I loved the magnificent building, the gothic sanctuary, and I enjoyed working with the young folks that were associated with the congregation. I served as Youth Pastor at Salem UCC from 1979-1981 while studying at Moravian Theological Seminary. That magnificent building still stands, its great bell still in the tower but today a Spanish-speaking Pentecostal congregation worships inside on Sundays.
The congregation closed with a final service on Easter, 2007, 131 years after the construction of the building. The surrounding area became largely Latino over the next decades, and Salem UCC became an English-speaking island in a sea of Spanish. By 1980, only a few years after the centennial, attendance had dropped to well under 200, sparse in that vast sanctuary, and most of the building was unused. The cost of replacing the boiler was substantial enough that consistory members joked bitterly that if the boiler went, they’d have to close the church. A huge organ endowment had been built over the years, so that each year the organ could be improved – but no such endowment existed for the deteriorating hulk of a boiler that heated the complex and ageing building. Many of the factories that had fueled former prosperity had closed, and the social conditions that would be woven into Billy Joel’s famous 1982 song were inexorably under way:Īnd they’re closing all the factories downįolks drove in from the suburbs to worship on Sunday morning, less and less connected to the area around the beautiful cathedral-like church. Now known as Salem United Church of Christ, the congregation still ministered to some folks in the 7th & Chew area but largely had become what Lyle Schaller called an “Ex-Neighborhood Church.” Downtown Allentown had changed. At first, he began conducting the evening services in English, and then gradually over the next ten years nearly all the services were conducted in English.įast forward 100 years to the 1970s, and of course there was a magnificent observance of the congregation’s centennial year. Dubbs, was paying attention to the changes going on around the magnificent building and began introducing English into the services despite opposition from some of the church members. While older German congregations of this city have been compelled to introduce English services in order to retain the young people, Salem’s services have always been held in the German language, and the majority of the members are comparatively young people. One paragraph in particular from the article is notable in this area of the country where the German language was still predominant:įrom its organization, about ten years ago, Salem Reformed has been a phenomenally successful congregation. The Allentown Daily City Item covered the event, reporting every detail of the ceremony of rededication. of Philadelphia.Īfter the installation of the organ, the windows, and the bell, a rededication of the building was held in 1885. The magnificent stained glass windows, including a spectacular rose window, were made by Thomas Aiken & Co. The oak pews were sumptuously padded, unusual in the 19th century. It was powered by a “Little Giant” water motor.
Durner of Quakertown was installed in 1885. The sanctuary seated over 700 and the Sunday School auditorium, the largest in the city and indeed in any nearby city, seated 1800.Ī huge pipe organ, built by C. A great bell was cast to hang in its bell tower, calling all around to worship.
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