St. Michael's Evangelical Lutheran Church is a historic church building in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, just north of the Germantown neighborhood. The congregation was founded sometime before 1728 and three successive church buildings have occupied the same location since that time. The church was closed in 2016.[1][2]
Though Germantown was dominated by Germans from its founding in 1683, the Lutheran denomination did not become well established there until after 1740. Different German religious denominations grew and changed once they came to America. The first settlers were German Quakers and the Mennonite church soon become important in the town. Dunkards, Moravians, the German Reformed Church and other groups joined the religious mix.[3][4]
The Lutheran and Reformed churches had the largest membership in Germantown in the last half of the eighteenth century, with the Lutherans becoming the largest by the end of the century.[5] St. Michael's and other churches were affected by the lack of ordained ministers, who often rode circuits to serve many churches. It was not until 1790 that a pastor was able to settle his family in Germantown.[6]
The first historical record of the St. Michael's congregation is in 1728 on the death of its first pastor, Anthony Jacob Henckel, who is buried in the cemetery.[2] Sometime after 1731 John Christian Schulz may have briefly served the Germantown congregation before returning to Germany seeking support for Pennsylvania Lutherans.[7] John Dylander, the Swedish pastor of Gloria Dei (Old Swedes) Church from 1737-1742, served many Lutheran churches, both Swedish and German, during this time, including the church in Germantown.[8][9]
Several deeds and land leases were dated between 1737 and 1751 and cover 130 by 1,000 feet (40 by 305m) about 4 acres, from Germantown Avenue to the current Musgrave Street, bounded on the northwest by the current East Phil Ellena Street. More than half this area is still occupied by the church building or cemetery though the area from Ross St. to Musgrave St. is occupied by other buildings.[2]
Beggarstown School in 1972
The first stone church on the site may have been built in 1730. This building was expanded in 1746 and provided with a bell tower and pipe organ in the 1750s.[1]Beggarstown School is a small adjacent building built c. 1740, which was used to teach basic reading, writing, and arithmetic to local students. While most students were part of the congregation, some attended simply because it was the closest local school.[10] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[11]
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America, was an early pastor after arriving in Pennsylvania in 1742. He was assigned to three churches: in Providence (the current Trappe), New Hanover and in Philadelphia proper. The church in Philadelphia, located on 5th Street, was confusingly also called St. Micheal's. Muhlenberg, however, served many other churches, including St. Michael's in Germantown.[12] Charles W. Schaeffer, who was later pastor of St. Michael's Germantown, wrote in his Early History of the Lutheran Church in America that the Germantown church was the fourth church where Muhlenberg became pastor, but that "he treated (it) as an appendage of the church in Philadelphia."[13] Kline states that the Germantown church joined the other three churches in a united congregation three or four months after the others.[14]
In 1745 Muhlenberg assigned the Germantown and Philadelphia churches to Peter Brunnholz, an ordained minister newly arrived from Germany.[15] After Brunnholtz died, Muhlenberg replaced him in 1757 with John Frederick Handschuh. Handschuh faced a revolt from the congregation in 1760, which ostensibly started because of bells attached to collection baskets.[16] The congregation's dissatisfaction with Handschuh and with Muhlenberg was substantial, involving issues of local versus centralized control by Muhlenberg, their places of origin within Germany, and Muhlenberg's pietistic theological training. A small part of the congregation supporting Muhlenberg formed a new church, calling their own pastor, J. Nicholas Kurtz. In 1762 they regained partial use of St. Michael's building by court order. In 1764 they called another pastor, John Ludwig Voigt, which led to a reconciliation of the congregation.[2]
Johann Frederick Schmidt served as pastor from 1769, through the Revolutionary War, until 1786. He was an advocate of American independence and fled from the British during the Battle of Germantown in 1777. The parsonage, now known as the Michael Billmeyer House, is located near the corner of Germantown Avenue and Upsal Street, where an attack on Cliveden was directed. The parsonage was looted during the battle, and the church was occupied with the organ and pews destroyed.[2] The large cemetery which surrounds the church includes graves of several veterans of the Revolutionary War.[1]
In 1785 the church was officially incorporated by an Act of Assembly of Pennsylvania.[2]
Nineteenth century
Germantown's residents had begun assimilating into American culture and religion during the eighteenth century as German-speakers intermarried with English-speakers and some of their children spoke mainly English. Non-Germans migrated to the village as it grew into a suburb of Philadelphia. During the nineteenth century the assimilation continued and in 1854 the suburb was annexed by Philadelphia. By 1811 the village had Anglo-American Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian churches.[17]
Frederick David Schaeffer, who had immigrated from Germany at age sixteen in 1776, served as pastor of St. Michael's from 1790-1812.[13] On January 1, 1813, one source reports that the congregation voted to conduct the service in English on alternate Sundays.[2]
The church's Sunday school, one of the first in the United States, was begun in 1817 to teach underprivileged children on a day when they were off from work. The Sunday school program later started branches in Chestnut Hill, Nicetown, Rising Sun, and other nearby neighborhoods. A new church was built on the site in 1819 at the same time the old church was being torn down. The bells were damaged during the demolition, so a new bell tower was not constructed. The current building was dedicated in 1897.[1]
The Rev. John C. Baker served St. Michael's from 1812 to about 1826. In 1826 he was called to a church in Harrisburg and replaced by the Rev. Benjamin Keller. Keller resigned about 1837 over disputes on the question of using English or German during church services, as well as the question of the role of women in the church. Members of the congregation formed the English Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germantown, later known as Trinity Lutheran Church, in 1836.[18][19]
Services continued using only German until 1845 when S. Mosheim Schmucker, who only spoke English, became the new pastor. Members of the congregation who preferred German services formed the St. Thomas German Church.[2]
The German Reformed church on Market Square experienced similar language conflicts and splintering, until its 1854 transformation into the Market Square Presbyterian Church.[17]
Keller's stepson, the Rev. Charles W. Schaeffer, was pastor from 1849-1875. Charles W. was the grandson of Frederick David Schaeffer and the author of Early History of the Lutheran Church in America.[20][13] He helped organize the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, near St. Michael's, and served there as Professor of Ecclesiastical History. A new parsonage was constructed in 1855. and a Sunday School building in 1866.[2]
Schaeffer married Elizabeth Fry Ashmead Schaeffer in 1836. She worked to raise the role of women in the church and was the founder and first director of the Lutheran Home at Germantown for orphans. This institution is still in operation and was originally located two blocks north of St. Michael's.
By 1900 Germantown had become better integrated into the city of Philadelphia and less of a German suburb. Manufacturing plants and housing for workers grew in southern Germantown, with more than 4,000 workers employed by 82 textile firms. To the north, Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy developed exclusive residential areas along commuter railways. In 1900 only 7.2% of Germantown's population were German immigrants or first generation German-Americans.[17] Manufacturing jobs continued to grow until the end of World War II, then declined. As part of the Great Migration of African-Americans from the south, the ethnic character of the neighborhood changed by the mid 20th century.[23] As manufacturing jobs declined, St. Michael's became part of an "inner-city" neighborhood.[24][25]
The St. Thomas German Church, which had separated from St. Michael's in 1845, merged back into St. Michael's in 1957 when its Pastor, Kurt E. B. Molzhan, was called to serve at St. Michael's. German services were reinstituted, along with English services.[2]
The Rev. Andrena Ingram was pastor from 2006-2016. She was the first African American woman pastor at St. Michael's. Under her guidance the church worked with local charities, reaching out to the diverse Germantown community, including the poor, the sick, and the hungry.[26][27] The church promoted HIV/AIDS awareness and offered free HIV testing and prevention programs.[1][28]
By 2012 the congregation had only about 35 members and the sanctuary was closed during the winter to avoid the cost of heating it.[29]
The church remained active for over 288 years until it closed on September 11, 2016. Bishop Claire Schenot Burkat of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod presided at the final service, assisted by the Rev. Dr. Philip D.W. Krey, a former member of the congregation and the retired president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. The Synod is now responsible for the church and cemetery.[28][30]
Pastors
For the earliest pastors the records may be incomplete and include pastors who served multiple churches.[2]
The Rev. Anthony Jacob Henckel, 1668-1728
The Rev. John Dylander, 1737-1741
The Rev. Valentine Kraft, 1741-1742
The Rev. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, 1743-1745
The Rev. Peter Brunnholtz, 1745-1751
The Rev. John Frederick Handschuh, 1751-1753
The Rev. John C. Andraea, 1753-1754
The Rev. Mr. Funk, 1754-1757
The Rev. Ph. H. Rapp, 1757-1765
The Rev. Jacon van Buskirk, 1765-1769
The Rev. John Frederick Schmidt 1769-1786
The Rev. John Frederick Weinland, 1786-1789
The Rev. Frederick D. Schaeffer 1789-1812
The Rev. John C. Baker, 1812-1827
The Rev. Benjamin Keller, 1817-1835
The Rev. John W. Richards, 1836-1845
The Rev. S. Mosheim Schmucker, 1846-1848
The Rev. Charles W. Schaeffer, 1849-1875
The Rev. Frederick A. Kaehler, 1874-1884
The Rev. John P. Deck, 1884-1889
The Rev. Paul G. Klingler, 1890-1891
The Rev. S.A. Ziegenfuss, 1892-1910
The Rev. Stephen M. Paulson, 1911-1921
The Rev. W. Karl Hemsath, 1922-1952
The Rev. Leon N. Zahn, 1953-1957
The Rev. Kurt E. B. Molzhan 1957-1966
The Rev. Ulrich Martin Keemss 1966-1971
The Rev. Dr. Charles P. Sigel, 1972-1978
The Rev. Michael L. Cobbler, 1979-1982
The Rev. Janet S. Peterman, 1982 -2006
The Rev. Arvid Anderson, 1989-1990
The Rev. Harvey Davis, 1990-1992
The Rev. Violet Little, 1992-2006
The Rev. Andrena Ingram, 2007-2016
Cemetery
The earliest graves in the cemetery are believed to date from the early eighteenth century, but many early gravestones are in German and are illegible due to weathering and acid rain.[2] Burials include:[29]
Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg was an American minister and politician who was the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the first Dean of the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Federalist Party, he was delegate to the Pennsylvania state constitutional convention and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and a Lutheran pastor by profession, Muhlenberg was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania. His home, known as The Speaker's House, is now a museum and is currently undergoing restoration to restore its appearance during Muhlenberg's occupancy.
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, was a German-born Lutheran clergyman and missionary. Born in Einbeck, Muhlenberg immigrated to the Province of Pennsylvania in response to demands from Lutherans for missionary work in the colony. Integral to the founding of the first Lutheran church body or denomination in North America, Muhlenberg is considered the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in the United States. Muhlenberg and his wife Anna Maria had a large family, several of whom had a significant impact on colonial life in North America as pastors, military officers, and politicians. His and Anna Maria's descendants continued to be active in Pennsylvania and national political life.
John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg was an American clergyman and military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. A member of Pennsylvania's prominent Muhlenberg family political dynasty, he became a respected figure in the newly independent United States as a Lutheran minister and member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate.
Germantown is an area in Northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Palatine, Quaker, and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, which is about six miles northwest from the city center, now consists of two neighborhoods: 'Germantown' and 'East Germantown'.
The Muhlenberg family created a United States political, religious, and military dynasty that was primarily based in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but which had also expanded into the State of Ohio by the early nineteenth century. The German American family descends from Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg/Henry Muhlenberg (1711–1787), a German immigrant, noted Lutheran minister, and founder of the Lutheran Church in America.
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church is a Gothic Revival-styled church built in 1889 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by a congregation with German roots. In 1992, the church and associated buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also designated a Milwaukee Landmark.
The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), also known as the Philadelphia Seminary, was one of eight theological seminaries associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in North America. It is located on Germantown Avenue in the Mount Airy neighborhood of northwestern Philadelphia. Founded in 1864, it has its roots in the Pennsylvania Ministerium established in 1748 in Philadelphia by Henry Melchior Muhlenberg.
John Christian Frederick Heyer was the first missionary sent abroad by Lutherans in the United States. He founded the Guntur Mission in Andhra Pradesh, India. "Father Heyer" is commemorated as a missionary in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on November 7, along with Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg and Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen.
The Pennsylvania Ministerium was the first Lutheran church body in North America. With the encouragement of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg (1711–1787), the Ministerium was founded at a Church Conference of Lutheran clergy on August 26, 1748. The group was known as the "German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of North America" until 1792, when it adopted the name "German Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States".
Beggarstown or Bettelhausen was a small community that was located in the present day neighborhood of Mount Airy in Northwest Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It centered primarily along a stretch of relatively flat land along Germantown Avenue roughly between Upsal Street and Gorgas Lane.
Augustus Lutheran Church is a historic church and Lutheran congregation at 717 West Main Street in Trappe, Pennsylvania. Consecrated in 1745, it is the oldest extant Lutheran church building in the United States. It continues to be used by the founding congregation for services on Christmas Eve and during the summer. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967.
The Speaker's House is a museum located in Trappe, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania that preserves the home of Frederick Muhlenberg, the First and Third Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. The house was built in 1763, bought by Muhlenberg in 1781, and occupied by his family until 1791.
Frederick David Schaeffer was a German-American Lutheran clergyman.
David Frederick Schaeffer was a Lutheran clergyman of the United States.
Frederick Christian Schaeffer was a Lutheran clergyman of the United States.
Charles Frederick Schaeffer was a Lutheran clergyman of the United States.
Charles William Schaeffer was a Lutheran clergyman and theologian of the United States.
The Lutheran Home in Germantown, now Silver Springs – Martin Luther School, began in 1859 as an orphanage for children that was originally located in the Mt. Airy, Philadelphia. This institution was a continuation of the work of Rev. William A. Passavant but was founded and managed by Elizabeth Fry Ashmead Schaeffer, who received a single dollar from Passavant and began the mission. The Lutheran Home in Germantown later moved to the Silver Springs property in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, where it continues as a residential treatment facility for children and school for elementary students and middle schoolers.
Elizabeth Fry Ashmead Schaeffer, was the founder of the Lutheran Home at Germantown for Orphans and an active leader of many ministries of the Lutheran Church in Philadelphia. She was the wife of Rev. Charles William Schaeffer and mother of four children.
Johann Samuel Schwerdtfeger (1734–1803) was a clergyman who served German Lutheran congregations in Colonial Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York, and became Upper Canada's first Lutheran Minister.
↑ McCann, Horace F.; Keyser, Naaman H.; Kain, C. Henry; Garber, John Palmer (1907). History of Old Germantown. H. F. McCann. p.256. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
Weiser, Frederick S.; Smith, Debra D. (1998). St. Michael's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Germantown (now part of Philadelphia), Pennsylvania. Rockport, Me: Picton Press. p.448. ISBN978-0897253512. OCLC40550898.
Down Germantown Avenue, Part One, 2007, James Flatley and Etienne Jackson with Robert Wood, YouTube. Student film travels from Chestnut Hill south. Overview of the Germantown area based on The Code of the Street by Elijah Anderson. St. Michael's appears briefly at 5:19
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