The Schwenkfelder

06/03/2026

Our community friends from KeyBank volunteered here on their Neighbors Make a Difference Day June 2. We so appreciate all they do for us—from dusting exhibit and shelves yesterday to providing funds so that we can offer free programming through the year and stewarding our endowment. Thanks!!

06/01/2026

How will you celebrate the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States? This Semiquicentennial Summer the Heritage Center has a lot planned for adults and families. Watch here as details are revealed. First up, the birthday of the United States! To help us better understand this moment, come hear Emily Sneff discuss her new book “When the Declaration of Independence was News” at our free Brown Bag Lecture of June 10 at noon. To register, go to Schwenkfelder.org/calendar or call 215-679-3103.

That will prepare you to appreciate the full reading of the document at our “House of Declaration.” Joshua Fink of the Brandywine Colonials Fife and Drum will be joined by community leaders on July 4 at 6:30 in New Goshenhoppen Park in a moving recitation. Stay up for the fireworks but then bring in the family on July 5—Heritage Day—to meet Betsy Ross and learn more about flags and more. All are made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

05/27/2026

Join us in Pennsburg for the opening of the 14th Annual Juried Fine Art Show, presented by the Pottstown Area Artists Guild.

This special exhibit highlights the work of talented local artists—and reflects our role as both a history center and a gathering place for the wider community.

Stop by the public reception from 2:30–5:00 PM to meet the artists, enjoy harp music, and celebrate this year’s award winners.

The exhibit will be on view through June 28, so you can come back and experience it again at your own pace.

Plan your visit at www.schwenkfelder.org.

05/23/2026

May is appropriately designated as National Strawberry Month, and there is no better way to celebrate than with some strawberry shortcake! Both recipes are from the Nancy Roan Archives at the Heritage Center and as historical recipes, do not provide a great deal of detail but hopefully enough to enjoy. Let us know how you make out!
Strawberry Shortcake: 4 teacup flour, 2 T sugar, 2 T butter, 1 egg, 2 t baking powder, a little salt, milk enuf to make a stiff batter. Bake in 2 jelly pans. Sugar berries while cake is baking and when done put between.
Strawberry Shortcake: 1 pt flour, 1 heaping t baking powder, 2 T butter, 2 T sugar, ½ t salt, 1 c milk. Sift flour, salt, sugar and powder together. Rub through them the butter than [sic] add the milk roll out and bake in 2 med sized jelly tins or pie plates. Brush the top with milk and bake a delicate brown. When done, split open with a sharp knife dipped first in cold then in hot water. Butter freely and spread with a quart of berries which have been gently crushed with a cup of sugar. Place together, cover the top with whole berries and sift powdered sugar over all.

05/21/2026

There are many ways to celebrate May being National Egg Month. If you have never tried making a classic pound cake, it's a good way to do so! Here are three Pound Cake recipes from the late food historian Nancy Roan. Her recipe archives are being preserved at the Heritage Center, some dating back to the mid-1800s. She was faithful in recording original spellings and sentence structure. Instructions can also be quite minimal, making your cooking and baking adventures additionally challenging!
Pound Cake: 1 lb sugar, ¾ lb sugar, 1 lb flour, 10 eggs
Pound Cake: Take 10 eggs, their weight in sugar, butter, and flour and spice to your taste.
Pound Cake: Take 8 eggs, flour the weight of 8 eggs, sugar the weight of 8 eggs, butter the weight of 7 eggs. Add a little nutmeg to flavor. Beat the whites to a froth and mix the butter and sugar to a cream, 1 t cream tartar, ½ t soda.

05/19/2026

Calling all bargain hunters: The Rummage Sale will remain open through this weekend with some additional discounts! Hours 10-4 through Saturday and 1-4 Sunday.

05/19/2026

😕CANCELED-- We're very sorry, but this workshop is canceled. We hope to reschedule at a later date!

Looking for a creative way to connect with history?

Join us on May 30 from 12:00-3:00 PM in Pennsburg for our Distelfink Theorem Workshop, a hands-on experience rooted in Pennsylvania German tradition.

You’ll recreate your own 8x10-inch Distelfink design while learning about the meaning and artistry behind this iconic folk symbol.

No experience is needed. Just bring your curiosity, and we’ll provide all the supplies.

Save your spot and learn more at schwenkfelder.org/calendar.

05/17/2026

1776 Schwenkfelders! In May 1776 no Schwenkfelder was born, died or wedded. However the Continental Congress in Philadelphia declared May 17, 1776, to be a day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer. It was to be a day of worshiping and fasting, confessing sins and pleading for protection of American troops and wisdom for leaders.

The Schwenkfelders had a long history of opposition to armed combat. The Schwenkfelders had joined the Quakers and others during the French and Indian War in an attempt to establish peace through economic means. “Thou shalt not kill” was a major principle in Schwenkfelder fellowship which was based solidly upon the ten commandments. Some Schwenkfelders were open to joining militias to protect themselves and their property, but eventually bearing arms was strictly forbidden in 1828 and formally written in the Constitution of the Schwenckfelder Society in 1851.

As senior pastor, Christopher Schultz (1718–1789) conducted the day of penitence and prayer service on May 17, 1776, for the Schwenkfelder fellowship. Among Schultz’s papers is a draft of his remarks on that day. He acknowledged the conflict in the hearts of his congregation, “We must not be found wanting in our devotion, trusting not in our own worth, but in the … mercy of God. In this present turmoil and danger, our chief questions for us to consider are whither are we to turn for our preservation and how are we to arrive at the preservation.” For Schultz it was clear that the resort to armed defense and intervention was not the answer. A year later, on May 1, 1777, Schultz wrote a paper entitled A Candid Declaration of Some So-Called Schwenckfelders Concerning Present Militia Affairs, “That we who are called Schwenkfelders for conscientious reasons are unable to take up arms for the purpose to kill other men; this is our confession and we stand thereby; those who know of us know that such is our position.”

Visit the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center to learn more about how Schwenkfelders and others in the Perkiomen Region weathered the War. schwenkfelder.org/250

05/16/2026