From a Grange Hall to the Western Lehigh Valley
St. Anne's Episcopal Church began in 1966 with a small group of dedicated Episcopalians meeting in a Grange Hall. That handful of worshippers has grown into a congregation of hundreds worshipping in a complex of buildings on Lower Macungie Road in Trexlertown, just off Route 222 in the western growth area of the Lehigh Valley. The parish sits among new housing developments, shopping centers, and corporate campuses - including the Air Products Corporate Headquarters, where several parishioners work - and serves a stretch of Lehigh County shaped by both long-established farms and rapid suburban expansion.
The campus includes the church, a parish hall, a kitchen, an administrative wing, the Maniatty Education Wing, and a Memorial Garden. A more detailed history, From Grange Hall to Growth Mode - An Informal, Anecdotal History by Arnold Newman, traces the story from those first 1966 meetings through the construction of the present buildings.
Sunday Worship: Two Eucharists, One Family
All baptized Christians are welcome at the altar. The parish offers two Sunday Eucharists each week: a spoken service at 8:00 a.m. without music, and a 10:00 a.m. service with music. On occasional Sundays the two are combined into a single 9:30 a.m. service, and additional services are added for major feasts.
Virtual worship is available for those who cannot attend in person, with the latest service livestreamed on Facebook. An electronic service bulletin is shared online each Sunday, with announcements and an activities calendar at the back. Music is part of the 10:00 a.m. service, and parishioners are invited to sing in the choir as part of their stewardship of time and talent.
Christian Education for All Ages
From September through May, Sunday School meets at 9:30 a.m. for children ages three and up. The curriculum, The Whole People of God, follows the lectionary, so the lessons children learn echo the readings and sermon they will hear in church. Classes end in time for students to join their families in the nave for the sermon, and each child takes home a guide so the conversation can continue during the week. A family service weaves elements of the same curriculum into worship, and Vacation Bible School has been a popular summer offering.
Adults gather for Bible study on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom, with the connection opening at 9:50 a.m. so participants can settle in. The study uses the framework of scripture, reason, and tradition that is central to Anglican formation. Confirmation is offered periodically to youth who want to make a mature affirmation of their faith; preparation spans several months of weekly gatherings, a retreat, and a contribution to the parish's outreach work.
Pastoral Care, Prayer, and Grief Support
The St. Anne's Pastoral Care Team tends to the body, mind, and spirit of the parish and its neighbors. Ministers make monthly visits to those who are homebound, bringing communion when it is welcome. They pray through the parish Prayer Chain Ministry, send cheerful notes through the Sunshine Card Ministry, make bereavement crosses for those who have lost a loved one, and deliver the altar flowers from Sunday services to the sick and homebound. Anyone can request prayers by contacting the church office.
Beyond the Broken Heart, a grief support group, meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 11:00 a.m. in a meeting room reached through the rear entrance. Open to anyone grieving a loss of any kind, the group is led by parishioners including Kathy Terrible, Sharon Searfoss, and Donna Bennett. The Prayer Chain Ministry is open to anyone who wants to experience the power of intercessory prayer.
Outreach Across the Lehigh Valley
St. Anne's takes seriously the call to look beyond its own walls. The Outreach Team runs a striking number of ongoing programs. The Kindness Project supplies clothing, shoes, furniture, and other essentials - free of charge - to foster families and children across Eastern Pennsylvania. The parish makes weekly deliveries of food and clothing to Everlasting Life Ministries' food and clothing bank, which serves hundreds of people in and around Allentown. Each week, members purchase gift cards for Giant, Weis, and Wegmans after both Sunday services; the church receives 5% of every dollar spent, with no extra cost to the buyer, to fund its outreach work.
Seasonal efforts fill the year. The Advent Tree hangs in the parish hall with Christmas wishes from the residents of Mosser Nursing Home; members take an ornament, shop, and return the wrapped gifts so every resident receives a present. The Winter Clothing Drive gathers coats, gloves, hats, and scarves for distribution through Everlasting Life Ministries in center city Allentown. In February, the Sunday School class leads Souper Bowl Sunday, choosing a charity to support and collecting donations in large soup pots after worship. In August, the congregation fills school bags with supplies for students who need them, and the Advent Christmas Cards program makes sure every nursing home resident in the parish's network receives a card each week of Advent.
Quarterly, a team from St. Anne's prepares and serves a meal for up to seventy-five people at Daybreak, a ministry of the Lehigh County Conference of Churches, with extra desserts packaged as takeaways. A drop box outside the church's front door collects used cell phones for Cell Phones for Soldiers, and St. Anne's remains a long-time partner of Miller-Keystone Blood Bank (parishioners use Group ID #681 when giving blood). A clothing and household goods bank in the education wing supports refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine. The parish also collects non-prescription medical supplies on a quarterly basis for St. Mary's Ukrainian Church in Allentown, which sends them by volunteer-flown planes to Ukraine, and contributes to Episcopal Relief and Development, the Red Cross, and the Salvation Army in response to natural disasters. Multiple members deliver Meals on Wheels, and others help staff the facility to pack meals for drivers. As needs arise, the team has supported individual families - purchasing landscaping services for an elderly couple, helping a family get a child to California for cancer treatment, supplying a wheelchair-accessible van, and donating grocery gift cards to East Penn School District social workers for homeless families.
Community Groups and Fellowship
St. Anne's opens its doors to a variety of community groups, many of which are open to non-members. Zumba meets in the parish hall on Monday or Wednesday mornings at 9:00 a.m., or Tuesday evenings at 6:00 p.m., led by Tamara Persico; no dance experience is required. A monthly book club gathers to discuss a selected novel, and an adult forum series brings in guest speakers on a range of subjects - recent topics have included refugees from Afghanistan. The parish also welcomes new groups and ideas, encouraging community organizations to reach out about meeting space.
Sacraments and the Life of the Parish
Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body the Church and is open to people of all ages. Parents may make the baptismal promises on behalf of an infant, promising to raise the child in the Christian faith; older children and adults make their own profession. Because the bond established in baptism is permanent, it is celebrated only once.
Christian marriage at St. Anne's is a sacrament in which two people enter a lifelong union before God and the Church. Funerals are services of worship, typically held in the church; the rector, the Rev. Don Schaible, is available for prayer, conversation, pastoral care, and planning. Parishioners are encouraged to pre-plan hymns, scripture, and participants in the service so that families have fewer decisions to make at the time of death. Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Anne's Memorial Fund at the parish's mailing address. Confirmation, administered by the bishop, is a mature affirmation of faith; youth prepare through several months of study, a retreat, and a contribution to the parish's outreach work.
What Episcopalians Believe
St. Anne's is a parish of The Episcopal Church, the official body of the Anglican Communion in the United States and a member of the Diocese of Bethlehem. The parish affirms the historic Episcopal via media, holding the sacraments as essential to salvation while rejecting the supremacy of the Pope, and following the line of apostolic succession through bishops, priests, and deacons. The word Episcopal itself comes from the Greek for bishop, underscoring the bishop's role as primary shepherd.
Episcopalians at St. Anne's profess belief in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world. The church has a legacy of inclusion: women and men serve as bishops, priests, and deacons, and laypeople share leadership with the ordained at every level. St. Anne's puts it plainly: We believe that God loves you - no exceptions. The Book of Common Prayer, the creeds, and the framework of scripture, reason, and tradition guide the church's life together.
Clergy, Stewardship, and Giving
The Rev. Don Schaible serves as rector of St. Anne's. The parish is governed by a vestry that meets monthly; Donna Bennett serves as Senior Warden, Connie Archer as Secretary, and Cathie Meholic and Maryrose Anderson as Treasurers. Stewardship at St. Anne's is understood broadly: members give of their time in worship, their talent in the choir, and their treasure through online giving or in the offering plate, and they serve through the Outreach Team and other ministries. The Memorial Fund, fed by memorial gifts, supports the ongoing life of the parish.
The church stands on Lower Macungie Road with high visibility and easy access from Route 222. The Memorial Garden and the well-used Maniatty Education Wing host many of the programs that connect the parish to the wider community - Sunday School, refugee clothing, Zumba, Bible study, book club, grief support, and the steady stream of food and clothing that flows through to Everlasting Life Ministries and beyond. It is, in the parish's own words, a family of Christian faith that seeks to be renewed and formed by the Holy Spirit, that worships and prays together, that shares God's love and gifts with neighbors far and near, and that supports and cares for all of God's people.