History of Christ Church

     "Vision, Hope, and Faith are among the Christian Qualities necessary when a congregation is to be organized. These qualities permeated by a deep love for God, motivated the little group of people who, on May 23, 1909, committed themselves to the founding of a Christian Church" (Shetler, 1959, Through the Open Door; a history of Christ Church UCC, chapter 1).

     Christ Church began in 1908 not as a church, but as a Sunday school in a one room school building on the corner of Mt. Laurel and 8^th Avenues in Temple. At the time there were 126 homes in Temple surrounded by farms, and the main means of travel was walking. There was a desire to provide the children of Temple with a Christian education, and so on May 4, 1908 the Reading Classis of the Reformed Church in the United States (which would later merge to become the United Church of Christ) approved the appointment of Joseph S. Wise, an elder of St. Mark's Reformed Church in Reading (now St. Mark's UCC) to supervise the organization of a Sunday school. This was supported by the pastor of Grace (Alsace) Reformed/UCC church, Rev. Elam Snyder; the pastor of St. Mark's Reformed/UCC church, Rev. Charles Schaeffer, and Dr. John Seaman of the Reading Classis.

     The Sunday school grew, the Reading Classis commissioned the Rev. Henry Rupp to be a missionary pastor, and the people of Temple came to a crossroads decision. The question before them, "Is God now calling us to be a church?" On Sunday, May 23, 1909, fifteen residents of Temple answered God's call and made the decision to organize a congregation, and Christ Church was born. The church records read: "With such a few people the responsibilities were great." The Rev. Dr. Charles E. Schaeffer. Dr. Schaeffer urged, "Go ahead. Out west congregations are organized with fewer members than that."

     The Home Mission Board of the Reformed Church offered financial support for the founding of the congregation and the construction of a new church building.

     A new sanctuary was dedicated in May of 1910 along Euclid Avenue where our present day Sunday school and fellowship building is located. Ground was broken on August 1, 1909, the cornerstone was laid on October 17, 1909, and over the next few months the sanctuary was constructed. That cornerstone is now located at the base of our bell tower in the courtyard. On October 17, 1909, during the laying of the cornerstone, the Reading Paper records these words of Mr. Joseph Wise (founder of the Sunday school and treasurer of the Building Fund), "I wish I might be able to read your hearts.... If they beat in unison with mine they feel that this is a great day for Temple. In years to come you will only be able to realize what it will mean. I predict the year 1909 will mark an epoch in the history of this town. It will mark a great change in the upbuiliding of the characters of your children."

     The total cost of the building was $10,374.63. The total indebtedness was $6,050.00 of which the Board of Home Missions lent $3,000.00. In 1911 the average monthly offerings were $5.45 for congregational expenses and $1.15 for benevolences (wider missions). Each year the Board of Home Missions gave an annual gift of $200.00 to Christ Church, that the congregation might carry out its work.

     At the end of that first year, there were no new members. However, the number of visitors were growing. There was vision, there was hope, and there was faith.

     For its first four and a half years, the Rev. Rupp served Christ Church, while simultaneously serving two other churches: Wyomissing Reformed/UCC and Salem (Bausman) Reformed/UCC. In 1914, Rev. Rupp left that three point charge to answer another call to ministry.

     Although Christ Church began with great financial challenges, their faith grew, and during those first five years the congregation contributed nearly $10,000.00 to the wider work of the Reformed Church.

     According to the church records, 1914 is remembered as such: "The physical building was completed, the spiritual foundations for the life and work of the congregation were laid. The Holy Spirit was moving among the people."

     Christ Church entered a new era.  Christ Church left the three point charge to become a part of a two point charge with Rosedale Reformed/UCC. The Rev. Fred Wentzel was the first pastor of this charge. He was a recent graduate of Lancaster Theological Seminary.

     The Reformed Church in the United States was seeking to advance in both home and foreign missions. Christ Church made a pledge to financially support this endeavor. They created a "Forward Movement" giving goal, which the congregation contributed to over the next two years, meeting their goal in 1926.

     The congregation grew to meet and exceed 100 members.

     The roaring twenties.  The congregation had grown to 121 members. The Rev. Samuel Givler, Jr. was called to serve the Christ Church - Rosedale two point charge. He served Christ Church for over 23 years, becoming the longest part-time pastor to serve this congregation.

     The arrival of the Great Depression meant financial difficulties for individuals, businesses, and churches. There was widespread unemployment in Temple, and members found it difficult to meet expenses fo their own homes and for their church home. For the first time in its history, Christ Church was unable to pay their apportionment (their share) in fully supporting the larger denomination. The pastor was still receiving part of his salary from the Board of Home Missions and was not paid at times. "But, as the depression days passed, the congregation continued to grow slowly and to serve the community" (Shetler, 1959).

     World War II began.  Many of the members of Christ Church left to serve in the armed forces.

     Two denominations merged this year. The Reformed Church of the United States (of which Christ Church was a member) and the Evangelical Synod of North America merged to become the Evangelical and Reformed Church.

     In 1943, the Rev. Givler left for the U.S. Army chaplaincy were he served until 1946.

     The war was over, and people were returning to worship to give thanks. Christ Church had grown to 229. That January, the Rev. Givler suggested that the congregations of Christ Church and Rosedale began discussions of becoming independent churches, as each had grown large enough to support themselves and to have full-time ministers.

     On February 1, 1950 the Reading Synod of the Evangelical and Reformed Church officially approved the separation of the charge to become effective as of June 1st. The Rev. Givler was called by the Rosedale congregation to remain with them as a full-time pastor.

     Christ Church called its first full-time pastor, the Rev. Dr. John C. Shetler. Dr. Shetler earned his doctorate while serving at Christ Church. In 1964 he would leave Christ Church to accept the call to serve as an Associate Conference Minister and then became the Conference Minister and President of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference of the United Church of Christ.

     There was a great emphasis on evangelism during the 1950s and the congregation grew tremendously. This growth was aided by new housing developments springing up throughout Temple and Muhlenberg Township.

     Christ Church built its first parsonage to house its first full-time minister. The parsonage was located on Euclid Avenue between 7^th and 8^th Avenues, about 2-3 blocks from the church building.

     Christ Church, which was named "Christ Reformed Church of Temple," adopted the name "Christ Evangelical and Reformed Church of Temple, Pennsylvania," so that it might be more readily recognized as a part of the Evangelical and Reformed denomination.

     The Evangelical and Reformed Church merged with the Congregational Christian Churches to form the United Church of Christ. Christ Church would later change its name to reflect this change in 2001.

      The corner of a new church building was laid in 1957. This is our current sanctuary. In 1954 the membership had grown to about 450, the Consistory recognized that their current facility was inadequate to meet the growing needs of their congregation, and they began the process of building a new sanctuary. The cost of the building was $167,394.00, but the pledges of members, friends, and organizations totaled only $90,471.00. From our church records, "Many people made great sacrifices and in their stewardship found new meaning in their Christian life." Through faith and faithful stewardship the congregation entered into their new sanctuary at 12:00 midnight on December 31, 1958 welcoming the new year and celebrating their first 50 years.

     In 1966, the Rev. Robert F. Harting was called to serve as pastor, and would become the longest full-time pastor to serve Christ Church. Rev. Harting served for over 21 years until his retirement in 1988. After retiring, Rev. Harting was honored by the congregation as its Pastor Emeritus, and continues to supply preach at Christ Church from time to time. The bell tower in our courtyard was dedicated in his honor.

     The membership grew to over 600 members.

     The current buildings could no longer meet the growing needs of the congregation. The original sanctuary was still in use primarily for Sunday school classrooms. With great emotion and with great vision, hope, and faith, the original sanctuary along Euclid Avenue was raised and to make room for a new Sunday school and fellowship building. The new building was erected in 1978 and the offices were renovated.

     Christ Church called its first female minister, the Rev. Edith Gettis, to serve as an interim pastor for two years. The Rev. Gettis introduced healing services to Christ Church, and began offering a second service on Sunday mornings which gathered before Sunday school at 8:00am.

     Christ Church called the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Motz (Pastor Ben) to serve as pastor. He was called while in his senior year at Lancaster Theological Seminary and began serving after graduation. Pastor Ben began his ministry going with the elders to visit every member to pray with them and learn their hopes, dreams, concerns, and ideas for the future of Christ Church.

     As with most mainline congregations, Christ Church had begun a slow decline in the 1970s. However, 1998 was the beginning of a renewed sense of vision, hope, and faith to change that trend. Vision, hope, and faith are the three characteristics mentioned above that were needed in 1909 for 15 persons to found a church, the same characteristics that are now propelling Christ Church forward.

     In 1998 an adult Sunday school class was formed, a nursery was created, a renewed emphasis on evangelism was energized, the worship bulletins and service were updated to meet the members' needs, and the church signed onto e-mail for the first time.

     Christ Church became a supporter of PRIME, assisting refugees in the United States and helped a young family from Kosovo.

     Worship attendance and Sunday school attendance began to increase. The membership experienced two consecutive years of growth for the first time since 1979. One of the largest confirmation classes in years joined the church.

     Worship services were held on Thanksgiving Eve for the first time in many years, and those services continue to grow in attendance annually.

     To meet the growing needs, a second adult Sunday school class was added.

     As with most pastors of today, Pastor Ben preferred to own his own home, and the congregation sold the parsonage to meet those changing needs.

     In 2001 Christ Church officially adopted the name "Christ Church United Church of Christ of Temple, Pennsylvania," which it had been using for over two decades, to more fully recognize itself as a Local Church of the United Church of Christ.

     During this year the church leadership structure, policies, and by-laws were modernized to meet the changing needs of the congregation.

     Two positions were added to the Church Consistory to include youth as members of Consistory with voice and vote.

      While the pastor was on vacation, the terror attacks of 911 wounded our nation. That morning Pastor Ben called upon our lay leadership to begin a phone chain to share with every member that he would be offering a prayer vigil for our church and our for our community that evening. If ever there was a moment in the history of this church that showed the importance of the decision of those 15 founding members in 1909 to establish a church in Temple, it was at the vigil that night, as our community and our nation turned to God in prayer, and as we offered the love, support, and care of the Body of Christ to our neighbors.

     Christ Church went through a process of studying its history, looking at the needs of its members and its community, and prayer. The outcome was a renewed sense of vision and mission.

      Christ Church began hosting marriage and family workshops on a variety of topics to strengthen and serve its community.

     February 2003 brought with it the tragic loss of life of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia. Christ Church held a service of memorial and prayer for the crew on the morning of Sunday, February 9^th.

     The next month, in March 2003, the United States went to war with Iraq. On Friday, March 28 Christ Church welcomed the members of our community to a prayer vigil for peace and support of our troops. We began a drive to collect supplies for our men and women serving in the service overseas. We also began our support of the Olive Branch for Peace ministries to work towards peace in the Middle East.

     In response to God's call to expand its outreach beyond Temple, Christ Church began sponsorship of the Good Shepherd Mission in Puttur, India on Thanksgiving Eve.

     During this year, Christ Church entered into formal conversations with four other churches to consolidate into one church.  Those churches included: Good Shepherd UCC, Tuckerton; St. Luke's UCC, Kenhorst; St. Stephen's UCC, Reading; and Zion's UCC, Reading.  In January 2004, the congregation voted overwhelmingly to more fully commit themselves to the mission, ministry, and vision of Christ Church UCC in Temple and to not go forward with the consoldiation process.  Out of the original five, St. Luke's and St. Stephen's merged to become One UCC in Kenhorst.

     In 2004, Christ Church broadened its global outreach to include the sponsorship of two children in need: one in the Philippines and the other in Israel.

     In a desire to provide more ministry through the church and to help support persons seeking to become ministers, Christ Church called its first seminarian intern Mr. Ken Frey, a second year student at Lancaster Theological Seminary, to serve in Christ Church.

     Members expressed a desire to have more opportunities to deepen their faith life, and a new adult evening Bible study was created.

     For the first time Christ Church had a website, and reached out to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to our community and the world through cyberspace.

     In January-February, Christ Church took its first international mission trip.  We spent two weeks working with the Good Shepherd Mission in Puttur, India, which we continue to support. 

     We began to see the fruits of our evangelism efforts with a total count of 745 visitors worshiping that year, which included 367 different persons who at least gave us their name and often their adress for further follow up outreach.

2006

     In January, Christ Church organized a multi-church trip to Daytona Beach, Florida for hurricane relief aid following the devastation of hurricane Katrina. 

     The youth group took its first backpacking trip.  The youth group continued to have steady growth with over two dozen active youth. 

     In the fall, we began our first weekly Wednesday services, which we titled "Wholly Wednesdays," as it included a holistic blend of worship and Bible study.  For the first time ever used television ads to help attract persons to Christ Church.

     During the fall of this year, Christ Church UCC and Good Shepherd UCC in Tuckerton entered into formal conversation about the possibility of merging the two churches to become one.  Those conversations came to an end in December with each church continuing on its own, with both stating that they would like to continue in shared ministry opportunities together.

2007

     In 2007, the youth led Christ Church in its first Taizé worship service and the healing service was further developed to provide additional options for worshipers.
 
     During this year, the Consistory decided against participating in any church growth program.  Christ Church began scaling back outreach efforts, ministry programs, worship services, and educational opprotunities, and began a process of re-evaluation of its future vision and ministry priorities.

2008

     In 2008, Christ Church began a process of serious consideration of shifting back to part-time ministry and a process of intentional reduction of church mission, ministry, worship, and educational programs.

2009 and Beyond

     We invite you to join in the history making of Christ Church. We invite you to help make a positive difference in our community, in our world, and in one another's lives. We invite you to experience, live, and share the love of God. We invite you to be a part of Christ Church.

The Founding Charter Members
Mr. Fred M. Adam
Mrs. Cora M. Adam
Mr. Robert M. Adam
Mr. William M. Adam
Mrs. Elsie A. Adam
Mrs. Sallie A. Biehl
Mr. Allen E. Faust
Mr. William J. Kissinger
Mrs. Sarah C. Moyer
Mrs. Jennie A. Reinert
Mrs. Martha M. Reinert
Mrs. Anna L. Rothermel
Mrs. Mary A. Rothermel
Mrs. Bessie I. Wanshop
Mr. Henry O. Wanshop

The Charter Consistory Members
Elders: Mr. Fred M. Adam and Mr. Allen E. Faust
Deacons: Mr. William M. Adam and Mr. Henry O. Wanshop

The First Consistory Officers
President: The Rev. Henry H. Rupp
Secretary: Mr. Allen E. Faust
Treasurer: Mr. Fred M. Adam