On a quiet stretch of Main Street in Oley, Pennsylvania, a church has stood at 337 Main Street since 1830. Friedens United Church of Christ, known locally as Friedens UCC, has been gathering in the Oley Valley for nearly two hundred years, and its members speak of the building and the congregation as one continuous story. The name "Friedens" comes from the German word for peace, a fitting label for a congregation that takes seriously its mission statement, "Together we serve with joy and love!"
Sunday Morning Worship
Worship is the heartbeat of Friedens UCC, and the congregation gathers each Sunday morning for a service in the church's traditional sanctuary. The regular service begins at 10:15 am. During the summer months, June, July, and August, the start time moves up to 9:00 am.
The service style is "formal but not stuffy," and the welcome is broad. Attire is whatever a visitor feels most comfortable in, from jeans to suits to athletic wear. The congregation gathers to worship "through praise, prayer, word, song, meditation and the sacraments," and the service is intended for the young and the old, the certain and the searching, the joyful and the mourning.
Holy communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of every month, in addition to many special services. Friedens practices an open table, and all are welcome to receive the sacrament regardless of church affiliation. The communion liturgy is printed in the bulletin so that everyone can follow along.
Virtual Worship and the Wider Reach
Every worship service at Friedens UCC is offered both in person and online through a YouTube livestream, allowing members who are traveling, homebound, or otherwise unable to attend in person to take part in real time. Recordings of previous services are also available on the church's YouTube channel, so anyone can revisit a service at any hour. Digital bulletins are archived going back to November 2023, making it easy for virtual attendees to follow along with the order of service.
Christian Education: Sunday School, VBS, and Confirmation
Children are an especially visible part of life at Friedens UCC. The church offers Sunday School on the second and last Sundays of each month (with the program on pause during the summer). Children ages three through twelve begin the service in the sanctuary with their families, then move partway through to their own classrooms with volunteer teachers. After worship ends, parents head to the classrooms downstairs to pick up their children.
On the second Sunday of each month, the same Sunday that Sunday School meets, the pastor or a lay leader offers a children's message during worship, helping the youngest members connect the Bible story of the week to their own lives. Each Advent season, the Sunday School program organizes a live, youth nativity scene in which children take on roles to share the Christmas story during a regular worship service.
Vacation Bible School is the largest children's outreach of the year. Held in the summer, VBS at Friedens UCC is now a co-hosted program with three other local congregations, Maidencreek Church, St. Paul's UCC, and St. Paul's Lutheran Church, and the gathering takes place at Maier's Grove in Blandon. Children ages three (potty trained) through sixth grade are invited for a week of games, music, lessons, and a shared meal. Past themes have included "Scuba" in 2024 and "True North" in 2025.
For older youth, Friedens UCC offers a confirmation program that runs based on demand and is tailored to the participating individuals. Traditionally the program includes regular classes and assignments covering the wider history of the church as well as Friedens UCC's own story. A new member program is also available, with sessions and conversations designed to introduce those considering membership to the life of the congregation.
The Building and Its Spaces
The original Friedens church was built in 1830, with the cornerstone set on May 23rd of that year. The first building measured just thirty-five feet wide by forty-five feet long, and the earliest recorded Reformed Communion was celebrated on March 17, 1831. The original pastors, the Revs. John Guildin and Charles (Carl) Herman, preached in both German and English.
Two centuries of additions and renovations have produced the building that stands today. The most significant expansion came in 2000, when a major addition added Weidner Hall (a large social hall with a full kitchen), several classrooms and meeting spaces, and a new narthex where worshippers can gather before and after the service. The entire building is ADA accessible, with a wheelchair-friendly entrance through the parking lot and the back door into the narthex. Worshippers who use mobility devices can reach the sanctuary without navigating stairs.
For visitors who need additional accommodations, large-print bulletins are offered at both entrances to the sanctuary, and audio assisting devices are available for those with hearing difficulties. Visitors with specific requests are encouraged to speak with a greeter or member of the hospitality team so the church can address any other needs.
Beyond Sunday mornings, the building hosts a wide range of community life. Weidner Hall can seat up to 240 people and includes a projector with HDMI hookup and a Fire Stick, a stage with piano and sound system, and a full industrial kitchen. The sanctuary, with its dark wood accents, organ and piano, modern sound system, and livestream cameras, is available for weddings, funerals, and other ceremonies. A conference room seats ten at its main table, and several smaller classrooms can be set up for meetings, training, or small group activities. Outdoor spaces, including courtyards and a parking lot, are also available for events during warmer months.
The Famous Hoagie Ministry
One of the most beloved programs at Friedens UCC is the Hoagie Ministry. From April through November, on a Thursday near the start of each month, the church's team of members and community friends makes more than 1,000 hoagies in a single session. The hoagies, either the "Friedens Signature" Italian (with hard and cooked salami, capicola, ham, and provolone) or a simpler ham and provolone, are piled onto 10-inch rolls from Lusitania Bakery, with lettuce, onions, and tomatoes in separate bags and a dressing packet to keep things fresh. Each order also comes with the choice of a small cup of hot pepper relish.
The ministry serves several purposes at once. The proceeds support the operations of the church, fund mission work, and benefit other local non-profit causes. Fifty hoagies each month are donated to Veterans Making a Difference. Hoagies are priced at $8 each, with payment made at pick-up. Orders are placed by the Sunday before each sale, either by filling out a form in the narthex, calling the church office, or using the online order form.
The Mission Team: Food Insecurity and Community Partners
If the Hoagie Ministry is Friedens UCC's most visible program, the Mission Team is its broadest. Led by a dedicated group of volunteers, the Mission Team directs community outreach and support work in and around the Oley Valley. The team coordinates food collection drives, raises money through special fundraisers, and supports a long list of community partners.
Fighting food insecurity is one of the Mission Team's most consistent initiatives. Friedens UCC partners most closely with the Oley Valley Food Pantry, which is in turn backed by Helping Harvest, a regional food bank serving Berks and Schuylkill Counties. Each month of the year has a designated collection item, canned soup in January, boxed macaroni and cheese in February, pancake mix in March, and so on through a full calendar of staples, to keep the local pantries stocked with what they most need.
The church also maintains its own Little Free Pantry, located by the parking lot near the Main Street entrance in the church's bell tower. Open twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, the Little Free Pantry is a constant resource for neighbors who find themselves without a meal.
In addition to food work, the Mission Team collects eyeglasses for the Muhlenberg Lions Club, coupons (including recently expired ones) for military families stationed in Guam, calendars for Alzheimer's unit patients (in partnership with Friedens Lutheran Church), unused greeting cards for the Caring Connections card ministry, used inkjet cartridges for recycling fundraisers, and new or gently used clothing and shoes for Kennedy House. Special monthly offerings go to local organizations including the Oley Fire Company, Opportunity House, Safe Berks, the Oley Valley Community Library, Mary's Shelter, and others. The Mission Team also supports the UCC's four Special Mission Offerings and Our Church's Wider Mission, and the church has a track record of being a "5 for 5 church" in support of these wider causes.
From time to time, the Mission Team organizes larger fundraisers, pasta dinners, pancake breakfasts, and seasonal flower sales for Easter, fall mums, and Christmas poinsettias, and has supported a mission trip to Peru as recently as July 2024. Donation bins for the Mission Team are located in Weidner Hall, and monetary gifts can be designated on the offering envelope.
Pastoral Leadership and Music Ministry
Friedens UCC is served by its settled pastor, the Rev. Corrine Dautrich, who first began her call with the congregation in November 2022 as Designated Pastor before being installed as the settled pastor in January 2025. A native of the Oley Valley, Pastor Corrine served in the United States Air Force from 1983 to 1995 before pursuing her education. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland and a Master of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary, and she was ordained in 2003. She is also a Board Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains, having served as a Staff Chaplain at Phoebe Ministries and the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network in Allentown. She previously served First UCC in Reading and New Jerusalem UCC in Fleetwood. Her pastoral call with Friedens UCC is scheduled to conclude on October 11, 2026, with the search for the next pastor already underway.
Music ministry at Friedens is led by Teri Hoffman, Director of Music, who moved into the formal role in early 2025 after years of participating in the church's music program. A graduate of West Chester University with a degree in music education, Teri has a background in musical theatre, classroom teaching, and choral direction, and she continues to operate her horse farm while serving the church. Because the Director of Music role is part time, the church also brings in guest musicians to supplement the worship music each week.
Governance: Consistory, Committees, and the Women's Guild
Like many UCC congregations, Friedens is governed by a Consistory, made up of elected elders and deacons. The President, Vice President, and Secretary are elected from within the Consistory membership each year. The Treasurer and Financial Secretary are appointed annually by the Consistory to oversee the church's finances. A Technology Team manages the church's online presence, livestream, and social media; a Christian Education Committee oversees Sunday School, VBS, Confirmation, and Bible Study; a Music & Worship Committee guides the church's music and worship planning; and a Property Committee takes care of the building and grounds.
The Women's Guild is one of the most active and visible groups in the life of the church. Open to all women who are members of Friedens UCC, the Guild oversees recurring events such as shoofly pie sales and the annual Church Bazaar. The Altar Guild assists with the preparation of worship spaces, including the seasonal changes of the liturgical calendar, and organizes the elements for communion. An Interior Design Task Force, established in early 2023, is in the process of redecorating and reimagining the church's spaces.
Wider Church Connections
Friedens UCC lives within the wider United Church of Christ. The congregation is a member of the Covenant Association, a regional grouping within the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference (PSEC), one of the UCC's regional conferences. The congregation has German Reformed roots: when the church was founded, it was actually a union of Lutheran and Reformed worshipers who alternated Sundays until the congregations eventually separated. The Reformed congregation continued as Friedens UCC; Friedens Lutheran still worships today down the road on Route 73 in Oley.
The congregation remains active in community life beyond its walls. It advertises and supports the historic Friedens Cemetery, located in the heart of the Oley Valley and the resting place for generations of local families since the first burial in 1805. The cemetery is not owned or operated by Friedens UCC, but the church maintains a strong connection to its neighbors there.
Communications and Staying in Touch
In addition to Sunday worship, the church publishes a monthly newsletter, an annual report, weekly bulletins, and a weekly email from the pastor called "Thursday Thoughts." Social media is active on Facebook and YouTube, and the church maintains an updated online calendar. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, with additional hours available with the pastor by appointment.
Visitors and prospective members are warmly welcomed at 337 Main Street in Oley. With a sanctuary that has stood for nearly two hundred years, a building that has grown to serve a wide range of community needs, a children's program that engages the youngest worshippers, a Mission Team that fights hunger in the Oley Valley, and a Hoagie Ministry that turns out more than a thousand sandwiches a month, Friedens UCC continues to live out the simple words of its mission statement: "Together we serve with joy and love!"