At 47 South Whiteoak Street in Kutztown, St. Paul's United Church of Christ is a congregation founded in 1886 and known for a generous welcome it calls the “Big Lap of God.” Its Sunday rhythm combines worship at 10:15 a.m. with education for children and adults, music and small groups, disability-inclusive worship, and long-standing service in Kutztown and beyond.
The Big Lap of God in Kutztown
In 2011, the congregation accepted an invitation from God to begin a journey of revitalization and reinvigoration. The church's central idea is that every person is a disciple of Jesus with gifts that can add something to the whole congregation. St. Paul's calls itself a fellowship of diversity: each person is encouraged to investigate a personal path to God at their own pace, while the congregation remains united in a common commitment to Jesus Christ.
That welcome has a memorable name. The “Big Lap” offers what the church describes as a tight, warm hug instead of a cold shoulder, guidance without scolding, and acceptance without judgment. The congregation's own invitation is direct: “Come as you are, be who you are. We've got a seat saved for you.” The language is matched by practical attention to visitors, from friendly greeters and deacons to a clear place for each person to contribute.
First-time guests can enter from South Whiteoak Street or through the Lambert Alley door. Deacons and greeters can help with coat racks, bathrooms, the Visitor Registry, and other needs. The church also offers classes, fellowship events, committee work, worship, and mission projects as ways for people to become known and involved in the life of the congregation.
Sunday at 10:15
Sunday morning follows a clear rhythm. Adult Christian education meets from 8:45 to 10:00 a.m., while children's Sunday school meets from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. from September through May, leaving families time to reunite for the 10:15 a.m. worship service. A fellowship hour follows worship at 11:30 a.m. Additional evening worship is scheduled periodically.
St. Paul's worship life is rooted in preaching and teaching, prayer, Holy Communion, and music. Everyone is invited to Holy Communion, while the music department includes a senior voice choir and a bell choir that periodically takes part in worship. Across its worship history are hymn-centered services, special programs led by children, and worship held outdoors. The Worship Committee coordinates the music, Communion, baptisms, receiving new members, and special worship services. Visitors can expect a friendly mix of people and relevant messages.
Many worship services are available as recordings through St. Paul's YouTube archive, including a substantial collection extending back to 2020. A YouTube livestream is also available for services. The recordings preserve familiar seasonal observances alongside the regular Sunday rhythm, including Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, and the church's annual Folk Festival. They also include children's Christmas programs, hymn sings, and guest-led services.
Learning from Two Years Old to Adulthood
Children are welcomed throughout the congregation. Sunday school is divided into a combined youth class for children as young as two through sixth grade and uses the one-room schoolhouse curriculum “Character by God's Design,” which connects Bible stories with character traits. The class design reflects input gathered from families through surveys. At the same time, Activity Bags help very young children stay quietly occupied during the sermon.
Young people in grades seven and eight may enter confirmation classes held periodically during the school year. The classes combine education about worship and service with broader spiritual development, and completion is marked by a special service welcoming participants into the church. Children can therefore encounter the church first through learning, service, mission projects, and the wider life of the congregation before making a formal membership commitment.
Adults meet in a discussion class every Sunday, typically around a book or another resource. The Board of Christian Education oversees learning from age two through adulthood, including children's classes, youth, adult education, Bible study, and preparation for confirmation. Together, these ministries connect learning, worship, service, and membership into one educational program.
From German Reformed Roots to the UCC
St. Paul's was founded in 1886 and chartered in 1887 as part of the Reformed Church in the United States, originally the German Reformed Church, a tradition dating in America to 1825. It became part of the United Church of Christ in 1957, when the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches joined together. The UCC emphasizes a distinct and diverse Christian community united in faith and action. St. Paul's belongs to the Pennsylvania Southeast Conference and its East Berks Association.
Its pastoral succession spans Edwin A. Gernant, Gustave A. Schwedes, Frederick B. Hahn, George B. Smith, Francis F. Renoll, Paul E. Schmoyer, Robert F. Harting, Francis E. Ringer, David P. Focht, Sharon S. Morris, SaraJane Munshower, John W. Davies, Jennifer Bannerman, Kim Adamson, Debra Timmins, and James H. Latimer. Rev. Dr. Latimer is also a professional certified coach whose work focuses on governance, leadership development, congregational renewal, and ministry effectiveness.
St. Paul's also counts seven people who entered ministry from its own congregation: George K. Ely, David J. Ely, Alfred M. Rahn, Leroy M. Kutz Jr., William C. Fenstermacher, Sara A. Hertzog, and Jeremiah Heydt.
The UCC counts more than 4,600 churches and 700,000 members across the United States. The Pennsylvania Southeast Conference comprises about 170 congregations in southeastern Pennsylvania and is made up of seven associations, with St. Paul's belonging to the East Berks Association.
Choirs, Small Groups and Working Together
The Music department offers both voice and bell opportunities. The Senior Voice Choir typically meets weekly, always welcomes new members, and regularly participates in worship. The bell choir welcomes “ringers” and joins Sunday worship from time to time. Judy Heffley serves as organist, Donna Sheaffer directs the bell choir, and Cathy Dill serves in the substitute bell choir role. Choir work is coordinated with the Worship Committee for special services.
Small groups are offered for spiritual development and shared interests, and membership is not required. The adult Sunday class, senior voice choir, and bell choir are examples. Young at Heart gives adults in the congregation and community a place to gather and socialize on the third Wednesday of every month at 10 a.m. The wider small-group ministry also includes bi-monthly Bible study and studies on Christian principles and practices.
The Prayer Links team gathers for prayer for the congregation and needs made known to the church. The pastor and elders provide Holy Communion and fellowship to homebound members. Men, women, and teenagers knit and crochet prayer shawls, and the Hospitality Ministry offers food and fellowship in Fellowship Hall after funerals for grieving family members.
The Women's Guild supports the spiritual life of the church's women through hospitality, local mission service, kitchen work, greeting cards, quilts, and prayer shawls. Its members also contribute to the church's meals and outreach ministries.
The six elders serve as a spiritual council, nominated and approved by the congregation for four-year terms. Their responsibilities include helping the church remain on a true biblical course, supporting accurate biblical teaching, caring for the congregation's spiritual and physical well-being, modeling discipleship, and praying regularly for the sick. The nine deacons serve three-year terms. They assist as ushers, tend to benevolence, count tithes and offerings, stay connected with church members, and pray for the needs of the church.
Other committees offer practical ways to contribute. The Fellowship Committee plans periodic gatherings, often alongside Sunday worship. The Technology Committee maintains computers, copiers, audiovisual equipment, and the systems that support worship and communication. The Property Committee oversees the building, grounds, and parking lots, while the Mission Committee seeks to improve services to the community through dinners and fundraising for mission projects.
Mission Work Rooted in Kutztown
St. Paul's mission is to respond to the needs of local families as well as national and global families by sharing love and making a difference locally and around the world. Its local mission relationships include support for and work with the following organizations.
- Friend, Inc. serves families in need living in northeastern Berks County.
- Manna Food Pantry: St. Paul's partners with Grace EC Church in efforts to help local families struggling to feed their families.
- Kutztown Fire Company: St. Paul's supports the volunteer fire company serving Kutztown, Maxatawny and Greenwich townships, and the University.
- Opportunity House works to improve the lives of children, families, and adults striving for independent living.
- Phoebe Home offers health care, housing, and support for seniors and is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
- Bethany Children's Home has received hymnals, gardening help, and bench rebuilding as recent projects.
- Relay for Life: St. Paul's Angels of Hope team has worked for years raising money for the American Cancer Society's Kutztown walk.
Community dinners feature home-cooked food and fellowship, are free of charge, and are open to everyone. Vacation Bible School support includes five evenings of Christian education for children, with a different theme each year and an engaging, fun format. Volunteer drivers also provide transportation to medical appointments for seniors and others who cannot drive.
Nationally and globally, St. Paul's calls itself a “5 for 5 Congregation.” It gives basic support to Our Churches Wider Mission and contributes to One Great Hour of Sharing, Strengthen the Church, Neighbors in Need, and The Christmas Fund. The church presents this wider giving as a response to suffering it cannot ignore and a way to serve both locally and abroad.
Rejoicing Spirits on the First Sunday
St. Paul's hosts Rejoicing Spirits of Eastern Berks County, a ministry created to enrich the faith lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and their friends. The monthly worship service begins at 3 p.m. on the first Sunday, followed by a time of fellowship. Everyone is welcome. It gives people with disabilities, families, and friends a shared place for worship and fellowship.
Belief Put Into Practice
St. Paul's mission statement says the family is guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ, committed to carrying his good news, and celebrates God's presence by sharing unconditional love through fellowship, worship, and service. Its statement of faith describes God as the Eternal Spirit made known in Jesus, the creator who calls the world into being and humanity into the divine image. It affirms God's saving love, judgment, and justice; Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection, and reconciliation of creation; and the Holy Spirit's work of creating and renewing the church. From that foundation, the church speaks of discipleship, service to the whole human family, gospel proclamation, forgiveness, grace, peace, the Spirit's presence in trial and rejoicing, and eternal life.
Those beliefs are reflected in specific practices. The congregation invites all people to Holy Communion, baptizes infants, children, and adults, confirms youth and adults, celebrates marriage, visits the sick, comforts the bereaved, prays for those in need, reaches out to local and worldwide missions, and preaches, teaches, and shares the Word of God.
Becoming Part of St. Paul's
Membership follows two paths. Children and youth begin in Sunday school, where they learn about the church and take part in giving and mission projects. After reaching grades seven or eight, they may join confirmation classes, which culminate in a special membership service. Adults may join after reaching 18; the church asks them first to learn more about the congregation and then to speak with the pastor about joining formally.
A visitor can also place a Visitors Card from the pew rack in the collection plate. Small groups remain open to people who are not members, and involvement through worship, education, fellowship, music, and service offers different ways to become part of St. Paul's life. Membership, in the church's framing, is both a spiritual journey and a way for each person to contribute to the body of Christ.
Parking, Access and Visitor Comfort
St. Paul's has two large parking lots: one directly behind the church on Lambert Alley and one just south of the church on South Whiteoak Street, across from Kutztown Bottling Works. The South Whiteoak Street and Lambert Alley entrances lead into the building, with the Lambert Alley entrance providing accessible entry. Accessible parking spaces are available, and wheelchair spaces are formed by pew cut-outs in both outer aisles of the sanctuary. Large-print bulletins and hearing devices are available on request, and live audio carries throughout the facility for anyone who needs to leave the sanctuary for baby care or another reason. A horse and buggy hitching post is also provided.
The church office is open Tuesday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to noon, with the pastor available from 9:00 a.m. to noon on those days and at other times by appointment. The office can be reached at 610-683-3393, and general inquiries can be sent to info@stpaulskutztown.org. Severe weather cancellations are communicated through WFMZ's School and Business Closings information, St. Paul's Facebook account, a recorded office message, and email alerts. The congregation's consistory members also receive a phone-chain notification.
The church's commitment to practical welcome continues through its two parking lots, accessible sanctuary spaces, live audio, Activity Bags, and greeters. These features are part of the same Big Lap idea that shapes St. Paul's identity: each person is received with care and has a place in the worshiping and serving community.