Hello Kay and other Listers, Confusion of information has led you to seek a "Reformed Lutheran" church. There never has been a church of that name. If you have come across the term "Reformed Lutheran" in some source account, it is an error. The error is not all that uncommon, and it grows out of misunderstanding the history the Calvinists and the Lutherans who were brought by the thousands from Germany to populate the land granted to William Penn by the British Crown. Beginning in the 18th Century, in hundreds of German-speaking communities in Pennsylvania, a German Reformed (AKA Calvinist) congregation and a Lutheran congregation often shared use of the same church building. The normal practice was that one Sunday worship would be led by a Reformed minister, if available, and the next Sunday worship would be led in the same building by a Lutheran minister, if available. In most cases those from the community who were Reformed and also those who were Lutheran would attend worship in the same church building every Sunday, regardless of whether the service followed the Reformed or the Lutheran liturgy. However, when the German Reformed pastor administered communion, those who were Reformed members would go forward and receive the elements, while the Lutherans would normally remain seated. When the Lutheran pastor administered communion, the Lutherans would go forward to receive the elements, and the Reformed would normally remain in their seats. Even though there were many intermarriages between members of the two different congregations, the two congregations in these cooperative arrangements did not merge to become one congregation: they maintained their separate identities as Reformed or as Lutheran congregations. These church buildings, where such cooperation took place between the two congregations, were consistently but unofficially referred to as "Union Churches." By the mid-20th Century most of these "Union Churches" in Pennsylvania had dissolved their relationships and communities ended up having one church building for a Reformed congregation and another for a Lutheran congregation. The Dreisbach Church, was a "union church" founded in the late 1780s by Lutheran and Reformed congregations. It was the most prominent (if not the only) church in Buffalo Valley in the 1790s. The Dreisbach Family maintains a Website highlighting this historic church at http://www.dreisbachfamily.org/church.html . You might want to contact the Dreisbach Family Organization to ask if the Dreisbach cemetery gravesites have been catalogued. Their Webpage is at http://www.dreisbachfamily.org/ . You also might ask if there is a way to determine whether your ancestors belonged to the Reformed or to the Lutheran congregation at Dreisbach. The "union" arrangement ended at Dreisbach in 1963. The Reformed congregation remained in the historic church building, four miles north of New Berlin, and through subsequent mergers eventually became the Dreisbach United Church Of Christ. The Lutheran congregation built a new church and became Faith Lutheran Church, two miles west of Lewisburg on Rt. 45. Information about the archives of the early German Reformed churches in Pennsylvania can best be accessed by going to the Website at http://www.rca.org/aboutus/archives/ . Information about the archives of the early Lutheran churches in Pennsylvania can best be accessed by going to the Website at http://www.elca.org/os/archives/ . At that Website be sure to click on "ELCA Regional Archives," and on the resultant Webpage scroll down to "Region 8" for Pennsylvania. To search census and tax records, be aware that Buffalo Township was created in 1772 while that area was part of Northumberland Co. Then East Buffalo Twp. was created in 1792 from Buffalo Twp., while the area was still in Northumberland Co. That area came into Union Co. when Union Co. was taken off of Northumberland Co. in 1813. Happy hunting, Rev. Nelson R. Sulouff Lutheran pastor from Northumberland Co. Pennsylvania, retired in Arizona ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kay Hoover" <shutterbug390@earthlink.net> To: <PANORTHU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 1:43 PM Subject: [PANORTHU-L] Northumbertland Churches > Where would a Reformed Lutheran in East Buffalo (now Union County) have attended church in 1795-1800? > > Any help appreciated > > Kay in CA

Found it. Baptism of Conrad Reichely was in the Regormed Congregation in Lower Saucon Twp, Northumberland. That's where I got the "reformed" idea. kay ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nelson Sulouff" <zuli@sprintmail.com> To: <PANORTHU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 10:45 PM Subject: Re: [PANORTHU-L] Northumbertland Churches > Hello Kay and other Listers, > > Confusion of information has led you to seek a "Reformed Lutheran" > church. There never has been a church of that name. If you have come > across the term "Reformed Lutheran" in some source account, it is an > error. The error is not all that uncommon, and it grows out of > misunderstanding the history the Calvinists and the Lutherans who were > brought by the thousands from Germany to populate the land granted to > William Penn by the British Crown. > > Beginning in the 18th Century, in hundreds of German-speaking > communities in Pennsylvania, a German Reformed (AKA Calvinist) > congregation and a Lutheran congregation often shared use of the same > church building. The normal practice was that one Sunday worship would > be led by a Reformed minister, if available, and the next Sunday worship > would be led in the same building by a Lutheran minister, if available. > In most cases those from the community who were Reformed and also those > who were Lutheran would attend worship in the same church building every > Sunday, regardless of whether the service followed the Reformed or the > Lutheran liturgy. However, when the German Reformed pastor administered > communion, those who were Reformed members would go forward and receive > the elements, while the Lutherans would normally remain seated. When the > Lutheran pastor administered communion, the Lutherans would go forward > to receive the elements, and the Reformed would normally remain in their > seats. Even though there were many intermarriages between members of the > two different congregations, the two congregations in these cooperative > arrangements did not merge to become one congregation: they maintained > their separate identities as Reformed or as Lutheran congregations. > These church buildings, where such cooperation took place between the > two congregations, were consistently but unofficially referred to as > "Union Churches." By the mid-20th Century most of these "Union Churches" > in Pennsylvania had dissolved their relationships and communities ended > up having one church building for a Reformed congregation and another > for a Lutheran congregation. > > The Dreisbach Church, was a "union church" founded in the late 1780s by > Lutheran and Reformed congregations. It was the most prominent (if not > the only) church in Buffalo Valley in the 1790s. The Dreisbach Family > maintains a Website highlighting this historic church at > http://www.dreisbachfamily.org/church.html . You might want to contact > the Dreisbach Family Organization to ask if the Dreisbach cemetery > gravesites have been catalogued. Their Webpage is at > http://www.dreisbachfamily.org/ . You also might ask if there is a way > to determine whether your ancestors belonged to the Reformed or to the > Lutheran congregation at Dreisbach. The "union" arrangement ended at > Dreisbach in 1963. The Reformed congregation remained in the historic > church building, four miles north of New Berlin, and through subsequent > mergers eventually became the Dreisbach United Church Of Christ. The > Lutheran congregation built a new church and became Faith Lutheran > Church, two miles west of Lewisburg on Rt. 45. > > Information about the archives of the early German Reformed churches in > Pennsylvania can best be accessed by going to the Website at > http://www.rca.org/aboutus/archives/ . > > Information about the archives of the early Lutheran churches in > Pennsylvania can best be accessed by going to the Website at > http://www.elca.org/os/archives/ . At that Website be sure to click on > "ELCA Regional Archives," and on the resultant Webpage scroll down to > "Region 8" for Pennsylvania. > > To search census and tax records, be aware that Buffalo Township was > created in 1772 while that area was part of Northumberland Co. Then East > Buffalo Twp. was created in 1792 from Buffalo Twp., while the area was > still in Northumberland Co. That area came into Union Co. when Union Co. > was taken off of Northumberland Co. in 1813. > > Happy hunting, > > Rev. Nelson R. Sulouff > Lutheran pastor from Northumberland Co. Pennsylvania, retired in Arizona > > ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////// > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Kay Hoover" <shutterbug390@earthlink.net> > To: <PANORTHU-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 1:43 PM > Subject: [PANORTHU-L] Northumbertland Churches > > > > Where would a Reformed Lutheran in East Buffalo (now Union County) > have attended church in 1795-1800? > > > > Any help appreciated > > > > Kay in CA > >