Friedens Reformed Church (Mechanicsburg, PA)

Collection

Identifier: Church RG 352

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Peace Church collection consists of one box containing BULLETINS (1934, 1935, 1957, 1974, 1976), CHURCH RECORDS (BAPTISMS 1797-1858, COMMUNICANT RECORDS 1832-1868, CONGREGATIONAL MEETING MINUTES 1901-1913, MEMBERSHIP RECORDS 1818), HISTORY (1927, 1966, 1973, 1979, 1982, 1998), LEGAL AND BUSINESS RECORDS (DEEDS), NEWSLETTERS 1979, PHOTOGRAPHS. "Peace Church," by Robert Grant Crist. CampHill: Plank's Suburban Press, 1966. "A Brief History of the Congregation of Old Peace Church," compiled under the direction of the Reformed Trustees of Old Peace Church and written by Rev. George H. Klinefelter. (150th Anniversary - Old Peace Church)

Dates

Creation: 1797 - 1998

Biographical / Historical

The congregation which built Peace Church was established in 1793 by Anthony Hautz. Meetings were at first held in private homes until they had enough money in 1798 to build a church. The church was completed in 1799 and was made available to preachers from various denominations.The congregation was originally a German speaking church but started using English only in 1814.The church was used by Lutheran and Reformed congregations until 1866 and since then the church has only been used on special occasions. The Reformed congregation experienced a rift with the prevalence of the revivalistic preaching of John Winebrenner. Three other churches were birthed from Peace Church, the Camp Hill Church of God, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Shiremanstown, St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Mechanicsburg. In 1969, the church was acquired by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is being administered and maintained as a historic site by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Pastors: F.D. Schaeffer, Adam Henry Meyers 1791-1793, Anthony Hautz, Jonathan Helfenstein 1806-1808, John Winebrenner 1819