Church History: Zeltenreich Reformed Church, Earl Township, Lancaster County, PA Copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Abby Bowman Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/lancaster/ ________________________________________________ History of the Classis of Lancaster of the Eastern Synod of the Reformed Church in the United States, 1852-1940; Part II, Histories of the Congregations of the Classis of Lancaster, Pg. 197- Printed by The New Holland Clarion, New Holland, PA; Editors Rev. Daniel G. Glass, Rev. C. George Bachman, Rev. Harry E. Shepardson, Rev. John F. Frantz, Rev. J. N. Le Van, D.D. ________________________________________________ ZELTENREICH REFORMED CHURCH, EARL TOWNSHIP Rev. C. G. Bachman, Pastor An account of the founding and early history of the original Seltenreich Reformed Church is given in connection with the history of St. Stephen Church of New Holland. The Seltenreich congregation, whose origin is traced to the fourth decade of the eighteenth century, in 1799 decided to leave the original site, and build the church in the town of New Holland. When this church in New Holland was completed, the congregation ceased having services in the old log church, and found a spiritual home in the new church several miles away from the old location. Whether the old Seltenreich Church was torn down in 1801 when the new church in New Holland was ready for use, or at a later date, is unknown. It is quite evident that the old log church was no longer standing in 1839, when services of worship were again held in the old locality, since we are told that, in the absence of a church building, services were held under a large tree. There are, however, reasons for the belief that this old church building remained standing for at least part of the forty years during which no regular services were held at the place; and that occasional funeral services were held in the original building during this period. From the records to be gained from tombstones, we learn that the Cemetery continued to be used as much as it was before the removal of the congregation. Burials are recorded for practically every year to the time when services of worship again began to be held. Rev. P. D. Shory, in his brief history of the New Holland congregation, after giving an account of the erection of the new church in New Holland in 1799, says, "the congregation unanimously resolved henceforth to worship in this newly-erected house in place of the former, then out of repair. A transfer of the place of worship from what was called the 'Zeltenreich's Kirche' to the church at New Holland was then made, but the congregation, retaining its identity in every other respect, remained in possession of, and continues to this day to hold and to own that property where the church formerly stood, with all its appurtenances legally secured to them by George Seltenreich". As is stated in the history of the New Holland Church, when the new church was built in 1799 and 1800, the name was changed from Seltenreich to New Holland Reformed Church or St. Stephen Reformed Church. The reason for the change is not recorded. It was fortunate that the old name was not retained, since the way was left open for the organization of a Seltenreich or Zeltenreich Congregation in its own habitat without the question arising as to the right to the original name. In 1839 Rev. Daniel Hertz, pastor of the New Holland church, began preaching under a large tree near the place where the original Seltenreich Church stood. In so doing he prepared the way for the organization of a new congregation. The chief reason for the interest in the new venture was the problem which arose when more English preaching was demanded by the New Holland congregation. Father Hertz preferred to preach in the German language, and he had considerable difficulty mastering the English language. Some of his members, who likely were unable to understand the English language, and preferred hearing the Gospel in the mother tongue, joined their pastor, Father Hertz, in worshipping at the place, where for three score and ten years the fathers had worshipped, and where was "God's Acre", which for more than a century had afforded a last resting place for the departed. The congregation was started in 1839 with three confirmed male members. Considerable encouragement was given to the project by the people of the community of different religious beliefs. This support was necessary on account of the small number of people of the Reformed faith who constituted the original members of the congregation; and this explains why the new church to be erected was not entirely a Reformed Church as had been its predecessor, but was known as a union church. The building of the new church commenced in 1841. The site was on the ground which Andrew Seltenreich had donated to the original Seltenreich Congregation, and for which his son, George Seltenreich, gave a deed in 1760. (Whether services were held regularly from 1839 to 1842 is not known. It is evident that outdoor services would have been an impossibility except for several months during the summer.) The new church was completed early in 1842, and was dedicated April 23, 1842. The cost of the church building was $1,500. Rev. D. W. Gerhard, in his history of the churches of the New Holland Charge, says that there was a stone over the door of the church with the inscription, "This building for the worship of God, by every Christian Congregation, was erected A. D. 1841". The original Church Record of the new Zeltenreich Congregation has the following statement written on the title page, apparently in the handwriting of Father Hertz, "Church Record for the Reformed Zeltenreich Church at Mill Creek, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Rebuilt in the year 1841; Consecrated April 23, 1842; for the use of the Reformed congregation in union with the surrounding neighborhood". The heading of the subscription list for the church, as this is mentioned in Rev. D. W. Gerhard's history, was as follows: "The church is free for the public worship of every denomination, subject nevertheless to the consent and control of the Trustees for the time being, chosen and elected by the contributors at the said church." There are two facts that stand out as unusual in the building of this church and the organization of the congregation. The one is the situation where a group withdraws from a congregation, and builds a church on ground for which the mother church holds the deed. This appears all the more unusual when we realize that for more than twenty years the two churches, the present Zeltenreich Church and the New Holland Church, were served by different pastors. More unusual is the fact that a church that was to be used by any denomination that met certain requirements, should be built on ground originally given for the building of a Reformed Church. The first Seltenreich church was used exclusively by a congregation of the Reformed faith; the second Zeltenreich Church, erected on the site of the first, was for the use of any denomination. Various denominational groups availed themselves of the privilege of holding services in the church. Rev. D. W. Gerhard states that as late as 1877, when he wrote his account of the congregation, the Church of the Brethren still conducted services once in twelve weeks. However it is evident that the maintenance of the church and cemetery was from the beginning largely in the hands of the members of the Reformed congregation. The Sunday School, which was organized June 25, 1864, appears to have been a community school originally. It was called Mt. Zion Sunday School for many years. It is not until the minutes of Lancaster Classis of the Annual Session held in 1911 that the name of the Sunday School is changed from Mount Zion to Zeltenreich. Rev. Daniel Hertz continued as pastor of the church until December 1, 1867, concluding a pastorate of twenty-eight years. In the spring of 1868 the congregation was separated from the Ephrata Charge by the Classis of Lancaster, and added to the New Holland Charge. At that time, Rev. D. W. Gerhard became the regular pastor of the church. Since that time, the mother congregation or original Seltenreich congregation now known as St. Stephen Church, and the present Zeltenreich congregation have been served by the same pastors. Rev. D. W. Gerhard remained as pastor of the church until 1887. During his pastorate three and one-half acres of ground were purchased by the congregation, in 1880, for use as additional burying-ground and for hitching horses. In 1886 a dwelling house was erected on the property for the use of the sexton of the church. The next pastor of Zeltenreich Church was Rev. J. Stuart Hartman, who served from 1888 to 1891. He was followed by Rev. F. A. Rupley, whose pastorate extended from 1892 to 1894. In 1894, Rev. John G. Noss became pastor of the church, his pastorate ending in 1914, when he retired from the active ministry, after celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the Christian ministry. It was during the pastorate of Rev. John G. Noss that the present church building was erected. Already in 1900 a congregational meeting was held to consider whether a new church should be built, or repairs should be made to the old church. A canvass of the congregation showed that sufficient funds were not available at the time to justify the consistory to go ahead in building a new church. In November 1906, however, the congregation voted to erect a new church building. It was decided to use the bricks from the old church in the walls of the new structure. The congregation also decided to build the new church on the ground purchased in 1880 by the congregation, rather than on part of the land in the original Seltenreich grant. The new church, instead of being a union church, it was decided, should be solely a Reformed Church. The new location, upon which the present church stands, is a short distance west of the location of the original Seltenreich Church and of the Union Church erected in 1841. It is located on the corner of the "new ground", where it joins the ground donated by Andrew Seltenreich. The present Zeltenreich Church was built during 1907 and 1908. The corner stone was laid July 14, 1907; and the church was dedicated August 16, 1908. The cost of the building was about ten thousand dollars. Rev. George S. Butz was pastor of the congregation from 1915 until his death in December, 1917. The present pastor, Rev. C. G. Bachman, began his ministry in the church in October, 1918. In recent years the basement of the church has been completed, and provides splendid accommodations for part of the Sunday School and for social purposes. A charter was secured for the congregation, April 25, 1931. The name of the congregation, which has been spelled in several ways, namely, "Seltenreich", "Zeltenreich" and "Seldomridge", has officially become through the articles of incorporation, "The Zeltenreich Reformed Church, Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania". In September, 1933, the congregation purchased seven and one-half acres of additional ground for the cemetery. The congregation accordingly owns approximately twelve acres of ground in a triangular plot, bounded on the three sides by roads. The road which runs along the west side of the property is the well-known "Peter's Road". This road is named after Peter Bezaillon, who followed an old Indian trail and gave his name to it as early as 1707, as he traveled from Chester County to the Susquehanna River in trading with the Indians. Unusually "beautiful for situation" is the Zeltenreich church of today--the third church building bearing the name of a devoted pioneer of the Reformed Church in "Penn's Woods", Andrew Seltenreich. The officers of the congregation are: Elders, Cyrus Sheaffer, A. Clayton Sheaffer, Martin A. Diller, S. Irvin Weaver; Deacons, Jere. Fenninger, Harrison Kling, J. Royer Miller, Paul W. Seldomridge, Ralph Seldomridge, Park Mentzer, Ellis K. Mentzer, and William Mink.