Welcome to St. Peter’s Covenant Church

St. Peter’s was founded in 1804 as an outreach of Christ Reformed Church of Indian Creek. The terminology used for that relationship was “Mother Church” and “Daughter Church”. Rev. Jacob Senn of Christ Church was the organizing pastor. A new​ church was built on land given by the heirs of Abraham Cope, and a stone house of worship was dedicated on April 1, 1805. 

With a great wave of German immigrants coming to Southeastern Pennsylvania in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s many new church sprang up as “union Churches” – as Reformed and Lutheran congregations shared one building, but each congregation having their own pastor. St. Peter’s was a union church until 1981. 

As an immigrant people, all worship services were in German until 1860, when English was used at “stated intervals”. It would not be until WWI that worship services in German completely ceased. 

Beginning in 1860 under the strong pastoral leadership of Rev. William Yearick St. Peter’s became a “Mother Church”, giving birth to four “Daughter Congregations” from 1860 to 1901. Rev. Yearick was called as a missionary pastor to plant a new church in Doylestown, while he served as pastor of St. Peter’s. After Salem Reformed Church of Doylestown was established, he became the founding pastor of St. Luke’s Reformed Church in Dublin, while still also serving St. Peter’s. 

In 1874 St. Peter’s original stone building was razed, and the current building was built. In 1880 newly called Pastor Rev. H.F. Seiple, a lawyer before going to seminary was also the founding pastor at St. John’s Reformed Church in Lansdale. In 1900, St. Peter’s would also supply pastoral leadership with the founding of Heidelberg Reformed Church in Hatfield, as Rev. John Lindeman served both congregations. 

During the twentieth century through a series of denominational mergers, St. Peter’s Reformed Church became St. Peter’s Evangelical and Reformed Church. In 1957 the Evangelical and Reformed and the Congregational Christian denominations merged forming the United Church of Christ. St. Peter’s continued in the UCC until the congregation voted to leave that denomination in 2005, and search for a more like-minded denomination. In 2007 St. Peter’s was adopted into the Evangelical Covenant Church, and became St. Peter’s Covenant Church. 

St. Peter’s has met at the same location since its founding in 1804, but the surrounding area has changed greatly in those two-hundred plus years. We look to a past that saw the birth of four “Daughter Congregations”, and seek to be faithful, healthy, and missional into an expectant future. 

If you desire more detailed historic information, or cemetery records please contact St. Peter’s Covenant Church.