History of Christ Lutheran Church
Following the earliest settlements in the area and his treaty with the Native Americans, William Penn made the boundary of his land the Susquehanna River. No settlers were permitted to cross the river and settle on the Western side until 1729. The first authorized settlement was in that year and was primarily comprised of Germans from the Palatinate. They came with little else in the way of possessions other than their faith. There being no pastors, they gathered around the schoolmaster, Bartholomew Maul, to worship in homes where Maul read sermons and instructed the young in the catechism.
By 1732 there were 400 taxpayers in the area and a pastor from Lancaster would cross on the river on occasion to baptize, marry couples, and administer holy ommunion. One of these pastors was John Casper Stoever, who had come to America from Germany in 1728 and had begun to organize congregations in what are now Berks and Lancaster counties.
On September 23, 1733, Pastor Stoever gathered twenty-four heads of families in what was then still called “Yorktown” to form Die Evangelische Lutherische Gemeinde an der Kathores (“The Evangelical Lutheran Congregation on the Codorus”). On that day, Pastor Stoever baptized a little girl, Maria Catharina Beyer, and entered her name in a record book, along with the names of the heads of households. That book is still in our possession today! Through this baptism Christ Lutheran Church was constituted and thereby became the first Lutheran congregation west of the Susquehanna River.
Pastor Stoever visited the congregation regularly over the next ten years and is counted as our first pastor. The schoolmaster continued to care for the congregation in between the pastor’s visits.
In 1741, the land around the Cordorus was surveyed and lots were laid out for what is now the City of York. The heirs of William Penn donated lots 61 and 62 for a church on what was then known as “Goose Hill.” Tradition has it that the land was to be given either to the Lutherans or the Reformed. The Reformed planned to be on the site at daybreak but when they arrived they found that the Lutherans had already begun to dig a foundation! There is no historical evidence for this episode, but it does witness to the tensions that existed in those early days among various Christian confessions.
The log church continued to be used as a schoolhouse until 1811 when it was torn down and replaced by the Stone Church. Lewis Miller, a member of Christ Church, drew a number of pictures of it both inside and outside, and reproductions of his other drawings can be found on exterior walls around the city of York. A large silver chalice and paten were sent from Germany as a gift upon the completion of the Stone Church. We still use them for special occasions.
By 1811 the Stone Church was in such disrepair that it was decided to build a new church—the one we still worship in today. It was dedicated in 1812, though the steeple was finished only in 1814. Stone from the former church was used in the construction of the tower. One of the bells in our steeple bears the date of 1765! The clock faces were donated in 1850 from the old colonial courthouse, which stands to one side the church.
Originally a German-language church, the first English service was held in 1820. Over time, three new English-speaking congregations formed out of Christ Church: St. John, St. Paul, and Zion (which was located directly behind Christ Church until 1995; the decommissioned building is still there.)
Famous American Lutherans connected to Christ Church include John Casper Stoever (served 1733–43); John George Schmucker (1809–1836), father of Samuel Simon Schmucker, who founded Gettysburg College and Seminary; Dr. Augustus Lochman (1836–1881), whose book of sermons was famous in its day; Dr. Goehring (1789–1807); Franklin Drewes Fry (1958–1971), son of Franklin Clark Fry. Pastors here tend to have a long tenure: at nearly 300 years old, we are only up to our 20th Senior Pastor!
