York County PA Archives History - Books .....Historical Sketch Of St. Jacob's United Church Of Christ, York New Salem 1985 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Scott Becker sebecker2004@yahoo.com June 19, 2007, 6:23 pm Book Title: 125th Anniversary Booklet For St. Jacob's United Church Of Christ, York New Salem, PA The cornerstone for the building was laid on September 16, 1860. The final completion date of the original building is not known. Dates of completion of 1861, 1862 and even as late as 1865 have been found in church writings. The Church in Neffstown - the community was not incorporated as York New Salem until July 24, 1876 - had its origin as a Sabbath School Association which was founded in a schoolhouse sometime prior to October 27, 1858, the earliest date of record. Members from Reformed, Lutheran, and Brethren denominations attended the Union Sunday School. Most of the people who attended the Sunday School were members of St. Paul's (Wolfs) and St. Paul's (Zeigler's) Congregations. Because of the distance to these churches from York New Salem, people could not regularly attend services in their respective churches, but they did try to get to the Sunday School in York New Salem. At the same time, they made a determined effort to get to their own churches when the Holy Communion was celebrated and when special services were held. Notations are made in the minute-book of Sunday School being cancelled because there was communion at Wolf's or Zeigler's. Even the Civil War had an influence upon the Sunday School. Young men from the church served in the Union Army and at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg, an advance unit of General Stuart's calvary corps, composed of 6000 confederate soldiers, entered York New Salem from the south. With all the excitement of troops coming and going through the village, Sunday School was cancelled for several Sundays. In the early 1860's, the arrangement for Sunday School and church changed. It was no longer simply the Union School Association. It became the St. Jacob's Union Church in which two congregations - St. Jacob's Reformed and St. Jacob's Lutheran - worshipped. Most of the services were conducted in English, but now and then worship was conducted in German. Members who recall the original St. Jacob's Union Church building say it was heated with two pot-bellied stoves - one on each side of the church. There was no vestibule and the entrance to the church was direct from the side and front of the building. There was no center aisle, but the women and girls sat on one side of the church and the men and boys on the other side. The choir sat on one side at the front of the church and the officers on the other front side of the church. The church was lighted by large kerosene lamps. Spittoons were found at different places on the men's side for those men who couldn't refrain from chewing tobacco during the service. At the rear of the church there was a gallery in which were placed five or six rows of pews. It is reported that the children liked to sit in the gallery and on Communion Sundays the little ones filled that area of the church. In 1916, the two congregations using the Union Church voted at a joint meeting to build a new union church, but, in a few months time, the Lutheran Congregation had a change of mind and in 1917 decided to build it's own church across the street from the Union Church. The Reformed Congregation, membering some 70 members, then leased for one dollar a year, the Church and adjoining grounds not used as a cemetery for a period of 99 years, from the Union Sunday School Association. St. Jacob's United Church of Christ obtained legal ownership of their property in 1966. With the Lutheran's worshiping in their own church, the Reformed Congregation was given permission to remodel the Union Church building. So in 1918, work was begun that changed the apperance of the building both inside and outside. A large bell tower and vestibule were added, so that the main entrances would be from the front of the church instead of from one side. The gallery was removed and with new pews installed, there was now a center aisle. The original church bell was stored at the home of some of the members during the construction work, and it was no easy job to replace the bell in the high tower. There were no cranes to lift it in place; only block and tackle and pulleys, manpower and muscle power were used. But the bell reached the bellfry and still gives the call to worship on Sundays. Members of the congregation did much of the actual remodeling program, they did the excavation work, they hauled brick and lumber in wagons from York, they worked for months to complete the project. The renovation of the church cost $13,000 and on Nov. 23, 1919 dedicatory services were held with services in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Other renovations were made to St. Jacob's Church from time to time. A Kimball pipe organ was installed in the church during the fall of 1933. This organ was previously used at a theater in Baltimore to provide background music for silent movies. The church was pulpit centered until 1942. In the same year, bulletins for the Sunday services began to be printed. The cross and candles on the altar were provided in 1945. In 1940 the choir started to wear choir robes for the services. In fact, St. Jacob's Evangelical and Reformed Church, as the church was named following the merger in 1934, was one of the first churches in the area to have a choir with choir gowns. In 1917, St. Jacob's Reformed Church became a part of Lischey's Charge. Thus, it shared a pastor with Lischey's Church, Spring Grove, and St. Paul's Church, Stoverstown. The charge divided in 1965 with each church going on its own. Since the Union Church was first built, all Sunday School classes met in the main church auditorium. With maybe four to six people talking at once in the same room, the need for a Religious Education Building was great. Ground was broken for the addition to the church by the pastor, the Rev. Franklin F. Glassmoyer, on March 10, 1957 and dedication services for the $39,000 addition were held the week of November 3, 1957. This building program added three classrooms, an office, social hall, kitchen and restrooms to the church property. As part of the 125th anniversary celebration, the congregation purchased for $45,000 the Gilbert Mummert property adjacent to the church. Ministers of St. Jacob's United Church of Christ Rev. F.W. Vandersloot Rev. Aaron Spangler Rev. John J. Stauffer Rev. Irwin Ditzler (1913-1915) Rev. Jacob Nicholas Faust (1916 - 1937) Rev. Franklin F. Glassmoyer (1937 - 1965) Rev. Carl Harlacher (1965 - 1967) Rev. Jay Arnold (1968 - 1969) Rev. Luther G. Heist (1969 - Present) Additional Comments: Historical Sketch of St. Jacob's United Church of Christ (Partially taken from the 125th Anniversary booklet written in 1985) This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/ File size: 7.3 Kb