The United Church of Schellsburg
United Church of Christ
We are a church welcoming everyone as they are.
Together we grow a just and peaceful world.
© 2016-2020 The United Church of Schellsburg UCC All rights reserved.
The Little Church That Does:
How Four Small Churches Imagined the Impossible and
Made it Happen
The United Church of Schellsburg UCC was born in 1806 when
town founder John Schell deeded land for a church building,
now called the Old Log Church, to house a Reformed
congregation and a Lutheran congregation. Within 40 years, a
Presbyterian church and a Methodist church had also been
established in Schellsburg to suit the worshipping needs of the
growing settlement and surrounding area.
The four churches in town each belonged to a multi-parish charge within
its own denomination. Worship services led by the charge pastor were
held in town no more frequently than every other week and at some
points, every three weeks. Each church held education and mission
programming every week, however, led by lay people from the
congregation.
During the Great Depression, and in the 1940’s as church attendance
began to shrink and old buildings began to deteriorate, St. Matthew’s
Lutheran, St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed, Schellsburg Presbyterian,
and Hull Memorial Methodist Society, reached out to each other for
education programs, worship opportunities, and mission projects. Out of
this cooperation emerged a vision to unite the four separate churches as
one congregation for worship, education, mission, and fellowship under
the tutelage of the National Council of Churches, denominational
representatives, and Rev. Daniel Kratz, a United Church of Christ minister
who accepted God’s call to bring the vision to fruition.
In the fall of 1964, each congregation voted on the proposed merger as
well as a denomination with which to affiliate as the new church. The
merger passed and the United Church of Christ, the youngest
denomination of the four available, was chosen as the home of the new
congregation. The service of merger occurred with great fanfare on
Sunday, November 22, 1964. We worship now in the St. John’s
Evangelical and Reformed UCC Church building; Schellsburg Presbyterian
Church and St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church buildings have been
converted into private homes. The Methodist building burned in 1945.
This event was a milestone not only for Schellsburg and Bedford County
but for ecumenical relationships across the country. The merger was
featured in several national magazines in the months that followed,
including Redbook and Time Magazine.
The merger process made us stronger, but we still had growing to do.
The story goes that for several years after the formal merger, many
people came to church every other week out of habit. And for many
years (some say 25, but it was probably only 10 or 15) the sanctuary
seemed to be divided into four separate sections, one for each original
congregation.
During those years, Rev. Don Evans and Rev. Paul Miller served the
congregation, building on the unique strengths of four traditions to
create a new community that would prove the naysayers wrong. For
despite the prophecies of doom from those opposed to the merger and
from those who couldn’t see beyond the denominational differences, the
United Church of Schellsburg United Church of Christ grew.
Membership increased as people found the inclusive nature of the
church refreshing. The physical plant grew with the addition of an
education wing in 1970, adding classrooms and a Fellowship Hall to the
1851-1852 structure.
One pastor in the church’s history also served as program director at
nearby Living Waters, the camp and conference center of the Penn West
Conference. Rev. Arden Fritz balanced the two in the early 1990s until it
became clear that both the church and the camp needed full-time
stewardship. Rev. Dr. Merle Correll succeeded Rev. Fritz as the pastor of
the United Church of Schellsburg UCC.
During Rev. Correll’s tenure, the congregation’s membership grew to its
largest number. A men’s group took a mission trip to Biloxi, Mississippi,
bringing the needs of areas outside of Bedford County to the forefront. A
weekday morning Coffee House became a gathering point for
community members.
Bequests from two charter members as well as gifts in memory of other
charter members served as seed money to renovate the sanctuary in
1998. Central air conditioning, padded pews, and a chancel area that can
be completely reconfigured with ease allow for comfort and creativity in
worship even today.
During this time, the youth group began serving others through such
programs as World Vision International’s 30-Hour Famine. 2014 marked
the 14th year for this popular event, which for many years ended with a
trip to Pizza Hut. For the record, the most pieces of pizza eaten by one
youth participant to end the fast is 22.
When Rev. Ruth Shaver became our Pastor and Teacher in 2006, the
United Church of Schellsburg United Church of Christ had long been the
community center in town. In addition to the Coffee House, a TOPS (Take
Off Pounds Sensibly) group meets here weekly, while the Schellsburg
and Old Log Church Historical Society (SOLCHS) meets here in cold
weather months when it would not be wise to meet at the unheated Old
Log Church. At least when it was in use, people had hot boxes before the
congregation put in the old potbellied stove (long since removed for
safety reasons!). When the SOLCHS holds its annual tours – Christmas
Home Tours in even years, Halloween Ghost Tours in odd years – we
host the refreshments and provide public facilities. We are the charter
organization for Boy Scout Troop 4490, including Cub Scout Pack 4490.
Our unique history has shaped a congregation that is open to the
leading of the Holy Spirit in worship and mission. Sacred dance became
part of our worship tradition in 2003. Sacred Motion shares their
ministry throughout the Penn West Conference and with the wider
church, fulfilling our call to praise God’s name with dancing (Psalm
149:3). Time and understanding have melded music styles together in
our worship. In any given month, we have classical, jazz, bluegrass,
country, hard rock, and everything in between as special music from our
corps of talented musicians.
Our Prayer Shawl ministry began in 2006 and has become one of our
strongest outreach missions. Shawls have gone from Schellsburg to
people of all ages all over the world, including to military personnel
deployed in war zones and to families grieving the loss of a service
member. Members of our group have helped to start groups at several
other churches, as well; we were featured in the Spring 2009 issue of
Common Lot, the United Church of Christ publication for women’s
ministries, along with one of our “daughter” groups.
Two of our best fellowship opportunities also serve as fund raisers for
mission and ministry. The annual candy making adventures have been
memorialized in song; we hosted our 8th Annual Chili Cookoff in 2014
and are looking forward to the 9th Annual event already…and we are the
Original Bedford County Chili Cookoff!
The most important things that our story—our history—have given us
are open arms and a big heart. We aren’t perfect, but this is truly a place
where you can come as you are to be in fellowship with others who are
learning to be who God has called them to be.
We strive to include everyone in the life of the church in all aspects of
hospitality, welcoming members and friends to join us. In worship
leadership as musicians and dancers, as speakers and readers, in
mission as we work to make a difference at home and far away. Living
and loving, learning and growing together in Christ, we stand strong
because of a vision of unity that could not be clouded. Because earlier
generations believed. Because we still believe. Thanks be to God!
(update 2020: The above iinformation is as of 2014. In 2018 we welcomed
our current Pastor Linda Kibler. As with all things, various activies have
changed as the church evolves. For more information about this article,
please contact the church office during normal business hours.)
Pastors
The Rev. Daniel G. Kratz, 1964-1971
Founding Pastor
The Rev. Donald R. Evans, 1973-1979
The Rev. Paul E. Miller, 1980-1990
The Rev. Arden C. Fritz, 1991-1995
The Rev. Dr. Merle D. Correll, 1995-
2005
The Rev. Ruth E. Shaver, 2006-2016
The Rev. Linda Kibler, 2018-
History