St. John's Church is located in the northeastern section of Mt. Aetna on Mill Street, where it sets
on a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside.
The first church was a log structure erected in 1846. The cornerstone was laid on June 1, 1846,
and the building was dedicated on October 24, 1846. Peter Woleber, founder of the village, had
donated an acre of land for a church and cemetery, and in the past the church was often referred
to as "Acre Church."
The first records of the church were dated January 17, 1846, and were written in the
German Script.
The Charter was adopted and granted by the Court of Berks County in 1851 and stated:
"Hereby are founded the Congregations under the names, style and title of the Evangelical
Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed Churches of Woleberstown."
In 1863, the church was remodeled when a vestibule and balcony were added, and the interior
was frescoed. A new chandelier and chancel furniture were also installed.
The Union Sunday School was organized in 1880. In 1885, the Lutheran congregation had
about sixty members with the Rev. F. J. F. Shantz as their pastor. The Reformed congregation
had one hundred members with the Rev. L. D. Stambaugh as their pastor. By that time each
congregation supported a Sunday School and Bible Classes.
A new and larger church of brick construction was built on the site in 1883, measuring
forty-two by sixty-one feet, with a steeple and a bell. The cost of the building was over four
thousand dollars.
A two manual Mohler pipe organ was installed in 1916, with half of the cost being defrayed
by the Carnegie Fund, and the balance by the congregations.
The building was remodeled in 1935. A mural of Christ praying in the Garden of Gethsemane
was painted on the wall behind the pulpit. Brass leaded stained-glass windows, new pews, and
carpeting in the aisle and at the chancel area were also added.
In 1955, more major remodeling and repairing took place. The interior and exterior of the
church was repainted, the mural was refinished, new carpet was installed, and the pews were
refinished.
Also, a new Allen electronic organ was purchased which replaced the old pipe organ.
The church had been a three-point charge for many years, however on January 1, 1960,
St. John's merged with Salem United Church of Christ of Bethel and became a two-point charge.
The congregation then became known as St. John's United Church of Christ of Mt. Aetna.
A brick and aluminum addition were added to the church in October of 1975 giving the
congregation much needed Sunday School space and a fellowship room complete with a kitchen.
St. John's left the United Church of Christ in 2003 to become an independent non-denominational
church affiliated with the Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian
Churches.
In July of 2016, while maintaining our brotherhood in Christ, the sisterhood of the two churches
concluded, opening a new chapter in our 171-year history-our first solo pastorate!
There are good things ahead!
