HISTORY - continued

Presbyterians - continued

When we look back to the history of the Presbyterian Church in the Colonies during the Revolutionary War, the name of the Reverend John Witherspoon stands out. While at least thirteen Presbyterians can be identified as signers of the Declaration of Independence, John Witherspoon was the only member of the clergy to sign the document.

The growth of Presbyterianism in the new world was slow in taking root. Believing fervently in an intellectual understanding of the gospel and in the need for an educated clergy, Presbyterians found other denominations were better able to send ministers to the American frontier. This educational and intellectual emphasis did serve the church well however, in the founding of several of the great universities in the new nation, including Princeton.

As with all denominations there have been splits and divisions among the Presbyterians, the greatest only recently healed. As the matter of slavery and other related issues brought about the great Civil War, it also brought about a split in almost every major denomination. Dividing at the time of the Civil War into the Northern Church (Presbyterian U.S.A.) and the Southern Church (Presbyterian U.S.), the church was not reunited until 1983 as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). At the time of that reconciliation the two Presbyterian factions also became one at The United Church of Los Alamos.