April 30 Today in OPC History

On this date in 1975, OPC Statistician Edward Haug, ruling elder at Grace OPC in Westfield, New Jersey, had sent his report for the upcoming 42nd General Assembly that was scheduled to meet in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Mr. Haug reported that total membership had increased to 15,318. Included in this number were 10,186 communicant members, which according to Mr. Haug was the first time that the communicant members exceeded 10,000 in the history of the OPC. He also stated that the number of churches increased to 13O and that there were 19 chapels. Contributions to congregations in OPC increased 10 percent from the previous year for a total of $3,331,471. Sunday school attendance was a little over half of the total membership. At the end of his remarks, Mr. Haug commented on the difficulty that he was having in receiving timely reports from the clerks of the presbyteries. This resulted in the 42nd General Assembly passing a motion requesting that the presbyteries and their clerks endeavor to turn in their reports on time.

Picture: Edward Haug