USA > Pennsylvania > Perry County > Churches between the mountains : a history of the Lutheran congregations in Perry County, Pennsylvania > Part 13
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to himself, and get to himself a great name among this people, for Jesus' sake. Amen."
Those who professed a change of heart were then for a time instructed and established in the doctrines of our holy religion, and after being examined by the Church-Council and by vote of the same, on Saturday the 10th of April, 1858, the following persons were confirmed :
Peter Smith,
Mrs. Mary Ann Swartz,
Abraham Wentz,
" Ellen Ann Lenig,
Joseph Herth,
" Mary Ann Burkepile,
George Burkepile,
Miss Martha Berkley (baptized),
Jacob Burkepile,
" Catharine Turnbaugh,
George Burrel,
Barbara Ann Burkepile,
Mrs. Isabella Herth,
" Mary Burkepile.
One of the above, Mrs. Mary Ann Swartz, has since gone to her rest. May all be ready to depart at any time !
"From day to day, O may they grow In faith, in hope, and love, And walk in holiness below To holiness above."
On Sunday, the 11th, the Lord's Supper was administered to seventy-three communicants, of whom fifty-six were members of this congregation. On account of sickness and other causes, six members were absent. May the Lord bless this people graciously and among them establish His kingdom gloriously !
On Saturday, the 18th of December, 1858, Mr. Daniel Shoe- maker and his wife Sarah, and Mr. Jeremiah Burkepile and his wife Mary, were received as members of this congregation, and the following persons were confirmed :
William Bitner, Miss Marg. Ellen Reisdorff.
Miss Mary Ann Reisdorff,
" Draw us, O Savior, with thy grace, And lift our thoughts on high, That we may end this mortal race, And see salvation nigh."
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CHURCHES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
On the 26th of November, 1859, Mr. Christopher Fisher and his wife Hetta, and Mr. Gustavus Bolze and his wife Sarah, were received as members of this congregation. May they prove faithful as good soldiers of Christ.
On the 31st of March, 1860, Mr. John M. Smith and his wife Mary Ann, and Miss Mary A. Zollenberger, and, on the 17th No- vember of the same year, Mrs. Rachel Mogel, were received as members of Mansville Lutheran congregation. May these persons enjoy God's blessing and be useful in their present church re- lation.
The school-house in which the congregation has hitherto worshipped is too small to accommodate all who attend preaching here, and is in many respects ill adapted as a house of worship. Hence, the need of a suitable church-edifice has for some time been deeply felt. A meeting was therefore called to take into consideration the propriety of erecting a church. The proceed- ings of this convention read as follows :
"In accordance with previous announcement, the following brethren, viz., Daniel Swartz, Sen., John A. Fisher, David Swartz, George W. Swartz, Henry Burkepile, John Leppert, Jeremiah Burkepile, Adam Cless, George Burkepile, Peter Smith, John Bupp, and Jacob Burkepile, met at Mansville on the 19th of No- vember, 1860, to make arrangements for the building of a church. The pastor called the convention to order, the 499th hymn in our Hymn-Book was sung, and then he led the brethren in prayer to God for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of heaven on the proposed enterprise. The object of the convention was then clearly and fully stated. After mature consideration the following resolutions were unanimously adopted :
" Resolved, 1. That in reliance on the aid and blessing of God and for the promotion of His glory we will build a church.
" Resolved, 2. That the church be called Mansville Evangelical Lutheran Church.
" Resolved, 3. That the church be erected at Mansville on the corner lot, which Mr. Daniel Swartz, Sen., offers for the purpose.
" Resolved, 4. That the church-edifice be thirty-five by forty
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feet in size, frame, and plastered inside and plastered and pebble- dashed outside.
" Resolved, 5. That a building committee of three be appointed, and that Daniel Swartz, Sen., Henry Burkepile, and George W. Swartz be said committee, and John A. Fisher be Treasurer.
" Resolved, 6. That the building committee see to it that the above church-edifice be erected in a manner as good and yet as cheap as possible, and superintend its erection."
After the passage and adoption of the above resolutions as a whole, the following heading of a subscription was drawn up, and upwards of two hundred and fifty dollars were subscribed :
" We, the undersigned subscribers, promise to pay in money, labor or materials, the respective sums opposite our names towards the erection of Mansville Evangelical Lutheran Church at Mans- ville, Centre Township, Perry County, Pa. Said church to be used for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in purity, and by the unanimous consent of the whole Church-Council other orthodox denominations may be allowed to preach in it a funeral sermon or an occasional sermon; Provided, such occasional sermon does not cause disturbance or interfere with the appoint- ments of the church. November 19th, 1860."
The convention then adjourned with prayer by the pastor. The brethren, also, at the same time selected a suitable spot of ground for a graveyard on Mr. Daniel Swartz's land, about half a mile west of Mansville. Thus initial steps were taken towards the accomplishment of a much-needed and glorious end,-the erection of a house of worship.
From the deed of conveyance we will add the following extracts : " This Indenture, made the 26th day of July, 1861, between Daniel Swartz, of Centre Township, Perry County, and State of Pennsylvania, and Sophia his wife, of the first part, and Daniel Swartz, George Swartz and John Leppert, Trustees of the Luthe- ran congregation and church, worshipping and located at Mans- ville (otherwise called Phoenixville) in said township, and their successors in office, of the second part- Witnesseth, that the said Daniel Swartz and wife, for and in consideration of the sum of
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CHURCHES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
one dollar to them in hand paid by the said Trustees, &c., ... do give, grant, bargain, sell, . . . unto the said Daniel Swartz, George Swartz and John Leppert, Trustees as aforesaid, and their succes- sors in office, in trust for the Lutheran Church located as afore- said, to be used for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in purity, from time to time, to the congregation worshipping in said church according to the discipline and usages of the said church ; but by obtaining the unanimous consent of the whole Church-Council, other orthodox denominations may be allowed to preach a funeral or other occasional sermon in it; Provided, that such occasional sermon does not cause difficulty or interfere with the appointments of the said Lutheran congregation, . . . the follow- ing described pieces or lots of land bounded as follows and situated in Township, County, and State aforesaid, to wit : The first lot beginning at corner, &c., . .. containing twenty perches neat mea- sure. The other lot, situate as aforesaid, bounded as follows : be- ginning in road leading from Mansville, &c., ... containing twenty perches strict measure, which latter lot is to be for the use of the church aforesaid for burying ground or graveyard to bury their dead. The two above described lots of ground sold, &c., . . . unto the said Daniel Swartz, George Swartz, and John Leppert, Trus- tees as aforesaid, and their successors in office, in trust, and for the use of the Lutheran church aforesaid, to the only proper use and behoof of the Trustees for the use aforesaid, and their successors in office forever," &c. See Deed-Book T., vol. i, p. 394.
The lumber and other material for the new church-edifice is nearly all taken out; but the war in which our country is involved induced the members to defer erecting the building until more auspicious times shall return. It is however thought that in the fall of 1862 and the beginning of '63, the edifice can be put up and completed. It is very much needed, and we trust it will in the course of a year be erected.
On the 24th of March, 1861, Miss Sarah Turnbaugh was re- ceived as a member by confirmation. May she follow Jesus truly till the end !
On Saturday the 9th of November, 1861, after being instructed
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for some time, the following persons were admitted to membership by the rite of confirmation :
John Long, David Swartz,
Miss A. C. Barnes (baptized),
Esther Burkepile,
Wm. Leinewever (baptized), " Sarah Sweger.
" So let our lips and lives express The holy Gospel we profess ; So let our works and virtues shine, To prove the doctrine all divine !
" Thus shall we best proclaim abroad The honors of our Savior God, When the salvation reigns within, And grace subdues the pow'r of sin."
Little Charles Stump, who died on the 17th of November, 1861, aged 1 year, 5 months, and 13 days, was the first one buried in the new graveyard belonging to the congregation at Mansville.
At this time (June, 1862) the congregation numbers sixty- eight members. Since the organization of the congregation, six years ago, forty-six members have been added by confirmation and certificate, six have departed this life, and thirteen have removed, and fifty-two infants were baptized. What is now most wanted is the church-edifice.
Since the organization of the congregation in June, 1856, the following brethren have at different times served as its officers :
Elder.
Daniel Swartz, Sen., ·
from June, 1856 yet in office.
Deacons.
John A. Fisher, .
.
from June, 1856 to 1857.
Jonas Lenig,
1856 to 1858.
George W. Swartz,
.
66 1857 to 1859.
David Swartz,
.
1858 to 1860.
John A. Fisher, .
.
1859 to 1861.
John Bupp,
.
1860 yet in office.
John M. Smith, .
.
66 1861
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Trustees.
Daniel Swartz, Sen.,
from July, 1861 yet in office.
George W. Swartz,
·
1861
John Leppert,
1861
Treasurer.
John A. Fisher, .
· from June, 1856 yet in office.
REMARKS RESPECTING THE BLOOMFIELD CHARGE.
1. Since the 26th of January, 1862, the pastor of the charge has been preaching regularly once every three weeks, in the after- noon, at a school-house in Miller Township, about five miles east of Bloomfield, at Dick's Gap and near the old graveyard referred to in the introduction to this work (see pp. 15-16). A number of members reside in that vicinity. Some other places within the bounds of the charge ought also to be brought under spiritual cul- tivation ; but the charge is already too large and laborious for one man. The pastor cannot do justice to himself nor to his people ; the labor required is too great. A number of changes have taken place in the charge since the present pastor has had the oversight of it. The Buffalo congregation near Ickesburg is now united with Blain, and the Mansville congregation has been organized and united with the charge; the Centre Lutheran congregation was organized, a church was built, and in November, 1861, was united with the Millerstown Mission. Thus two congregations were added to the charge, and two were yielded to other charges. There are at present in the charge upwards of six hundred mem- bers, who are scattered over a territory of about twenty miles from east to west, and of about fifteen from north to south. It is hoped a division of the charge will in some way be effected before long. It is not the largest number of members that always supports the Gospel best. A small farm cultivated well will yield more than a large one cultivated indifferently. We must have smaller charges, if our pastors are to get old and our people are to be properly trained and truly benefited spiritually.
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2. During the seven years (from the 1st of June, 1855, to the 1st of June, 1862,) that the present pastor has had charge of the Bloomfield pastorate, in the various changes that have taken place in it, two congregations were organized ; two new Lutheran churches were built, and the third is in course of erection ; three hundred and thirty-eight persons were added to the membership by confirmation and certificate ; three hundred and thirty-seven infants were baptized ; the pastor preached just thirteen hundred times, lectured on the Catechism three hundred and thirty-two times, and delivered about four hundred and fifty addresses on various occasions ; he attended one hundred and sixteen funerals, and solemnized ninety-one marriages. During the same time there were sold in the charge sixty dozen Lutheran Hymn-books, thirty dozen Catechisms, eighty dozen Lutheran Almanacs, and other church literature in proportion. The Lutheran Observer is the acknowledged church-paper, and circulates extensively in the charge. Weekly prayer-meetings and Sunday-schools in all the congregations are established, regularly kept up, and generally well attended. For the support of every good cause the members contribute liberally, and peace in all the congregations is sacredly maintained. The chief and only source of grief to the pastor arises from his inability to visit the members more frequently in their houses, and to preach oftener to the congregations, owing to the great extent of the charge. Much has indeed been done to advance the cause of the blessed Redeemer; more might have been done had the charge been smaller. Whilst the pastor would, with sincere gratitude to God, record the kindness and sympathy of the members he has always experienced, and express his un- feigned love for them, he knows, that, as the charge now is, labor, severe labor, is required ; so that he may, in view of the past and future, justly exclaim : " Who is sufficient for these things !" and adopt as his own the language of the hymn :
1. Jerusalem ! my happy home ! Name ever dear to me ! When shall my labors have an end, In joy and peace and thee ?
16
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2. When shall these eyes thy heav'n-built walls And pearly gates behold ? Thy bulwarks with salvation strong, And streets of shining gold ?
3. O when, thou city of my God, Shall I thy courts ascend, Where congregations ne'er break up And Sabbaths have no end ?
. 4. There happier bow'rs than Eden's bloom, Nor sin nor sorrow know : Blest seats ! through rude and stormy scenes I onward press to you.
5. Why should I shrink at pain or woe ? Or feel at death dismay ? I've Canaan's goodly land in view, And realms of endless day.
6. Apostles, martyrs, prophets, there, Around my Savior stand ; And soon my friends in Christ below Will join the glorious band.
7. Jerusalem ! my happy home ! My soul still pants for thee ; Then shall my labors have an end, When I thy joy shall see.
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CHAPTER III.
THE BLAIN CHARGE.
THE territory embraced in the Blain charge was until lately connected with the Loysville pastorate. As the Loysville charge was too large for one minister to serve, Rev. P. Willard requested that provision should be made for the employment of an assistant. Zion congregation at Blain, and St. Paul's in Madison Township, proposed such an assistant, and were willing to do their part to- wards supporting him ; but for reasons not known to us, the con- gregation at Loysville was opposed to the employment of an assist- ant, and unwilling to aid in his support. As the Loysville charge required more labor than one minister could perform, and as the two congregations above named considered themselves fully able to support a pastor, they united in the formation of a new charge. For this purpose a meeting was called. On the 26th of October, 1858, the church-councils of Zion and St. Paul's congregations met, and passed the following preamble and resolutions :
" Whereas the Loysville charge is too large and laborious for one minister, and whereas the Loysville congregation refuses to employ the assistant named by the other part of the charge- therefore-
" Resolved, That we hereby separate ourselves from the other part of the Loysville charge, and form ourselves into a new one, to be known by the name of the Blain charge.
" Resolved, That a copy of the above preamble and resolution be sent to the balance of the Loysville charge, and to the Presi- dent of Synod of Central Pennsylvania, with the request that he publish the same in the Lutheran Observer.
Signed, " WILLIAM BRICKLEY,
"President.
" GEORGE STROUP,
" Secretary."
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CHURCHES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
The Loysville pastorate being now divided into two separate charges, Rev. Willard resigned in November, 1858, and thus opened the way for each charge to call its own pastor.
SECTION I.
ZION CONGREGATION AT BLAIN IN JACKSON TOWNSHIP.
During the last quarter of the last century, and the beginning of the present, a large number of families belonging to the Lu- theran Church settled the very fertile and beautiful scope of land west of Loysville. Blain, a village in Jackson (formerly Toboyne) Township, about ten miles west of Loysville, is located at about the centre of this rich, charming, and densely populated part of Sherman's Valley. At the close of the last century the members in this region enjoyed already occasional preaching by the Rev. John Herbst, at different places in private dwellings, school-houses, barns, &c. Encouraged by these occasional pastoral visits, and with a view to the building of a church and the securing of the stated preaching of the Gospel among them, a piece of land was bought where Blain was afterwards located. This church-land is part of a tract located by Abraham Mitchel as early as 1762, of which tract James Adams afterwards sold two acres for church and graveyard purposes, as the following extracts from the deed of con- veyance show :
" The Indenture made the 10th day of January, 1801, between James Adams of Toboyne Township, Cumberland County, and State of Pennsylvania, of the one part, and Christopher Bower, Henry Zimmerman, Adam Hubler and Peter Brown of the Town- ship, County, and State aforesaid, Trustees for building a German meeting-house in said Township, of the other part,-Now this In- denture witnesseth that the said James Adams, for and in con- sideration of the sum of twenty-five pounds Pennsylvania currency .
.
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to him in hand paid by said Christopher Bower, Henry Zimmer- man, Adam Hubler and Peter Brown, hath granted, bargained, sold, &c., ... a small moiety of land, containing in all two acres without any allowance for roads, &c., ... to the aforesaid Trustees for the foresaid congregation and their successors in office to said congregation or their assigns forever, &c." Vide Deed-Book, Let- ter O., p. 497.
Though the members had now land whereon to erect a church, still they had preaching only occasionally. After Rev. Herbst left in 1801, they were visited successively by Rev. Messrs. Sanno, Osterloh, and it may be by Oberhauser. Until they had a house of worship of their own, the members here went to Loys- ville, a distance from eight to fifteen miles, on sacramental occa- sions. The young people also attended catechizing at Loysville, and were there confirmed. Some time in 1815, the members se- cured the pastoral services of the
Rev. John William Heim,
who organized the congregation. The first Lutheran Church-Coun- cil consisted of the following members :
John Sieger,
Henry Zimmerman, 1 Elders. Solomon Bower, John Stambach,
Abraham Bower,
Deacons.
In the spring of 1816, the congregation sent a petition to Synod, requesting that Rev. Heim might be recognized as their pastor. This request was granted by Synod. (See page 31.) The scattered members were now collected and much encouraged. But the want of a suitable house was soon and deeply felt. The members were in this section of the valley comparatively numerous, and they were not only necessitated, but also able, to build a large church. The following is a translation of the heading of a German sub- scription circulated for the purpose of obtaining aid towards erect- ing the proposed church :
" In the year 1816. A petition for aid, for the welfare of the congregations, to build a joint German Lutheran and German Re-
16*
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CHURCHES BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS.
formed church in Toboyne Township, Cumberland County. As our neighborhood is very inadequately provided with churches for the worship of the Triune God, and as we should not be indiffe- rent respecting this matter, it is highly necessary that we build a house of God, where we can assemble and unitedly engage in praising the Lord for his unspeakable goodness and mercy mani- fested towards us to this time. It is our prayer and entreaty that this proposal to build a church may meet with a hearty response and active support, because we should feel it to be our duty to do a good work, and because it is a work so highly necessary. It is proposed to build the edifice of stone; and all the church-mem- bers are requested to contribute towards its erection, and we would also ask our fellow-brethren to help us, so that this good work, which we are bound to do, may not remain undone."
" Accordingly," so says the record, "the commencement of this building was made on the 6th of May, in the year 1816." The following Constitution, though without date, was without doubt written and signed only a short time before the laying of the corner-stone, in which a copy of it was deposited. It was written in the German language, probably by Rev. Heim, and is singularly difficult to decipher. Rev. J. T. Williams says : " I confess I never undertook anything so difficult to translate as this Constitution. It is bad in orthography, bad in syntax, bad all over. I think I have, however, succeeded in giving the sense, though I had often to guess it out, for the words and the con- struction of the sentences frequently convey no sense." As we have been informed, one of the members transcribed the Consti- tution into the church-record in a careless manner, and hence no doubt the difficulty Rev. Williams experienced in translating it. The Constitution reads as follows :
THIS CHURCH SHALL BE STYLED ZION CHURCH. Church rules.
The Church-rules of the joint congregations are the following : ARTICLE 1. The minister preaching in this church shall be of
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good report ; he shall teach according to the Holy Scriptures and the Large and Smaller Catechisms,* that is, the doctrines he preaches shall be in harmony with the pure Word of Jesus Christ and the Lutheran and Reformed confession of faith ; and he shall administer the Holy Sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and lead an upright and godly life.
ART. 2. The minister and church-council shall see to it that order be preserved in the church, and when children are baptized that their names be recorded in the church-record.
ART. 3. In the election of pastor, of schoolmaster, of the church-council, and in all matters relating to the church and school, the majority of votes shall decide.
ART. 4. When the congregation is without a pastor, the church- council shall then invite a minister to preach a trial sermon, so that the congregation may have the opportunity to hear him, and thus be enabled to judge whether he is likely to be useful among them and will prove to be a good witness in doctrine and life.
ART. 5. The church-council shall exercise care that the minis- ter, who takes charge of this congregation, be and continue sound in doctrine and exemplary in life; if he, however, fail to be so, the council shall then notify the congregation of the fact and ad- monish the minister, and if he does not reform after having been admonished, he shall then be discharged by a majority of votes.
ART. 6. The Elders and Deacons of this joint Lutheran and Reformed congregation shall always be elected by a majority of votes, viz. : two Elders for the term of six years and three Dea- cons for the term of three years, by each congregation ; the re- tiring members of the church-council, if they have been faithful in their office, may be re-nominated and re-elected. The church- council shall lift the collections of the congregation, and once a year make settlement of the money collected.
ART. 7. The land belonging to the church and the graveyard shall be the joint property of the two congregations ; the money
*. The Lutheran and Reformed Catechisms are meant, as the "confession of the faith" of each congregation.
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obtained by collections shall belong equally to both congregations, and shall be used for the improvement of the church and school- house ; the altar-cloth and sacramental service, the keys of the church and such like, shall be held and used jointly by both con- gregations.
ART. 8. It shall be the duty of the church-council to take care that the land belonging to this Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed church and school, together with all the buildings thereon erected or that may hereafter be thereon erected, be and continue for all time to come the property of this Lutheran and Reformed congre- gation.
ART. 9. The church-council shall, out of love to these congre- gations, render their service at divine worship free of charge. When, however, a minister or school-teacher is invited from a dis- tance, if required, his travelling expenses shall be paid by the congregations.
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