The United Church of Christ, a reformed denomination, formed in 1957 through a merger of the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church. It includes Congregationals, Reformed, and Evangelicals.
The German Evangelicals arrived first in St. Charles in 1833 and in St. Louis in 1834. These Reformed denomination Germans established Holy Ghost Evangelical Church in St. Louis in 1834, prior to the arrival of the first Lutherans. Two additional Evangelical churches formed in St. Louis County in 1838, in what is now Mehlville and Des Peres. By 1841, Holy Ghost church also added two more Evangelical churches in the City—St. Marcus on the south and St. Peter on the north. For more about the distinction between the Evangelical and the Lutheran churches and their union in Germany, see the section above called “Religion in St. Louis.”
After 1852, the Plan of Union between Congregationalists and Presbyterians had ended (see the section on “Religion in St. Louis” above) and Congregationalists in St. Louis established their own church. The First Trinitarian Congregational Church and Society of St. Louis organized on 12 January 1852, at 6th Street near Franklin with members from Third Presbyterian Church. In 1931, the General Council of Congregational Christian Churches formed as a merger of the National Council of Congregational Churches and the Christian Connection.
Today these formerly distinct German Evangelical churches are mainly merged with other Reformed congregations. In 1934, the Evangelical Synod of North America merged with the Reformed Church forming the Evangelical and Reformed Church, which then in turn merged with the Congregationalists in 1957 to form UCC.
Last modified: 26-Jul-2026 14:05
