St. John's United Church of Christ was founded in 1890 as part of the former German Reformed Church in America as St. John's Reformed Church. In 1934, following merger with the German Evangelical Church it became St. John's Evangelical and Reformed Church. In 1957, following the merger with the New England based Congregational Christian Churches, it became St. John's United Church of Christ.
Originally, St. John's was established as part of a three-point charge with other Reformed churches in the area served by one pastor. It was also founded as a union church, sharing the building with a Lutheran congregation. In the 1950s the charge was dissolved and in the 1960s the union with the Lutherans was dissolved, making St. John's an independent UCC congregation.
The church building has changed over the years to accommodate changing missions and its role in the community. Key among the improvements was the 1950s redesign of the traditional center-aisle sanctuary to rotate the space 90 degrees to create a layout that brings worship leaders closer to the pews and enables worshipers to see each other's faces. In the 1980s, a modern fellowship hall and classrooms were added to the south side of the building. And, in 2011, we raised money to permanently restore the 92-foot-tall steeple -- the tallest structure in Coopersburg -- as an inviting beacon to all.
Originally, St. John's was established as part of a three-point charge with other Reformed churches in the area served by one pastor. It was also founded as a union church, sharing the building with a Lutheran congregation. In the 1950s the charge was dissolved and in the 1960s the union with the Lutherans was dissolved, making St. John's an independent UCC congregation.
The church building has changed over the years to accommodate changing missions and its role in the community. Key among the improvements was the 1950s redesign of the traditional center-aisle sanctuary to rotate the space 90 degrees to create a layout that brings worship leaders closer to the pews and enables worshipers to see each other's faces. In the 1980s, a modern fellowship hall and classrooms were added to the south side of the building. And, in 2011, we raised money to permanently restore the 92-foot-tall steeple -- the tallest structure in Coopersburg -- as an inviting beacon to all.
Our Rich Heritage . . .
Our predecessors in the faith founded some of the greatest private colleges here in the United States, including Harvard and Yale. Preachers in the Reformed tradition provided inspiration for the American Revolution. Later, they pioneered the Abolitionist movement before the Civil War. Following that terrible struggle, they founded many schools and colleges for the newly freed slaves. They ordained the first woman to the ministry in 1853, Antoinette Brown. During the late 1800s they advocated for the rights of workers and for many social reforms.
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Heritage in our Local area . . .Our church is an active member of the Lehigh County Conference of Churches, sending a crew of volunteers every month to its soup kitchen for over twenty years. We support Phoebe Ministries, the UCC-founded non-profit that cares for the elderly in seven counties. , We pack lunches for the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter to distribute and were partners in the Mask Force that made over 25,000 facial masks for those in need during the 2019-2020. At present, we are home to the Coopersburg Neighborhood Senior Center and we rent to second congregation who uses our building. We are also home to the COMPASS veterans group.
We are a church that believes that faith is meant to be lived out in the world.
In Addition . . .Our UCC ancestors sent the first missionaries oversees from the United States and formed active missions to Native Americans. Following the Civil War, there was a great outpouring of efforts to set up orphanages, hospitals and institutions for the aged. Our United Church of Christ has been an early and consistent advocate for the ecumenical cooperation by helping to begin community CROP walks to combat world hunger. The UCC has taken a stand against racism and the inequalities in our present world.
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