Samuel Blacker was the pastor
when the present church was built and and when he retired in 1939 had up to that
time served First Church the longest. Coming just at the beginning of World War
I, his ministry here endured and never faltered through the chaos of the war
years, the inflation that followed and finally the depression of the 1930's.
Through all 25 years, his counsel and encouragement, his living testimony to his
faith were an effective bulwark for the congregation.