Latest / Centrally Speaking / The Renovation of the Central Schwenkfelder Church: how the church building intersects with the community

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The Renovation of the Central Schwenkfelder Church: how the church building intersects with the community · Centrally Speaking

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Centrally speaking, is the Central Schwenfelder Church's podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: It speaks about issues that would be of interest to our society.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: In particular, it addresses how a Christian worldview intersects with Western secular culture.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: In the spirit of the church's founder, we take the perspective of the middle way, which is in agreement with the historic Christian Church.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: I'm Dr.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: Drake Williams, Minister of Mission and Theology at the Church.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: Our website is www.cscfamily.org.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_03: Today we're talking about the renovation of the Central Schweinfelder Church Building, how the church building intersects with the community.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_03: It's our pleasure to have uh Reverend Dr.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_03: David McKinley on this podcast again today.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_03: David's been the senior minister here at the church since 2001.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_03: Couldn't you think of someone that's the history of the church and we can work the week?
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Drake.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's a pleasure to be here.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_03: And the building's been renovated for the last uh year or so.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_03: Why did the church decide to go about doing renovations?
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you're right, Drake.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: The building has been a beautiful structure as you drive by it on Valley Forge Road on the south end of Lansdale.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: But as beautiful it is as it is on the outside, and it was always kept clean and neat on the inside, but there are some internal matters that needed attention.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: There was a plumbing system that needed uh attention, a heating system that needed attention.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh there was a bathroom or two that were no longer serviceable.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh there was also just the way that the church was designed in 1951 when it was dedicated, the way that rooms are used then as compared to the way that rooms are used now, there's a big difference.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh today, there's the need for more open spaces and opportunities for people to interact and socialize.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: Tom Rayner uh discusses in his material that churches ought to make room where people can interact and connect and build relationships.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: And our church building was built very well.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: It it's like a fortress uh uh in the in its substructure.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: But uh the rooms are s were small, and there was the positioning of a of a main bathroom at the end of the hallway rather than close to the narthex or the lobby area.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so when several of those things occur, uh it begins to dawn on leaders that maybe we need to do something and invest in our building for generations to come, and I think that they were very wise in doing that.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_03: Mostly internal reasons uh for the uh renovation uh of the building uh rather than exterior reasons.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: And because we love the outside of the building so much, we tried to keep its integrity as much as possible.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: So when you look upon the building, uh the only thing that's new is the area to the south of the main building, uh still attached, but nevertheless, uh we've increased the footprint just slightly.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_03: The church was originally formed from two meeting houses uh coming together, uh the Toa Mensen meeting house and the Worcester Meeting House.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_03: What did those meeting houses look like, and what must have the change have been in the mentality of Schwankfelder's moving from meeting houses to this large church building on Valley Forge Road?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's a great question, Drake.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I would even predate uh the existence of meeting houses, Schwenkfelders would gather into homes and would read sermons and would sing uh a cappello.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: So there was a strong emphasis upon getting together for spiritual matters and spiritual activities.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: But then at the dawn of, say, I'm going to say the mid or early 1800s, uh, there became the need to have a meeting house to bring everyone together in one common place.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so the Tomenson Meeting House was located about a mile to the north of our main church building, and then the Worcester Meeting House was located to the west and south of our main building, maybe two miles.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not sure about the Worcester Meeting House, which is where your mother had grown up attending uh services when she was a young girl.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: But as far as the Tomenson meeting house, it's my understanding that you would walk through the front door and the fellowship hall would be in the basement, and the sanctuary would be upstairs.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: And like many churches in that era, you would walk through the front door and meet a staircase, and you could either go down or up.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: And it's my understanding that the sanctuary was upstairs, and there would be most likely the presence of an organ or an upright piano, and uh the pews would be wooden and there would be a wide pulpit that would be most likely elevated to a certain degree, and it was always my understanding that the Tomenson Meeting House was a large, a larger structure than the Worcester Meeting House and could hold maybe a couple of hundred people comfortably.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_03: And then to go to uh central Schweinfelder Church with these two meeting houses merging together, uh, going from a couple hundred people to now four hundred, five hundred, uh must have been a very large uh change in mentality.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it was.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: I think that it changed the landscape in more ways than one.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now uh they had built a sanctuary that could seat uh four to five hundred people comfortably.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Now, instead of sharing a minister every other Sunday, uh they would have one minister every Sunday and Sunday school every Sunday.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so back in the day when the two meeting houses were gathering, it's my understanding that they would have Sunday school every Sunday, but the worship service would be every other Sunday at each of the respective meeting houses, and so the minister would travel back and forth.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: So now, finally, they're in one building.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone from both meeting houses is gathered into one place.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: People that grew up together, people that went to school together now are going to worship together on a weekly basis and enjoy their time.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: And very strategic part of that was the presence of Christian Endeavor and attending youth meetings.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure what evening they did that, most likely on Sunday evening, and lots of singing, uh Bible reading, uh, the telling of Bible stories.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so the church really was at the center of their cultural experience, far different than today, which it seems like the church sometimes can be pushed to the fringe.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_03: They built the church in 1951.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_03: Um what were some of the distinct architectural features?
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you'll notice from an aerial view that the Central Schwenkfelder Church at 2111 South Valley Forge Road is in the shape of a cross, with the sanctuary being the base of the cross and uh the education wing on one side and the fellowship hall on the other.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: And then the prominent steeple that rises into the sky with a stainless steel cross atop that steeple, and the majestic pillars that are out front.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: So those are some features of uh the building that has been in existence since 1951.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: And there's lots of pictures that we have on our renovation website of the old church being built, and I can't imagine what that was like for the people in this area.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: Because Worcester at that time, in the early 50s, late 40s, this was predominantly farmland, lots of farms that surrounded the land that on which the church is built.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so here you have this beautiful structure in the midst of wide open spaces, and so it was quite a spectacle in in a very positive way.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_03: Is there something to uh be said about that so that's uh uh distinct or for a particular reason?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think from the heritage it has been uh an emphasis on the internal rather than the external.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: I had a conversation with a Roman Catholic friend who is thinking about visiting our worship services, and their question was, Well, what would be uh the main differences?
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I told that person that uh, well, there are no statues, there are no paintings, the walls are white, the windows in our sanctuary are large, and you can see uh through them lots of natural lighting that comes through.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you also have uh the presence of two large sections of pews in addition to the balcony with a large center aisle.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: And back in the day our church building was very popular for weddings.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: And this continues to be a popular place for weddings, but I'm sad to say that the venue wedding, uh, which these are weddings that usually take place at the same location of a reception, which usually is at a country club or some type of other venue, that is quickly overtaking the idea of a church-based wedding.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so we don't do nearly as many church-based weddings nowadays as I'm asked to go to different venues, both locally and really at different parts of the country.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: So that's what's interesting, but our building remains a very beautiful place.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it is a simple interior, but very elegant and well done and tasteful.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: And as I said before, no presence of any caricatures or statues or paintings, and maybe this goes back to the days of the Reformation where there was more emphasis placed upon the scriptures and uh interacting with God uh from ourselves to Him and vice versa, and so there's no intermediary help, there's no stations of the cross, there's no the presence of icons or anything like that.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so a person is left with uh curtains at the front that are large and go from floor to ceiling, uh that are red in color, and then a beautiful gold cross that sits upon the altar that's white.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's what the front over the sanctuary looks like.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and so it's it's simple, um, maybe even plain, but still elegant and beautiful.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_03: Now there's some changes that have been made to the building, not to the sanctuary.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_03: Why have the changes been made and how is this significant for carrying out the ministry at Central Schweinfeller Church in the future?
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great question.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: So there have been a number of changes, anywhere from just a facelift to the fellowship hall, for instance, that just simply means new flooring, uh a fresh paint job, and the presence of video cameras to project a better, crisper image on a screen or words to songs.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: So the fellowship hall looks fabulous.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Then our Narthx has been completely reconfigured.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: We used to have a vestibule with two sets of doors.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: Now that vestibule now is completely opened up and now blends into the Narth X or the lobby area.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: There's been the addition of a couple of different offices, small offices where the counters can count the morning offering, as well as our sextant staff can monitor security cameras.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: And the Narthex now is a larger room, and so there's more room for people to stand and socialize, and just off of the Narthx, then is what we call the hub area, where it's a full kitchenette with lots of places to sit, high-top tables to set coffee and carry on conversations and connect with your neighbor, with your friend, and so and and the new the presence of new bathrooms right off of the Narthex makes it much more convenient than having the bathroom clear at the end of the hallway.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: In addition, and probably the highlight of the renovation is the presence of a new welcome center.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: This is yet an addition of a lobby area that's on the south side of the church, where it's just off the main parking lot.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: People will come in that entrance and be greeted by a number of greeters and encouraged to go to a Sunday school class or at the time of the worship service to be directed to the sanctuary.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: But it's lots of natural lighting and lots of nice furnishings.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I should say that that south entrance also has the presence of what's called a portica share.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: And this is a large shelter area that you can drive your car underneath and let out loved ones to go inside to get out of the weather, and then the driver can go ahead and park his or her car and then come into the building.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: We did not have that feature for 70 years, and many churches do, and it is a highlight of the recent renovation efforts, and I'm so glad that we have it.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: So the traditional service will continue to be in the sanctuary, and in that space, um, the sanctuary is uh kept the way that it was.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: The only real addition is video cameras and security cameras, as well as the presence of two large screens that flank uh the altar area, and the sound booth uh has been relocated to its own room right at the back of the sanctuary, so we have opened things up.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: There's more spacing available for people that are in wheelchairs, and so this is quite nice.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Then the contemporary service that is at 10:45 every morning, every Sunday morning, it has the opportunity to have uh the of course the new furnishings and um the large screen uh upon the stage area, and uh the reason that we have two worship services in two different places is because the usage of equipment.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: The contemporary worship service, of course, is led by a contemporary music band with drums, guitar, keyboard, as well as other items, and so they need a place that they can both rehearse and leave their equipment up and start their worship service on time without the inconvenience of tearing down the equipment and setting it back up every week.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, this to have two places of worship in addition to the hub where we'll have our social time, it'll just make things run a lot smoother.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: Both worship leaders will have then full rang range of their own space, and it it'll be a much better environment for both.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_03: In the 1950s, I don't think uh people would have seen the importance of technology uh for uh the life of the church.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_03: Uh but things have really changed, haven't they, with uh live uh streaming and smart TVs.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_03: Can you explain how that uh also fits into the ministry at Central Schwankfelder as you envisioned it?
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, well, Dr.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: Drake, you were on staff, of course, in 2020 when uh COVID hit, and churches all across the country, most of them, if not 90% of them, shut down for a time and they didn't even meet.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so there had to be an opportunity to still reach our parishioners, reach our church members in their homes, and give them a worship experience through the lenses of their cameras on their laptop computers or on their television sets through YouTube or Facebook Live.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so we immediately started holding services via live stream, and that was a look a large learning curve, as well as the presence of weekly devotions that we as ministers at Central record.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so this has been a real blessing.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: It kind of shoved us into the area of needing to come up with the times as far as technology goes, and I will say, and there's pros and cons to everything.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: The con, of course, is that people elect to stay home and view the worship service via live stream sometimes.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's made it very convenient, but then uh the in-person church attendance has suffered somewhat.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: We're trying to encourage more and more people to come back for the in-person service, but it is very convenient for people to be able to be in the comfort of their homes and view the service.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I will say, over the years uh we have uh our elderly members that find it very hard to come out to the worship service.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: My own father uh lives in Nevada, Missouri, he's 92 years old, and he watches our worship service from Lansdale, Pennsylvania.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: He watches it every week, and now he gets to see his son bring the message every week, and so that I'm I'm very happy about, and he's very happy, and so uh I get to be his minister on Sunday morning, as it were.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: And that's good because his home church is uh in search of a minister.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: So uh there's that aspect.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Also, I would say what drives technology in the church is that our society today is has become more of a visual society, an image driven society.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: So people are very much attached to their smartphones or their laptop computers, and so then It makes it necessary for things to be accessible on the computer for the live streaming, or even if you were to attend in person to see, say, for instance, a PowerPoint presentation that goes along with the preaching of a message, which we do that in the contemporary service now, or the showing of video clips.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: This can be effective as a message is given to be able to direct people to a screen and say, now consider this short video clip of what's taking place here.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so now the sermon illustration has become something that's active and acted out.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: So all of these things can enhance one's attention, but of course, there's limits to everything.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: We have to pay attention to attention span and ask ourselves what's a really effective presentation of the gospel.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: But these are the things of 2024, and they were happening whether that we want to see them or not.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so uh the the presence of technology is a good thing with exceptions, of course.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_03: Back in the 1950s when the church uh was first built, um there were uh a number of stories uh surrounding uh its founding and then also uh people in the area uh coming by to uh visit.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_03: Can you share anything about uh what took place uh back in uh 1951 and what was uh the should we say the uh the interest that was being placed in the building at that time?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, back in the early 50s, of course, uh this south edge of Lansdale, or it probably wasn't even considered to be Lansdale at that time, uh, but Worcester proper, uh this uh and the Tone mentioned township as well, uh just to the north, lots of farmland, lots of wide open spaces.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so for two church communities to come together to build a structure, and it's my understanding from the reading of our local history, the discussion about having one central church for the Tomenson Meeting House and the Worcester Meeting House, that was not something that was decided overnight.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: They had talked and debated about this for many years, and then finally ground was broken in 1949.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: My understanding is that the cornerstone was laid in 1949, and then as the structure began to take shape, the installation of uh roof trusses and the large pillars and the stonework and the list could go on and on.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: People would drive from miles around to come and see the progress being made on the central Schweinfelder Church.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: In addition to that, it's my understanding that there was scaffolding that was built beside the steeple, and some of our members that now have gone on to be with the Lord, but as they were young uh boys, they would climb that network of scaffolding.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: I can think of uh two gentlemen, uh Fred Sipt and Lowell Rothenberger, that would both of those gentlemen, of course, uh, were strategic in the uh Mary Mead farm and the Freddie Hill farm.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they would climb up that scaffolding and set atop of it where the cross is, and they would view the whole landscape.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: So that was uh always a chuckle over the years of uh those types of activities.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: But people would travel for miles around to see uh what the building was like, and we have uh many members that said, Well, I I was in diapers uh when they laid the foundation stone.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: I was here.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh my parents brought me to that service, and so uh there's a lot of interesting stories, um, a lot of nostalgia that surrounds um when the building was erected in 1951.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_03: And here we're coming up on a uh rededication of the building uh the weekend of May the 3rd through the 5th.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_03: Um undoubtedly there'll be stories uh about this weekend too that we'll remember for uh for years to come.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_03: Uh can you share some of the activities that we anticipate on May 3rd, uh Friday, May 3rd, Saturday, May 4th, and then uh the rededication service on May the 5th?
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, uh we're all looking forward to uh the occasion.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: So on Friday, May 3rd from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: will be seen as a reunion night.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh there'll be live music and refreshments in our new hub area right off of the Narthax, and people will be given the opportunity to wander through the renovated spaces and to see the new appearances of uh areas and spaces that they remember as being or appearing uh in a much different way, and now they're completely redone, and so people are encouraged to come for a quick visit or stay for a while, and all ages are welcome on Friday evening, May the 3rd, 6:30 to 9.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: Then on Saturday, May 4th, from 11 to 2 p.m.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: will be a community day where people can explore the extensive renovations.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: There will be live musical performances as well as games and activities for all ages.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: There'll be the presence of fire truck and picnic food as well as a Kona ice truck available.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: So that is sure to be a fun time.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: And then Sunday, May the 5th, we'll have a 9 o'clock Connect service.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: This means that we'll have one worship service combining the music offerings of the two services into one.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: Central's instrumental and vocal choirs will be featured as well as a special speaker, uh, Johnny Pons.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: Johnny is the founder of Glocal Resources and a former campus minister at Penn State University and in State College, where he established international outreach programs that continue today.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: Johnny's going to give a great message.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: He lives in Nashville, Tennessee now, but he will come back and to preach that 9 o'clock Connect service.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: And then 10 a.m.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: is a brunch in our new fellowship hall.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: And then at 11:15 a.m.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: is a dedication time with ribbon cutting and featuring live contemporary music from our own worship band.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: So it certainly will be a great weekend.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm looking forward to it.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: The whole community is invited, and we hope that uh everyone will show up at Central and see all what God has enabled us to do through uh this campaign that has been going on for many years.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_03: Culmination of uh many thoughts, dreams, a lot of prayer, a lot of giving.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it'll be a real life landmark day in the life of the church, and we certainly welcome uh anyone that's listening to be a part of that uh certainly in person, but uh the service will be live streamed too on the Sunday, too, right, David?
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it certainly will, and and we hope that people tune in, we hope that people show up in person, and we look forward to it.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you for uh answering these questions for us uh today, David.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_03: Uh the Lord bless uh your ministry and our ministry together at Central.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Drake.