2451 Saucon Valley Road, Center Valley, PA 18034 USA
history
Our Story
Religious activities in the Saucon Valley began in 1763 when a Lutheran congregation worshipped in Henry Schaffer's school house in Lower Saucon. The first record book of our church shows that the Rev. Otto Haase, pastor of Keller's Church (1762-64), served this group. It cannot be said definitively where Schaffer's school was located, nor how this record book came to be used by Friedens Church. It is of interest here because it sheds some light on the early religious activity in our valley.
Friedens Church was organized in 1793 and was from the beginning a Union Church. The first Lutheran pastor was The Rev. John C. Yeager. A church building was erected in 1793 upon a plot of ground donated by William Mory and " for which he gave the deed for a consideration of five shillings". While the church was being built, the congregation worshiped in Mory's barn. The first building was dedicated on November 24th, 1793, and was located between the present church and what is now "Friedens House".
The congregation prospered and in 1817 it became necessary to enlarge the first building. In 1839, only 22 years after the original building had been enlarged, it was necessary to build a new church. The new church, the one in which we now worship, was built at a cost of $5,203.69. In 1939 the church was remodeled at a cost of almost $30,000.
On October 4th, 1963 papers of dissolution of the Union Church were signed and the Lutheran Congregation purchased the present building. By November of 1965 plans were completed and approved by the congregation for the construction of a Christian Education Building to be located North of the present church. Ground was broken on December 12th, 1965, and the Christian Education Building was completed in the fall of 1966. The last major undertaking of our church was the removal of the stucco and restoration of the stonework in 1981.
