Beliefs > Denominations > Evangelical and Reformed Church
Evangelical and Reformed Church in the Pacific Northwest
Deeply pietistic, theologically Calvinist, Biblically grounded, and pioneering in spirit, the Evangelical and Reformed Church in the Pacific Northwest at its beginnings set off a process of ferment that continues in the United Church of Christ today. The last half of the 18th century saw the Reformed Church consolidating its position after three centuries of growth, stability, and effective mission in the East. At that time, Indiana and Ohio represented the extreme western frontier, "the western wilderness."
Pioneers who Carl Sandberg called "wayshewers" ("Bahnbrecher" in German) pushed westward and, by 1844, had penetrated into Wisconsin. These were solid German Reformed people armed with Bibles, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the hymnal.
The General Synod of the Reformed Church was organized in 1863, and the Synod of the Northwest, approved by the General Synod, held its first meeting in 1867. Continued westward expansion took the church to the West Coast and north into Canada. The Synod of the Northwest created the Board of Home Missions and the Board of Church Erection. These boards and the Synod served the vast territory west of Pennsylvania and into Western Canada. These boards were eventually absorbed into the Board of National Missions of the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
Perhaps the outstanding personality in the founding of churches in Oregon was Pastor John Gantenbein, born in Werdberger, Switzerland, in 1824, educated in Basel, migrated to America in 1851, and was ordained the following year. In addition to his theological studies, he pursued medical training at Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia, earning his M.D. degree in 1868. Six years later, he accepted the challenge to organize the First Reformed Church in Portland for the Northwest. This congregation was enlarged by the Second, Third, and Hillsdale Churches, which grew out of the parent body. The piety and spirit of the congregation can be sensed in this tribute to it by one of its sons:
"It was under the Bible‑centered ministry of First Church, emphasizing the verbal inspiration of the Bible, the deity of Christ, and his blood atonement, that my childhood and youth were spent."
A century after the migration of the Reformed people from Palatinate to the new land, the German Evangelicals came in flood tide. Between 1830 and 1845, the average annual migration from Germany was approximately 40,000 (not all of whom were Evangelicals), and this number increased to 200,000 per year by 1880. The Basel Missionary Society, in 1833, appointed Friedrich Schmid as a missionary to this area, marking the first of 288 such men from Basel Seminary to serve in America in the century that followed. Of these, 158 served the Evangelical Synod, and 18 served Reformed Churches. For the Evangelical Synod, the name of Rev. F. H. Freund is cherished. He was instrumental in establishing Zion Church in Gresham and other congregations in Oregon and Washington.
Another stream in the flow of Evangelical and Reformed Churches to the United Church of Christ was the German Russians, who settled in large numbers in the Dakotas and Colorado, and then migrated to Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. They found the Evangelical Synod more to their liking than the others of the mainline church bodies. St. Paul's Evangelical and Reformed Church in Portland was one of these congregations.
The story of these mission churches had its stormy highs and equally stormy lows. The Pacific Northwest Synod began with the formation of the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1934.
Bethany Church in Salem objected to this union and withdrew from the denomination amicably. In the way of the Salem mail, it dissolved and is no more. The Synod consisted of churches in Oregon, Washington, and Payette, Idaho. Disaffection with the proposed United Church of Christ led to the loss of some churches, notably First Church in Portland, now known as Grace Bible Church, and Helvetia or Emanuel in Hillsboro. Other missions, such as Carmel, Salem, and Bethel in Portland, began to fail and eventually folded. Still others merged to form new congregations, such as Third, St. John's, and Trinity, which is now known as Trinity Portland.
An effort at executive leadership for the Pacific Northwest began in 1948 with the election of the Rev. Theodore Van Dyck as President of the Synods serving California and Oregon, Washington, and Payette, Idaho. The experiment was short‑lived, and the Synods returned to their former boundaries and organization until the organization of the Oregon Conference of the United Church of Christ was completed in 1963. By that time, the churches in Oregon that had entered the union were Hillsdale Community, Trinity, St. Paul's, and Second Churches in Portland; Meridian, Wilsonville; Zion in Gresham; St. John's in Tillamook; and Carmel in Salem. Of these six, only a few remain strong.
Thus, the sturdy Swiss and German dairymen and farmers, pioneers all, made their enduring contribution to the vitality of the United Church in the Northwest and to the "Beautiful, Heady, Exasperating Mix" that the church body is.
Prepared by Rev. William H. Tempest (edited for clarity)
Pioneers who Carl Sandberg called "wayshewers" ("Bahnbrecher" in German) pushed westward and, by 1844, had penetrated into Wisconsin. These were solid German Reformed people armed with Bibles, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the hymnal.
The General Synod of the Reformed Church was organized in 1863, and the Synod of the Northwest, approved by the General Synod, held its first meeting in 1867. Continued westward expansion took the church to the West Coast and north into Canada. The Synod of the Northwest created the Board of Home Missions and the Board of Church Erection. These boards and the Synod served the vast territory west of Pennsylvania and into Western Canada. These boards were eventually absorbed into the Board of National Missions of the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
Perhaps the outstanding personality in the founding of churches in Oregon was Pastor John Gantenbein, born in Werdberger, Switzerland, in 1824, educated in Basel, migrated to America in 1851, and was ordained the following year. In addition to his theological studies, he pursued medical training at Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia, earning his M.D. degree in 1868. Six years later, he accepted the challenge to organize the First Reformed Church in Portland for the Northwest. This congregation was enlarged by the Second, Third, and Hillsdale Churches, which grew out of the parent body. The piety and spirit of the congregation can be sensed in this tribute to it by one of its sons:
"It was under the Bible‑centered ministry of First Church, emphasizing the verbal inspiration of the Bible, the deity of Christ, and his blood atonement, that my childhood and youth were spent."
A century after the migration of the Reformed people from Palatinate to the new land, the German Evangelicals came in flood tide. Between 1830 and 1845, the average annual migration from Germany was approximately 40,000 (not all of whom were Evangelicals), and this number increased to 200,000 per year by 1880. The Basel Missionary Society, in 1833, appointed Friedrich Schmid as a missionary to this area, marking the first of 288 such men from Basel Seminary to serve in America in the century that followed. Of these, 158 served the Evangelical Synod, and 18 served Reformed Churches. For the Evangelical Synod, the name of Rev. F. H. Freund is cherished. He was instrumental in establishing Zion Church in Gresham and other congregations in Oregon and Washington.
Another stream in the flow of Evangelical and Reformed Churches to the United Church of Christ was the German Russians, who settled in large numbers in the Dakotas and Colorado, and then migrated to Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. They found the Evangelical Synod more to their liking than the others of the mainline church bodies. St. Paul's Evangelical and Reformed Church in Portland was one of these congregations.
The story of these mission churches had its stormy highs and equally stormy lows. The Pacific Northwest Synod began with the formation of the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1934.
Bethany Church in Salem objected to this union and withdrew from the denomination amicably. In the way of the Salem mail, it dissolved and is no more. The Synod consisted of churches in Oregon, Washington, and Payette, Idaho. Disaffection with the proposed United Church of Christ led to the loss of some churches, notably First Church in Portland, now known as Grace Bible Church, and Helvetia or Emanuel in Hillsboro. Other missions, such as Carmel, Salem, and Bethel in Portland, began to fail and eventually folded. Still others merged to form new congregations, such as Third, St. John's, and Trinity, which is now known as Trinity Portland.
An effort at executive leadership for the Pacific Northwest began in 1948 with the election of the Rev. Theodore Van Dyck as President of the Synods serving California and Oregon, Washington, and Payette, Idaho. The experiment was short‑lived, and the Synods returned to their former boundaries and organization until the organization of the Oregon Conference of the United Church of Christ was completed in 1963. By that time, the churches in Oregon that had entered the union were Hillsdale Community, Trinity, St. Paul's, and Second Churches in Portland; Meridian, Wilsonville; Zion in Gresham; St. John's in Tillamook; and Carmel in Salem. Of these six, only a few remain strong.
Thus, the sturdy Swiss and German dairymen and farmers, pioneers all, made their enduring contribution to the vitality of the United Church in the Northwest and to the "Beautiful, Heady, Exasperating Mix" that the church body is.
Prepared by Rev. William H. Tempest (edited for clarity)
Sources
Tempest, Rev. William H. The Evangelical and Reformed Church in the Pacific Northwest. Print.
Notes
The Evangelical and Reformed Church was a Protestant denomination formed by the merger (1934) of the Reformed Church in the United States and the German Evangelical Synod of North America. Both of these bodies had originated in the Reformation in Europe. Their churches in America were established by immigrants from Germany and Switzerland. The Reformed Church in the United States, long known as the German Reformed Church, organized its first synod in 1747 and adopted a constitution in 1793. The Evangelical Synod of North America (not to be confused with the Evangelical Church, which merged in 1946 with the United Brethren in Christ to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church) was founded in 1840 at Gravois Settlement, Missouri, by a union of Reformed and Lutheran Christians. It was known as the German Evangelical Church Association of the West in its early years. The Evangelical and Reformed Church is Presbyterian in organization, and its creed consists of the Heidelberg Catechism, Luther's Catechism, and the Augsburg Confession. However, great latitude in interpretation is allowed, with a greater emphasis leaning toward deeds rather than creeds. The church maintains educational institutions and foreign missions. In 1957, the Evangelical and Reformed Church united with the Congregational Christian Churches to form the United Church of Christ.
Last updated October 4, 2025