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Welcome to Inside the Red Doors – Stories from the St. John’s Archives!

As we approach St. John’s 150th anniversary in 2026, we are digging deep into the church archives to connect with the stories that shaped us. John Hendricks, our Photographer and Archivist, has worked faithfully for 15 years to maintain and share important pieces of our history. Leaning on his extensive knowledge and storytelling ability, we are excited to share these artifacts and anecdotes as a way to honor the past and imagine what the next 150 years could bring.

A Lansdale Thanksgiving Night Tradition – St John’s Sunday School Plays!

by John Hendricks, St. John’s Archivist

13 years before St. John’s founding, in 1963, President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, although an autumn day set aside for thanksgiving was observed since the 17th century in many places to celebrate a bountiful harvest. Holding a big family feast serving turkey on that day was also a tradition. ‘The Reporter’ of Nov. 14, 1872, said, “Thanksgiving Day is coming around again with its family gatherings, roast turkey and general hymns of praise to our bountiful Creator, who has blessed our land with fruitfulness and peace.” The first known Thanksgiving worship service at St. John’s was in 1882. And soon, the hottest ticket in Lansdale on Thanksgiving evening for 22 years would be from productions by the St. John’s Sunday School!

On Nov. 11, 1909, ‘The Reporter’ announced, “On Thanksgiving night, a musical extravaganza entitled ‘The Life of a Leaf’, followed by a spicy comedy, will be given in Music Hall by St. John’s Reformed Sunday School”. Music Hall was an auditorium built in 1888 at N. Broad & 2nd Streets, seating an audience of 600! The St. John’s Sunday School Thanksgiving night play soon became an annual Lansdale tradition. ‘The Reporter’ in 1914 noted the play would be “’Esleralda’, a comedy-drama of unusual merit and a cast of Lansdale’s talented amateurs should ensure enjoyable evenings” (now Thursday and Friday evenings to accommodate the large crowds). Admission was 25 cents, reserved seats 35 cents, limit 8 tickets per sale.

Changes took place over the years. In 1917, the play took the form of “a ten-reel moving feature entitled ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’”. There was no play in 1919. In 1920, “an old-fashioned talent play” was put on by the St. John’s Ushers Association, but the Sunday School plays returned in 1921. The 1923 farcical comedy ‘Sick-A-Bed’ was sold out. ‘The Reporter’ in 1926 noted the plays “years ago became an institution in Lansdale”. The final play at the Music Hall, 1929’s “Where’s Peter?”, was reviewed as one of the best. After having no play in 1930, one last play, ‘The Little Clodhopper’, was held in 1931, but this time in the York Avenue School.

What caused the end of the plays? Changing times? The impact of the Depression of 1929? The opulent Lansdale Theatre opened to compete with the Music Hall? We don’t know, but for a time a century ago, St. John’s offered the hottest ticket in town!

Written by Rev. Tom Adil

This holiday is a yearly reminder (November 1 and in church, the 1^st Sunday in November) of our connectedness as Christians to the church. Perhaps you were taught to think of saints as figures in the church’s stained-glass windows. But the Bible teaches something beyond this. Who is a saint? You are. That is if you’re a follower of Jesus. The Church calls a “saint” those who trust God-in-Christ for salvation.

The origin of All Saints’ Day can be traced back to the early Christian Church when it was established as a day to remember and celebrate the martyrs and other saints who had died for their faith. Over time, the scope of the holiday expanded to include martyrs and all faithful Christians who had lived pious and virtuous lives. It is a day to recognize the saints’ collective witness and express gratitude for their example.

Over time, the holiday’s focus expanded beyond just martyrs to include all Christian saints—those who were recognized for their exceptional holiness and devotion to God. This shift recognized that not all saints were martyrs, so a broader commemoration was needed.

The Christian festival of All Saints Day comes from a conviction that there is a spiritual connection between those in Heaven and on Earth. While traditions across the globe vary for All Saints Day, the common theme is a celebration with family and remembrance of those who have passed.

If you have a loved one who passed beween October 2024 and October 2025, and you would like them included in our All Saints List, please contact the office by Wednesday, October 29, 2025 with their name and relation to you.

The All Saints List is read during All Saints Sunday morning service, and featured in the bulletin. The full list will be available in next month’s Enlightener.

Welcome to Inside the Red Doors – Stories from the St. John’s Archives!

As we approach St. John’s 150th anniversary in 2026, we are digging deep into the church archives to connect with the stories that shaped us. John Hendricks, our Photographer and Archivist, has worked faithfully for 15 years to maintain and share important pieces of our history. Leaning on his extensive knowledge and storytelling ability, we are excited to share these artifacts and anecdotes as a way to honor the past and imagine what the next 150 years could bring.

Raise the Song of Harvest Home!

by John Hendricks, St. John’s Archivist

If someone asked what ‘harvest home’ means, you’d probably think of the familiar Thanksgiving hymn (NCH #422) with the opening lines, “Come, O thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home”. Some of our long-time members will remember that ‘harvest home’ was once a special day in the church year!

The Reporter newspaper of December 23, 1897, wrote “Wherever throughout the earth there is such a thing as a formal harvest there appears to be an inclination to mark it with a festive celebration. In England this festival passes generally under the endeared name of harvest home.” In our area, going back to the late 1800’s, Harvest Home was not only observed in all the local churches with special services, but also in special outdoor ‘fun’ festivals held by lodges and civic groups, with picnics, games, and speeches. These were held in late summer on various dates. There is not much information on these early services at St. John’s, but The Reporter noted a Wednesday night Harvest home service here in 1887 and by 1905 said it was an “annual service”.

By the 1900’s the secular observations had ended but Harvest Home services continued in area churches. At St. John’s, the ‘golden era’ of the Harvest Home services began with the arrival in 1923 of Rev. Sayres, our third pastor. A tradition started that the church was colorfully decorated for autumn, and the congregation brought home-preserved food for charity. The Reporter of October 15, 1923 noted “St. John’s Reformed Church was (the) perfect type of a Harvest Home church…and embraced everything that could be desired to make a showing…Rev. Alfred Sayres preached eloquently from the subject, “God, the Liberal Giver”…the liberal gifts of food which made the church resemble the finest section of a most progressive county fair, are to be sent to the Phoebe Deaconess and Old Folks Home in Allentown and Bethany Orphans Home in Womelsdorf.” (Note: we still support Phoebe Allentown and Bethany Children’s Home.)

Harvest Home continued as an annual service through the 1940’s. There were a few revivals after that, but fewer members grew and preserved foods now, and the ways of collecting and donating food changed, culminating with our founding Manna on Main Street in 1980 as a year-round food bank. But for many years, especially during the Depression, Harvest Home was an important part of our St. John’s outreach, sharing God’s bounty!

Welcome to Inside the Red Doors – Stories from the St. John’s Archives!

As we approach St. John’s 150th anniversary in 2026, we are digging deep into the church archives to connect with the stories that shaped us. John Hendricks, our Photographer and Archivist, has worked faithfully for 15 years to maintain and share important pieces of our history. Leaning on his extensive knowledge and storytelling ability, we are excited to share these artifacts and anecdotes as a way to honor the past and imagine what the next 150 years could bring.

Stories from St. John’s Celebration Sunday!

by John Hendricks, St. John’s Archivist

photo: Rev. Sue Bertolette on the steps, Celebration Sunday 1998. 

On September 7th we will observe ‘Celebration Sunday’. This is traditionally the day we return to our full calendar of activities after summer break and vacations. Did you know this tradition goes back over 100 years at St. John’s?

Rally Day continued at St. John’s for another 60+ years. One of the long-held traditions, before we became aware as ‘creation stewards’, was a colorful ‘balloon release’ on the front lawn following worship. The balloons had tags attached and many were returned from all over the area. When we became aware of the environmental consequences to animals and waterways after the balloons landed, this tradition purposely ended.

Looking for a new identification, in 1987 the name of the event was changed to “Celebration Sunday”. The Sunday School students were joined by congregants arriving for worship in the front courtyard. The Associate Pastor led the ceremony and the Children’s Choir director would lead the crowd in singing. In 2013, the gathering moved to the new back courtyard, with crowds filling the courtyard, the ramp and into the parking lot! Each person received a token gift reminding us of our new theme for the year.

As with many traditions, the pandemic brought changes to Celebration Sunday. In 2020, a ‘spread-out’ event took place in our various parking lots. Since there was no return to classes or activities, Celebration Sunday was not ‘celebrated’ for a few years. Now we are rebuilding a full schedule of worship and activities for 2025 and beyond, with new hopes and new leadership. Come and be part of St. John’s history on September 7th at 10:15 am!

Welcome to Inside the Red Doors – Stories from the St. John’s Archives!

As we approach St. John’s 150th anniversary in 2026, we are digging deep into the church archives to connect with the stories that shaped us. John Hendricks, our Photographer and Archivist, has worked faithfully for 15 years to maintain and share important pieces of our history. Leaning on his extensive knowledge and storytelling ability, we are excited to share these artifacts and anecdotes as a way to honor the past and imagine what the next 150 years could bring.

Summertime is St. John’s VBS Time!

by John Hendricks, St. John’s Archivist

image: photocopy of a July 6, 1951 newspaper photograph captioned “The 1951 Vacation bible School at St. John’s Reformed Church, Lansdale, held its final session this morning, and the children are shown as they leave the church on their way to a picnic.”

Vacation Bible School (VBS) has a long history at St. John’s. In fact, we celebrated our 100th VBS during Fellowship on August 6, 2023! In looking through the St. John’s archives, we learned some interesting facts about St. John’s VBS history.

On May 28, 1924, it was announced in The Reporter newspaper that at St. John’s “in the summer months… a limited number of boys and girls will be able to obtain instruction in matter of religion”. VBS began on June 30 with 70 students attending, and ended August 1 after five weeks of sessions, closing with a Friday evening commencement ceremony and exhibit of what was learned! The cost to run the VBS was $155.00 for the five weeks.

VBS continued to grow in the next decade, with expanded classes and activities including class picnics over the five weeks and an ice cream treat the last week. The closing evening event displaying handiwork also continued. Initially a $1.00 registration fee was collected from each student, but this was dropped during the depression so no child would be left out who couldn’t afford that fee. In 1929 another tradition began, collecting items for youth organizations in need. The first few years was for an African American school supported by the Reformed and Presbyterian denominations. In the past few years we collected for Urban Promise in Camden, with many other organizations helped in-between.

Over the years the sessions shortened, 1935 to four weeks, 1950 to three weeks, 1953 to two weeks, and 1975 to one week. The sessions included Bible study, Bible quiz, worship, handiwork and recreation. St. John’s members who grew up here fondly remember the daily Kool-Aid and pretzel rod snacks, too!

In 1999 VBS moved from mornings to evenings and added a class for adults. This continued until the 2020 pandemic, when VBS “Take-Out” boxes were made available to the children. In 2021 we combined take-out with 3 in person gatherings. In 2023 and 2024 VBS was “reimagined” as “Volunteer. Believe. Serve.”, with hands-on service projects for all ages.

On Saturday morning, August 23, we will gather for the 102nd year for a 3-hour session for all ages. The theme is “Building on the Rock”, and we are certainly building on the foundation that our St. John’s VBS teachers, administrators and students laid out for us over a century ago!

Mini Golf Update

by Kay Peebles, Office Manager

At approximately 5:30 pm on Wednesday June 18, I get home from work. Mike, a 16-year-old I refer to as “The Teenager” in my phone, my anecdotes, and to my colleagues and friends and family, but who internally I refer to as “little brother,” is lying on his bed with an arm behind his head and his phone in his hand. This, I’ve surmised, is one of The Teenager’s four main states of being (at the gym with headphones, on the couch with Xbox controller, on a bike with friends, and in bed with phone). I announce that today, he said he would go mini golfing with the new youth group at my job. This, of course, is news to The Teenager (if you have one, you likely must remind them several times of things). This is because the average Teenager must juggle a million details that are only vaguely related to one another and it is easy to drop one or two with 999,998 more in the air, and prioritizing comes only with experience.

I sidestep his confusion and hesitation with more enticing details—free mini golf, fun with other teens, and free ice cream—and rush to get changed from work clothes to mini golf–appropriate clothes. When I return, The Teenager is standing, now in a black T-shirt that happens to match mine, his phone in his hand, and a peculiar look on his face. I recognize this look, these nerves, and try to get ahead of them with a timeworn babysitting solution: immediate and efficient distraction.

“You can bring anyone you want, as many as you want,” I say. “How about…” I list off some teens I have driven to Wawa or Wendy’s, teens whose smiles, yelling, and laughter I recognize from the pickup line at North Penn High School, the parking lots of apartment complexes, the sidewalks and back roads of Lansdale. Then I offer a trump card – a friend whose parents I am sure will say yes to a church event.

Did I mention I will drive them? I’ll go get those friends and we’ll go to Freddy Hill together, and then I’ll drive him home. Mention that Freddy Hill Farms is closing and if we don’t go now, who knows if we ever can again. Mention that it’s right now. Right, right now. That we will be on our way the second his parents say yes and there in under ten minutes. Make sure he asks his parents. What did they say? See? I told you so. Come on, let’s go, let’s go.

I have one eye on the clock. It is 6:45 and the meet-up is at 7 pm. The Teenager, his friend, and I get to Freddy Hill Farms almost fifteen minutes late. I tell them to run because Teenagers like running, but also because it helps my nerves. I am still, for now, the Cool Older Sibling. This is a title that took an entire year and a half of investment and kept promises and overzealous support and listening without judging and trying as hard as I can to understand why things are cool. I want to remain the Cool Older Sibling for my entire life and maybe have it put on my headstone or have some sort of plaque about it. Despite proof otherwise, I am certain that a single bad experience will rip my title from me like a Band-Aid. I want The Teenager and his friend to have fun. I want them to relax and be safe and make a million friends. I know I cannot force any of these things and instead just try to have fun and extend the fun I’m having to them.

The clouds are rolling and it’s hot and humid. My T-shirt sticks to my back, and I am not any good at mini golf. Luckily, no one is the Tiger Woods of Mini Golf. Mini Golf, I explain to The Teenager and his friend, is possibly one of the hardest sports ever known to humankind, but it’s a little silly, so that makes up for it. We don’t even keep score. It’s just fun.

We move through hilariously complex courses and lose balls to water, bushes, tall grass, and more water, we laugh at our failures and at each other. We watch the other teens ahead of us and the unrelated family behind us. We cheer for others and cheat just a little when we think Rev. Linda isn’t looking. There are more smiles and laughter than I’ve seen in The Teenager for the last three months.

After we fail to get a free game at the last hole of the course, we trudge in a parade of teenagers and St. John’s adults from the mini golf course to the ice cream shop. We prioritize cooling off with water as we wait in line and try to figure out the best combination of flavors, weigh the pros and cons of gummy bears vs Reece’s Pieces. We talk about whether it’s sprinkles or jimmies, how much chocolate is too much chocolate, waffle cone vs sugar cone.

We sit at a table with the others, and I proudly introduce The Teenager as “my little brother, Mike,” to the President of Council, to Abbie and everyone, and it is not brought up that he looks nothing like me. I have never introduced him as my little brother before, but I am so so proud of him I have to. We take a group photo and we smile and wave and it feels like a wonderful beginning.

We have just left the parking lot when The Teenager turns to me and says thank you. “Thank you for making me do this. It was fun. So much fun. Thank you.”

“Of course,” I say, definitely not tearing up and absolutely holding the steering wheel like a normal, not emotional person. “I’m glad you came. Told you so.” And then, as I put on the turn signal and focus on driving safely, I ask, tentatively “…so, you had fun?”

The rest of the ride is them telling me their favorite parts, about details I had seen and fretted over, about how hilarious it was losing golf balls and leaning over the water, and how good the ice cream was. How it was unbelievably hot, but the ice cream after was perfect.

For the first St. John’s Youth Group Hangout, we provided a space that allowed The Teenager and his friend, fresh out of their first year of high school, to relax without thinking about drama and relationships—to just be teenagers. We were able to provide a fun break from everything going on in their busy and overwhelmingly eventful lives.

As he leaves the car, his friend makes me promise I’ll invite him to the next one.

Read the September Enlightener