History of St. James Lutheran Church, Reading, Pennsylvania

History of St. James Lutheran Church, Reading, Pennsylvania

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

Surnames: KELLER, MILLER, LAMPE, SCHMUCKER, HORINE, ZWEIZIG

St. James Lutheran Church. St. James Church originated in a movement to
establish a purely English congregation
in harmony with conservative Lutheran doctrine and usage. Rev. F. A. M.
Keller, its first pastor had for eight years
been English assistant to Rev. Dr. Miller in old Trinity, which up to
1842 had been entirely German. Upon Dr.
Miller’s retirement in 1850 the congregation determined to call a pastor
who could minister in both the German and
English tongues. This action resulted in the withdrawal of a number of
members who desired to continue enjoying
the ministrations of Rev. Mr. Keller. Their organization into a distinct
congregation soon followed.

The first effective steps were taken at a meeting held November 14,
1850, when the name was chosen and a call
extended to Rev. Keller to become the pastor. A Sunday-school had
already been organized, and the old Odd
Fellows Hall at Fifth and Franklin streets, Reading, had been secured
for the temporary purposes of the
congregation. The property at Fifth and Chestnut streets was immediately
purchased. The work of building was
begun early in the spring of 1851, and so vigorously pushed that the
Sunday-school was able to occupy its new
quarters for the first time on July 13th of that year. The corner-stone
of the main building was laid May 11, 1851,
and its formal consecration took place March 21, 1852. It was, and is
today, a building that attracts attention by the
beauty of its architectural lines, which follow the Gothic throughout,
whilst its interior arrangement is in full harmony
with its sacred character. It has a comfortable seating capacity of
about eight hundred. In 1892 the original
Sunday-school room gave way to a more imposing chapel, and one better
adapted to modern methods of work. The
full graded system of instruction is now in use.

The ministry of Pastor Keller continued until 1864, and was remarkably
successful and fruitful. A large and active
congregation had been gathered by his faithful and diligent ministry,
and many were the manifestations of sorrow at
his funeral, which took place in the church on March 18, 1864. His name
is enshrined in the affections of the parish,
and a memorial tablet has been erected at the chancel to commemorate his
ministry.

The Rev. F. C. H. Lampe was the next pastor, entering upon his duties
October 1, 1864. His pastorate was short,
extending to October 1, 1867. In that time, however, the congregation
succeeded in clearing off a debt of over
$20,000, the pipe organ was purchased, and a remarkably well executed
copy of Raphael’s Transfiguration was
placed upon the wall as an altar-piece. Pastor Lampe resigned to accept
a call to Wheeling, West Virginia.

The Rev. Beale M. Schmucker immediately became his successor, and was
ready to enter upon his labors as soon as
Pastor Lampe withdrew. He came to the church in the prime of his life,
possessed of rare mental endowments and
high literary culture. In the nearly fourteen years of his pastorate he
devoted much time to literary work, particularly
in the line of Liturgies and Church History. The Church Book was largely
the fruit of his labors, and is his noblest
monument today. At the same time there was developed in the congregation
a type of religious life that was as devout
as it was churchly, and which is still felt in all its activities. Dr.
Schmucker left the congregation directly after Easter,
1881, to accept a call to the Church of the Transfiguration, Pottstown,
Pa., where he died in the fall of 1888.

The Rev. M. C. Horine followed, entering upon his duties in September,
1881. His was a long and fruitful pastorate
of over twenty-seven years, terminating October 31, 1908. During this
time the parsonage on South Fifth street was
purchased and remodeled, additional property was acquired on Chestnut
street, and the new chapel built, several
memorials were given, various agencies of the church were organized for
specific work, a mission was established at
Oakbrook, and the Jubilee Service of the congregation was fittingly
celebrated. At the close of October, 1908, Dr.
Horine, owing to ill health, retired to a well earned rest, having
covered a period of nearly half the congregation’s
entire existence.

The congregation up to this time had furnished four young men for the
office of the ministry, and one of these was
called as Dr. Horine’s successor. Rev. Mr. Luther Zweizig, baptized at
the hands of Rev. Keller, confirmed by Dr.
Schmucker and later ordained in the church at Pottstown during his
pastorate, took charge of the parish at the
beginning of February, 1909, its membership at that time numbering
something over six hundred communicants.

[Supplied by Rev. M. Luther Zweizig.]

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