Confirmands Track Down History

On Saturday, April 11, 2 students, 2 parents, 1 mentor, and 1 pastor piled into a van and headed southeast to Trappe, PA, where they visited Old Augustus Church. The docent there, Jennifer Wentworth, was one of the best yet! After visiting there, they drove to the Hopewell Furnace National Historical Site, a community built around the smelting of iron during the Revolutionary War and, in 1789, was a leader in the production of iron for the young nation. They visited Ephrata Cloister in the afternoon, learning about life in a religious community.

Here is what the students had to say about their trip:

Augustus Lutheran Church, Trappe, PA “Augustus Lutheran Church is the “oldest unchanged Lutheran church still in use in the United States of America”. The original congregation (formed in 1730) worshiped in a barn because they did not have a proper church. That changed, however, when Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg arrived from Germany in 1742. He demanded that a proper church be built, and he helped design and construct Augustus Lutheran Church. It was completed in 1743. The classic, German architecture made German immigrants feel at home when they came to America from over seas. The services originally lasted between 2 and 4 hours. The sermon alone could be 1 to 2 hours! Imagine sitting in a church building for 3 hours, in straight backed pews, in the middle of winter, every Sunday, in the freezing cold, with nothing to keep you warm except a warm brick at your feet! Well that’s what these people did! But, by 1860, the congregation had outgrown the small church, and they constructed a new church. The “old church” in now only used for Christmas Eve service, and also throughout the summer. In my opinion, Augustus Lutheran church is a truly interesting place, and I would love to visit again.” ~ Hannah Haussmann

Hopewell Furnace

“I loved the Hopewell Furnace! There were a lot of cool things there. The Hopewell furnace made iron for stoves, so it made a lot of charcoal, too. I got to go into a wooden tent-like thing. The tent was something some of the workers would stay in. We also went into the Big House where the founder stayed. There were bulls there! There was also a cat. The place was just amazing. There were also a lot of cool rocks.” ~ Gillian Buckman