#19 – Faith - St. John’s U.C.C., St. Johns, PA
The inside of
this church is very beautiful.
That’s why I
want to share it with you. Come with me on a tour of the chapel of the St.
John’s United Church of Christ, St. Johns, Pennsylvania.
Whenever I go into this building, it is like going home.
On Wednesday, July 11, 2018, I went home. Again.
When I arrived at the church I found the cemetery was
quite busy. This
cemetery is of moderate size so it is set up with paved roadways
you can drive in on to cut down on the walking. It is a slight uphill grade
from front to back so the unsuspecting visitor can get a tad winded walking into
the cemetery.
Usually, folks who drive in, drive in slowly. The guy who
felt the need to drive in on the day of my visit drove in, well, let’s just say
he wasn’t any slow-poke. Talk about being in a hurry to get into a cemetery!
When I got to the attendants’ building and asked why things were so busy, they
told me, “Funeral today.”
One of the attendants, my friend and a life-long member
of the St. Johns U.C.C. David Mumaw, was still able to break away for a few
minutes to let me inside the church. “They are just setting up for the funeral,”
he told me as we walked across the cemetery heading to the door of the church.
“The funeral is a little later.” He knew I wanted to get a few photos of the
nave, sanctuary, and so forth.
He opened the door and I stepped from the bright, hot sun
of mid-morning into the dim, cool narthex; the only light being that which was streaming
in through the beautiful stained-glass windows.
It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust so David asked, “Do you want me to
turn on some lights?” “No,” I answered, “I think it is better like this.” Then
I started to grab my photos. Each photo brought a wave of memories.
Attending
services while growing up, I always sat in the second pew back, aisle side,
right side of the nave. So, I was always looking up at these windows.
Beside the windows is one of the boards that announce the
Hymn numbers. My mom told me my dad made those number cards. He must have
because, as I recall, moms don’t lie and, besides, you never argue with your
mom.
On the left of the sanctuary is the organ and choir loft.
The Moeller pipe organ was installed in 1928.
 |
| Just about the entire time I was growing up, Pearl Garbrick was the church organist. She was a masterful musician |
The windows in the Choir Loft are appropriately themed.
Actually, I guess all the windows are appropriately
themed since they were designed around the church’s architecture.
Mom, was a Soprano and the Sopranos always sat in the
front row near the organ. Dad was a Bass and they always sat in the back of the
choir loft, near the wall.
Each Sunday, after the church bell was rung, Pearl would
begin to play the “Processional Hymn”. Then everyone would stand and begin to
sing as the choir emerged from the west foyer and proceed down the aisle and up
into the choir loft. Mom usually lead the way and Dad brought up the rear.
Service after service. Sunday after Sunday.
When standing in the Sanctuary, near the Alter, this is
the view of the Nave.
Just off this photo to the right is a room we called the
“Choir Room”. That is where the choir robed and waited for service to begin. In
that room is my favorite of the 55 windows in the church, The Beehive. I actually liked it even before my Beekeeper
dad died. Now I like it more.
Sixteen angels, to be exact. One in each of the “clere
story windows with balustude in the base”. At least that’s how they are
described in the 200th Anniversary booklet the church produced in
1992.[1]
I didn’t know about “clere story windows” or “balustude”, when I was growing up. I just liked looking at them while the pastor droned on, I mean, gave his
sermon.
Of course, the centerpiece of the church is the Sanctuary.
Or rather, the window above the alter at the back of the
Sanctuary.
This window was designed by Rev. W. D. Stoyer. He called
it “Gates Ajar”. It is actually three sections known as a “triple-window”. The left
and right panes depict slightly open gates. The center window depicts a long
path that leads to the Holy City which is aglow with golden light. The entire
triple-window consists of more than a thousand pieces of glass.[2]
The church has an office for the pastor opposite the
Choir Room. There is a table in that office dedicated to the memory of Eleanor
and Harry Drum, my mom and dad.
This architecturally Gothic style structure is built in the shape of a cross. The main section is 72’ by 80’. In the Nave, from floor to apex of the dome, it measures 137’ and 6 inches. In 1913, it cost the 429 congregation members, $20,000 (half a million in today dollars) and that did not include all the in-kind gifts of congregation members, themselves, such as excavating, hauling materials, laying of concrete, furnishings and so forth. Members paid for pews and if they did, got their names on them. Here is Nathan and Mary Drum’s pew plaque.
If you get the chance, do stop by some Sunday morning. It
is a wonderful place in which to spend a Sunday morning. Perhaps you can listen
to the church bell ring as you sit in Nathan and Mary Drum’s pew! It’s not the
pew I always sat in, theirs is a few rows behind the one I chose. However, from
their pew you can still gaze at the windows in front of you and the angels above
you as the pastor drones on, I mean, gives the sermon.
Return to Drums of Drums, PA on March 11, 2019 to
read about all of the Reformed/U.C.C.’s Baptisms,
Marriages, and Deaths, oh, my!
[1] 200th
Anniversary: 1792-1992 (St. Johns, PA: St. Johns United Church of Christ,
1992)
[2] 200th
Anniversary: 1792-1992
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