End of union gives St. Jacobs Lutheran Church new home, room to grow

After a bumpy road, the congregation finds peace in its new $2 million church outside Glen Rock.

Paul Bortner, a member of St. Jacob's (Stone) Union Church for 69 years, paints a handprint of his left hand during an intergenerational baptismal festival Sunday. On Christmas Eve, congregants moved into their new church home, leaving behind a 255-year union with St. Jacob's (Stone) United Church of Christ. Bortner left something even more personal behind: his brother, who stayed with the old church. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Paul Kuehnel)

The Rev. Paula Murray, left, talks with Ruth Baer, second from right, and Camellia Gantz, right, at a food station setup Sunday at St. Jacobs Lutheran Church's new building in Codorus Township. Baer's and Gantz's mothers were baptized on the same day in 1926 at St. Jacob's (Stone) Union Church. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Paul Kuehnel)

York, PA - Paul Bortner left his brother behind when St. Jacobs Lutheran Church officially ended its 255-year union with St. Jacob's (Stone) United Church of Christ on Christmas Eve.

Known collectively as St. Jacob's (Stone) Union Church, the two congregations have worshipped together in Codorus Township since 1756. The Lutherans voted to leave in 2004 and began looking for property.

More than seven years and nearly $2 million later, the new 10,000-square-foot St. Jacobs Lutheran Church sits high above Sticks Road on 9 acres of former farmland.

"It's very emotional," said Bortner, whose brother remained at St. Jacob's United. "It was a tough decision for me, but I could see that both congregations were slowly dying."

The move should enable both congregations to grow, he said Sunday, adding that the new church welcomed nine new people to its first service.

"We hadn't had nine new people at our old location in maybe three years."

That wasn't the only relationship St. Jacobs severed in its journey. The church was one of many to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) over its August 2009 vote to permit gays in "lifelong, monogamous" relationships to serve as clergy and professional lay leaders. The disaffiliation process was completed during the summer.

St. Jacobs now belongs to the more conservative North American Lutheran Church.

"In a lot of ways, it was a hard decision," said the Rev. Richard C. Weaver, pastor of St. Jacobs from 1970-1999. "In the last number of years, the ELCA has made some decisions that were not to my way of thinking."

With about 300 members, St. Jacobs is a close-knit group, members say. For example, the mothers of congregation members Ruth Baer and Camellia Gantz were baptized on the same day in September 1926.

Their daughters have attended St. Jacobs since they were kids, said Gantz, of Glenville.

"I think we'll be able to do a lot of new ministries here that we couldn't do before because we lacked space," she said.

'A vision'

The new church has "a Romanesque look to it in terms of huge arched windows and gothic arches and the chancel furniture and the like," the Rev. Paula Murray said recently.

But it is not completely finished. The sanctuary, narthex, nursery and offices are done. But the fellowship area is perhaps two-thirds done, Murray said. Items such as flooring and the kitchen need to be completed.

Congregation member Dean Winemiller sold the land to the church from his farm. The location is perfect because of the access to Sticks Road, he said, and because it's across from Friendship Elementary School.

"We had a vision, and we saw it," he said.

One left

The breakup of St. Jacob's (Stone) Union Church leaves one remaining union church in York County: St. Paul's "Dubs" Church in Manheim Township.

Also of interest

? York County union churches reminders of bygone era

Source: http://www.ydr.com/living/ci_19700889?source=rss

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