In 1924, a consideration rose to establish a church in the Hampden Heights area of the city. Then in 1925, a Sunday School was organized at the 11th and Pike Elementary School. An organizational meeting was held in August 1926 to adopt a constitution and to discuss building plans for the Nativity Lutheran congregation.

In January 1927, Ritcher and Eiler Architects of Reading drew plans for the new church and broke ground in May. Stained glass windows for the new church was manufactured by the Pittsburgh Stained Glass Studios. During 1927, the Sunday School grew to around 200 people.

Plans were made in 1956 to construct a new Sunday School building that connected to the original church. The cornerstone was laid in 1957 and officially opened in October of that year. Following the construction of the new Sunday School, the congregation raised funds to build a Fellowship Hall on 13th Street, connected to the Sunday School building. Jumping to 1989, the congregation upgraded the property with an enlarged Narthex, an elevator, and a parking lot.

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Credit: https://sacredplaces5.wixsite.com/november2019/nativity-lutheran-church

Opus One: Berks Chamber Choir

The mission of Opus One is to provide local vocal musicians an affordable artistic venue to collaborate and perform a varied repertoire of choral music in a positive learning environment. Through quality performances of music from different time periods, cultures, languages, and genres, Opus One hopes to encourage participation, understanding, and appreciation of the choral arts in our community.

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If you are interested in becoming a member, contact the Director, Christopher Hoster, at christopherhoster@gmail.com, or call the Nativity Church office.

Women of the ELCA

Hosts programs throughout the year, including:​

• Lutheran World Relief Personal Care Kits

• Christmas Bazaar

• Sale of Grocery Cards

• Angel Tree throughout Advent 

• Christmas cookies and cards for members at home

Service Ministry

Collections, donations and events are held throughout the year. Programs include:

• Book bags, uniforms and school supplies for local schools

• Hats, scarves and gloves for local school children

• Meals provided for 24 neighborhood families in need at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter

• Grab-n-Go Spaghetti suppers for church maintenance 

• Election Eats (breakfast, lunch and dinner offered for sale on election days) to fund service projects 

• Sale of Boscov’s Gift Cards to fund service ministry projects 

• Birthday cards for residents of Berks Heim and congregation members at home

• Get well and sympathy cards for parishioners

• BINGO prizes and birthday gifts for Berks Heim residents

• Food collections for St. Paul's Lutheran Church's Pantry

• Teachers and staff appreciation gifts for Head Start, Northeast, and 13th and Union schools

Nativity Breakfast Club

• Grab-n-Go creamed chipped beef sales. A tithe of the money raised supports the Lutheran Pantry and a portion goes toward a $500 scholarship for a Reading High School senior to study the Culinary Arts and maintenance projects at Nativity.

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We treasure your support of our ministries with your prayers. If you wish to make a difference through volunteering your time or contributing financially toward these ministries, please contact the church office at 610-374-3230.