History of Redeemer:
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24) That’s the reality both harsh and heartening our Lord shares with us in Saint John’s Gospel. Planting a row of corn or a field of wheat or a church involves investment- the kind of investment that is equal parts faith in God and God’s mercy and human effort.
The story of one such effort begins over fifty years ago – October 5, 1958- when Redeemer Lutheran Church of Hartsville- now of Jamison, Pennsylvania was organized. From its very start, Redeemer has been touched and touched again by God’s faithful hand. Only nine months after it began, the people of Redeemer stepped out in faith and with……..a total of fifteen thousand dollars, purchased the eight acre York Road site on which the church continues to remain. Then it only took a little more than four years after the church was organized before the 250 baptized member congregation was able to celebrate the reality of a first church building (now our Fellowship Hall.)
As Redeemer’s first called Pastor, The Rev. John W. Hendler, wrote in a letter to the congregation, the building program “has been so designed to further our goal of building brick on brick and soul on soul.” “Brick on brick and soul on soul” that was and continues to be the path Redeemer follows in its corporate faith journey. A significant mortgage for the first unit was retired on January 31,1973. Now that the Church was no longer in debt to the Board of American Missions, Redeemer’s status changed dramatically. No longer a Mission Church nurtured by more long-standing congregations, Redeemer was now on its own- ready to face the joys and challenges associated with being and becoming a part of God’s mission and ministry in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
The members of Redeemer have faced those challenges with the courage that only God can give. There have been changes in pastoral leadership. After Redeemer’s first called pastor – the Rev. John Hendler resigned in the late winter of 1964, The Rev. James Daniels was installed as Redeemer’s spiritual guide. In 1967, The Rev. John P. Shannon took over that responsibility and for the next eleven years worked to bring the congregation and its individual members closer to God. Pastor Shannon’s retirement brought Redeemer another faithful shepherd- The Rev. Richard Olson. For the next two decades and more, Pastor Olson has been a model of what it means to be faithful to the Call of Christ in Word and Sacrament. Under his distinguished leadership, our church has grown its programs, brought new enthusiasm to its outreach and generally worked hard to be and to become faithful disciples of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God, Redeemer was even able to expand its pastoral staff.
In the course of Pastor Olson’s tenure among us, both Pastor Kristie Perkins-Chandler who was both ordained and called to serve at Redeemer in 1999 and Pastor Rebecca Eisenhart, who in 2000 joined the Redeemer family, took on the joy and care of souls through Christian Education and Outreach. Each in her own way, these two dedicated pastors have gifted us with an understanding of how necessary it is to teach and to foster our young people as they begin to mature into a lively Christian faith.
Nothing, however, ever stays the same. And that is as true at Redeemer Lutheran Church as it is anywhere else. Through the ministries of our dedicated pastors, and because of the enthusiasm of our assembly to bring
more and more people to Christ, Redeemer experienced growth. So much growth, in fact, that we were bursting the seams. A new building program was called for and in the year 1990, a campaign was launched to expand our physical campus to accommodate all of the new people and programs which were combining to make Redeemer an even more dynamic and faithful place. On September 20, 1992 the people of Redeemer were able to celebrate with a Service
of Dedication of a new Sanctuary. What a precious and wonderful gift from God, as members of the congregation processed into the new church building; what new opportunities to spread the Good News were given to the people of Redeemer! Room to welcome new members; room to expand Christian education to more and more children and adults; room to grow all sorts of programs meant to serve the members of our church and the people of our community.
Redeemer has been faithful to this vision; it is a welcoming church, eager to reach out in love, eager to share God’s love with each other and with the world. The people of Redeemer know what is important- and that is to worship God and to serve others. Our history demonstrates this reality. With the start of a new millennium, came more change. Pastors Chandler, Olson and Eisenhart all left Redeemer in a matter of a few years, eager to spread the Good News of God in Christ to other communities. A time of introspection and prayerful discernment followed- would Redeemer turn inward, serving only its own members? Would it decide that mission came second and maintenance came first? No and no again! With the help of our dynamic Interim Pastor, William Shafer, God’s people at Redeemer Church took a long hard look at their situation. Led by Pastor Shafer, and with deliberate and self-conscious trust in God, we re-committed ourselves to carrying out our mission right here where God has planted us! With trust in our trustworthy God, The Rev. Susan Montgomery was called to Preach and Celebrate the Sacraments, called to lead the people of Redeemer to new adventures. Her pastorate began in the fall of 2005 and ended in March of 2012.
For a time after Pastor Montgomery, the church was without a Pastor – but this did not deter the many dedicated members of the congregation of continuing God’s will and works for the community. Through faith and God’s many blessings, we now have our current Pastor: Pastor Nathan Krause – who came to us in July of 2013.
With the help of our many, many dedicated members of Redeemer, and the unwavering commitment of Pastor Krause toward’s the spreading of “GOD’s Work” with “Our Hands”, the church continues to grow its programs, its membership and its faithfulness to the work of the Lord.
We at Redeemer know one thing- God is good! We firmly believe that Martin Luther was right on target when he insisted that all the people of God are members of ‘the Priesthood of all Believers.” We know that we are all responsible for maintaining Redeemer as a beacon of Faith and Hope in a world that is often sad and confused. As part of God’s redeemed family, we pledge our individual and corporate wills to continuing this important work for the next fifty years and beyond! God Bless us in this endeavor. Amen.