LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — Roberta Trudgen has been a member of the Courtdale United Methodist Church for close to a century.
"Since I was baptized, so that would be 97 years," said Robert Trudgen, Courtdale.
Roberta says it's the sermons, the music, and the families that motivate her to continue her worship here and that inspires her family to keep the church going, "I love this church. It's like my second home."
The church was on Courtdale Avenue long before Roberta became a member. This year, the church is celebrating its 140th anniversary
And while Roberta says a lot has changed in the 97 years she's been attending services here, "Right now it's not as active, but it's a different world now. So it's a different world," she said.
The congregation says one thing here has remained the same.
"Well, we've always been a church of service. We're a smaller group today, but we're still actively still trying to do all that we can to worship God and to contribute to the community," said David Jolley, Courtdale.
Especially when it comes to honoring our nation's veterans, during the 140th-anniversary celebration, the church invited a special musician to honor our service members and reminded the congregation about the church's partnership with the borough in celebrating the Hometown Heroes in Courtdale.
"The military service has been very, very important to us. And then when my niece, Mayor Degnan, wanted to do the Hometown Heroes campaign, we got right on board, and we thought combining the anniversary history of service history of all these men and women serving was a great blend," said Jolley.
To combine the love of country and the service to god, "We're still working hard. So we're trying our best to keep going. That's it," said Trudgen.
To keep the anniversaries coming for this church in Courtdale.