Births, baptisms, marriages, worship and funerals.

Members have experienced precious moments at Zion United Church of Christ, said the Rev. Robert Anderson, the congregation's pastor emeritus.

Zion UCC, at 100 Lafayette St. in York City, will recall some of those moments as the church observes its 270th anniversary at 10 a.m. Sunday.

"We want to encourage people to look back and remember with gratitude how God has blessed the church in the past as we look to the future," Anderson said.

The church's anniversary committee will have five presentations covering the church history from 1742 until now.

Anderson, who retired in 2006 after 18 years pastoring the church, will do a presentation covering the church's years and experiences from 1850 to 1900.

Zion UCC was founded in 1742 as the First German Reformed Church of York and Environs, he said. The church -- with its wooden building -- initially was located in the first block of West Market Street in what is now downtown York.

The church moved to Lafayette Street, initially worshipping in what is now Zion's Sunday school room, in 1913.

The sanctuary was finished in 1915. To get money to build the sanctuary, the church sold its West Market Street lot for $70,000 to the former F.W. Woolworth department store, according to Anderson.

New museum: The old church building has been torn down, but several of its items were saved and will be shown off on Sunday in Zion's newly formed museum, said Barbara Neiman, church member who leads the anniversary committee.

The museum includes wooden altar and offering plates, crosses, photographs and Bibles from the first church building, as well as other church memorabilia from over the years, Neiman said.

She said she became a member of Zion 33 years ago after marrying Charles Neiman, who already was a church member.

"It is a very friendly congregation," she said. "When I joined, we had families with at least two or three generations going here. You could see the enjoyment they had bringing up their children and grandchildren in the church. The church itself is the people, but the building is absolutely magnificent with exquisite stained windows."

Zion's people and the church building have become very special over the years as families found a place where they can worship, celebrate and comfort one another, Anderson said.

"All of us have memories of the things that happened there," he said. "They were confirmed, married, children baptized there. Both my kids were confirmed there. My wife's funeral was there. There's people we see every Sunday, and they became friends. And that's what holds (the) church together."

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The event

Zion United Church of Christ will observe its 270th anniversary at 10 a.m. Sunday at 100 Lafayette St., York City. For information call the church at 717-854-1184.

--Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at 505-5438 or emcmillan@yorkdispatch.com.