A History Of St. John’s

THE EARLY YEARS

St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran congregation of Mauch Chunk was organized by the Rev. E.A. Bauer on October 1, 1857.  Rev. Bauer made his home in Lehighton and had the very difficult task of simultaneously serving six other Lutheran congregations in addition to St. John’s.  Because of this, services in Mauch Chunk could only be held every other Sunday.

In the year it was organized the congregation consisted of approximately 50 members. The first church council was comprised of C. Kurz, Jacob Loew, Fred Pahlas, Carl Schuebel, Gottlieb Sibbach and John Spohn.

In 1858, St. John’s became incorporated, and purchased its first place of worship; an old stone building on West Broadway.  The building was purchased from The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, and had previously been used as a church by The First Presbyterian congregation.

In the spring of 1872 Rev. Bauer left Carbon County, having accepted a call to Hazleton.  Shortly thereafter, the congregation elected its first full-time pastor, the Rev. G.A. Struntz,who came to  St. John’s f rom Chestnuthill Township, Monroe County.

In 1873 the congregation built a parsonage in Upper Mauch Chunk, where several plots of ground had been purchased a few years earlier.  Since the majority of congregational members resided in Upper Mauch Chunk, discussions soon evolved regarding the possibility of erecting a church next to the parsonage.

TO BUILD A CHURCH; AND BUILD AGAIN

Early in the year of 1876, it was officially resolved by the congregation to build a church in Upper Mauch Chunk, and to sell the property on West Broadway.  The following were appointed to serve as a building committee:  A. Brumm,  J. Cordes, C. Fruendt, F. Grimm, H. Haak, E. Leist, F. Miller, C. Warncke, H. Warncke, and J. Warncke.

​HOLDING WORSHIP SERVICES IN THE NEW CHURCH

The basement of the church was completed in the fall of 1877.  It was used for worship services and Sunday School until the upper (main) portion was completed and formally dedicated on March 16, 1879.  The church was a wooden structure; seventy feet long, forty-two feet wide, and had a seating capacity of just under 500.  There was a large and beautiful frescoe of Jesus, painted directly on the wall behind the altar.

All services at St. John’s were conducted exclusively in German until the latter part of 1881, when English services were initiated on a bi-weekly basis.  The Sunday School, which had been in existence since the congregation was organized, was also conducted in the German language until December 10, 1883.  On that date, a separate English Sunday School was organized.

In the spring of 1890, the church was closed for nearly three months in order for it to be thoroughly modernized and renovated.  St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran church was re-opened with appropriate celebration on May 18, 1890.

In 1914, the congregation, having outgrown its building, decided to erect a new and larger church.  To quote the Rev. Wilson Rehrig, who was pastor at the time.  “It was simply impossible to do the work of a pastor in the old building, for the vestibule, gallery, etc. were all in use and on special occasions the members and friends of the congregation could not all be accommodated.”

At the time, the congregation consisted of approximately 500 adult members, and 275 children in the Sunday School.  In addition, the following organizations and societies were active:  The Adult Bible Class, Dorcas Sewing Society, Junior Luther League, Senior Luther League, Layman’s Brotherhood, Ladies’ Aid Society, Children’s Sewing School, and the Young Ladies’ Missionary Society.

A building committee was appointed, consisting of Charles Bernhardt, Henry Busker, Charles Enzian, Eli Flickinger, John Fuhrman, George Haas, Fred Hoeffler, August Miller, Rev. Rehrig, Henry Reusch, John Swartz, and Henry Warncke.

Maurice Prutzman of Mauch Chunk was hired as the architect, while Charles Neast  & Co. was awarded the contract to build the church at a cost of $27,682.00.  A. L. Bisbing did the electrical wiring at a cost of $380.00, Henry Gabert was given the contract to furnish heat and do the plumbing at a cost of $1,250 and the Pittxburgh Art Glass Company was awarded the contract for providing and installing 30 stained glass windows.

**It should be noted that during the period of 1876-1879, many of the members who resided in East Mauch Chunk withdrew from the congregation and organized the Lutheran congregation in that borough.  St. John’s East Mauch Chunk was part of our parish from 1879 until 1896.