History of Good Shepherd United Church of Christ

• A History of Good Shepherd
• The Symbolic Work at Good Shepherd

Good Shepherd United Church of Christ, Slatington, PA officially began on November 4, 1984 when the congregation affirmed a new name for themselves, adopted a new constitution to govern their efforts and appointed a building committee to establish plans for a new place of worship. Prior to this time the congregation was known as Holy Trinity and was in union with the Lutheran congregation in Slatedale. The original congregation began in 1888 when members of both denominations desired to build a church within their own community of Slatedale. The original site of the church was purchased on April 1, 1889 from Mr. and Mrs. Joseph German and the name chosen for the congregations was St. Pauls' Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed Church. After a shaky beginning which involved financial difficulties that forced the members to sell the property and the shell of the building, the congregations had a renewed sense of spirit and a stronger sense of commitment to the ministry of Christ in the community. The property was purchased on June 26, 1901 by Lafayette German and Henry Kern and was resold to a committee of the original organizers on February 9, 1903. At this time the two congregations agreed to change the name to Holy Trinity. It wasn't until June 12, 1977 that the United Church of Christ congregation called the Reverend James L. Knappenberger as the church's first full-time pastor and soon after began regular weekly services. The congregation was incorporated on November 16, 1978 through the efforts of the following incorporators: James Mack, Clifford Smith, Rosann Friebolin, Charles Thomas and Deanna Kern. Through this incorporation the church committed itself to providing worship of Almighty God and was organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes. In July 1983 the Lutheran and United Church of Christ congregations agreed to the dissolution of the union which formally took effect in March 1984. In the dissolution, the United Church of Christ congregation received a settlement of $10,000 plus ownership of Fellowship Park. On March 9, 1986 the congregation decided to sell the Fellowship Park for $15,250.

A Property Search Committee was established to investigate possible sites for the new church. Members of this committee included Reverend James Knappenberger, George Bowers, Elwood German, Jeff Coffin and Fred Allerton. On May 6, 1984 the congregation approved the purchase of the present grounds (8.1 acres) for $29,500 from George Husack (1.76 acres) and Blue Mountain Investments (6.2939 acres) located about 3 miles west of Lehigh Gap facing Blue Mountain on Mountain Road. The area was formerly known as the Harry Rex Farm. On October 20, 1985 a ground breaking service was held for the first phase of a three phase building project. Richard Smith chaired the executive building committee and a contractor by the name of Serfass Construction Company, Inc. of Allentown was hired to build the church designed by architects Fred and Susan Allerton who were both members of the congregation. The first worship service in the new sanctuary was conducted on December 7, 1986. The congregation was incorporated on January 17, 1985. The church's logo is a representation of Jesus Christ holding a lamb and incorporates the ideals of the congregation - working, worshiping, and growing together in the love of Christ, the Good Shepherd. On April 26, 1987 the furnishings of the building were dedicated at a special service during morning worship and the organ was dedicated that afternoon at another special dedication service with Mr. Michael Fister presiding at the organ and Pamela S. Knappenberger presiding at the piano. A Youth Rally was organized for May 2 featuring keynote speaker Reverend Eleanor Allen, Assistant Conference Minister for Penn Northeast Conference. The new building was dedicated on May 3, 1987 with the Reverend Earl Marks delivering the main address entitled, "The Building Has Just Begun."

Because Good Shepherd received a bequest of $180,000 from the estate of Cora Husack, the congregation voted in November 1998 to pay off the balance of the existing mortgage against the sanctuary. It was also decided to move ahead with the next two phases of the original building project. A building committee consisting of Lee Haas, chr., Madeline Balliet, Clark DeLong, Ron Frederick, Dale Knittle, Kerry Loch, Barry Silfies, David Silfies and Pastor James Robison was appointed by the Consistory. Plans for the second and third phases of the building project were drawn up by Joseph Reda. The finance committee chosen to recommend a banking institution for securing a mortgage consisted of Gina Brown, Michele Hunsicker, Dean Knittle, Barbara Kremposky, and Darwin Minnich. Citizens Bank of Slatington was recommended and chosen. The total cost for construction was $422,928 with $140,000 being funded by the church from the Cora Husack Estate leaving the church to borrow $283,000 from the bank. At a meeting following church services on March 7, 1999 the congregation voted 79 to 4 in favor of the building project. C & C Construction under Michael Cassidy's supervision was chosen as the contractor for the building project with Joseph Reda acting as the liaison on the behalf of Good Shepherd. A celebration was held on April 11, 1999 with Madeline Balliet and Richard Smith burning the mortgage for the sanctuary followed by the ground breaking by Ron Frederick, Lee Haas, Barbara DeLong and the children of Good Shepherd. Furnishings for the new building project came from memorials and gifts and were dedicated with the new Christian Education Wing, Kitchen, and Fellowship Hall on Ascension Day, Thursday, June 1, 2000.

Pastors of Good Shepherd United Church of Christ

Reverend James L. Knappenberger

January 1, 1976 - June 24, 1990

Reverend James L. Knappenberger served Holy Trinity as a student pastor while attending Moravian Seminary. He was ordained on June 5, 1977 and was installed as the first full-time pastor of Holy Trinity on June 12, 1977. After leaving Good Shepherd, Reverend Knappenberger accepted a call to serve as pastor of St. Paul's, Trexlertown, PA where he served from 1990 to 2007, retiring from ministry on November 1, 2007. Reverend Morgan S. Haney became interim pastor following Reverend Knappenberger serving Good Shepherd from July 1, 1990 to March 1, 1992.

Reverend Willard S. Rabert, Jr.

March 2, 1992 - June 30, 1997

Reverend Willard S. Rabert, Jr. presented a trial sermon on January 12, 1992 and was called as pastor of Good Shepherd to begin on March 2, 1992. He graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary in 1959 and was ordained that same year at St. John's, Nazareth, PA. Reverend Rabert was installed on April 5, 1992 at Good Shepherd and served a total of 6 churches with Good Shepherd being his last church before retiring on June 30, 1997. Reverend Rabert was a delegate to General Synod in St. Louis, MO in 1993. Will and Martha moved to Pleasantville, TN where he continues to assist in various forms of ministry. Reverend George R. Eckstein served as interim pastor after Reverend Rabert retired serving Good Shepherd from August 10, 1997 to September 30, 1998.

Reverend James D. Robison, Jr.

October 1, 1998 -

Reverend James D. Robison, Jr. was called to be pastor of Good Shepherd on August 30, 1998 and began on October 1, 1998. He was ordained on October 31, 1998 at his home church of Trinity, Watsontown, PA and was installed on January 24, 1999 at Good Shepherd. Reverend Robison graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary in 1998. Reverend Robison has served as convener of Blue Mountain Area Mission Council since September 1999; president of Guardianship Support Agency, Inc. since July 2004 and served as chairperson of Northern Lehigh Connections from August 2002 to August 2004. Reverend Robison was a delegate to General Synod in Kansas City, MO in 2001 and Minneapolis, MN in 2003.