St. Paul United Methodist Church at Susan, will celebrate its 225th anniversary Sunday with a special service and luncheon. The first portion of the celebration will take place during the regular 11 a.m. worship service followed by a luncheon. Then, an afternoon service celebrating the families and history of the church will commence at 1:30.

The special afternoon service will include music provided by the children of the church and special recognition of former and current church officers and their families. A history of the church will also be presented.

According to Brenda Ripley, spokesperson for St. Paul, the church started in 1792 with a house that was erected where the church currently sits, right after the Revolutionary War. 

This first church, she said, was initially called Point Comfort Church, was served by a Circuit Rider minister, and happened to be founded the same year that Col. Thomas Mathews of Norfolk, speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, backed the leg...