St. Peter's Website

St. Peter's 200th Anniversary
1805-2005

Bicentennial Celebration | Anniversary Message | Anniversary Quilt

Bicentennial Celebration

St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Plainfield Township is commemorating its 200th anniversary through special events, including services led by former pastors.

"I'm pleased to follow a long line of pastors who have led the congregations of St. Peter's since the late 18th Century," said current Pastor Frank Terhune. "Each pastor who has led this congregation has contributed to the long legacy of providing spiritual leadership to residents of Plainfield Township and surrounding communities."

Although the official date of the founding is 1805, Lutheran and Reformed congregations worshiped on the church property in a small log cabin in 1770 and, most likely, gahered in the parochial schoolhouse before that time, according to the History of St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Written in commemoration of the 175th anniversary, the booklet lists pastors back to Johannes Andreas Frederici, who served prior to 1790.

St. Peter's Church (the Plainfield Church) did not have its own record book for the first 40 years, according to History of St. Peter's Lutheran Church. Keeping records of the early church would have been exceedingly difficult because providing food, clothing, shelter and protection consumed most of the time of the early settlers. The fact that these early settlers were able to establish a church under these trying circumstances is certainly an example of their faith in God. What a great heritage is ours!

The log cabin was converted into a "renovated church" about1800 and used until 1832 when the two congregations, Reformed and Lutheran, erected a new church made of brick. A year later, the congregations, which had been led in singing by a person called a" fore singer," purchased their first organ. The renovated log church was later moved to Wind Gap-Belfast Road, where it became a farmhouse that was later owned by the Berger family.

The current granite church was dedicated on August 10, 1919, and a social room was added in 1938. St. Peter's was used regularly by the Reformeds and Lutherans until the congregation decided to dissolve the union in 1967. The Lutheran congregation continued to gather at St. Peter's under the leadership of Rev. Sterling Geiger.

Today approximately 420 families belong to St. Peter's. Worship services are held at 8:00 AM and 10:15 AM each Sunday and on the first and third Saturdays at 5:00 PM, as well as on Holy Days throughout the year. Sunday School is held at 9:00 AM and St. Peter's Youth (SPY) meets approximately two Sundays a month at 6:00 PM. St. Peter's also houses God's Love Nursery School and Latchkey, an after-school care program. Additionally, St. Peter's has both men's and women's groups, along with other groups, committees, and Social Ministries' programs. St. Peter's anniversary celebration was inaugurated with a visit from the Rev. David Stroble, Bishop of the Northeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Presentation of Anniversary Quilt

On Sunday, Febrary 20, 2005, the quilting group presented a quilt to be signed by church members and hung in the church. Click here for pictures of this beautiful creation.

Former Pastors Welcomed

St. Peter's welcomed former pastors and daughters of the church to deliver sermons throughout the year. They are as follows:

Pastor Allyn Itterly Giuffre, the first female member of the church to by ordained in the Lutheran Ministry, led us in worship on April 17. Pastor Giuffre is currently a Pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh.

Pastor John Yost led us in worship on May 22. Pastor Yost is currently Pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Pastor Jean Huber led us in worship on July 10. Pastor Huber was ordained at St. Peter's in 2004 and is currently pastor at Arndt’s Lutheran Church in Fork’s Township.

Pastor Fred Guy (St. Peter's first intern) preached on September 18. He is currently serving as principal at Charlotte Lutheran Schools, in Charlotte NC.

Pastor Lynn Rothrock, interim pastor in 2004, led us in worship on September 25. Pastor Rothrock is currently serving part-time as interim pastor at St. John's Lutheran Church in Mahoning.

Pastor Sterling Geiger, former pastor of St. Peter's, preached at the October 9th worship. He is currently retired and living in Orefield, PA.

Pastor David Newhart, former pastor, preached on October 23. He is currently an interim pastor at TrinityLutheran Church in Hecktown.

Mr. Bradley Wolff,who is currently a history teacher residing in Laconia, New Hampshire, preached at the November 13th worship.

Pastor Denton Kees, most recent former pastor at St. Peter's preached on November 20. Pastor Kees is currently the Intentional Interim pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Bethlehem.

The anniversary events culminated with an anniversary dinner held on Sunday, October 16 at the church.

Baskets to Commemorate our 200th Anniversary

To commemorate our 200th anniversary, we commissioned the American Tradition Basket Co.to make us a cake basket and a bread basket, both with a liner and protector. The cake basket is $60.00 and the breadbasket is $40.00. If you would like to purchase one of these baskets, please contact Jackie Brinker, Mary DeHaven, or Mary Williams. The baskets are on display on the windowsill in the back of the church and in the hurch office. Each basket has the following engraved logo:

An Anniversary Message from Pat Shoup, Past President of Council

As we begin to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of St. Peter's, my mind wanders back to our ancestors and what it must have been like for them to attend worship. They farmed the land in Plainfield Township, which means they attended worship after their daily chores were finished. They weren't able to hop out of bed, jump in the shower, dress, have a quick cup of coffee or a bite to eat, grab the car keys and go to church. They rode to church on horseback or in a horse-drawn carriage only after feeding the animals, milking the cows, and completing whatever morning chores had to be done. What wonderful Christians they must have been! With everything they had to do, they still made time for worship.

I also wonder if they knew when they chose the name "St. Peter's" exactly how much they were like Peter. In Matthew 16:13-20, we learn that Peter was considered the rock upon which Jesus built the church and that he was given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. I'm sure our ancestors gave our church that name because they wanted us to remember that we also hold the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven - we just have to use them. St. Peter's has been a "rock" since 1805. The building has certainly grown from a tiny log cabin. The membership of St. Peter's has also grown. And as we celebrate our 200th year, we have visions of growing even more.

My hope for this anniversary year is three-fold:

I hope you will take the time to read about the history of St. Peter's on this website.
I hope you will take time each day to praise God and thank him for our ancestors who had the vision and dream which is now St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Plainfield Township, PA.
I hope that you will take time to attend worship along with the other opportunities for fellowship at St. Peter's not only during our Anniversary celebration, but in years to come.

Happy 200th Anniversary St. Peter's! Throughout this anniversary year, please remember this psalm of praise and thanksgiving:

Psalm 100
(as written in the Contemporary English Version of the Bible)