Historical Christmas tour provides a glimpse into the past and future in Palmerton

Emmanuel United Church of Christ

The church was founded in 1903 as part of the Towamensing Parish and worshipped in the Trinity Evangelical Church, Bowmanstown, for three years until the current building was completed.

The first sermon in the new building was Feb. 11, 1906, and the church was dedicated on June 10, 1906.

The church was renovated in 1924. A Conn electric organ was installed in 1954.

In 1994, the church added four Sunday school rooms and expanded the kitchen. In 2008, the stained-glass windows were professionally cleaned, repaired and re-covered. The roof of the bell tower and the vestibule were repaired.

Trinity Evangelical

Lutheran Church

The history of Trinity Lutheran Church extends back to 1895 when the Rev. A.J.L. Breinig and community members formed the congregation. In the early days, most of the services were in German, with English services held only once a month in the evening.

In 1903 the steeple was added and a bell donated. On March 4, 1951, a dedication was held for the renovated church addition and newly installed pipe organ.

Needing more space for Sunday school, the congregation purchased the Lodge Hall located next to the church in 1960 and renovated it for classroom and office use. Then in 1971 ground was broken for sanctuary repairs and renovations along with the current entrance area.

After a fire in 2000 destroyed Trinity Hall, the current fellowship hall and Sunday school wing was constructed.

Currently the congregation has entered into an agreement with Dinkey Memorial Lutheran Church, Ashfield, to share the pastoral services of the Rev. Anthony Pagotto.

St. Vladimir Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

The first influx of Ukrainian immigrants into Palmerton began in 1905. Twenty-five families came to work for New Jersey Zinc. Most of these pioneers were from the Ukrainian provinces of Galicia and Bukovina and were known as Ukrainians. Others from Podharpatska province were known as Rusins. Both groups attended services in Northampton, Lansford and Nesquehoning in order to worship in their own Byzantine Rite rather than in the unfamiliar Roman Rite. By 1914 the number of Ukrainians and Rusins coming to Palmerton increased with the onset of World War I. In 1915 the two groups decided to build the SS. Peter and Paul Church on Church Street.

However, in May 1918 the Ukrainians separated from the Rusins and decided to establish their own parish. Land was purchased from the Palmer Land Company on the corner of Delaware Avenue and First Street for $1,200. The parishioners dug the foundation by hand. The first Divine Liturgy was said in the basement of the church Jan. 1, 1919.

The unique cross on its spires places the Turkish crescent beneath the cross. It signifies the defeat of the Turks, who had conquered the Ukrainian people, near Kiev in the 13th century.

First United

Church of Christ

On Aug. 31, 1910, a group of people of German heritage met in the Union Chapel located in the 100 block of Lehigh Street in Palmerton. The group was interested in organizing a Reformed Church similar to the ones where their ancestors worshipped. The first services were held in the United Evangelical Church on Church Street in the building now used by the Russian Orthodox Church. After that services were held in the Snyder Hotel (now Spillane’s) and the Neighborhood House.

The church purchased land at 457 Delaware Ave., and on June 2, 1912, the new church was dedicated. In 1917, a Sunday school annex was added to the church. In 1937 the Evangelical Synod of North America merged with the Reformed Church of America, and the church now became the First Evangelical and Reformed (E&R) Church of Palmerton.

Due to rapid growth, the congregation felt a need to acquire more land. Property next door was bought in 1947, and a Christian Education wing, including a Fellowship Hall, was built in 1954 and dedicated in 1955. In 1957 the E&R Church merged with the Congregationalist Christian Church, and the church now became the First United Church of Christ, Palmerton. In 1963 and 1964 a new sanctuary was built to complete First’s building program.

Holy Trinity Lutheran

The first Lutheran services in town were held in the Prutzman building on Delaware Avenue in 1901. Shortly after losing a pastor, a fire destroyed the hall and the church’s property. The little congregation became discouraged and disbanded.

In January 1911, preaching services began in the Nickelodeon (now occupied by Keystone Savings Bank) with eight original members in attendance, forming the present congregation. Services were then held in the Snyder Hall (now the site of Spillane’s). In May, the congregation signed a lease with the Evangelical Association to hold services at the “Little White Church” on Third Street and Columbia Ave. Services were held there until 1914.

In 1912 the building lot on the corner of Fifth Street and Lafayette Avenue was chosen for the site of the current church.

In March 1914 a groundbreaking ceremony was held and only five and a half months later the basement was completed and dedicated.

St. John’s Church, St. John’s Episcopal Church

Palmerton town founder, Stephen S. Palmer, in 1905, commissioned the church. It was built in memory of his late wife, Susan Flanders Price Palmer.

The architect, Henry Hardenberg, also designed the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City and the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. The structure is patterned after a village church in old England and is considered by many artists to be an “architectural gem.”

On Sept. 7, 1905, the cornerstone of St. John’s Church was laid. In 1934 a parish house was built in which Sunday school and social activities were held.

The Westminster peal of bells and the east and west Tiffany windows constitute great works of art. The windows in the nave of the church are memorials to the many who have contributed to the growth of Palmerton. The window of St. Luke honors the Rev. George McKinley, who served from 1925 to 1960.

The corporate name, St. John’s Church of Palmerton, signifies the church’s breadth of mind and openness to the community.

Living Hope Lighthouse

This church was originally known as Trinity Evangelical Congregational Church. They began at the Little White Church in 1844 and worshipped there until 1894. On Oct. 7, 1894, members of St. Paul’s church of the Evangelical Association of Lehigh Gap held a meeting at the home of Mary Shipe to form a new group, the Trinity Congregation of Lehigh Gap. They laid the cornerstone for the first building on April 10, 1896. Today, this building is used by the Russian Orthodox Church on Church Street.

The building was dedicated Oct. 21, 1916. While the present building was being built, worship services were held in the Palmerton Supply Co. building on Third Street. Trinity Evangelical Congregational Church closed on June 17, 2001, and a restart was planned, which became Living Hope Lighthouse Church.

Sacred Heart Roman

Catholic Church

The faith community of Sacred Heart Church began its existence in 1890 as Catholics in the area worshipped in a small church located on Fireline Road. The church burned to the ground sometime before 1900.

Worshippers joined as a Mission of the Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Slatington.

In 1907, they made plans to build their own church, with the completion of the first Sacred Heart Church, on the corner of Third and Lafayette in 1908.

The present Sacred Heart Church, which stands on the site of the old church, was completed in 1957. The first Mass in the new building was celebrated on Christmas Eve 1957 with a midnight Mass. In 2017, under the Rev. William Campion, the interior of the church was painted and new and additional lighting was added, as well as the Stations of the Cross refurbished.

St. George Russian

Orthodox Church

St. George Russian Orthodox Church was founded by a nucleus of several families of the same religious beliefs and faith. The first of the Russian Orthodox people came to Palmerton soon after The New Jersey Zinc Co. plants began production in 1900.

For several years most of these families traveled to Slatington, where they attended services at the mission branch of their church. In 1914 members of the Russian Orthodox Catholic Mutual Aid Society purchased the Trinity United Evangelical Church of the Lehigh Gap building on Church Street, for $3,250. The first communion service was held on March 23, 1914.

St. Peter & Paul

Byzantine Catholic Church

Saints Peter & Paul is a parish of the Eparchy of Passaic, New Jersey, a diocese of the Byzantine-Ruthenian Metropolitan Church “sui iuris” of Pittsburgh, a self-governing Church of the Constantinopolitan or Byzantine tradition, in union with Rome and under the pastorship of the Pope of Rome.

Although now a predominantly American Church, the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic community traces its origins to Carpatho-Rus, known also as Carpatho-Ruthenia (Carpatho referring to the Carpathian Mountains, and Ruthenia meaning “Little Russia”), situated between present day Slovakia and Ukraine.

Immigrants from Austria-Hungary founded this church in 1918. The three unusual steeples and triple crosses are distinctive of Russian architecture.

It is affectionately known as an “Onion Church,” a reference to the shape of the domes.

The Little

White Church

The church building dates to 1844 when it was founded as an Evangelical Congregation by the Rev. Jacob Snyder. His tombstone, and those of many of Palmerton’s early settlers, can be found in the historic graveyard behind the church, which is being repaired.

It was home to the Hungarian, Slovak, Windish Lutheran congregation and afforded a place of worship for Holy Trinity Lutheran Church from 1911 to 1914 while awaiting the completion of their structure at Fifth and Lafayette Avenue. For a time it was privately owned, then sold to the St. Francis of Assisi Anglican Catholic Congregation.

In 1993 the Palmerton Area Historical Society purchased it from the First National Bank of Palmerton. At one time, the building was even used as a school, and was used as a society museum.

Through the use of grants and donations, the bell tower has been completely restored, the interior repaired and repainted, and recently, the exterior work was completed. Repainting the outside has made it possible for the building to live up to its name of the “Little White Church.”

St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran

St. John’s is a unique blend of old and new. It is the second-oldest congregation in Carbon County organized in 1798.

The original building was a log structure, replaced by the current building in 1862. The church was heated by two potbellied stoves on either side of the sanctuary and lighted by oil lamps on chandeliers.

The ceiling is embossed tin. Original services were held in German well into the 1800s. Two congregations, Lutheran and Reformed (UCC) shared the building until the 1970s.

Many revisions have taken place through the years. The original organ was hand pumped and the pumper was paid 5 cents for his service. The handle, along with other historical items, are in a display case in the Christian education and office building.

Jerusalem United Church of Christ

In 1845 the people of Towamensing Township of the Reformed and Lutheran faith, wanted to establish a church of their own. On June 1, 1848, the cornerstone was laid in place and the building of the first Union Church at Trachsville was begun. In 1891 the congregation decided to tear down the current church building and build a new church.

In June 14, 1891, the cornerstone was placed and the current building was dedicated on May 26, 1892.

Jerusalem UCC. was at one time a part of a three-church charge along with St. John’s in Effort and Salem in Gilbert. St. John’s was closed at the end of 1964, and Salem and Trachsville continued as the Pleasant Valley Charge until 1979 when each church became an independent entity.

Jerusalem UCC and Jerusalem Lutheran continued to share in worship celebrating together in 1998 their 150th anniversary. In the year 2001, the dissolution of the Trachsville Union church occurred.

In 2001 the congregation of Jerusalem United Church of Christ became the sole owner.

Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran

Over 150 years ago a wooden building was erected and became the home of the Union Church of Lutheran and Reformed congregations.

Serving members for over 40 years, it eventually suffered from age and inadequacy and was demolished and rebuilt at its present location.

Additional remodeling and refurbishing occurred, as both congregations grew and flourished. But with growth, a change of outlook and paths of destination created a “Y” in the road of the future.

A union committee, consisting of both lay and ordained leadership from both congregations was formed. Eventually, an agreement was made to dissolve the Union Church. The Lutheran Church Council contacted the Synod and received guidelines on how to proceed with a new church. Within its unfurnished walls, proud parishioners, armed with folding chairs, sweaters and excitement attended our first service on Oct. 5, 2003.

Salem United

Methodist Church

Salem Aquashicola is a small quaint house of worship, built in 1866 in Millport (Aquashicola). In 1911 the electric lights were installed in the church and later a steeple was added.

During the most recent years of the church a day care program was added to attend to the needs of the two-parent working family.