A Brief History of  Zwingli United Church of Christ

Then and now.....

The beginnings of formal worship in what would become East Berlin began in the late 1700s and early 1800s when services were held in private homes by traveling preachers as they passed through the area.

The first recorded minister of this type was Rev. John Ernst (1744-1804).

In 1811, on land donated by John and Margaret Hildebrand, next to the community log schoolhouse and church, construction began on a new church building for the Lutheran and German Reformed congregations.  The Union Church was completed in 1822.  The church was used by both congregations until 1888 when the need for extensive repair of the building prompted the decision for the congregations to dissolve the joint ownership.  The Lutherans built Trinity Lutheran Church on West King Street where it stands today while the Reformed congregation remained in the Union Church for a while.  In 1889, members of the Emmanuel Butt Family donated land on West King Street, where the church currently stands.  On June 15th 1890, the cornerstone was laid.  Material from the old Union Church was used to construct the new church, and on September 25th 1891, Zwingli Reformed Church was dedicated.  The church was named after the Swiss reformer, Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) who founded the Reformed Church denomination.

Over the course of time, the church building has had numerous changes and improvements.  In the early 1980s, Zwingli began a Christian School and day care program.  We are still growing and spreading the love of God to the East Berlin community.