. An aisle separated the men's pews from the women's pews in the main part of the sanctuary.

By 1880, Pearse's research showed, the congregation had outgrown the quarters. They were in need of repair anyway, so the Methodists sold them to the United Brethren for $150.

She said the Rev. Harriot put up the funds for the transaction. She noted that his home was still standing on Wallace Road, about two miles out of West Salem.

The Harritt House, now home to Julia's Tea Parlor, housed a United Brethren minister named Jesse Harritt, along with his wife, Julia. Could the reference be to the same person, only with a different spelling?

After the 1880 sale, people from the community lengthened the building, installed a new foundation and roof, and added a porch, cloak room and belfry.

The belfry was built on the ground, then raised into place using trees for leverage. The Ladies Aid group purchased a bell for it.

The first Sunday School was organized in 1882.

The Rev. Thomas Nash became the church's first resident pastor in 1891. He stayed on for nine years.

The United Brethren supplied pastors until 1940, when the Unionvale Evangelical Church accepted responsibility. The church maintains a comprehensive list of the many pastors who led worship services over the years.

In 1968, both the Hopewell and Unionvale churches were among those voting to withdraw after the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged with the Methodist Church. The breakaway churches formed a new denomination called the Evangelical Church of North America.

In 1983, a gymnasium, fellowship hall, kitchen, office and set of five second-story classrooms were added. More recently, an audio-visual system was installed, along with energy-efficient windows, and the pews were reupholstered.

In preparation for the sesquicentennial, organizers have been gathering the names and addresses of former members and encouraging them to attend the special ceremony.

Kirkpatrick said the church holds a fundraising salmon bake every September which typically draws about 200. He's hoping that Sunday's 150th anniversary celebration will draw attendance equal to or better than the salmon bake.