Union Evangelical Lutheran Church, Neffs, PA: 200th anniversary service in German on May 7, 1995

Описание: Union Evangelical Lutheran Church in Neffs, Pennsylvania was formed in 1795, twelve years after the end of the Revolution. During the mid-1700s colonial era, German Lutheran immigrants from the Palatinate flocked to this fertile farming region of the Lehigh Valley. Lutherans worshiped along with their Reformed neighbors as early as 1762, sharing a log church with the Reformed congregation established in 1755. (The land was given to the church by the Schlosser family.) Together they built a shared stone church in 1797, then a magnificent brick church in 1871. The two congregations held services at alternating times on Sunday mornings. Services were conducted in German until about 1920; by 1935 all services were held in English. In 1995, the Lutheran congregation celebrated their 200th anniversary with a special service conducted entirely in German, with remarks in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. Descendants of original settlers participated in the celebration. Church member David Semmel, a local historian and descendant of the Schlosser family, led the service. In the video, it is interesting to note that in Mr. Semmel's opening comments, his dialect joke caused a chuckle among the people gathered there. These sixth and seventh-generation Lehigh Valley natives could still understand and sing in the language of their colonial ancestors. The families attending that day were descended from 1700s immigrants named Semmel, Schneck, Geiger, Sell, Reitz, Shankweiler, Snyder, and Kern. The inscription in German over the arch in the front of the church translates to "Praise is due to you, O God in Zion." In 1916 local artist Augustus Steckel painted a reproduction of Ruben's "Descent from the Cross" on the chancel wall. After 200+ years of sharing a building, in the year 2000 the Lutheran congregation separated from the Union UCC (Reformed) congregation and moved next door to their own newly-built church on former Schlosser land.