A Christian Community Reflects on 150 Years of Fellowship and Service The Seed: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” By 1850, immigrants had come to this edge of the wilderness for decades, carving out farms, inns and homes, making lives for themselves in the crossroads community that would later become Delmont. Many of these immigrants brought their Lutheran faith with them when they came to the area in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Their lives were hard. They were scattered and few, and ordained clergy were few. So, for many years the men and women of this community walked eight miles to Greensburg to confess their faith in Jesus Christ and celebrate the sacraments at the Lutheran church there. Later, with the establishment of Denmark Manor Church in 1808, four miles away in Penn Township , these settlers had a closer option. Relationships were established with the Lutheran community in Penn Township that would continue on into the 2Oth century. But the Lutheran community in Delmont still had no church of its own. Local histories note that Pastor Michael J. Steck of Greensburg , who traveled throughout the region, held occasional services in Delmont in the 1840s. By 1847, Steck's assistant, the Rev. John Rugan, made arrangements to use the Methodist church in Delmont for occasional services for the growing Lutheran community. By 1849, when Pastor Michael Eyster assumed duties in Greensburg , he began helping the men and women of Delmont make plans for a church they could call their own. Finally, in 1850 as their community reached a critical mass in faith and numbers these Lutheran families joined with Reformed church members in Delmont to build a church that would house both congregations. The arrangement, known as a "union church." was common in many communities where small parishes shared facilities. The two parishes solicited "subscriptions" from their members to cover the cost of the project and broke ground for their new church in the spring of 1850. The 40x60 foot brick building, which was dedicated on September 11, 1850 , cost $1,250. A little over two weeks later, on September 27, 1850 , Salem Lutheran Church was formally organized. Synod histories say there were 36 members when the parish organized. Parish records note only 12 names on the church charter, all male. Confirmation and baptismal records identify the charter members' wives and children. Salem grew quickly. Within two years, the Lutheran church recorded 22 baptisms and 20 confirmations and boasted a membership of 95. The union church at Delmont endured throughout the Civil War. As that war drew to an end, the Lutheran and Reformed parishes began planning to operate independently. In 1865, Salem Lutheran bought the Reform parish's interest in the church building for a nominal sum. Members of the Reformed Church continued to worship at Salem until the completion of their new church in 1867. In 1868, members of the Lutheran parish, faced with the prospect of excessive repairs to their old building, opted to build a new church. On June 24, 1868 , parishioners gathered at the top of the highest hill in Delmont, on Pittsburgh Street , to celebrate groundbreaking for the construction of the church that we worship in today, a facility that is included on the National Register of Historic Places. Evidence of the remaining ethnic character of the parish in the late 1860s is found in passing mention that sermons were offered in both German and English at the special service for the laying of the cornerstone. The new facility, a gothic brick church, 45 x 65 feet, including a basement lecture room and Sunday School facility was completed at a cost of $6,000 and dedicated on January 17, 1870 . Once again, the leaders of the Pittsburgh Synod gathered in Delmont to dedicate the work that had begun 18 months earlier. Over the years, the church has been renovated and remodeled several times to meet the changing needs of the parish at Delmont. The parish house was added. A two-story education building was constructed. Gardens were planted and tended. And the seed planted 150 years ago continues to grow and flourish at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church . ********************************* September 27, l850 - ln response to a previous appointment, people of Salem and vicinity met to consider the organization of a Lutheran Church . Gasper Klingensmith was called to chair and J.B. Ament was chosen as secretary. A motion was made and passed that those who desired to unite with the congregation be requested to hand in their names. The following names were received : Gasper Klingensmith Our PastorsThen Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me." John 7:16 Over the years, Salem has benefited from the work of nearly two dozen pastors. Their pastorates varied dramatically in time and scope. Some were builders; others were forced to spend their days working to reconcile communities torn by war, poverty, and dissension and devastating illnesses such as the influenza epidemic of 1918. They ranged from Pastor A.D. Pons, who spent less than a year at Salem , before illness forced his resignation in 1877, to Pastor John W. Hanks who served vigorously for 36 years before retiring in 1989. Although their tenure varied, each carried the common task of nurturing the seeds of faith planted in 1850. Unfortunately, many of the church's early pastors left little in the way of written record regarding their day-to-day work at Salem . For the most part, Salem 's early pastors are remembered for the building programs initiated or completed during their pastorates. Pastor Michael Yester, who oversaw the organization of the church in 1850 and stayed on for two years, is recognized for launching the congregation, of his successor, Pastor J. N. Burket, who served for approximately one year, we know very little. Synod histories tell us pastors often found themselves ministering to more than one congregation. Pastor Charles Hersh, who served Salem from 1853 through 1856, also served the congregation at St. James Lutheran Church several miles north, in the Saltsburg area. A 1950 history, compiled for Salem 's l00th anniversary notes that Hersh's successor, Pastor Aaron Yetter, who served from 1856 through 1866, had the difficult job of holding the parish together while a financial depression and later a civil war tore the nation and the church community apart. Although it offers no specifics, the account of Pastor Yetter's work hints at the kind of turmoil that shook many faith communities to their foundations. "The divided sentiment among the members of the congregation often made the work of the pastor quite embarrassing, but Rev. Yetter handled the situation in Salem and in St. James Churches in such a manner that there was no serious trouble," the 1950 history notes. Yetter's successor, the Rev. J.D. English, who served from 1866 through July 1868, was on hand to oversee work when church members gathered to place the cornerstone for their new church on June 24, 1868 . The Rev. V.B. Christy began his pastorate in the shell of the new church in October 1868. Christy, who served for seven and a half years, oversaw completion of the building in January 1870. Church history also notes that church membership, which had fallen to less than 100 in the years prior to his pastorate, grew to 150 under his stewardship. Toward the end of Christy's pastorate, the church once again realigned. Salem and St. James were split and Salem was united with St. John's Manor, the Lutheran congregation that then worshipped at the union church at Denmark Manor in Penn Township . In a few short years, St. John's opted to leave the union church at Denmark Manor. In 1889, after much debate, the congregation relocated to Boquet. The Rev. C.L. Holloway ministered to Salem and St. John's Boquet for five years, from 1886 through 1891. Although the two congregations did not share clergy after that, the connection between Salem and St. John's would be renewed 100 years later when St. John's closed its Boquet church and merged with Salem in 1996. A relationship that had begun nearly 200 years earlier when Delmont residents looked to Denmark Manor to fulfill their need for worship in a Lutheran community of faith had come full circle with the merger. Back in the 19th century, Pastor Holloway managed to minister to the needs of the two congregations and build in both locations. In addition to overseeing the construction of St. John's Boquet, Holloway presided over the installation of the stain glass windows at Salem and the construction of the Parish House. Pastor Philip Doerr, who served Salem after Holloway's departure, remained with the parish from 1891 through 1897. His successor, Pastor R.G. Rosenbaum, who served from 1897 through 1902, was on hand for the church's 5Oth anniversary celebration. During Rosenbaum's pastorate, George Wilson, a local marble cutter donated the baptismal font that remains in use today. Pastor Ludwig Beisecker, who succeeded Rosenbaum, served from 1902 through 1907. Pastor C.E. Dozer, who served the parish from 1908 through 1912, oversaw major renovations to the church, culminating in a rededication service shortly before his departure in July 1912. His successor, Pastor C.K. Spiggle served Salem from 1912 through 1921, providing guidance throughout World War I and the influenza epidemic that devastated the nation in 1918. The Pastor H. Reed Shepfer, who served from 1922 to 1925, was on hand when electricity was installed in the church. His successors included Pastor F.C. Snyder, 1925-36; Pastor R.C. Lauffenberger, 1936-44; Pastor K.N. Schott, 1944-48 and Pastor R.F. Parker, 1948-52. Parker's successor, Pastor John W. Hanks, began what would become the church's longest pastorate on January 1, 1953 . During his pastorate, the postwar baby boom came home to Salem . The parish grew quickly. The church's hand bell choirs were launched under Hanks' pastorate in 1960 and saw scores of Salem youngsters pass through the program over the years. In 1961, Salem moved to accommodate its growing parish and launched a fundraising campaign for a new education building. In 1963, Pastor Hanks placed the cornerstone for Newhouse Hall, a two story educational building that would house the church's Sunday School program and a variety of community programs over the years. Following Hanks' retirement in 1989, Salem called Pastor Frederick Heitzenroder. Pastor Heitzenroder began his work at Salem in January 1990. Today, 10 years later as Salem celebrates 150 years of faith and service, Pastor Heitzenroder continues to serve the people of Salem . Pastor Arthur Patterson, who previously served St. John's , Boquet, today serves as assistant to the pastor in the merged parish that is Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church . Pastor Heitzenroder, who studied history as an undergraduate at Thiel College , got a close look at the demands of history when he arrived in Delmont. By 1990, Salem 's historic 1870 edifice was beginning to show its age. A major fundraising effort was launched and renovations were begun, culminating in a rededication of the second-story worship space on September 26, 1993 . A second phase of the renovation program culminated in the replacement of Salem 's steeple in January 1995. The new structure replaced the original steeple, which was destroyed by lightning 80 years earlier. History came calling again, when Pastor Heitzenroder was called to administer to the parish at St. John's Boquet, which found itself without benefit of clerical leadership following the death of Pastor Robert Mayer in November 1993. Pastor Heitzenroder, and later Pastor Patterson, worked and prayed with members of St. John's as they struggled to decide where the future would lead them. Eventually, the congregation, which had struggled with dwindling membership for some time, voted to merge with Salem . On November 3, 1996 members of St. John's and Salem gathered with their pastors and the Rev. Dr. Donald McCoid, Bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod for a final service at Boquet. Back at Salem , the demands of modern technology were again catching up with the parish's 1870 building. Major renovations were launched to update the church's heating and electrical systems. A new lift, providing handicapped access to the second floor, was installed. (The project also entailed a major renovation of the first floor social room, which was rededicated on Ascension Day, June 1, 2000 , as the St. John's Social Room.) Over the last 55 years there have been just five pastors who have served Salem , but during that same period there has been but one organist, Naomi Jean (Silvis) Painter. Jean has been our organist for over a third of the congregation's history. Music has been an integral part of Salem 's ministry and history.
Salem Pastors Pastor Michael Eyster, 1850-52 Pastor Frederick C. Heitzenroder, 1990-
*Pastor Holloway served both Salem and St. John's Boquet during this period The Charge "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have taught you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-.20 The members of Salem launched the 15Oth anniversary observation on All Saints Sunday, November 7, 1999 . Pastors Heitzenroder, Patterson and Hanks joined in a special service, complete with gifts of music and colorful banners, marking the saints that went before us and recognizing those charged with our future. Today, we reflect back on the faith of those 36 pioneers who formed Salem 150 years ago and the gifts that have flourished in their wake. Their memory was preserved for the future earlier this year in the restoration and publication of Salem 's original 1850-1876 church registry, courtesy of Pastor Paul Miller Ruff, synod historian. Today, as we remember them, we give thanks for the gift of community that allows us to come together for the sacrament of Holy Communion every Sunday. This gift continues to give. It allows our community to mark our faith in Jesus Christ as we celebrate baptisms, confirmations and marriages. It continues as we give thanks together for the solace of God's never ending love as we face death and look forward to life never ending in the community of Christ. For it is coming together as a community in Jesus Christ, that allows us to reach out to the world. An examination of church records shows that has always been the way at Salem , from the early Ladies Aid Society and its support for missions to India to a touching picture of a parish-wide food and clothing drive for victims of the Korean War in the early 1950s. Those traditions continue today in holiday efforts that have seen parishioners send off hundreds of gifts for children around the world through the Samaritan's Purse program. They live on each fall when we join the churches of the community for the annual Crop Walk to raise funds for Church World Services. They shine through when our members clock countless hours of maintenance work on our facilities and when our gifted gardeners tend the gardens that reflect the beauty of God's love in our lives. Further outreach efforts include the parish's work in the Meals on Wheels program, community recycling and the Annual Christmas Pilgrimage, an ecumenical effort that gives an entire community pause to consider the true gift of Christmas. We give thanks for an education program that serves young and old through Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and various Bible Study programs. And we see ourselves richly blessed with music from adult and children's choirs as well as our bell choir. Indeed, it is hard not to count our blessings. From that small start 150 years ago, Salem has grown to include 766 baptized members, including 570 confirmed, communing members. But, we pray that we would not be content and that, as our community continues to grow and change, the members of Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church be blessed to remember the faith of our forebears, the charge of our Lord and His assurances that indeed, He is with us always. Note: historical information on Salem compiled from various church records: the "Pittsburgh Synod Congregations,” by Earnest G. Heissenbuttel, 1959; “History of the Southern Conference of the Pittsburgh Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church ,” Rev. Wm. F. Ulery, 1903; Salem 's 10Oth Anniversary, 1950; and Salem Lutheran Church 125th Anniversary, 1976. |
|||
