The Heritage of Old Goshenhoppen
A Reformed congregation that has worshiped on these grounds for nearly three centuries, through every season God has given. Today, as those before us did, we strive to stay faithful to the Word of God in the storms of our day.
Still a gathered congregation
These grounds are old, but by God’s grace Old Goshenhoppen Reformed Church is still a gathered congregation, meeting every Lord’s Day to hear God speak in His Word.
Every Sunday at 10 AM we seek to preach God’s Word faithfully and without shame, now through the Gospel of Luke, proclaiming Christ as our only comfort. Worship is simple, not a performance: Scripture, prayer, Psalms and hymns, the preached Word and the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day, as we strive to worship God with reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28), resting on His grace alone in Christ. We confess the faith summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism and the historic creeds, the same catechism dearly loved by our founders and still treasured by us today.
We are an elder-led congregation, shepherded by our pastors and elders under the headship of the Lord Jesus. Young and old worship together, pray together and share a meal after worship on most Sundays.
From a barn to Church Road
In November 1725, German Reformed settlers met in a barn in the Skippack region, a few miles away, where John Boehm presided over communion. They were content there, but they were few.
On October 12, 1727, a company of Reformed settlers from the Palatinate stepped off the boats and received communion from Rev. George Michael Weiss, the first ordained German Reformed pastor in the New World and, in time, pastor of Old Goshenhoppen. The small Skippack group eventually merged with them, and together they came to call themselves the Goshenhoppen people.
Why “Goshenhoppen”? In the Bible, Goshen was the land in Egypt where God settled Israel and provided for them before He brought them into the Promised Land (Genesis 45:10; 47:27). The settlers likened this new land to Goshen, a place of God’s provision while they were sojourners, and hoppen is the German word for haven.
John Boehm wrote to Amsterdam on the congregation’s behalf, and on November 12, 1730, it was recognized there as a New World church plant. In 1732 Lutherans and Reformed began sharing the property as a union church. In 1744 work began on a stone church, dedicated in 1746; we still worship on its foundation. It was remodeled in 1858, and the most recent remodel, begun under Rev. J. Luman Raus and finished under Rev. Thomas R. Brendle, was completed in 1915. The Oyster Picnic began in 1877. In 2019 a tornado damaged every structure on the property.
All churches go through seasons, and God has kept a people here through every one of them. We pray He keeps us holding fast to His Word.
Places & ministries of Old Goshenhoppen
The church, the cemetery, the 1732 Gemeinhaus and the ministries that grew up around them, all on the same grounds on Church Road.
Help preserve this sacred and singularly unique place
Your gift cares for the grounds of Old Goshenhoppen as a whole, so that its history is handed on to the generations to come.
Upcoming heritage events
Why we say “Since 1727”
Settlers were already gathering at the Table in November 1725; we count from October 12, 1727, when Weiss gave communion to the Goshenhoppen people, Reformed settlers from the Palatinate, as they arrived.
John Boehm presides over communion in a barn in the Skippack region, a few miles away.
On October 12, Rev. George Michael Weiss gives communion to Reformed settlers from the Palatinate as they step off the boats. The Skippack group later merges with them, and together they name themselves the Goshenhoppen people.
John Boehm writes to Amsterdam, and on Nov. 12 the congregation is recognized as a New World church plant.
The union church: Lutherans and Reformed share the property.
Work begins on the stone church in 1744, and Rev. Michael Schlatter dedicates it on Sept. 20, 1746. Today’s church still stands on its foundation.
The church is remodeled on the 1744 foundation; the Gemeinhaus still stands behind it.
The first Oyster Picnic. The Reading Railroad brought oysters out on ice and visitors from Philadelphia, and it grew into a great end-of-summer gathering. It is still held every year on the first Saturday after Labor Day.
The most recent remodel, begun under Rev. J. Luman Raus (1895–1913) and finished in 1915 under Rev. Thomas R. Brendle (1913–1926). The sanctuary moved upstairs and stained glass was added. Afterward it was considered one of the most modern churches in the country, down to a listening system for the hearing impaired.
The Lutheran congregation moves; the Reformed congregation continues here.
A tornado damages every structure on the property.
A biblical church striving to stay faithful: prayer at 8:30, Sunday School at 9, and the Word preached and the Supper served every Lord’s Day at 10 AM.
2027. Sat., Sept. 11: the 150th Oyster Picnic. Tue., Oct. 12: 300 years since the Goshenhoppen people, Reformed settlers from the Palatinate, first received communion on these shores.