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History of St. John’s United Church of Christ, Coopersburg
St. John’s United Church of Christ was founded in 1890 as part of the former German Reformed Church in America as St. John’s Reformed Church. In 1934, following the merger with the German Evangelical Church it became St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed Church. In 1957, following the merger of with the New England-based Congregational Christian Churches, it became St. John’s United Church of Christ.
Originally, St. John’s was established as part of a three-point charge with other Reformed churches in the area served by one pastor. It was also founded as a union church, sharing the building with a Lutheran congregation. In the 1950’s the charge was dissolved and in the 1960’s the union with the Lutherans was dissolved, making St. John’s an independent congregation.
We come for a rich heritage. Our predecessors in the faith founded some of the greatest private colleges here in the United States, including Harvard and Yale. Preachers in the Reformed tradition provided inspiration for the American Revolution. Later, they pioneered the Abolitionist movement before the Civil War. Following that terrible struggle, they founded many schools and colleges for the newly-freed slaves. They ordained the first woman to the minsitry in 1853 -- Antoinette Brown. During the late 1800’s they advocated for the rights of workers and for many social reforms.
In addition to our work in these great social endeavors, our ancestors sent the first missionaries overseas from the United States and formed active missions to the Native American Indians. Following the Civil War, there was a great outpouring of efforts to set up orphanges, hospitals and institutions for the care of the aged. Our United Church of Christ has been an early and consistent advocate for ecumenical cooperation, helping, for example, to begin community CROP walks to combat world hunger.
St. John’s reflects this heritage in our local area. Our church is an active member of the Lehigh County Conference of Churches, sending a crew of volunteers every month to its soup kitchen for over twenty years. We support Phoebe Home For the Aged, Bethany Children’s Home and Turning Point, the local women’s shelter. In the late 60’s, we operated a coffee house for area youth. presently, we are home to the Coopersburg Neighborhood Senior Center and two Girl Scout troops.
Since 2002, we have held an anual fund-raiser to help families in financial distress due to medical expenses not covered by insurance. In the past seven years, we have assisted 20 families in the community, raising over $225,000. Also, in 2002, in cooperation with several other area churches, we sponsored a refugee family from Bosnia.
We are a church that believes that faith is meant to be lived out in the world.
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St. John’s United Church of Christ · 538 East Thomas Street,
Coopersburg, PA 18036 · Tel. (610) 282-3310 · Pastor: (610) 791-1681