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| In April of 1974 a devastating tornado brought tragedy to the city of Xenia including damage to the FIRST UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH and nearly total destruction of the SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. By September of that year the two congregations had voted to merge.
In July of 1976 ground was broken for the present church facility on Fairground or Ankeney Mill Road. For a while the new congregation was served by the two pastors of the previous churches. In 1978 the Rev. Thomas Martin was called as the first solo pastor of the MEMORIAL UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Dr. Martin served with distinction until his retirement in 2000. MEMORIAL UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH then contracted with the Rev. David Fleming to serve as interim pastor while a search for a permanent pastor was being undertaken. In June 2002, the Pastoral Nominating Committee recommended that the congregation call the Rev. Conley A. Zomermaand, Ph.D., to serve as the church's next pastor. Pastor Zomermaand accepted the call and began serving on September 1, 2002 as MEMORIAL UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH's second pastor. Pastor Zomermaand left his positon in June 2007. In November 2007, Pastor Wayne McLaughlin began his ministry as Memorial's new Interim Pastor.
From 2005-2008, the Rev. Matthew T. Means served as associate pastor. His primary area of responsibilities were youth, young adult, and family ministries, along with a full range of pastor duties. At the same time, the church hired long-time church member, Maureen Clark (2005-2008), to serve as Coordinator of Programs and Children's Ministries.
Today this congregation of 300 members is a strong influence in our community with a wide-variety of ministries described elsewhere in this Website. | ||||
