Quoting from and drawing upon The German Evangelical Protestants – Hidden Histories in the United Church of Christ 2, by Curtis Beach, pastor of Smithfield Church from 1959-1975:

"The first German Evangelical Protestant church was founded in Pittsburgh in 1782. . . . Its roster included both Lutherans and German Reformed members, as well as persons who belonged to no particular group. From the beginning it was a church that cherished religious freedom, welcomed diversity of opinion, and respected the right of individual conviction. . . . (The) church had organized and found a place to meet . . . but it had no minister. So the congregation sent a letter to the German Reformed Synod in eastern Pennsylvania, saying, in effect, ´Please send us a preacher.´ "

Johann Wilhelm Weber, who because of his "ardent" support of the War for Independence had been forced out of his previous parish, learned of the request and expressed his interest. And so in May of 1782, Weber left the eastern part of the state and traveled on horseback the 400 miles to Pittsburgh to visit the congregation. The journey, which required his crossing the Allegheny Mountains, took him a month. Having accepted a call to serve the Pittsburgh congregation as well as three German churches near Greensburg, Pennsylvania, some thirty miles away, he went home to get his family and returned with his wife and six children in June 1983 – this time crossing the Alleghenies by wagon. The Weber family made their home near Greensburg.

As Beach recounts, "For eleven years Weber served four parishes, riding on his horse at least eighty miles a week. . . . Travel was not easy on poor roads, through dense woods, and over swollen rivers. He had to be armed with a gun, a knife, and a hatchet, in case of attack by the Indians."

It is most appropriate that in this window Pastor Weber is shown on his horse.

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10/22/07
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