History of Trinity Lutheran Reformed Church, Mount Penn, Pennsylvania

History of Trinity Lutheran Reformed Church, Mount Penn, Pennsylvania

This history appeared in Morton Montgomery’s 1908 edition of The History of Berks County, p. 985.

Surnames: LUDWIG, KEEHN, WILLIAMS, SODERS, YEAKEL, DUNDORE, SCHEARRER, HERBEIN, LEINBACH, MANWILLER, ADAM, KRAEMER, ADAM, NEIN, MOSSER, PALM, STEINMETZ, STEIN, BROWN, SNYDER, BRIDENBAUGH, LUTZ, HEIN, HAFER, RAUENZAHN, DICKINSON, FISTER, MILLER

Trinity Reformed Church, of Mt. Penn borough, Berks county.-As early as
1873 a Union Sunday-school was
conducted in the public school-house at this place. This building stood
where the Friedensburg road crosses the
Stony Creek electric railroad. This school flourished under the
patronage of various denominations, of which the
Reformed predominated. In 1890 the Reformed people organized a
Sunday-school of their own in the public
school-house then located on the north side of Perkiomen avenue, between
Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth streets.
Mr. David V. R. Ludwig was the superintendent. He was succeeded in turn
by Peter B. Keehn, Charles Williams
and William Soders. The Sunday-school disbanded on July 26, 1891. It
became reorganized on Feb. 3, 1895,
under the superintendency of Frederick Yeakel, a member of the First
Reformed Church in Reading. The
indefatigable labors of Mr. Yeakel were soon evidenced in the purchase,
by the Sunday-school, of a lot on the corner
of Twenty-fourth and Cumberland streets, at a cost of $387.50. David D.
Dundore made the first contribution. The
Sunday-school now commenced to hold its meetings in the new two-story
public school-house on the corner of
Twenty-fourth and Grant streets. Superintendent Yeakel was a man of
delicate health and on Jan. 12, 1897, was
obliged to resign. The work, however, did not cease. For several
Sundays the pious flock assembled and had
sessions as best they could afford. On Feb. 7, 1897, Llewellyn F.
Schearrer, a member of the First Reformed
Church of Reading, was elected superintendent. He took his seat of
office on the 14th, and being the right kind of
man for the place the spirit of enthusiasm immediately revived in the
hearts of the members. Mabry L. Herbein was
ordained and installed pastor of Spiess Reformed Congregation on June
20, 1897. By direction of the Classis of
Reading and the request of some members of the Mt. Penn Reformed
Sunday-school Rev. Mr. Herbein, who at the
time being was the youngest Reformed clergyman in Berks county,
conducted a church service in the school-house
at Mt. Penn on Sunday evening July 11, 1897. His text was from Luke
6:36. There were present forty-two people.
These services were continued every Sunday evening.

Soon the desire of organizing a congregation prevailed, and a petition
with fifty-two signatures was handed to
Classis asking permission to organize. This was granted at a special
meeting of Classis on Oct. 18, 1897. On the
evening of Oct. 29th a meeting was held and a consistory elected as
follows: Elders, David D. Dundore and Irwin N.
Manwiller; Deacons, William O. Leinbach and William K. Adam. The
consistory was ordained and installed on Oct.
31st. At the same time Rev. Mr. Herbein was unanimously elected pastor,
and at his suggestion the name of Trinity
Reformed Church was selected for the new congregation.

A building committee was appointed, consisting of Rev. M. L. Herbein,
Lewis Kraemer, Sr., William K. Adam,
David D. Nein and David D. Dundore. They adopted plans for a
substantial one-story brick edifice, 40 x 60 feet, to
be erected upon the lot previously purchased by the Sunday-school. D.
D. Dundore broke the first ground toward
its erection on Dec. 3, 1897. A charter of incorporation was granted by
the Berks court on Dec. 7, 1897.
Foundation and basement stones were quarried and delivered free of
charge, so, also, was the excavating done. This
work, at the rate of 12 1-2 cents per hour, was found to amount to
$232.18. There was paid for the masonry of
foundation and basement walls the sum of $65. David D. Dundore drew the
plans, as suggested by the pastor, and
thus architects’ expenses were avoided. The contract from the basement
walls was awarded to D. D. Dundore for
$2,400, excluding stained glass windows, furniture, heating and lighting
apparatus.

The corner-stone was laid March 13, 1898. The pastor was assisted by
Rev. Dr. Henry Mosser, pastor of the First
Reformed Church, Reading, who preached the sermon. The building
operations now commenced in earnest, but
much rainy weather retarded progress. On June 19, 1898, the last day of
the pastor’s first year’s ordained ministry,
Trinity Reformed Church was dedicated. The full liturgical service of
the Reformed Church was observed. All the
responses were chanted, accompanied by the music of the pipe-organ built
and installed by Elmer E. Palm, of Mt.
Penn. In the morning 10:30 o’clock Rev. Dr. Mosser preached on I Cor.
3:11. The dedicatory service was
conducted by the pastor. In the afternoon Rev. Dr. John W. Steinmetz,
pastor of St. John’s Reformed Church of
Reading, preached on I Kings, 18:39. Rev. J. P. Stein, D. D., of St.
Thomas Church of Reading, and Rev. James R.
Brown, of the Schwartzwald Church, took part in the services. Rev. Dr.
N. Z. Snyder, of Bethlehem, Pa., visiting in
Reading, was also present. At the evening service Rev. Dr. S. R.
Bridenbaugh, pastor of the Second Reformed
Church, Reading, preached on Psalm 87:3. During the day $127 was
realized.

Everybody seemed to be highly pleased with the new edifice, especially
its churchly and dignified interior. The
architecture is extremely Gothic in design. The stained glass windows
admit a subdued and mellow light, blending
harmoniously with the oak furniture and other hard wood finish. Within
the deep chancel-recess is the beautiful
massive altar of oak, a high reredos surmounting it. The super-altar
contains the gilded cross with gilded candlestick
on each side. To the front and right of the altar is the lectern, to
the left the pulpit. To the right of the altar inside the
chancel is the pipe-organ, of excellent mechanical construction and
sweet musical tone. Back of the chancel are
excellently appointed ante-rooms, from which the choir and pastor enter
the main auditorium for their respective
places. The basement is furnished for church sociables. The entire
investment amounts to $4,100. The fact that the
structure was built in the time of a severe financial panic accounts for
its cheapness.

On July 3, 1898, Holy Communion was celebrated by the congregation for
the first time. Forty-eight of the
fifty-two who communed expressed themselves desirous of becoming members
of the new organization. This
included the catechetical class of fifteen young persons. The first
confirmation was that of Bertha Estella S. Lutz, on
July 1, 1898. The first person to receive Holy Communion was Mrs.
William K. Adam. The first baptism in the
church took place on July 10, 1898, the child being Arthur Peter Hafer;
also, at the same time, Jennie Ellen Nein.
The first funeral service conducted in the church was that of William
D., a seven-year-old son of Milford H. Hein,
on Dec. 29, 1898.

On June 4, 1905, the second graduating class of the Mt. Penn borough
school came to this church in a body and the
pastor preached the baccalaureate sermon from I Tim. 4:12. The
commencement exercises of this class were held in
the church on June 16, 1905. The first class, that of 1904, had its
commencement exercises, and without a sermon, in
the school-house.

In October, 1898, a missionary society was organized, and on Oct. 7,
1902, an active Ladies’ Aid Society was
organized, which proved its usefulness by contributing its funds toward
liquidating the indebtedness incurred by the
erection of the church edifice. The Sunday-school paid the interest on
the necessary loan, also money toward the
liquidation of the church debt. The congregation, small as it is,
nevertheless has had years during which from all
sources $750 were contributed.

While worship was held in the school-house Miss Naomi Rauenzahn served
as organist. When the congregation
took possession of the church Miss Jennie Lutz assumed the duty, the
family of Rauenzahns having moved to
Reading. Miss Lutz is still serving as organist, also of the
Sunday-school for the same period of time.

William O. Leinbach served as janitor from the beginning of the
organization until January, 1906, when he resigned
and was succeeded by John R. Dickinson, who in 1908 was succeeded by
Josiah Leinbach.

Mr. Schearrer faithfully performed his duties as Sunday-school
superintendent for nine years and nine months. He
resigned and presided for the last time on Sept. 30, 1906. When he
assumed the duties of the office there was an
enrollment of sixty-five; when he relinquished his services there were
105. On Sunday, Oct. 7, 1906, the
Sunday-school unanimously elected Prof. Frank J. Fister, principal of
the borough schools, to the office of
superintendent. He accepted and served until September, 1907, when he
became succeeded by John R. Dickinson.
William O. Leinbach has been the only secretary in the entire history of
the Sunday-school.

This congregation was never a mission nor an organization of some other
church. It was obliged to support itself
from the beginning. Daniel Miller, in his “History of the Reformed
Church in Reading” published in 1905, says on
page 155 that the First Reformed Church of Reading fostered Trinity.
This must not be understood to signify in a
financial way, as not a cent was ever realized from any congregation.
The Classis of Reading out of its treasury at
different times contributed sums, the total of which amounts to $250;
but Trinity had to raise a double amount, the
$750 being then paid on the loan. Regular sustentation was never
received. At the time of this writing the
congregation consists of 110 members, and Rev. M. L. Herbein continues
as pastor. The Sunday-school has 125
members.

[Contributed by M. L. Herbein.]

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