Who We Are
Sharon Lutheran is a vibrant congregation set in the heart of downtown Selinsgrove near Susquehanna University. A congregation with a rich history, Sharon looks forward to continued growth in our witness to God’s reconciling love in Jesus.
Sharon Lutheran Church is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The general oversight of the mission and ministry of the congregation is provided by an elected congregational council of 10-12 members.
We have ministry teams that give structure to current ministries and inspire new ministries.
Ministry Teams:
- Worship and Music Team
- Christian Education and Youth Team
- Welcoming Team
- Social Ministry Team
- Fellowship Team
- Stewardship Team
- Finance Team
- Property Team
Hours:
Office: Weekdays: 8:30am – 4:30am
Worship: Sundays:
Summer Worship: Sundays:
Education and Discipleship: Sundays:
Core Values
Our core values that shape and inform our ministries together.
Faith-filled
We trust in God’s active role. We are a Christian community grounded on faith with a Christ-like demonstration of the spirit.
Rooted in God’s Word
We encourage connection to and study of scripture that fosters a deepening relationship with Christ as the living Word of God and provides for growth in discipleship.
Loving
We create an environment that seeks wholeness, unity, love, caring support, and the sharing of the unconditional grace of God.
Connected to the Community and World
Faith and daily life connect as we seek to serve, lead, disciple, and give and receive blessings in our community, the nation, and the world.
Adaptive
We are organic—serving and developing out of what people do, out of their skills, gifts, and passions.
Council Leadership Team
The congregation elects at least 3 leaders each year to serve on the congregation council. Various ministry teams assist in the development, facilitation, and mission connection of the ministries of Sharon.
The Congregational Council is the Leadership Team that takes care of all the oversight of all ministry and business of the congregation between annual meetings. This is an elected team of individuals who serve rotating
2020 Church Council Members
- Janet Bilger
- Karen Bowen
- Kirk Hanson
- Mark Kain
- Lowell Leitzel
- Scott Lyttle
- Scott M. Frost
- Eric Rowe
- Buzz Savidge (Treasurer)
The Executive Team consists of the officers of the congregation which include: President, Vice President, and Secretary of the Congregational Council.
2020 Executive Team:
- President: Eric Rowe
- Vice President: Janet Bilger
- Secretary: Mark Kain
Ministry Teams
The Hospitality Team
connects visitors through their ministry of hospitality and provides for the welcoming of new members.
The Christian Education and Youth Ministry Team
focuses on deepening spirituality and discipleship with families and individuals of all ages.
The Personnel Team
works to provide a safe and vibrant workplace for staff and volunteers.
The Mutual Ministry Team
works to be a creative outlet for the Pastor and facilitates healthy conversation and leadership.
The Social Ministry Team
draws together people and resources as we uplift lives, stand for justice and peace in the world, heal hurting lives through acts of compassion and prayer ministry, as well as responding to disasters.
The Mission Endowment Team
encourages charitable giving to the ministry of Sharon and oversees a fund that is meant to be utilized for special projects in the larger church, our outdoor ministries, and our broader witness in the community.
The Finance Team
encourages the responsible use of the gifts of the congregation, assists in the oversight of the budget and its development.
The Property Team
works to provide a safe and appealing space for ministries and groups to utilize.
The Music and Worship Team
provides additional leadership to facilitate communal worship that glorifies God as we seek to engage others with inspiration, spirit, and depth of expression.
Identity
On Sunday mornings, we sing a hymn and pray a prayer together that speaks to who we understand ourselves to be as the body of Christ in the world. The hymn text written by Dwight Liles begins with these words:
We lift our voices, we lift our hands, we lift our lives up to You: we are an offering. Lord, use our voices, Lord, use our hands, Lord, use our lives, they are yours: we are an offering.
We see ourselves, as a community of faith, as ones sent into the world and into daily life to be instruments of God’s grace in our serving and living with our families, neighbors, and all people in any kind of need. In addition to this hymn, part of our prayer and a reminder of who we are is also spoken together each week in worship:
Because of God’s holiness and grace and because all that we have we count as a blessing from God, we pray: use us, and what we have gathered, in feeding the world with Your love, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ, our
We are a people invested in the broader community and world whose faith intersects daily life. We continue to grow into a vision of being an offering and ones who in all things make known the love of God.
History
Lutheran worship began in Selinsgrove on the Isle of Que. The Reverend Frederick Muhlenberg, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg’s son and the first Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, was the presiding minister.
An organized congregation was founded called Sharon Union Church.
A deed to the current property was received from Conrad Weiser, Jr.
First church structure was the “old log” church, small 40 x 38 ft. with galleries on three sides and a pulpit on the west side.
The Lutherans in Selinsgrove launched the first Sunday school in the region.
Lutheran worship in the church was driven by “New Methods” revivalism.
Opponents of New Methods locked its proponents out of the building, including the pastor Reverend “Father” J.P. Shindel, who formed a new church called the Evangelical Lutheran Church and built a new structure down the block from Sharon Union Church.
Members of the German Reformed Church stopped sharing space in the Sharon Union Church and withdrew to form St. Paul’s United Church of Christ.
The first classes of the Missionary Institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, forerunner of Susquehanna University and the Susquehanna Female College, were held in the parlors of what will become Reverend Shindel’s Trinity Lutheran Church. It became the “mother-church” for these schools.
The remaining Lutherans changed their name to First Lutheran Church and constructed a new edifice on the same site. It was larger than the original church, constructed of red brick with a pulpit on the west side and a spire on the southeast corner.
The cemetery behind First Lutheran Church became the site of the Simon Snyder monument, honoring the local citizen who served as Pennsylvania’s Governor between 1809 and 1816.
The new congregation started by Rev. Shindel officially settled on the name Trinity Lutheran Church.
Discussions to merge Trinity Lutheran Church and First Lutheran Church began.
Discussions ended to merge the two churches, and the merged congregation adopted the name Sharon Lutheran Church to recognize its founders and reconcile any remaining differences between the two bodies. Church services alternated between the two churches called the East Chapel and the West Chapel.
The Nave (which is the central approach to the high altar) on the original site was demolished. The new Nave was enlarged and the pulpit shifted to the north side.
The church renovations were completed. Since this time, the church has been renovated several more times to enhance its social and work spaces while also making it accessible to the handicapped.
During 2015 we celebrated our 225th Anniversary with a variety of events.