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ABINGDON, Va. — Washington Chapel United Methodist Church in Abingdon will honor its past as the congregation celebrates its 150th anniversary on Sunday, July 10.

To help celebrate the church’s 150 years of faithfulness, historian Michael Shaffer will share with the congregation a historical perspective of what was happening in Washington County and throughout the country when the chapel started its ministry as a church family.

The service begins at 11:15 a.m. at 25221 Walden Road. Visitors are welcome to attend the hour-long service.

According to the Rev. Larry Lusk, pastor at both Washington Chapel United Methodist Church and Washington Springs United Methodist Church in Glade Spring, the Abingdon church was formed shortly after the Civil War in 1865.

Church members initially may have met in a school house, but land and lumber from a local saw mill later was donated to construct the original frame building located near the current 1950s brick facility.

Shaffer will provide a brief overview of the immediate post-war period, a time when most people throughout the South struggled to rebuild after the ravages of war.