First, the French!
The Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS), previously known as the German Reformed Church, just celebrated 300 years of existence. But its roots and origins go deeper.
Before the history of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) really began, a group of Huguenots tried to start a colony in Florida. The Huguenots were Reformed Christians from France, some of whom were chased into Germany where they became part of the German Reformed Church.
Some of them made the attempt, in 1562-1568, to establish a colony in Florida. This endeavor seems to have been motivated by a desire for adventure and the expectation of finding gold nuggets scattered on the trails in Florida. This group brought no farmers and seemed to think food would be easy to find. They kidnapped an Indian chief in order to ransom him for food, but this led to a rebellion. The Spanish also disapproved and attacked their colony. A few eventually made it back to Germany by way of England.
Fleeing War and Famine
There was another attempt between 1708-1709. The French war against Germany resulted in the destruction of houses, churches, towns, and the loss of many lives in the Palatinate. A hard winter that caused much damage to fruit trees and grapevines made things worse. A number of Palatines fled down the Rhine River to the Netherlands. There was no room for them, so they were sent on to England, where there was no work. Queen Anne sent 500 to Ireland, where they were not welcome.
Many more (as many as 30,000) were sent to North America. About 20,000 went to central New York, where Dutch settlements already existed. Difficulties over land led to their moving on, with an Indian guide, to the Lebanon area in Pennsylvania.
About 10,000 more arrived in Carolina with Christopher Graffenreid. He had sufficient money to buy land from the governor of Carolina to establish a colony. Unfortunately, the British had angered the Indians in the area. Since the Indians were not aware of the difference between Englishmen and Swiss Germans, they attacked and destroyed the colony. A few descendants of those 10,000 remain in the area today.
RCUS Founding
Around this same time, Germans began immigrating directly to Pennsylvania, and by 1715 there were significant numbers of them. Many were poor and brought Bibles and hymnals, but no pastors. Most of them became farmers working for others, though some found other kinds of work in villages and cities. They lived wherever they could, usually somewhat isolated.
On September 1, 1720, John Philip Boehm arrived in Philadelphia on board the ship Laurel. In Germany, he had been a schoolteacher, as well as a reader in the worship services of the German Reformed Church. He had a little money and was able to buy a farm in what is now Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Boehm began to teach his family and lead them in worship and was joined by some neighbors as well. A Dutch deacon named DeWees introduced Boehm to a church in Whitemarsh, as well as to groups of believers in Skippack and Falkner’s Swamp, all in Pennsylvania. All three groups welcomed Boehm, and he began to serve as a pastor for them. Over the next 20 years, he would serve them and others also, without receiving any regular pay.
In all this time, Boehm was unordained. When Rev. George Weiss arrived from Germany, he thought that it was against the constitution for Boehm to preach and administer the sacraments. The people of the churches argued that Boehm had done what was necessary. The question about Boehm’s ministry was finally adjudicated by the Classis of New York of the Dutch Reformed Church.
Boehm was cited to appear for an examination. The Classis took the position that if he could pass his examination, they would approve all his previous actions. Weiss considered Boehm uneducated and thought he would do poorly. However, Boehm passed his examination with flying colors and was ordained by the Classis. Weiss apologized, and he and Boehm were able to become compatriots.
Weiss later returned to Europe with a friend to raise money for the support of the German churches in North America. Although Weiss returned to Pennsylvania after raising funds in the Netherlands and Germany, problems with taxes and transportation kept the money from arriving in a timely way.
Boehm continued to serve without regular pay after his ordination. His dedicated and fruitful labors led J.I. Good to say that Boehm should be considered the founder of the RCUS.
Living Conditions
What were things like for members of the German Reformed Church (later called the RCUS) in those early days?
First, getting to North America was no easy matter. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a sailing ship could take from 2 to 4 months. Food was limited and medical help was minimal. Sometimes people died of starvation or disease. One governor refers to “the horrid barbarity with which the passengers were treated.” A Lutheran pastor who made the crossing to Philadelphia in 1754 told about a pregnant woman who went into labor during a terrible storm. Not being able to move her to the front of the vessel, she was eventually pushed out of a porthole into the stormy sea.
Not all captains were so unkind. Some would make sure there was sufficient food and pay special attention to the children. The ship captains charged for passage to Pennsylvania and for food. If a passenger could not pay, the captain would buy them for the cost of their travel expenses and then sell them as indentured servants to people already
in Pennsylvania.
Upon arrival in Philadelphia, things would not improve very much. Housing was scarce, even in the city, and people outside slept in tents or in the open air while waiting for construction. Rough cabins, like those made for Washington’s army in Valley Forge, were common “starter homes.” They were about 12 feet by 10 feet, made of logs chinked with mud, a doorway on one end, a fireplace on the other, and no windows or floors.
Philadelphia had cobblestone streets and brick houses, but no running water, indoor plumbing, or supermarkets. There were only very limited stores to buy items. Transportation was on foot or by wagon. Without garbage pickup or sewer systems, many problems would arise. Waste was transported by wagon to be used as fertilizer on the farms.
The countryside outside Philadelphia was settled quickly. Small towns and villages sprang up, but transportation between them was limited to mud roads and trails. Sometimes there would be a farming village where farmers had to travel out to get to their fields every day. In other cases, families would live on the farms with no one else close by.
Church Conditions
Can you imagine walking a mile or two to church each Sunday? It might not be too bad in the summer but could be dangerous in winter. It would be uncomfortable in the rain and difficult in the dark with no streetlights. Sunday services had to end before dark so people could get home safely. Even riding in a wagon with horses was not easy.
There were very few pastors or doctors in the cities and villages. The Lutherans were able to send some, the English Presbyterians could send more, but the German Reformed could only send very few.
When Boehm arrived, there was virtually no instruction, discipline, or communication between the groups of believers. That is to say, there were no organized German Reformed congregations before Boehm came.
He organized the groups in Whitemarsh, Skippack, and Falkner’s Swamp by writing a constitution they signed. He eventually presented that constitution to five other groups who accepted it as well. When a coetus (an association of churches receiving oversight from an established classis) was formed, this was their constitution as well.
Continued Growth and Challenges
Other groups of believers formed as the population spread out. Boehm visited some of them occasionally, but it was too much work for one man to handle. Although Weiss returned from his fundraising trip in Germany, he went to New York. Eventually 25 German Reformed churches were established and formed into two classes, but in 1815, these New York churches left the RCUS Synod to become part of the Dutch Reformed Church.
The German Reformed were too poor to be able to build their own buildings in the 1700s. This led to collaborating with German Lutherans in a similar situation to build churches that both groups could use. Sometimes that meant the Reformed met in the morning and Lutherans in the afternoon, or vice versa. Sometimes they would alternate Sundays to have use of the building. However, sometimes the congregations all met together with an agreement that when it was time for a new pastor, they would take turns getting Lutheran or Reformed. As congregations grew, sometimes they could get their own building, but often they built bigger buildings and stayed together.
Melding Lutheran and Reformed was a terrible idea because some of the doctrine was different, the liturgies were different, and the most frequent outcome was that neither side really kept their identity or their doctrine. That left an open door for theological modernism to infect our denomination and resulted in greater departures from the faith.
As the population expanded westward, they faced many similar challenges and encountered new difficulties. In Western Pennsylvania, the French and Indians began to challenge the boundary of the British colony, ultimately leading to the French and Indian Wars.
When the British fought back, they secured the help of the Virginia Militia, led by a surveyor named George Washington. He led the British to victory over the French and Indians in Western Pennsylvania. This eventually opened up not only Pennsylvania but also Ohio as a destination where the German Reformed arrived.
Conclusion
Early settlers faced daunting and difficult conditions. But in spite of failed attempts and tremendous difficulties, small things grew by God’s blessing and diligent faithfulness on the part of many of God’s people. Although increased size and prosperity brought challenges of a different kind, we can be encouraged that the Lord did great things with small ones. A few scattered believers, and a dedicated servant of the church, initiated the RCUS heritage from which we continue to profit to this day.
Rev. Jay Fluck
Britt, IA