On a hilltop stretch of Church Road in East Greenville, Pennsylvania, a brick sanctuary with a tall steeple has stood watch since 1857, the third house of worship for a congregation whose first recorded communion took place in 1727. New Goshenhoppen United Church of Christ is one of the oldest German Reformed congregations in the country, now affiliated with the United Church of Christ through the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference, and it still welcomes worshipers in the same Upper Perkiomen Valley where its founders settled nearly three centuries ago.
From a Wooden Church to a Brick Steeple
The congregation traces its beginnings to Rev. George Michael Weiss, the first ordained Reformed minister to come to America, who celebrated the Lord's Supper at Goshenhoppen on October 23, 1727. The land itself had been part of the Perkiomen Valley deeded to William Penn in 1684 by Chief Maughoughsin, and a tract of fifty acres was later given to the Lutherans, Mennonites and Calvinists by John Henry Sproegel for church use. When the Lutherans and Mennonites gave up their claims, the entire tract passed to the Reformed congregation.
Three buildings have served the church. A log structure was in use by 1739; a two-story stone church followed in 1769, complete with an organ built by the famed David Tannenberg; and in 1857 the present brick church was erected at a cost slightly over $18,000, with nine members each contributing $100 toward the steeple and bell. A marble slab above the front door still bears the inscription: "New Goshenhoppen Reformed Church founded between the years 1680 and 1700." Timbers from the 1769 church became rafters in the present building, the Tannenberg organ's collars border the current organ cabinet, and a wooden memorial tablet honoring Rev. Weiss, who was buried under the pulpit of the second church, rests at the top of the entrance stairs.
The brick sanctuary features a balcony on three sides, frescoed walls described in an 1858 newspaper account as "an elegant appearance," and a chancel decorated to represent variegated marble. A Moeller pipe organ, rebuilt in 1994, anchors worship from the rear balcony. The 2027 calendar will mark the congregation's 300th year, and a celebration committee is already forming.
Sunday Worship and What to Expect
Sunday services are held in the sanctuary at 8:00 am and 10:30 am, with the 10:30 am service livestreamed on YouTube. Services follow a traditional format built around scripture, prayer, sermon, and the rich musical offerings of the adult and children's choirs, and they normally run between an hour and an hour and fifteen minutes. Visitors are not singled out, but greeters wearing name tags make introductions easy, and many in the pews will be dressed in everything from suits and ties to jeans and t-shirts. The church simply advises, "Come as you are." After the service, the pastors, Rev. Dr. David Williams and Rev. Erick Kern, station themselves outside the sanctuary doors to greet visitors, and a coffee hour in the Social Room follows downstairs.
From July through August, the 10:30 am service moves outdoors to the bandshell at New Goshenhoppen Park on 3rd Street, a quarter mile from the church. Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month and on special holy days, including Advent, Christmas Eve, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Easter, Pentecost, and World Communion Sunday. The practice is open communion: anyone who wishes to join in the meal may do so, with grape juice and gluten-free bread available. Communion is received either by trays brought to the pews or by intinction at the front.
Two choirs share musical leadership: a Senior Choir and a Youth Choir. Those who play instruments can join the Brass Choir or Bell Choirs. On Easter, Christmas Eve, and other festal days the Brass Choir joins with organ and voices, and the chancel often rings with German accents, including the first verse of "Silent Night" sung in German at the Christmas Eve candlelit service.
Baptism, Communion, and Beliefs
New Goshenhoppen acknowledges Jesus Christ as its sole Head and looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit for its redemptive work. It claims the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed by the Protestant Reformers, including the Heidelberg Catechism, and recognizes two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion.
Baptism usually involves gently pouring water three times over the head of the one being baptized, once for each person of the Trinity. The sacrament is most commonly administered in infancy or early childhood, with parents making vows on the child's behalf and the child later affirming those vows at Confirmation, typically in middle school. Adults and older children who have never been baptized are welcomed after instruction, and those baptized in another Christian tradition are not re-baptized. Holy Communion combines bread and wine with the words Jesus spoke at the Last Supper. The congregation does not attempt to explain how the mystery of Communion works but trusts that Christ is mysteriously present in the consecrated elements.
Among the statements of faith recognized by the church are the Apostles' Creed and the United Church of Christ Statement of Faith, which proclaims God as Eternal Spirit who creates, judges, saves, and binds the church in covenant across all ages, tongues, and races.
Christian Education for All Ages
Sunday School meets at 9:15 am from September through June and offers five classes: an adult class using the Present Word curriculum and four youth classes from Preschool through 12th grade, the oldest group using Echo 360 and the younger three using Deep Blue Kids. The younger groups begin together in the sanctuary for a large-group lesson before dividing into smaller classes. A Wednesday Bible Study meets at 4:00 pm.
Two youth groups, Junior Youth for grades 4 to 8 and Senior Youth for grades 8 to 12, gather for fellowship, service, retreats, and fun. The Sunday School also produces an annual Christmas program, and an Advent Workshop brings the congregation together for craft making and togetherness. Vacation Bible School fills one week of the summer with games, music, crafts, and stories. The Confirmation Class for students in 7th grade and up began in September 2025 and will conclude at Pentecost 2027, timed to the church's 300th anniversary.
Adults find additional formation through Life Long Learning, a Tuesday-morning program of talks and discussions held in the Educational Wing and Sanctuary during April and October. Designed primarily for seniors, the program picks up a slate of topics each season and offers a comfortable space with ample parking and elevator access.
The New Gosh Nursery School
Founded in 1978, the New Goshenhoppen Nursery School provides a loving, caring, and safe preschool environment across three programs: a Pre-Kindergarten Program for four-year-olds meeting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; a Pre-School Program for three-year-olds meeting Tuesday and Thursday; and Toddler Time, a once-weekly play-based group for two-year-olds. A three-week Kindergarten Boot Camp is offered in late May and early June for children entering kindergarten in the fall. The school admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin and does not discriminate in its educational or admissions policies. Director Beverly Benner and a staff of teachers and aides welcome visits and inquiries.
Music and Worship at New Gosh
Music is woven into nearly every aspect of worship at New Goshenhoppen. The Senior Choir and Youth Choir sing regularly, the Brass Choir adds exclamation on festal Sundays, and the Bell Choir offers its own distinctive voice. The 1950 Moeller pipe organ, rebuilt in 1994, supports the congregational hymn-singing that is the heartbeat of Sunday mornings. Special services bring soloists and choirs together for anthems, and the Christmas Eve service closes with the congregation singing "Silent Night" by candlelight alone, the first verse in German and the remainder in English.
The Park, the Trail, and Farmland Preservation
Across 3rd Street from the sanctuary, New Goshenhoppen Park spreads across twenty-five acres of sparsely wooded land with a bandshell, dining hall, refreshment stand, bathrooms, playground, and ample parking. The annual Strawberry Festival in June brings face-painting, a moon-bounce, a petting zoo, a cake walk, the Red Hill Band, and the traditional strawberries, cake, and ice cream, with proceeds supporting Christian Education and outreach. Summer worship in the park, the annual Pig Roast, and community services with neighboring congregations all happen under the bandshell roof.
In 2011, the church permanently preserved 73.81 acres of its campus through the Montgomery County Farmland Preservation Program, a decision that has shaped the congregation's identity in the years since. The proceeds seeded the Goschenhoppen Meadows Fund, which each year supports Ministry, Mission, and Maintenance projects above and beyond the regular budget. Locally, gifts have gone to the Open Link food pantry, the Nate Clemens Fund for substance recovery, and the First Monday Community Meal; regionally, to Bethany Children's Home, the Women's Center of Montgomery County, Hope Rescue Mission in Reading, Phoebe Ministries, and Lancaster Seminary; nationally, to St. Jude, Re-Member, Smile Train, and Comfort Cases; and internationally, to Church World Service hunger and water projects, refugee relief, Habitat for Humanity, and 20/20/20 Eyesight.
The New Gosh Trail, a one-and-a-half-mile mowed loop around the farmed area, lets visitors walk through open fields and woodlands past bluebird boxes and tree markers, with the church steeple rising in the distance. Maps are available on the table outside the church office.
Reaching Out in the Upper Perkiomen Valley
New Goshenhoppen takes seriously the call to serve neighbors near and far. The First Monday Meal, held on the first Monday of each month, prepares community meals for pickup, with outside groups like the Business and Professional Women of the Upper Perkiomen Valley rotating in to cook. The Blessing Box in the lower parking lot offers a round-the-clock resource of non-perishable food and hygiene items for anyone in need. A partnership with the Open Link food pantry, located in Pennsburg, channels donations to neighbors facing food insecurity.
Disaster Ministry has organized trips to communities hit by hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes, beginning with New Orleans after Katrina in 2007 and continuing with relief work in Daytona Beach, Tusculoosa, Atlantic City after Sandy, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Guatemala. Scouting groups, including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Cub Scouts, regularly use the Christian Education Wing, Fellowship Hall, and the park for meetings, banquets, and service projects.
The Oldest Cemetery in Upper Montgomery County
Across the front of the church stands a burial ground that may have been selected as early as 1708, when John Henry Sproegel donated six acres for that purpose, making it the oldest in the upper portion of Montgomery County. Founders of the church and many prominent early settlers rest there, including the Hillegass, Welker, Graber, Reed, and Huber families, whose descendants remain members today. American flags and brass markers identify the graves of 36 Revolutionary War soldiers. Rev. George Michael Weiss, the first pastor, lies in front of the present church, as does Rev. John Theobald Faber, Sr., who was stricken while preaching in the pulpit and died in 1788. The cemetery records, along with baptism, membership, marriage, and burial records, are available through the FamilySearch catalog and in the church's own collection, and the Historical Committee hosts Grave Tales tours and group walks through the grounds.
Accessibility, the Building, and Governance
A 2012 "access for all" project added a two-story connector breezeway with an elevator and made five bathrooms accessible across all floors of the facility. The sanctuary includes both heating and air-conditioning, wheelchair-accessible pew seating, ADA door openers, hearing assist devices, and large print bulletins. Greeters and ushers are available at every entrance. The covered drop-off area can be reached by looping around the church through the main driveway.
Governance rests with the congregation, which meets annually to review ministry investments, approve the budget, and elect members to the Consistory. The Consistory consists of the pastors plus six Elders, six to nine Deacons, and three Trustees. Major policies, including the Constitution and By-Laws, Safe Church Policy, Personnel Policy, and Ushering and Greeting Guidelines, are posted for the congregation.
Weddings, Rentals, and the Camp Legacy
The sanctuary, which seats more than 300 including balcony seating, hosts weddings alongside the church park, where ceremonies can use the bandshell, dining hall, and restrooms beneath open skies. The Christian Education Wing, Fellowship Hall, and park are also available for family reunions, birthday parties, sports banquets, and conferences, with separate rooms for dressing and preparation for wedding parties. Rental applications for the church and the park are available on the church's site. After more than a decade of faithful ministry, the summer camping program that began in 2013 concluded in 2025; its legacy lives on in the Outdoor Ministry Committee's continuing work sending children, youth, and adults to Pennsylvania Southeast Conference camps and retreats.
Pastoral Care and Staff
Rev. Dr. David Williams serves as Senior Pastor, Rev. Erick Kern as Associate Pastor, and Reverend Elaine Ely as Pastor of Grief Support. Beverly Benner directs the nursery school, and an office staff handles scheduling, finances, and administration. The church office can be reached at 215-679-2041 or office@newgoshucc.org. Pastoral staff are available to talk with anyone considering baptism, joining the church, or simply visiting for the first time, and the church's motto remains its simplest invitation: "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here."