Churches

St. Peter's Lutheran Church

472 Vine Street

 
     A year before the end of the civil war, on Sunday, June 26, 1864, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, was dedicated by the Reverends A. T. Geissenhainer, C.A. Ebert, S.K. Brobst, and F.J.F. Schantz. Their sermons were in German and in English. However, German was the primary language used in services well into the twentieth century. St. Peter’s was the first church built in South Bethlehem.
     The church was founded in the spring of 1863 when Reverend A. T. Geissenhainer and a group of twenty German Lutherans worshiped in the private home of Philip and Catherine Maulburg. The 1870 Federal census lists Philip as a laborer who was born in Prussia. He was made an elder of the church. Philip represents a typical devoted founder of this church as the small group was primarily made up of laborers and tradesmen. On April 1, 1863, the group bought two lots located on Borhek Street (now Vine Street), from Charles and Camilla Brodhead. They laid the cornerstone for their first church, on August 30, 1863. Geissenenhainer bought pews for the church from a mission in Trenton, N.J. The size of these pews determined the size of the building. The 35’ X 60’ one story brick building was completed in 1864. 

     The growth of the membership of St. Peter’s corresponded with the rise in population of South Bethlehem. In 1865, the population in South Bethlehem was close to 2,000. In 1870, it rose to 3,556. That same year, South Bethlehem became incorporated as a borough. The borough remained a part of Lower Saucon Township until 1920 when the residents voted to be absorbed by Bethlehem. The zinc and iron companies, the railroad and other industries attracted these new residents with jobs for everyone.

     In the 1870s, the congregation found their membership had grown to 400 and the need for a larger facility became paramount. The 42 graves in the cemetery located behind the church were moved to the new Fountain Hill Cemetery.  The men of the congregation hand dug the basement, which today serves as a three quarter basketball court. Reverend C. J. Cooper laid the cornerstone for the new building to be built on the same lot on June 22, 1873. The founder of the church, Reverend A.T. Geissenenhainer, returned on March 29, 1874 for the dedication of the new building. At the time, the auditorium still needed to be finished. The new church, 42 X 71 feet and two stories high, was completed on May 4, 1879. 

     In 1876, Reverend Cooper led a fondly remembered union service and fundraiser for St. Luke’s Hospital on Thanksgiving Day.  The service and hymns were conducted in German and English and attended by all the Lutheran congregations in Bethlehem. After the service, the congregation organized a basket picnic that required each person to bring a basket filled with delicacies and useful items for a hospital patient. Reverend Cooper led the group, carrying these baskets, on a walk from the church to St. Luke’s Hospital. The baskets were then distributed to the patients.

     In 1895 the congregation erected an addition to the rear of the church at the cost of $7,000. After the completion of the addition, a new $3,500 Muller Pipe Organ was installed. The pipe organ is still used today for services. In 1916, the congregation had grown to 1,925 members. They extended and remodeled the church to the stately building we see today at the corner of Packer Avenue and Vine Street.

     In 1963, one hundred years after its founding, the congregation expanded its property with the addition of a Christian Education Building. In the 1990s, St Peter’s undertook a million dollar renovation under the helm of its current pastor, Reverend Edith B. Roberts. Several ramps and an elevator now make the building accessible to the handicapped.  This project signaled the commitment of the church to South Bethlehem. Although many of its current 700 members drive rather than walk to the church they feel it is important for their church to remain in South Bethlehem.

     St. Peter’s Church continues its commitment to the Southside community in a long list of programs such as the Meal Center, Habitat for Humanity, the Southside Ministries, and for the past eighty years the Campus Ministry with students from Lehigh University.

 St. Stanislaus Polish Church

 

St. Stanislaus Polish Church located at 419-429 Hayes Street. photo by Jason Rehm

     In 2008, the Allentown Diocese closed four Roman Catholic churches in South Bethlehem: St. Stanislaus, St. Joseph, St. John Capistrano, and Our Lady of Pompeii. The Allentown Diocese intends to sell these church buildings. The new owners may take care to preserve the beautiful structures or they may chose to demolish them. The four churches have been included a list of 77 historic landmarks which need protection from demolition.  Bethlehem City Council recently recommended the adoption of a preservation plan, which lays the groundwork for an ordinance to protect these historic properties.

     St. Stanislaus Polish Church located at 419-429 Hayes Street at the intersection of Fifth Street is a moderate size brick building. The church was built between 1906 and 1909. The stone stairway, which was built in 1942, displays the gold painted statue of St. Stanislaus. Stanislaus (1030-1079) was one of the earliest native Polish bishops and the first native Polish saint. When the church was consecrated in 1909, there was a great parade through the streets of South Bethlehem.  Representatives from each of the ethnic parishes joined the parade was it progressed past their church. Everyone wore the official dress of their parish and a mounted guard of seventeen lancers with decorated headgear led the elaborate procession.

  The gold painted statue of St. Stanislaus is 

displayed in the stone stairway, which 

was built in 1942. photo by Jason Rehm

 

     By the 1880s there was a small Polish community established in South Bethlehem. After 1895 many more Poles arrived to work at Bethlehem Steel and other area mills. The usual port of entry for Polish immigrants then was located at Delaware and Washington Avenues in South Philadelphia. The spiritual leader for the new Catholic immigrants in Bethlehem, Father William Heinen, also assisted this small ethnic group in organizing their own parish. The St. Stanislaus Society was organized in 1903. St. Capistrano Church opened their doors to the group allowing them to worship with visiting priests who spoke polish. The Polish National Catholic Church in Scranton sent several polish speaking priests to Bethlehem, before the group established their parish.

     In June of 1905, Father Francis Wieszok was authorized to form a new parish, with the 85 members of the St. Stanislaus Society. The group also included Lithuanians and Greek Catholic Ruthenium members.  Wieszok worked hard to find the funds to purchase the property on Hayes and 5th streets. It took three years to finish the building. The parish celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 1981. Pope John Paul II gave his Apostolic Blessing (papal blessing) to the parish for this occasion. In its 75 years of existence the parish performed 2,607 baptisms, 825 marriages, and 929 funerals.

     The first child baptized by the parish was John Kiszarzeuski on June 11, 1905. Michael Bysko and Maryanna Wansel were the first couple married on June 20, 1905. The first funeral took place on August 5, 1905 for John Kroliczac. He was buried in St. Michaels Cemetery.