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{Return to Guide} Worship From the beginning, Northampton County’s religious tolerance, acceptance of diversity, and multiple traditions have enriched the community. Numerous houses of worship represent this melting pot of traditions, and stand as a testimony to our rich spiritual heritage. Houses of Worship Advent Moravian Church 3730 Jacksonville Road Bethlehem, PA   18017 610-866-1402 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2174 Lincoln Avenue Northampton, PA   18067 610-262-7343 Assumption of the Virgin Mary 1301 Newport Avenue Northampton, PA   18067 610-266-4105 Cathedral Church of the Nativity 321 Wyandotte Street Bethlehem, PA   18015 610-865-0727 Central Moravian Church 73 West Church Street Bethlehem, PA   18018 610-866-5661 Christ Church United Church of Christ 75 East Market Street Bethlehem, PA   18018 610-865-6565 Church of the Manger United Church of Christ 1401 Greenview Drive Bethlehem, PA   18018 610-866-8223 College Hill Moravian Church 72 W. Laurel Street Bethlehem, PA   18018 610-867-8291 Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church 411 March Street Easton, PA   18042 610-252-8823 - FAX 610-252-7694 East Hills Moravian Church 1830 Butztown Road Bethlehem, PA   18017 610-868-6481 Edgeboro Moravian Church 645 Hamilton Avenue Bethlehem, PA   18017 610-866-8793 Emmanuel's Lutheran Church 3175 Valley View Drive Bath, PA   18014 610-837-1741 Epworth United Methodist Church 3245 Oakland Road, PO Box 3107 Bethlehem Township, PA  18017 610-868-5354 The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity 1229 Main Street Northampton, PA   18067 610-262-2668 Faith Lutheran Church 2012 Sullivan Trail Easton, PA   18040 610-253-1625 First Baptist Church 3235 Linden Street Bethlehem, PA   18017 610-856-4600 First Moravian Church of Easton 225 N 10th Street Easton, PA   18042-3370 610-258-6317 www.firstmoravianeaston.org First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem 2344 Center Street Bethlehem, PA   18017 610-867-5865 Grace United Church of Christ 9th Street and Lincoln Avenue Northampton, PA   18067 610-262-7186 Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church 2700 Jacksonville Road Bethlehem, PA   18017 610-867-6231 Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley 424 Center Street Bethlehem, PA   18018 610-954-7775 Our Lady of Hungary Catholic Church 1324 Newport Avenue Northampton, PA   18067 610-262-2227 Our Lord's Ascension Polish National Catholic Church 2105 Jennings Street Bethlehem, PA   18017 610-694-0164 St. John the Baptist Ukranian 1343 Newport Avenue Northampton, PA 18067 610-262-4104 St. John's Windish Evangelical Lutheran Church 617 East Fourth Street Bethlehem, PA   18015 610-868-3282 St. Michael's Catholic Church 829 Main Street Northampton, PA   18067 610-262-2472 St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church 1607 W. Union Boulevard Bethlehem, PA   18018 610-867-1327 St. Paul's United Church of Christ 19th Street and Lincoln Avenue Northampton, PA   18067 610-262-5991 St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church 474 Vine Street Bethlehem, PA   18015 610-867-0519 Trinity Episcopal Church 44 E. Market Street Bethlehem, PA   18018 610-867-4741 Wesley United Methodist Church 2540 Center Street Bethlehem, PA   18017 610-865-5715 Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church 19th and Main Streets Northampton, PA   18067 610-262-6636 Religious Influences in Northampton County Thanks to a land grant that settled a large debt owed his late father, Admiral Penn, William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was able to provide a New World haven for his persecuted associates and friends in the religious group known as the Society of Friends, or Quakers; a western European (primarily English) religious organization that attracted rather hostile attention in the later part of the 17th century because of its rejections of rituals and oaths, its ­opposition to war, and its simplicity of speech and dress. {Photo By Hub Wilson} Moravian SteepleWhen Penn arrived in Philadelphia in 0ctober 1682, he summoned a General Assembly on December 4. This first Assembly united the Delaware counties with Pennsylvania, adopted a Naturalization Act and, on December 7, adopted the “Great Law,” Penn’s humanitarian code which became the fundamental basis of Pennsylvania law. From that date forward, settlers began their inevitable westward and northwestward migration into the wilderness of Penn’s Woods. European Settlements English Quakers were among the earliest settlers of the upper parts of Bucks County, from which Northampton County was separated in 1752. Thousands of Germans were also attracted to this new territory along the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, arriving in what became Easton in 1735. As the Pennsylvania Germans settled in Northampton County, their skill and industry transformed this region into a rich farming country, contributing greatly to the expanding prosperity of the province. Scotch-Irish settlers also came into the county in great numbers. Although the Quakers were primarily English, many of the Quakers who settled in Northampton County were Irish and Welsh. Additionally, French Huguenot and Jewish settlers, as well as many settlers from Holland, Sweden, and a mixture of other nationalities, contributed to the growing population. This mixture of various nationalities, almost all from western Europe, in what had been originally intended to be a Quaker province in the New World, helped to create the “melting pot” that eventually became one of the key foundations upon which this nation was founded. Although the Quakers were the dominant religious group in the new Pennsylvania colony, especially in the southeastern counties, the Quakers gradually declined in influence as other nationalities, with their own specific religions, came into the county. The Pennsylvania Germans that settled here in large numbers belonged largely to the Lutheran and Reformed churches, but there were also several smaller sects: Mennonites, Amish, German Baptist Brethren or "Dunkers," Schwenkfelders, and Moravians. The Lutheran Church eventually became the largest of the Protestant denominations in Pennsylvania. Other religions of significance included the Church of England, various Roman Catholic congregations, Presbyterians, Methodists, and various Jewish faiths. Of special interest in the religious history of Northampton County is the Moravian Church, also known as Unitas Fratrum, an evangelical Protestant denomination organized in Herrnhut, Saxony in 1727 as a reconstitution of the 15th-century Bohemian Brethren. The first Moravians in America settled in Savannah, Georgia, in 1734, and moved to Nazareth in 1740. On April 2, 1741, a splinter group of seventeen members of that Nazareth community received a deed for 500 acres at the junction of the Monocacy Creek and Lehigh River, an ideal setting for their new community. On Christmas Eve, 1741, Count Zinzendorf and the other Moravians decided to call their new home Bethlehem. By 1761, more than 2,000 acres of land in the immediate Bethlehem-Nazareth area had been cleared. The settlement included 50 buildings. More than 50 business/industries were producing an impressive variety of goods that were much needed in a community on the very edge of the frontier. Thanks to the strong foundations that were laid in this county more than 250 years ago by the earliest settlers who came into this wilderness seeking a place to live and practice their preferred religions, Northampton’s communities today are filled with houses of worship – of almost every denomination and creed. The influences of time and history are evident throughout the community, and very much so in its houses of worship.

Content Last Modified on 1/7/2008 10:57:47 AM