This year marks the milestone 300-year anniversary of a predecessor tradition of the United Church of Christ.
In 1725, the German Reformed Church held its first documented Communion service at what was then Faulkner Swamp Reformed Church in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania – now Faulkner Swamp UCC. The sacrament marked the formal establishment of this influential branch of Reformed Christianity which grew to hundreds of churches in Pennsylvania and surrounding areas.
Falkner Swamp UCC hosts a historical marker to note its significance in the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
To commemorate the history and ongoing legacy of the German Reformed tradition, the four Pennsylvania Conferences of the UCC[1] have planned a series of special services and historical lectures to take place across Pennsylvania and online. The Conferences invite the wider community to join in honoring this legacy of enduring faith, cultural heritage, and sacramental tradition.
The communion three hundred years ago “marked the birth of a church woven into the American story,” said the Rev. Bill Worley, Conference minister of the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference. “Today, we honor the courage and faithfulness of those immigrants and the welcome they received as we look ahead with gratitude and renewed purpose.”
Historical events online and in-person
The central reception and worship service will take place on Sunday, Oct. 12 at Falkner Swamp UCC, where UCC General Minister and President and CEO, the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, will preach and preside. All are invited to join by registering either in-person or online.
Additional commemorative events include online historical presentations and hybrid worship services led by each of the four Pennsylvania Conferences. A commemorative book with essays tracing the development of the German Reformed Church from its European origins through present day is being prepared to release this fall.
The German Reformed tradition eventually became part of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, which merged with Congregationalist Christian congregations, including the more recently acknowledged Afro-Christian tradition, in 1957 to form the United Church of Christ.
Connecting history to today’s story
Worley noted how this year’s anniversary not only honors a historical moment but also invites reflection on the continued relevance of Reformed theology, inclusive community, and prophetic witness in a modern world.
His ancestors were among the German refugees who settled in Pennsylvania.
“They left war-torn Germany with what they could carry. They traveled by the mercy and generosity of strangers in foreign lands. By the time they reached the ‘New World,’ they had less than what they left home with. Somehow, they carved out an existence that has been passed down through the generations to me,” he said. “In that first Communion, I imagine German refugees who longed for the stability of home, the resonance of their grandparent’s language, the assurance that God had not abandoned them in a new wilderness. Communion gave them belonging – that they were not just scattered immigrants, but the body of Christ knit into a story stretching back to the first communion.”
The PC UCC Conferences are commemorating the 1725 communion of the German Reformed Church with in-person and online events.
There is continued relevance of this history in the United States context today, Worley said, with the current experiences of fragmented communities, abuses of power, anxious hearts, and mistreated refugees.
“The first communion reminds us that the church’s strength has never been in numbers, wealth, or power. Its strength is at the table. In every age, including ours, the question is not whether the bread is enough, but whether we are willing to be broken and shared in the same way,” he said. “The table waits for strangers who are claimed as family. Wounds are noticed and blessed. Hunger is not shamed, but fed. Across centuries and languages, across continents and cultures, the miracle is the same: Christ is here. Christ is for you. Christ is enough.”
Find full details of the 300th anniversary resources and events here.
[1] General Synod passed a resolution in July that will unite the four Pennsylvania Conferences into one Keystone Conference, which officially goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
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