Colonial Pennsylvania was a welcoming place for various German-speaking Protestant, Anabaptist, Pietist, and some Catholic groups. Penn’s “Holy Experiment” offered the promise of religious toleration and a new start for immigrants of these church and sectarian groups. The Berks, Bucks and Montgomery County area, in particular, is home to some of the oldest congregations of these various church groups.
On this one-day bus tour, we will visit some of these early congregations with surviving historic church buildings, in the Upper Perkiomen Valley. This area includes northern Montgomery County, parts of eastern Berks County, and the southern-most tip of Lehigh. We’ll travel through rural countryside, small villages, towns and boroughs, as well as more developed areas.
Scheduled stops include:
-New Goshenhoppen United Church of Christ, East Greenville, Montgomery Co. (congregation from about 1728; current church built 1857)
-Kraussdale Schwenkfelder Meetinghouse (1875), near East Greenville
-Huff’s Union Church, village of Huff’s Church, Berks Co. (congregation from about 1760; current church built 1881)
-A Pennsylvania Dutch style lunch will be served in the Huff’s Church hall
-Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Bally, Berks Co. (old chapel built about 1743)
-Augustus Lutheran Church, Trappe, Montgomery Co. (congregation from about 1730; old church structure built 1743–pictured above)
-Old Goshenhoppen Reformed Church, Woxall, Montgomery Co. (congregation from about 1730; existing structures built about 1732 and 1858)
-Along the way, we’ll drive by other historic churches, such as St. Peter’s Union Church, near Seisholtzville, New Hanover Lutheran Church and Falkner Swamp Reformed (U.C.C.) Church (both at New Hanover) and St. James Union Church, Limerick.
Tour sponsored by Mennonite Heritage Center; transportation by Perkiomen motorcoach. Tour will depart from Perkiomen Tours, Main St. (Rt.29), Pennsburg, at 8:00am, and return there at 5:30pm. Joel Alderfer, tour coordinator & guide.
Tour fee of $87 ($82 member) includes a hot lunch, all admissions/site donations and gratuity for the driver. Registration deadline is October 16.
Historic Churches in the Upper Perk Valley prices are:
$87.00 for non MHEP members
$82.00 for MHEP members
Select member or non-member below and click on the Submit button to pay securely through PayPal with your credit card. Registration will be confirmed. No refunds are given unless an event is canceled for insufficient enrollment.