Heights Church Gets a New Bell Tower for the Holidays

First Presbyterian Church in Chicago Heights is getting a new bell tower, just in time for Christmas.

With all our electronic devices, an old bell wouldn't get much attention these days, but at First Presbyterian Church in Chicago Heights, that chiming is meant to bring a call of peace to the north side of the Heights. The First Presbyterian's bell will sound a little different this holiday season, as the church will make a return to its roots and have its original bell from more than 150 years ago brought back to life inside a new bell tower, according to the Rev. Delmar Meester. "Originally when the bell was first used in 1843, it was a call to worship," says Meester. "The history goes back a long way."   Read: The Rev. Delmar Meester, the Heights' Piano-Playing Preacher Meester shares a newspaper article written in 1913, appearing in …

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People of Faith

The Rev. Delmar Meester, the Heights' Piano-Playing Preacher

His church, First Presbyterian, has stood longer than any other church in Chicago Heights, and it is deeply involved in outreach causes.

If the choir didn’t show up at First Presbyterian Church of Chicago Heights, there’s a pretty good potential backup plan. The Rev. Delmar Meester is a concert pianist.  Rev. Meester received his master's degree in piano performance from Southern Illinois University. He delivers Beethoven's "Piano Sonata No. 14" or Bach’s "Prelude in E-flat Major" as sweetly as his sermons.  Rev. Meester fits like a glove at the first church founded in Chicago Heights. According to the church history, First Presbyterian was first organized Dec. 4, 1843. The founding of the church took place in a log cabin north of Sauk Trail. Several descendents of the charter members are in the congregation today.   The first Boy Scout troop in Chicago Heights was founded …

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