We are congregation that is part of the Reformed Church in the United States. This page provides a brief history of our denomination.

Early Colonial Beginnings in Pennsylvania

The Reformed Church in the United States is of German origin. The beginnings of our denomination in this country trace back to the beginning of the eighteenth century when large numbers of immigrants from Switzerland and the Palatinate settled in eastern Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and New York. Since many of them were Reformed, several Reformed congregations were started in the course of time. The first German Reformed minister in Pennsylvania, Rev. Samuel Guldin, arrived from Bern, Switzerland in 1710. Though he organized no churches, he labored earnestly, and for 35 years did a most valuable preparatory work. John

Philip Boehm is considered the founder of our church in America. Driven from the Palatinate in Germany by persecution, he settled near Philadelphia in 1720. Although he was a school teacher and not ordained, the Reformed people of nearby settlements begged him to become their pastor. Three congregations, Falkner Swamp, Skippach, and White Marsh, were founded by him in 1725 and organized according to a constitution he drew up for them. The Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort were the doctrinal standards. Later he organized other congregations in a similar way, so that his parish increased in size until it nearly covered the territory between Philadelphia, Allenton and Lancaster. His salary was only $24 a year, so he made his living chiefly by farming.

Rev. George Michael Weiss arrived in Philadelphia from Heidelberg in 1727 with 400 Germans and organized the first Reformed church in that city. Weiss insisted that Boehm be ordained, and in 1729 he was ordained by the Dutch Reformed Church in New York. Both Boehm and Weiss, with their congregations, placed themselves under the jurisdiction of the Reformed Church of Holland, which took a lively interest in the Dutch and German colonists of the Reformed faith and sent them ministers. In 1746 Rev. Michael Schlatter from St. Gall, Switzerland was sent out by the Synods of North and South Holland to regulate and put in order the church affairs of these people. Arriving in Philadelphia, he invited the four Reformed ministers of the city to a conference. Three of them responded to the invitation, and the fourth sent a letter. This was their first meeting, although some had labored in this country for 20 years.

Schlatter now visited the churches, preaching to them and administering the sacraments. On September 29, 1747, in Philadelphia, he organized a synod, or “Coetus” as it was then called, with four ministers (Boehm, Weiss, Reiger, Schlatter) and 28 elders of 12 charges. At the time there were in existence 46 German Reformed congregations, most of them without ministers. Soon after, however, 38 ministers were sent from Holland, in addition to about $40, 000 in financial assistance. At the second meeting of the Coetus (1748), the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort were adopted as the creed or confession of faith. Regular meetings of the Coetus were held except during the War of Independence.