A Congregation Older Than the Borough
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church has stood on East Main Street in downtown Ephrata, Pennsylvania, since the late 1860s, making it the first church organized within what was then known as Ephrata Village. The congregation came together in 1868 and first worshipped in the former Mountain Springs Hotel across Main Street, on the property where the Hampton Inn now stands. A church building was constructed at the present site the following year, and the congregation has been rooted at 167 East Main Street ever since.
Today Holy Trinity is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and the parish describes its work with a simple set of commitments: daily prayer, weekly worship, study of God's Word, faithful service, living in grace with others, and giving of self in thanksgiving to God. The congregation's welcome message is direct. The church strives to recognize and celebrate the presence of Christ in the world around it, and Holy Trinity carries a long tradition of outreach and service both to its members and to the wider Ephrata community.
A Building That Has Been Rebuilt Twice
The building that worshippers enter today is not the one that the founders knew. In 1951 the congregation voted to replace the 1869 church building, and the present structure was completed in September 1952 on the same site. Through the decades it was expanded, then tested by fire in 2006, when an arson fire destroyed the office building, the former parsonage, next door. After careful planning, that structure was razed and a substantial addition was constructed in its place.
The addition gave Holy Trinity a new entrance, offices, an all-purpose room and gymnasium, a new kitchen, a gathering area, and additional meeting space. For visitors today, those improvements translate into practical comforts: an elevator to the first-floor worship area, handicap parking near the glass doors to the left of the building, and a back lot with a large parking area reached from East Franklin Street one block off East Main.
Sunday and Thursday Worship
Holy Trinity gathers for worship twice a week. The main Sunday service is held at 9:00 AM, and Holy Communion is shared at that service every week. On Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM, the congregation offers a spoken worship service that also includes Holy Communion, giving members a second opportunity to receive the sacrament during the week. Both services are open to all, and services are livestreamed online for those who cannot attend in person.
The Sunday service follows a Lutheran liturgical pattern that varies through the church year. It opens with a greeting, moves into a confession and forgiveness, includes the sharing of the peace, and continues with an opening hymn, prayer, scripture readings, a sermon, the Creed, prayers of the people, the offering, and Holy Communion. The service closes with a blessing and, sometimes, a final hymn, after which the pastor and worship leaders come to the rear of the worship area to greet people as they depart.
What Visitors Can Expect
Ushers hand each worshipper a bulletin that contains the entire service, so newcomers can follow along even if Lutheran worship is unfamiliar. Hymns not printed in the bulletin are found in the red hymnal in the pew rack. Holy Trinity has no dress code; some parishioners dress more formally, others more casually, and visitors are encouraged to wear whatever feels comfortable. No one will be asked to stand as a guest, but a guest book at the rear of the worship area is available for visitors to sign if they wish.
Holy Communion is offered at every worship service. Holy Trinity teaches that the risen Christ is present in the bread and the wine, and all are invited to come to the altar rail for either the bread and wine or a blessing. Children who receive Communion in their home congregation are welcome to receive it at Holy Trinity as well; children who do not are always invited forward for a blessing. The congregation also welcomes the joyful sounds of children in worship, and a children's sermon is offered on the Sundays when Sunday school meets.
Music That Shapes the Liturgy
Music is a central part of worship at Holy Trinity. The church is blessed with a three-manual Moller pipe organ, and an exposed trumpet rack of pipes was presented by Emily B. Sprecher in memory of her husband Theodore R. Sprecher, a longtime organist at Holy Trinity. Hymnals are available in the pews so the congregation can find the music of the day, and hymns are accompanied by organ throughout the liturgy.
The Celebration Choir sings an anthem once or twice a month and on high holy days from September through May, and rehearses on selected Wednesday evenings. Under the direction of Deb Olsen, who has led the choir since 2008 and brings a background as a public school choral director, the choir performs classical, gospel, and contemporary hymn arrangements. A Bell Choir, directed by organist Debbie Fortna, rings once a month using a four-octave set of Malmark hand bells donated by Emily B. Sprecher. The Bell Choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings, and both choirs welcome new participants.
Trini Mini, an After-School Home
One of Holy Trinity's most distinctive outreach ministries is Trini Mini, an after-school program that began in 2009 with a single child and now serves an average of 25 elementary-age students each afternoon during the school year. The program meets on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30 PM, and provides a safe and structured place for homework help, recreational games, crafts, a children's story read aloud, and a snack. All activities are offered at no cost to the children.
Trini Mini is staffed by retired classroom and physical education teachers and other adult volunteers, all of whom hold the required background clearances. For families in the Ephrata area looking for after-school care that wraps education and fellowship into one afternoon, the program has become a regular part of the church's week.
A Thursday Community Meal Shared Across Downtown
Each Thursday evening, a free hot dinner is prepared for Ephrata area residents in need, with doors opening at 5:30 PM and meals served at 6:00 PM. The program is run on a rotating basis among three downtown congregations, and Holy Trinity hosts the meal in March, June, September, and December at its 167 East Main Street location. Bethany United Church of Christ at 140 East Main Street hosts in January, April, July, and October, and First United Methodist Church at 68 North Church Street hosts in February, May, August, and November. The rotation allows the same meal to be served every week of the year, with each church responsible for a third of the Thursdays.
Holy Trinity also maintains longtime partnerships beyond its own walls. The church has been a partner of Ephrata Area Social Services for many years, accepting donations of non-perishable food, toiletries, cleaning products, and pet food through bins in the back of the sanctuary and a donation well downstairs. For more than 30 years, the building has also served as the Ephrata location for Excentia (formerly the S. June Smith Center), which provides therapeutic and educational services for children with developmental needs.
Fellowship Around Tables of Every Size
The parish life at Holy Trinity is built around shared meals and casual gatherings. A monthly potluck is hosted at the church on the third Friday of every month from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, with members bringing home-cooked dishes to share. On the first Friday of every month, the Friday Night Dinners group meets at a local restaurant at 6:30 PM, with reservations made through a sign-up sheet. The Luther Lunch Ladies, a casual lunch group, gathers on the third Wednesday of every month at noon at The Udder Choice on West Main Street. Coffee Klatch meets in the church cafe area on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 9:00 to 11:00 AM for a relaxed coffee hour.
For something more active, the church hosts open pickleball games in its gymnasium every Tuesday from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The games are beginner-friendly, and the church provides the equipment. Adult Forum, a discussion group that gathers after church on Sundays from September through May, allows parishioners to explore theological books, Bible study, figures like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the teachings of other religious traditions. Sunday school for children is offered on the first and third Sundays of every month, September through May, after the children's sermon.
A Quiet Ministry of Prayer
Prayer at Holy Trinity takes several forms. A Prayer Chain of about twelve women lifts up the requests that come into the church office. The Women's Prayer Group meets every Monday morning at 10:00 AM in the church library. The Prayer Shawls Ministry, a newer addition, knits and crochets shawls and lap blankets; when a shawl is finished, prayers are said for the recipient, and the shawl is presented as a physical symbol of the community's care. Those who are ill, grieving, or simply in need of encouragement can be wrapped, quite literally, in the prayers of the congregation.
Getting to Holy Trinity
The church sits at 167 East Main Street in downtown Ephrata, with a large parking lot behind the building that is easily reached from East Franklin Street. As visitors face the building, the doors to the right lead up a flight of steps to the rear of the worship area, and the glass doors to the left open directly onto an elevator that rises to the first floor worship space. Handicap parking is available in front of those glass doors and across the alley in front of the building. The office can be reached at 717-733-4134 or at officeholytrinity@ephratalutheran.org, and online giving is available through the church's giving page.
Leadership
Pastor Mark R. Luscombe has served Holy Trinity since August 2019. A native of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, he holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a 2004 Master of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and previously served Faith Lutheran Church in Cicero, New York. His areas of expertise include preaching, leading worship, interpreting theology, ministry in daily life, recruiting and equipping leaders, pastoral care, and visitation.
The church's music ministry is shared by Debbie Fortna, organist and bell choir director since March 2025 and a graduate of Lebanon Valley College with degrees in music education and sacred music, and Deb Olsen, senior choir director since 2008 and a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, with a bachelor of arts in music education. Sue Johns has served as the congregation's administrative assistant since August 2001 and holds an associate degree from Penn State University. The work of the congregation is supported by a Church Council, with Lisa Garrett serving as president, and by committees that oversee communication, fellowship, evangelism, finance, mutual ministry, property, safety and security, social ministries, stewardship, and worship and music.