Profile: Germantown, PA
In Philadelphia's historic Germantown on Germantown Avenue at High Street stands the First United Methodist Church of Germantown. In the tower hangs the 50-bell Shelmerdine Memorial Carillon.
The Shelmerdines were industrial people. Their mansion, built in 1900, is three blocks from the church, replete with marble, gold dentils, stained glass, and all the ornate woodwork and crystal chandeliers one could ever dream of. They gave the tower in 1896 in memory of a young son who drowned and gave the carillon in memory of a second son who had died at age 43 in 1923. An inscription reads: "To the glory of God and in loving memory of Thornton S. Shelmerdine (1880-1923). A gift of his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Shelmerdine."
Originally, the carillon comprised 63 bells for 48 notes, the highest 15 pitches having two bells per note. The bourdon was a 6,720-pound Bb1 keyed to C. The bells were cast by John Taylor & Sons in Loughborough, England, and dedicated May 8, 1927. The 15 duplicate bells were eventually disconnected. In 1989 two new treble bells cast by Petit & Fritsen of Aarle-Rixtel, The Netherlands, were added to the top of the range, and the bells were keyed to concert pitch. The compass is now Bb1, C, then chromatic to c3.
Bernard Mausert was the first carillonneur at First United Methodist. W. Lawrence Curry played there for many years, from 1931 to 1965. James B. Angell, Robert Kleinschmidt, Robert Benner, Frances Rodgers, and Eloise DeHaan complete the list of carillonneurs through 1979 when the current carillonneur--Janet Tebbel--began. A frequent recitalist in the earlier years was the Belgian Anton Brees, and his compatriots Jef Denyn and Staf Nees also performed in Germantown.
First United Methodist is currently celebrating its bicentennial and the centennial of the building. The church has 18 Tiffany windows including the large "Resurrection Morn" in the west end. The church office building is a historic tavern built in 1748; George Washington and Lafayette both slept there! The church is on the main street of historic Germantown, which was founded in 1689. The tower is over the Germantown well, which was the site of the reading of the first ecclesiastical protest against human bondage in the New World. Francis Daniel Pastorius read the testimony which was used 150 years later as the inspiration for the Emancipation Proclamation. The church has been an activist church in social justice issues since the mid 60s. It is a sanctuary church, a reconciling congregation, and part of a network of churches that hosts homeless families on a rotating basis. The church is partnered with a peasant cooperative in Haiti. Prominent preacher and author Reverend Theodore Loder has been the minister for 34 years.
The carillon is played occasionally on Sunday mornings after the service by volunteer carillonneur Janet Tebbel. There is a series of five guest recitals in June and July, and there is special carillon music on the fourth Sunday in Advent and on Easter morning.
