Detailed History of St. Paul's United Church of Christ
As the 1730’s dawned, the New World, America, became the
object of the dreams of many of the persecuted class of Europe. The colonies in
turn expanded and grew in order to meet the needs of the floods of immigrants.
They came from all nations: Great Britain, France, the Netherlands. German
immigrants especially those from the Pfaltz region, otherwise known as the
Polatinends, came in huge numbers to what would later become known as the Lehigh
Valley. Here, nestled in the furtive region between the Delaware and Lehigh
rivers, these sturdy people, most of whom had indentured themselves to work on
the farms of rich landowners in order to pay their fare across the Atlantic,
began their new lives.
They brought very little with them. Most arrived with
only their family, their language and customs, their craft, and their religion.
Between the Puritan dominated New England colonies, and the Roman Catholic haven
of Maryland, lay the true bastion of religion toleration under the law to which
these Germans flocked: Pennsylvania, Penn’s Woods.
Once here, these kindly people set up primitive
religious worship in their homes using Bibles and hymnals carried by hand from
the old country. The church was yet the only strong tie to the lives they left
behind in Germany, and it sustained them as they struggled against the hardships
that their new life presented.
By 1752 the population of what is today Lehigh County
had reached 2000 people, mostly of this German heritage. Several individual
churches had sprung up around the valley including Mennonite, Lutheran and
Reformed congregations, yet no one governed body coordinated the efforts of
these separate religious groups. The county continued to develop in this way, no
longer the untamed frontier of 1730, but by now a well established agricultural
area. Allentown, the largest town in the district, quickly became the meeting
place for merchants and craftsmen from throughout Northampton County, as it was
then known.
Some miles west of Allentown, on the road to Reading,
lay the oldest town in the community, Trexlertown, founded in 1729 by Peter
Trexler. After he purchased 138 acres of land, many of his fellow immigrants,
looking for limestone valleys similar to the German polatenid, joined him here.
The oldest road in the county began at Jacob Trexler’s Public House in 1736.
Later, in 1753, the road from Easton to Reading, which at that point was little
more than a trail, ran through Wescosville and Trexlertown. In time, traffic
grew heavy as settlers came West from New York City to find open farm country.
Only a few hundred yards from this road in 1772, a congregation began to talk of
erecting a proper church building.
As early as 1747 on June 25th, the Dutch reformed missionary Reverend
Michael Shodler, active in the spiritual needs of the new county, visited the
congregation here. In 1749 when he found himself unable to respond to the
congregation’s request that he perform communion in Trexlertown, Shodler sent
the Revered Philip Bame in his place. At this point all record of religious
activity in the town disappears, only to resurface again in 1772.
By this time the sons and daughters of those who had
received communion from Bame wrote to King George III of England requesting a
charter for a union church to encompass the needs of both reformed and Lutheran
Christians in Trexlertown. At last, after almost 50 years of lay instruction in
private homes, the people of the town would receive their sacraments from
ordained members of the clergy in a house of worship constructed of their own
hands.
The union church had begun in Germany as a political
decree by the religious leaders of oppressive regimes that ruled the independent
German states. In the un-united Germany, rulers of tiny kingdoms grouped the
followers of Luther, found mostly in the Eastern states and those of John Calvin
that populated most of the Western German states along the southern Rein river
together in one building. These rulers, still often loyal to the Pope in Rome,
hoped that the Protestant movement would simply die out if the two groups were
left to quarrel among themselves. But when the two groups came to America, the
union church was adopted as a tradition begun in the old country. Additionally,
the utilization of one building by two congregations proved more economically
feasible to the poor immigrant Dutchmen. And so when George III transferred some
land from Joseph and Susanna Albrecht to four trustees of the two groups, he
intended that such a building be raised on the premises.
Revolution swept through the countryside however, and
the plans were put on hold. Men went to war to fight the British crown and its
unfair laws of taxation. The existing Zion Reform Church in Allentown and the
Emmaus Moravian church were used at this time as emergency military hospitals.
When the men of General Washington marched into battle, members of the
Trexlertown congregation marched with him. Finally, on September, 3, 1782, the
war ended in far away Yorktown, VA
Then on May 26th 1784, four trustees from each congregation
adopted resolutions to build on the spot assigned. According to these
resolutions 12 children, six from each group, placed the four old grains; wheat,
rye, oats, and buckwheat, along with a bottle of wine, the church’s constitution
and the creed of each domination into the cornerstone of the building. Children
did the job so that no criticism might be passed by an enemy of either
congregation as if one of these two congregations tried to seek advantage over
the other. In the same document, it was stated that reform would always appear
first in the name of the church and that this too should have no effect on how
one congregation was viewed in relation to the other. Thus, the relationship of
the reformed and Lutheran congregations began.
Building progressed smoothly through the summer and
fall of 1784 however, during the construction, Joseph Schwalm, a mason, fell to
his death from a wooden ramp leading to the roof of the structure as he carried
a load of bricks on a handcart. He was laid to rest aside 70 sons of the
American Revolutionary forces in the adjoining cemetery. Following the
completion of the interior, the 46 by 60 foot structure was consecrated for holy
worship by the Reverend John H. Helfrich of the reformed church and the Reverend
J. Casper Dill of the Lutheran congregation on April 17, 1785. Services
commenced in the building along with a schooling program for the congregation’s
children in order to serve the community.
A system of democratic government with all members
being allowed to express their individual views, in addition to the election of
reformed and Lutheran trustees, served as a shining example of the democratic
traditions for which the members has fought just three years before. The church
stood this way until 1879 when a steeple was erected on the north side of the
church. An 1100 pound bell was placed in the new steeple in order to toll the
various services performed by the St. Paul’s Union church. The building’s steady
presence provided the emotional comfort of an expanding area and town and it
stood for 138 years casting its shadow on the cemetery below.
Throughout this time, the reformed congregation was
served by only six pastors and two organists, all of whom established the
tradition of long and loving service to God and community within those four
walls and beyond. The members of the Sunday school and union choir provided
their services each week for over 100 years. Finally, however, the congregation
began to out grow the structure by the side of the road. Under the leadership of
pastors M. H, Brensinger of the reformed congregation and the Lutheran D. C
Kaufman, the two bodies voted on April 17th, 1922 to build a new structure at the same
spot for an estimated cost of $75,000. The final service in the old church was a
union service held on May 28th,
1922 by both pastors. On Memorial Day of the same year, the old structure was
razed to the ground in order to make room for the next generation of St. Paul’s
Union church to serve the area.
Though no structure stood at the corner that had been
it’s home since 1785, the congregation of St. Paul’s continued its services
proving that a church is much more than merely mortar and brick. St. Paul’s held
services in the Grange hall of the rural community while the new church building
took shape. Sunday school classes during the construction, attended by children
of both congregations, took place in the Trexlertown public school building.
Meanwhile, in the ground where the old wooden structure had once stood, a
glorious new building arose. Descendents of the PA German craftsmen that had
built St. Paul’s union church on that plot in 1784, unloaded scores of trucks
loaded with native stone cut from the nearby quarries of Seisholtzville. Begun
on June 24th 1923, with a
cornerstone laying ceremony similar to that which had taken place almost 140
years before, the new church grew up under the watchful eyes of the congregation
as well as the members of the surrounding community throughout the year 1924.
Then, on March 22nd, 1925, the congregation of St. Paul’s union
church once again gathered by the side of the road in celebration. This time the
reverends Brensinger and Kaufman consecrated the church building for holy
worship. The dedication celebration lasted for an entire week with choirs from
neighboring churches assisting in the services. Each evening after supper, the
members of the congregation would gather in the church for a service, leaving
their horses in the stables which stood in back of the old cemetery along Church
lane. The final service of the celebration took place one week later on March
29, 1925. The union service was led by both pastors and attended by both
congregations. For many years afterward, as had been done in the past, each
pastor led a service every other week. Members of both congregations attended
both the Lutheran and reformed services, and often the chapel had to be opened
to accommodate the overflowing crowd. Once each month, Sunday worship was
conducted in high German (Hoch Deutsch) in keeping with the heritage of St.
Paul’s founders. St. Paul’s was once again a vibrant and spirited church which
continued to grow.
In October of 1929, however, depression gripped the
nation as the stock market crashed, leaving St. Paul’s with a $110,000 mortgage
on the new building. Though the entire nation felt the effects of the collapse,
the members of St. Paul’s, mostly self providing farmers, weathered the storm
well. They realized, however, that their church needed them now more than ever.
While services continued every Sunday, the congregation banded together to find
new sources of revenue for the church. The first ice cream and strawberry
festivals came to Trexlertown. Picnics along church lane and oyster suppers
became part of the church calendar. New groups sprang up, including the quilting
group, who through the sales of their goods, raised enough money to buy a new
organ for the church. The women’s guild and men’s brotherhood, originally
intended to be study groups, became service organizations ministering to the
surrounding community. A new group, the young people’s society became active in
1932 and donated the bulletin board that still stands in the front yard of the
church. Electricians and carpenters donated their services to the church when
the building needed repair. Because of the efforts of the congregations of St.
Paul’s, the church survived the depression and was there to provide comfort to
the people of Trexlertown when even bigger clouds appeared on the horizon.
Before long the United States and members of St.
Paul’s were fighting in far flung places around the globe. Attendance at St.
Paul’s increased during the war, families praying for husbands, and fathers and
sons to return home from the war filled her pews each Sunday. Reverend Althouse
took time out each week to write a cheerful note to the members of the church
stationed oversees during the conflict. Pageants and plays put on by the
children of the church kept those on the home front entertained during the war
as well, with members donated their talents to ensure the productions’ success.
Throughout the lean years of the depression and the dark days of World War II,
the church by the side of the road remained a constant in the lives of the
citizens of Trexlertown. Just as they had given their talents and time to it in
it’s time of need, so the church gave comfort and relief to them in a time of
great uncertainly and worry.
Friends made in the church could be counted on for
support and love; they were friends for life. It was into this tradition of
nurturing and caring that a new generation was born to the church. For the
coming of Reverend Robert Titus in 1953, the youth movement in St. Paul’s began.
Under his leadership, the youth fellowship comprised of both the Lutheran and
reformed youth, came into being. Together the youth of both congregations began
to form the backbone for a new era for the history of the church. However,
things would never be the same for the post-war St. Paul’s.
Beginning in the 1950’s the Lutheran church,
beginning to feel that the union format was an idea whose time had passed, began
having trouble finding pastors who would serve such an organization. In 1955 the
two congregations voted to keep separate financial records, the first sign of
separation within the church. Ten years later in 1965 it was decided to hold two
services per Sunday rather than maintaining the alternating pattern which had
been in existence as long as anyone could remember. The move prompted the
disbanding of the union choir as each congregation provided its own music. The
parishioners, eager to save the traditional system called in a consultant to
study the situation. Two forces were at work now in the church. In many of the
older families in the church, one parent was Lutheran and the other reformed. To
the children it made no difference since each Sunday both parents had gone to
the same service. Naturally people felt attached to the building in which they
had spent all of their spiritual lives. However, the newer families that moved
into the area following the war to take advantage of the opportunities of the
Lehigh valley had to offer could not understand the old traditional ways of the
German union church. In 1967 the vote was finally taken to dissolve the union
church of Trexlertown, however the traditionalists won and the union format
remained.
Even during the pain of separation, the church did
not fail to move forward. In 1968, services were first broadcast to the Mosser
home so that older members of the congregation as well as other guest of the
home could still “attend” St. Paul’s on a weekly basis. Also, in the mid 1970’s
the interior of the church was remodeled to fit the changing needs of the
congregation and community that now played host to Air Products and Mac Trucks.
New faces intermingled with those that had been raised at St. Paul’s and they
soon found out what long time members had always known: once you’ve made friends
with a Pennsylvania Dutchman, you’ve made a friend for life. It was for this
reason, however, that the inevitable separation of the two congregations was
particularly painful. The end finally came in 1982, when the vote by the
congregation determined that the Lutherans would build a new church leaving the
reformed church, by now knows as the United Church of Christ, as the sole tenant
for the building. Many families opted to stay at the old location, unable to
tear themselves away from the tradition and heritage of their youth.
Thus still under the leadership of Reverend Titus,
the UCC church moved forward, mindful of it’s rich past, yet eager to face the
future. For the first time in the church’s history, an associate pastor,
Reverend Epaht Darcy was called to bring new life into the church, as well as to
coordinate the activities of the youth of the congregation. Many new members
joined bringing a fresh spirit to the traditions held dear by the old members.
In late 1988 with Rev Titus’s retirement near and Reverend Darcy’s work done,
the two ministers left the congregations in the hands of senior interim minister
Reverend Robert Stevens, and assistant interim pastor Reverend Betty Ondrechun.
For two years the committee made up of both long
time and new members searched for the right pastor to lead the congregation into
the new decade. On April 29, 1990 The Reverend James L. Knappenberger was called
to serve St. Paul’s United Church of Christ Trexlertown. Under his leadership
the church will continue to find its roots in the traditions of the past while
remaining eager to break new ground on its spiritual journey. In the future, new
groups such as the aerobic group and children’s celebration group will share St.
Paul’s space with traditional groups such as the quilters, the craft group and
the choir.
Rev. Linda Lennon was called as an Associate Pastor
in 1997. As
our assistant pastor, she is the spiritual leader for our Christian
Education and Care Core programs. She brings enthusiasm and new ideas
to each program and increases participation. In her ministry, she is a
faithful, compassionate servant to our hospitalized and homebound
members through visitation and personal communion service. As a member
of the Spiritual and Church Councils she promotes planning and working
together as a community. Pastor Linda is an effective counselor during
conflict and a friend to members and strangers.
Members of the Lutheran and UCC congregations still
join together for softball and bowling matches and members of neighboring
churches will combine for special Lenten worship and music services. The ice
cream festival, begun during the depression, will continue at St. Paul’s while
hay rides and square dances will be added to the schedule. Despite all these
changes, however, one thing about St. Paul’s will forever remain the same: the
commitment of the people to the service of God and to one another. For what else
could hold a congregation together for over 200 years?
As we look ahead to the future, the people of the
church by the side of the road will continue to face it with renewed strength,
together.