Lincoln Heights Gospel Chapel, OH

Lincoln Heights Gospel Chapel was an open brethren assembly that was founded as Mansfield Gospel Hall in 1932 by James Hunter, Fred Holdsworth, L.B. Slick and J. Alexander "Alec" Forrest, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The following was published in Our Record 1932-9: Mansfield, Ohio: "A meeting for the breaking- of bread and other services incident to an assembly of saints has been begun here with the full fellowship of the saints in Akron and Cleveland. This fellowship was sought because the brethren in Mansfield had been going to these places to break bread. An invitation Is sent to saints everywhere to visit this new assembly, bringing, of course, a letter of commendation. The correspondent is J. Alexander Forrest, Grace and Michigan, Lincoln Heights, Mansfield, and the notice sent to us is signed not only by him but also by two other brethren, L.B. Slick and J. Hunter."

The assembly met +1936-1947 at 25 N. Mulberry St., then at N. Mulberry & Orchard Sts. +1943-1947, then it rebranded to LHGC in 1948 and moved to 536 Kentucky Ave., all in Mansfield. When it rebranded, dissenters transferred to Akron Gospel Hall including David Calderhead.

LHGC either folded in the early 1980's and sold their building, or it may have rebranded as Grace Evangelical Free Church which initially met in the same location.

Subsequently in 1959, a different open brethren assembly was founded by Norman Crawford, also known today as Mansfield Gospel Hall, of which David Calderhead, of the former MGH 1940-1947+, may have been an early influence in the newer meeting.

Mansfield News Journal 1948-1-3

Dedicate New Church: Lincoln Heights Chapel to Be Opened:

Tomorrow at 2 p.m. the 25 members of the Lincoln Heights Gospel chapel will dedicate their new church home constructed during the past year by congregants at a cost of $10,000. The congregation was organized in 1931 by James Hunter, Fred Holdsworth and Alec Forest (sic), who came to Mansfield from Pittsburgh, where they had been members of a similar congregation. During the intervening years, members have met in various buildings, rented for their meetings. Most of the time they met in places of worship in Lincoln Heights and, liking that location, decided to build their church there at Kentucky avenue and Ashland road.

Although most of the actual construction of the church was done by the men members of the Mansfield Gospel Chapel, help was given by men of the Ohio#Ashland congregation under the supervision of William Forbes, a contractor, an Ashland member. The building has been built of buff brick, with an over-all seating capacity of 180, including the Sunday school rooms in the basement and the auditorium n the first floor.

The money for the new church has been raised entirely by contributions, and tomorrow, a year to the day since it was first started, it will be nearly all paid for, according to Holdsworth, now superintendent of the Sunday school. The church, a branch of the Plymouth Brethren church established in England, with 3,300 similar congregations in the United States and Canada, has no paid ministers. Preaching is done by elders of the congregations, with evangelists brought in for special meetings.

Tomorrow afternoon W.G. Foster of Ohio#Cleveland and F.W. Schwartz of Michigan#Detroit, evangelists of the church, will come here to deliver the dedicatory addresses. They will be assisted by Holdsworth and Hunter, both of whom fill the pulpit on Sundays. Besides the Sunday school, there is a Sisters Mission society and a young people's group in the church organization. A year and a half ago there were 70 members in the Sunday school, but that part of the church was disbanded. "We will start it again tomorrow and hope that it will reach the same number within a short time," Holdsworth said.

Locations

It would seem as though the two Mulberry addresses are the same, but they are currently in different parts of Mansfield, as per Google Maps. The 1936 & 1941 AAB's list the first address, and 1943 & 1947 list the latter.

• 25 N. Mulberry St. (N. Mulberry & Orchard Sts.) +1936-1947
• 536 Kentucky Ave. 1948-1980+

Correspondents

• J. Alex Forrest +1936+
• James Hunter, Sr. +1941-1967
• David E. Holdsworth +1967-1971
• Wick Dan Bowser @ N. Weldon +1972-1973+

Also See

• Who's Who at Lincoln Heights Gospel Chapel, OH notable alumni
• Visiting Ministry at Lincoln Heights Gospel Chapel, OH conference news, etc.

Sources

• 1936-1980 AAB's
• Mansfield News Journal, 1948-1-3
• Our Record (OR): 1932-9