Pequea Presbyterian Church Celebrates 300 Years!

By Alfred Wanner, CLP

Alfred Wanner grew up in Pequea Presbyterian Church and now serves as the pastor there. Hear the story of the church and his journey as a CLP student through FIT! 

Pequea Presbyterian Church in Gap, PA is celebrating its 300^th anniversary this year. It was founded in 1724 by a group of Scotch Irish families who had settled in the area starting in 1707. Many of the farms in the area were land grants from William Penn. 

The Rev. Adam Boyd was the first pastor at the Upper Octorara Presbyterian Church and he was given to task of starting other congregations of which Pequea was one. One of the highlights of the history was a visit by George Whitefield. The crowds were so great that he stood in the fork of a walnut tree that stood on the property until 1954 when it was damaged by Hurricane Hazel. The church building itself received some damage. Whitefield’s evangelistic meetings led to the “Old side” “new side” split with Pequea going to the “New side.”

One of the other noteworthy items of history was the pastor Rev. Dr. Robert Smith who came to the church in 1751. He established an academy to train young men for the ministry. Many went on to Princeton in New Jersey. Two of his sons served as president at Princeton and Samuel Stanhope Smith went on to found Hampton Sidney College in Virginia. John Blair Smith was married to a daughter of John Witherspoon, Minister and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Witherspoon stayed with the Smith family when Philadelphia was in danger of being destroyed by the British during the Revolutionary war. 

My paternal family has been a part of Pequea starting with my great, great grandparents. Many of the families in the church had 3 to 8 children so had a number of young people. We had either 12 or 13 in the confirmation class when I joined church.

My family was active in the church and Carolynne and I continued after we married. We made sure our children were in church on Sundays. We both taught Sunday School, served on church boards and were active members. One morning after a hectic time with the children, as we left the parking lot, we looked at each other and said simultaneously, there has to be something more. Later that week we had a phone call from a friend that we hadn’t seen for a while. She invited us to a prayer and praise group that was meeting in their home. We went and were introduced to the Charismatic Movement. It was an answer to our prayer that there had to be something more. We shared with our pastor and he was excited and called me the next day to say that he had contacted Gordon-Conwell and asked them to send me information. At the time I felt a definite call to “Praise God and bear His witness.” I didn’t think that it was a call to be a pastor. I am convinced that the most difficult mission field is your own backyard. 

I served as an elder and taught an adult Bible Class. Occasionally, I was asked to preach for Laymen’s Sunday, later to fill in when the pastor was away. There were several of us who would take turns. Our most recent pastor, Rev. Beth Engel, had some health issues and I would fill in when she was unable to preach. When she had a knee replacement I preached 5 weeks in a row. I enjoyed preaching and was excited by the way the Holy Spirit would give me words to speak. (Carolynne did tell me one Sunday that she could tell when the Holy Spirit finished and I kept on going.) During her last year it became more frequent. When she announced her retirement, she suggested to the MPT committee that I continue as a lay pastor until another pastor was called. This was approved by our presbytery, but it was suggested that I enroll in the CLP classes. That is how I started the CLP1 and CLP2 program and continued to complete the Master of Arts through FIT. 

I really enjoyed the reading and felt that it stretched my mind. Writing papers was a different story. After being out of school for 55 years writing papers was a chore. I did get better with practice. I have met many interesting people through my studies both students and professors. Before I started, I was concerned about relating to other students because of age and different backgrounds, but I was pleasantly surprised with the diversity of my classmates and how we were able to connect with common goals.

I have already encouraged others to enroll in the CLP program. Heritage Presbytery has several people working as CLPs and I try to connect with them at presbytery meetings and inquire about their progress.

Pequea is a strong missions church. We support David and Jody Taualofai Int. Ministries, The Roy and Martha Nantoka family and their son Joseph Phiri in Kwezeke Int. Ministries. We have a local food ministry at our church. We partner with Blessings of Hope for food supply that we distribute every week at our church. We average 20 families a week that receive food, fresh produce, milk and eggs, bread and canned goods, cereal depending on availability. I also prepare a 1-page meditation that is placed in the food box each week. Most of these families do not worship with us, our hope is that the love of God will go forth to these families and they will give Him thanks and be blessed.

I would ask for prayers for myself; for strength, wisdom, and God’s leading and guidance. Prayers for Pequea Church as well; that we continue to worship and praise God, grow in our faith, and be a positive influence in our community, and  grow in numbers in order to stay viable.

God, grow in our faith, and be a positive influence in our community, and  grow in numbers in order to stay viable.

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