A Congregation at the Corner of East Main Street
Union Presbyterian Church sits on the corner of East Main Street in the Village of Endicott, in New York's Southern Tier, two blocks from the buildings where the Endicott-Johnson shoe company once employed the families who built this part of the region. The brick-and-stone sanctuary that the congregation calls home was finished in March of 1907, only ten months after a bolt of lightning destroyed its predecessor. Step inside and the room still holds the four heavy beams that span the nave, the pews that were reupholstered in 2001, the bronze tablets that mark Revolutionary War history in the front yard, and the stained glass that was refurbished in 2013-14. The congregation that gathers here has been on the same hill, in some form, since 1791.
Union Presbyterian describes itself as an inclusive, welcoming, and open-minded congregation in the Reformed tradition, a member church of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The church's mission statement reads: "As members of Union Presbyterian Church, we live to serve our Lord, our congregation, our community, and our world. We unite our spirits in faithful, loving commitment to this calling in Jesus Christ and, as a church family; we celebrate the Kingdom of God." The cornerstone of the week is the joyful Sunday morning gathering to give thanks and praise to God, and from that center a long list of music, education, mission, and pastoral ministries radiates outward.
Sunday Morning Worship at 10:30
Worship is held each Sunday at 10:30 AM in the sanctuary at 200 East Main Street, and the service is also livestreamed on the congregation's YouTube channel for those who cannot attend in person. Visitors are asked to come through the red double doors on Main Street, the handicapped-accessible front entrance, where an Elevette lift is available for anyone who finds the stairs difficult.
Inside, greeters from the congregation welcome each arrival with a handshake, a guest book to sign, and a visitor card that can be dropped into the offering plate. The greeters can also point the way to restrooms, the Fellowship Hall, and the children's areas. Hymn lyrics, scripture, and responsive readings are projected on screens at the front of the room, and traditionalists who prefer the printed page can pick up a paper bulletin from the greeters, with large-print bulletins and hymnals also available. The order of service follows the Reformed pattern: a call to worship, a children's message that brings every young disciple to the front of the church for a few minutes, scripture, sermon, prayers of the people, an offering, and a sending.
Childcare is provided throughout the service for infants and children through second grade. A particularly joyful moment happens early in the service, when all the children are invited forward for a special message. After the service, everyone is welcome to stay for coffee and light refreshments in the Fellowship Hall. There is free parking in the church's lots on Liberty and Loder Avenues.
The Handbells of Union Presbyterian
The Tower Ringers, the handbell choir that has anchored Union Presbyterian's music for more than half a century, are one of the most celebrated parts of the congregation. The church's English handbells were first purchased in 1964, and more than fifty years later the program still includes five octaves of bronze handbells and four octaves of melody chimes. Over the years, the choir has been joined by a procession of beginner and intermediate ensembles for children from late primary school on through high school, all of them ringing alongside the adult Tower Ringers in worship services, community performances, and regional and national events of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers, now known as Handbell Musicians of America.
Claire Bombard has directed the handbell choirs at Union Presbyterian since 1980. She has trained multiple generations of ringers and led the choirs through worship services, community performances, and appearances at conventions and concerts throughout the region. In 2013-14 the handbells and the sanctuary's stained glass windows were refurbished together, and the ringing continues. Visitors who come for a typical Sunday can expect to hear the Tower Ringers in worship several times a year, with the chancel choir carrying the rest of the music.
Chancel Choir, Cantatas, and Special Music
The adult Chancel Choir, led by music director Chris Bartlette, leads the congregation in song and praise each Sunday. The choir welcomes anyone who loves music and rehearses Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM and Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM. The Worship and Music Committee plans regular Sunday morning worship, seasonal midweek services for Lent and Advent, cantatas for Easter and Christmas, and the occasional outdoor service. The chancel and handbell choirs are coordinated by this committee, which also hires local performers for special appearances and schedules guest preachers to fill the pulpit when the pastor is away.
Special music is a regular part of worship at Union Presbyterian. Guest musicians sometimes come from the congregation itself, and sometimes from the wider community. The Scapegoats, a praise band that has included the church's own Rev. Pat Raube, has offered anthems and offertories in recent years. The Presbybob Quartet has offered its work for a Wednesday-night Lenten service. Lenten worship has featured music from guest composers and performers, and the chancel choir has presented cantatas on Palm Sunday in multiple years. The Madrigal Choir of Binghamton has performed in the sanctuary in concert, with a free-will offering collected for the Overnight Center at The United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton.
From a 1791 Log Church to the 1907 Sanctuary
The story of Union Presbyterian begins in 1791, when early Dutch settlers organized the Dutch Reformed Church, a crude log structure with a dirt floor and slab seats built on the highest knoll in what is now known as Riverside Cemetery, along Vestal Avenue. The original deed for the land was dated February 2, 1775. The land cost two shillings (about twenty-five cents) an acre, and the parish extended on both sides of the Susquehanna River for about twelve miles. Members of the early congregation were few and lived some distance from each other and the church; roads were mere trails that were often impassable. Rev. John Manley was the first minister, and he served from 1791 to 1795. The Dutch Reformed Church was eventually abandoned because of a lack of funds and an onset of malaria. A marker for the log church still stands in Riverside Cemetery.
On Wednesday, March 10, 1819, the original founders met to incorporate a religious society they called "The First Presbyterian Society in the Town of Union." There were fourteen charter members. In all, 140 acres of land were purchased or donated to the new society. The Colonial Church was built in 1822, also at Riverside Cemetery. It was 56 feet long and 44 feet wide, with a nine-foot gallery on three sides and 26 windows. There were 66 pews on the lower floor and 22 in the gallery; the pews were purchased by members and were subject to an annual tax, one quarter of which could be paid in cash with the remainder in produce. The name was later changed to First Presbyterian Church. In 1825, a manse was built for the minister on the corner of East Main Street and Vestal Avenue.
The Town of Union grew with the arrival of the railroad. Many new houses were built around the business district, and church members wanted a church closer to the businesses. A Victorian-styled church was built in 1871 on the corner of Main Street and Liberty Street and dedicated in 1872. The manse was built in 1898 just east of the church, and that building still exists today, housing a food pantry and the Days for Girls mission. The Colonial Church was moved and attached to the back of the Victorian Church. Rev. Charles Luther was the pastor from 1901 to 1913, and on May 17, 1906, at 7:30 PM, the Victorian Church was destroyed by fire when a bolt of lightning hit the steeple.
Only two weeks after the fire, Rev. Luther formed a building committee that included himself, LeRoy White (founder of Union Forging and Endicott Forging), Dr. Stevens, and Warren Mersereau. On July 2, 1906, just two months after the fire, a groundbreaking ceremony took place. The new church was dedicated on March 16, 1907, only ten months after the fire, and the total cost of the new structure was paid in full, with $17 left over. In 1913, the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze tablet in the front yard, marking the spot where the union of two forces took place during the Revolutionary War, under the leadership of General Sullivan. In 1921, the Village of Union and the Village of Endicott merged to become the Village of Endicott; with two First Presbyterian Churches now sharing one village, the church at 200 East Main Street took the name of Union Presbyterian Church.
The sanctuary has been renewed many times over the past century. In 1953 the sanctuary was completely renovated, with new work in the pulpit area, the four beams over the nave, and the spaces on either side of the pulpit. A major renovation in 1980 installed a new organ and changed the front of the sanctuary to give the organ pipes more ventilation. In 2001, the sanctuary was again renovated: new lighting was installed, Elevettes were added to make the building wheelchair accessible, pew cushions were recovered, and new carpeting was laid. In 2013-14 the church undertook three major projects: a new roof was installed, and the handbells and stained glass windows were refurbished.
Riverside Cemetery and the Mersereau Brothers
Riverside Cemetery, established in 1791, is a division of Union Presbyterian Church and is located at 400 Vestal Avenue in Endicott. The first burial there was that of sixteen-year-old Mary J. Fitch, who died on June 13, 1792; forty-three more burials followed between 1793 and 1819. The cemetery is the final resting place for soldiers of the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Union Presbyterian has a direct connection to George Washington through the Mersereau family. Joshua Mersereau owned an inn and a stagecoach line on Staten Island, and his two sons, John and Joshua, helped him run both businesses. Joshua Jr. was educated at Kings College, now Columbia University, and practiced law in New York City. In early July 1776, when New York fell to the British, a large amount of Joshua Mersereau's property was destroyed and he narrowly escaped capture. His brother John turned the horses used by the stagecoach line into Washington's service. When Washington was retreating through New Jersey, he asked Mersereau that his son John La Grange Mersereau, about nineteen at the time, remain behind on Staten Island as a spy.
When Washington crossed the Delaware in early December 1776, the British were in pursuit. John and Joshua told him they wanted to go back to make sure no boats were left behind for the British to mount a counter attack. On the other side of the river they found two Durham boats (troop carriers) sunk just below the surface by the British, destroyed the boats, and rejoined Washington. When the British under General Howe arrived at the Delaware, they had no means of following Washington, and the war was saved for the American side. Twenty-five days later, Washington returned and crossed the Delaware again, and victory resulted. After the war, John and Joshua Mersereau moved to the valley and settled in Union, New York. In 1791, they were two of the early founders of the Dutch Reformed Church, and in 1819, they were two of the re-founders of the First Presbyterian Society.
Doris Edwards worked hard to have Riverside Cemetery listed on the New York State and National Register of Historic Places. A plaque commemorating the 2004 listing was installed just beyond the cemetery wall on Vestal Avenue. The 2007 centennial of the church building brought more history to light, and on September 30, 2007, the church's history room was named the Doris M. Edwards Museum in her honor; the museum is open to the public by calling the church office to arrange a tour.
Learning Together at Every Age
Christian education is woven into the life of the congregation in many forms. Sunday School for kindergartners through sixth grade meets two Sundays a month during the program year, and there is room for new enrollees at any time. Christian Education Committee members work with the pastor to make sure that the congregation's children, youth, and adults are well taught, drawing lessons from the Bible that touch daily life. The pastor and several youth members have attended the Presbyterian Youth Triennium in Louisville, Kentucky.
For adults, a Bible Study meets each Tuesday at 11:00 AM in the downstairs Meeting Room, picking up each fall with passages such as the Psalms and a Gospel reading. A Course in Miracles, a spiritual self-study focused on forgiveness and non-judgmental thinking, is led by Sue Troy and meets on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 AM on Zoom from September through June. A book group gathers on the third Wednesday of each month. The pastor has noted that the group has read books as varied as Marie Mutsuki Mockett's American Harvest and Elif Shafak's The Island of Missing Trees in recent seasons.
For a younger voice, the church celebrates Youth Sunday each year, when a graduating high school senior delivers the sermon. The 2026 Youth Sunday sermon, on the Parable of the Mustard Seed, was preached by Arianna Neal, who grew up attending Union Presbyterian from Sunday school through confirmation classes. Her message tied the small beginnings of faith to the growth she has experienced in the congregation, thanking the people who planted those early seeds.
The CHOW Emergency Food Pantry
The church runs a CHOW Emergency Food Pantry at 202 East Main Street, in partnership with the Broome County Council of Churches. The pantry is open every Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:00 PM and provides boxed and canned food along with meat, dairy, and fresh produce when available. Visitors are asked to schedule their visit by Tuesday at 2:00 PM each week, either by calling CHOW at 607-723-8960 or by using the online pantry referral form through the Broome Council of Churches. The pantry has been operating for many years and is one of the church's most visible expressions of its mission to the surrounding community.
Within the church, the operating philosophy of the pantry is shaped by a commitment to honoring the dignity of every person who walks through the door. The pantry advertises that it is available without going door to door to tell people they need it; the team welcomes those who come, sets boundaries around what it can and cannot do, offers choices, and does not impose its own ideas of what visitors need. The focus is on helping rather than saving, on offering options rather than trying to change anyone, and on treating every person as a child of God rather than a broken thing in need of fixing.
The Wider Mission of the Congregation
The Mission Committee educates the congregation about local and global needs and helps put faith into action through service to others. The committee supports a wide range of partners in the Broome County area and around the world, including Meals on Wheels of Western Broome, Mom's House, Broome County Habitat for Humanity, the Ethiopian Partnership and the Ethiopian Rural Education Project, the Broome County Council of Churches and CHOW, the RISE Shelter, the Mercy House of the Southern Tier, the Samaritan Counseling Center, the Children's Home of Wyoming Conference, Union Volunteer Emergency Services, and the Jennie F. Snapp Middle School. The committee also supports PC(USA) mission co-workers Kurt Esslinger and Hyeyoung Lee, who have been serving in South Korea since 2013.
Each spring, the Mission Committee holds a major One Great Hour of Sharing fundraiser, a fun-filled evening that supports three programs of the Presbyterian Church (USA): Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and Self-Development of People. Throughout the year, the committee also channels support through the four PC(USA) special offerings: One Great Hour of Sharing (hunger, disaster, and development), Pentecost (children at risk, youth, and young adults), Peace and Global Witness (peacemaking and reconciliation), and Christmas Joy (church leaders past, present, and future).
The Bereavement Committee and the Wider Hospitality
The Bereavement Committee provides a simple meal and a gathering space in Fellowship Hall for the family and friends of Union Presbyterian Church following the death of a loved one. The committee's work is one of the most tangible ways the congregation surrounds its members at the moments when they need it most, easing the immediate burden of feeding family and guests in the first hours of grief.
Beyond the Bereavement Committee, the Membership and Fellowship Committee gathers on the first Monday of each month at 2:00 PM and exists to make everyone who enters the church feel welcome, to encourage fellowship, and to increase membership. Together, the two committees ensure that hospitality at Union Presbyterian is not simply a Sunday morning gesture but a long-running ministry that begins before a funeral, continues through coffee hour, and stretches into every committee meeting and choir rehearsal that happens in between.
What Union Presbyterian Believes
Union Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA), in the Reformed tradition. The church describes itself as inclusive, welcoming, and open-minded, with a goal of loving and serving God by loving and serving God's people. The Session, the body of ruling elders elected by the congregation, has the responsibility and power to assure that the Word of God is preached and heard primarily through worship, to authorize the celebration of the sacraments, to receive and dismiss members, to provide for the education, ordination, mission, and care of members, to oversee financial stewardship and church property, and to maintain discipline.
The pastor has spoken publicly about the moment, years ago, when she came out to the Session, and to the congregation, as gay and in a relationship with a woman, and asked to continue in the relationship of pastor and congregation. The love with which the congregation responded, she has said, was overwhelming. The church's preaching and teaching draws on a wide range of scripture translations, including Wilda Gafney's A Women's Lectionary for the Whole Church, and on voices from the Reformed tradition (John Calvin's Institutes) and from the broader Christian story.
A Scholarship Fund with Deep Roots
The Union Presbyterian Church Scholarship Fund is supported by monies specifically designated for scholarships. The College Scholarship Fund for the youth of the church was established by Don Haney, who expressed his love for education through this gift. The fund also receives money from the annual accrued interest of the Harriet R. Darmody, Kenneth L. White, and Ethelyn I. Hewitt scholarship accounts.
Harriet R. Darmody joined Union Presbyterian Church in 1920 and served in many capacities over the years, including terms as an elder and on committees. She helped promote the best interests of her church for the glory of God and was extremely interested in the scholarships offered by Union Church; she made a bequest to the church to be used for scholarships for Union Church students. Kenneth L. White joined Union Church in 1919 and was one of the most beloved persons ever to serve as a deacon in the church. He specifically requested that his bequest to Union Church be used to help students with their education. Ethelyn I. Hewitt was a lifetime member of Union Church, served many years as a deacon, was an active member of the women's group, retired from IBM after more than thirty years of service, and although she never married, loved children and was deeply interested in their continued education. Donald W. Haney became a member of Union Presbyterian Church in 1947 and served the church in many ways alongside his wife Helen; he was a development engineer during his career with IBM and held many patents. At the age of 90, he authored a book of his life in the 20th century entitled Don Haney's Odyssey, a copy of which is in the UPC library.
The Scholarship Committee accepts applications for educational scholarships for the academic year and welcomes applications from youth and adult members of Union Presbyterian Church continuing their education. Award amounts vary from year to year depending on funds available, the number of applicants, and the specific needs of applicants.
The Leadership of the Church
The Session, the board of ruling elders charged with the spiritual and temporal governance of the congregation, includes the pastor, Rev. Patricia Raube, who serves as Moderator, and a roster of elected elders: Barbara Ann Dailey, Laura Keibel, Don Sommerville, Susan Troy, Andrew Tunison, Cyndy Vosburgh (Clerk of Session), Ruth Allstadt, Susie Chadwick, and Kathy Sullivan. The Board of Deacons, under the supervision of the Session, acts as Christ's loving hands to the congregation and the community. The deacons prepare the table for communion, visit shut-ins, deliver flowers, and distribute food assistance at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Becky Conklin serves as Moderator of the Deacons, with Jan Rea as Secretary and Brian Moore as Treasurer. Other deacons include Cindy Surrena, Keith Surrena, Bruce Wolff, Ellie Rivera, Linda Bevilacqua, and Larry Goetz.
The Personnel Committee, a sub-committee of Session, includes Barbara Ann Dailey (Chair), Elaine Calderone, Cherry Foster, Keith Surrena, Cyndy Vosburgh, and Rev. Patricia Raube (ex-officio), and is tasked with fulfilling PC(USA) best practices and policies, required state and federal law, and standard best HR and business practices for each person employed by Union Presbyterian. The Mission Committee is led by Peg Corwin and includes Becky Conklin (Treasurer), Laura Keibel, Ondra Murray, Cindy Natoli, Carleen Rynick, and Sara Wokan. Sara Wokan also chairs the Scholarship Committee, with Carleen Rynick, Doug Moore, and Rev. Patricia Raube as members. The church offices are reached at 200 East Main Street, Endicott, NY 13760, by phone at 607-748-9651, or by email at office@upcendicott.org.
Two and a Half Centuries on the Same Hill
The presence of the church on this part of the Susquehanna valley, and the presence of the cemetery on the knoll above it, are older than the village of Endicott, older than the railroad that brought the people who built the Victorian church, older than the fire that destroyed it, and older than the brick-and-stone sanctuary that the congregation now calls home. The plaques in the front yard recall the Revolutionary War; the stained glass and the handbells have been refreshed in our own time. The handbell director, the music director, the food pantry volunteers, the Bible study leaders, the deacons, the ruling elders, the scholarship committee, the bereavement team, the mission committee, and the Sunday morning greeters all keep the same promise, in their own way, that the founders made in 1819 and that the members made again in 1907. The members of Union Presbyterian Church live to serve their Lord, their congregation, their community, and their world, and they unite their spirits in faithful, loving commitment to this calling in Jesus Christ.