St. John’s Lutheran Church to celebrate 150th anniversary with worship service

One hundred and fifty years as a worshipping community is certainly reason enough to celebrate.

And celebrate they will when St. John’s Lutheran Church, 40 Second St., Slatington, commemorates its 150th anniversary with a service at 10:15 a.m. Sunday.

The Rev. Russell Haab, pastor of the church, said the church is proud to acknowledge its history.

“It gives us a chance to look back and tell the story of how we got here, and to celebrate the faith of the people and ministers who have gone before us and made it possible for us to be here today,” Haab said.

“But it is also a testament to the power of God in our lives as we look toward the future of the church. Ministers change, the people change, the needs of the community change, but through our connection with God, we are empowered as the church to meet the needs that arise. Even though Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, the church needs to constantly reform to meet the needs of people each day.”

The anniversary worship

Haab said the anniversary worship “will be a chance to celebrate our faith and the accomplishments of St. John’s Lutheran Church over the past 150 years.”

The church has also invited their bishop, The Rev. Dr. Samuel Zeiser to join them, and will also welcome their former pastor, the Rev. Richard Hinkle, and a daughter of the congregation, the Rev. Mary Hendricks, who has gone into church ministry, Haab said.

“But the celebration is also a chance to look to the future and celebrate how God will call us into that future to welcome, serve and minister to our growing community,” he said. “As we look toward the future, we pray that God will continue to lead us and help us to be a vital ministry to our church family and to the community in which we serve our Lord.”

Haab, who has been the pastor at St. John’s since September 2000, is the 10th pastor of the church.

“One hundred fifty years is quite an accomplishment, and I am thankful to God and to everyone who has been a part of our ministry over the last century and a half,” he said. “I am lucky to be part of such an active and vital church in our community.”

The church currently has about 600 members in its congregation, Haab said.

History of the church

In the spring of 1868, several Lutherans in Slatington discussed beginning a Lutheran Sunday school. The first week they had 18 students, and the second week there were 64. A cornerstone was laid in June of 1868 at the site that would be a Union Church with the Reformed and Lutheran churches. The church was dedicated on Christmas that same year.

The Union was dissolved in 1880, and Saint John’s Lutheran Church was given a deed to a house and lot across the street from their former building. In 1881, the cornerstone was laid and the church was built where the church still stands. In 1898, the church built on an additional 25 feet due to the growing congregation. In 1924, the church’s Vacation Bible School had an enrollment of 441 students; making it the largest Vacation Bible School in the Lehigh Valley.

In the 1960s, the church built a new parsonage, and an education wing to accommodate the growing Sunday school, Haab said.

“We are lucky to have an active Sunday school and Vacation Bible School,” he said.

Present-day programs

The church was the original home of the Northern Lehigh Food Bank, started in 1987.

It also has an active catering committee, putting on at least three dinners, including the famous pork and sauerkraut supper in February, and the ham and dandelion dinner in April.

More recently, the church has been the home of the Breakfast Bunch Summer feeding program, and free community lunches offered five times a year.

As part of a Girl Scout Project, one of its youth members started a Food Pack Program to offer food items for weekends for those in need.

The church is also responsible for the Second Chance Shop, which was begun in the 1960s and is still operating on Main Street in Slatington.

The church also hosts many community functions in the Fellowship Hall and Sunday school rooms.