Up on the Hill in Schoeneck
Mellingers Evangelical Lutheran Church sits up on the hill in Schoeneck, Pennsylvania, on 80 Gockley Road. From that hilltop the congregation has long served the small communities of Schoeneck, Stevens and the surrounding Cocalico area in eastern Lancaster County. The church describes itself as a community of believers committed to providing an open and caring environment where all are welcome and can experience the hope and love of Jesus Christ.
Mellingers is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and belongs to a wider cluster known as the Cocalico Lutheran Churches. Together with Swamp, Faith, St. Paul and Muddy Creek Lutheran congregations, Mellingers covenants to envision, develop and implement joint ministry serving people through a Lutheran understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
A Lutheran Understanding of the Gospel
The congregation's mission statement points in four directions. Mellingers seeks to spread the good news of Jesus Christ by reaching out to the community and serving others, to care for each other and support members in their spiritual journey, to provide a place for Lutheran worship and fellowship, and to instill God's love in young people.
The mission statement of the Cocalico Lutheran Churches is read alongside that local mission: the churches gather together in a community around Word and Sacrament and are committed to being good stewards of God's creation, to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through word and deed, and to responding to human need with acts of love and compassion. In their own words, they bear witness to the love they have first received from God through Jesus Christ.
In a statement of belief, Mellingers affirms that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that Christ is known in Word and Sacrament and through the Holy Spirit working among them. The church holds to two sacraments, Baptism and Eucharist, in which, through common elements of water, bread and wine, the Holy Spirit brings the blessings of salvation, forgiveness and spiritual nourishment. The Holy Bible is confessed as the divinely inspired Word of God and the norm for belief and practice, read with the insights of Martin Luther, the Augsburg Confessions and the Apostle Paul. (A pair of bobble-head figures of Martin Luther and Katie Luther keeps watch over the statement.)
The congregation emphasizes the grace of God and the dynamic of Law and Gospel working together in Old and New Testament and in daily life. They respect other faiths in an ecumenical understanding of the great mystery of God, hold that Christ alone accomplishes salvation for believers, and teach that human works are fruits of the Spirit rather than a way to earn heaven. They confess believers to be simultaneously sinner and saint, regard Holy Baptism as a work of God that can occur at any stage of life including infancy, and recite the Apostles' and Athanasian Creeds. In the congregation's own words, Lutheranism allows people to be human and encourages them to be divine.
Sunday Mornings at Nine
Worship at Mellingers begins at 9:00 am on Sunday mornings. The service is livestreamed on the church's Facebook page so that members and friends of the congregation who are at home can join in. The congregation has printed guidance for those without a Facebook account, walking them through how to open the page and watch even when not logged in.
For members who prefer to attend from the parking lot, a drive-in service continues to be supported. The service is broadcast on radio frequency 98.3 FM so that worshipers in their vehicles can follow the liturgy from outside the building.
The church office is staffed on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and on Thursdays from 10:00 am to 1:30 pm. On Tuesdays and Fridays someone stops in to check the mail and messages. Office hours are subject to change, so visitors are encouraged to call ahead.
A House of Music
Music is woven into the life of Mellingers. The Director of Music, Vickie Kissinger, is a Lancaster County native and classically trained organist, mezzo soprano and pianist who studied sacred organ, jazz piano and classical piano and sang as a voice student of the late Dr. Thomas Houser. She is a 2012 PA State Senior Idol winner and began her organist career at age 13. She directs the choral choir, leads the praise band Ahava, and coordinates music across the congregation's worship life.
Choir practice has historically been held on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 pm. The choir is described as a low-pressure, enjoyable time, and the congregation is flexible about attendance out of respect for busy schedules. Bell choir practice is scheduled at times announced through the church calendar. New singers and ringers are welcomed.
The praise band Ahava plays throughout the year and leads contemporary praise material such as Beautiful City, Glorious Day, Oceans, Holy Ground, How Great is Our God, To Know Your Love, The Wonderful Cross and Here I Am Lord. The choirs and bell choir add their voices around the holidays and on special services, and a combined Music Sunday in May 2023 brought together the voices of both St. John's Center and Mellingers Lutheran choirs, along with bell choirs and individual instrument players, for what the congregation called a beautiful event under one roof.
Studying the Word Together
Christian education at Mellingers is led by Diane Adair, Director of Christian Education, who grew up in Denver, Pennsylvania, graduated from Cocalico High School, and has taught Sunday School for nineteen years. Sunday School is back in session each fall, with curriculum that includes Bible Story Time lessons such as Fishers of Men, John the Baptist and the Parable of the Farmer and the Seeds. More details are posted under the Education page and the September newsletter.
Adults have two regular Bible studies to choose from. On Tuesday evenings, Pastor Tim Craven conducts a Zoom Bible study from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. On Wednesday afternoons, when a study is scheduled, the group meets at the church from 1:30 to 3:00 pm. The Wednesday study uses the New Revised Standard translation and the congregation points members to Bible study tools online to support their reading.
Youth and Scouts on Monday Nights
The Youth Group is advised by Paul and Kristi Leonhard together with Pastor Craven. The group meets on a regular basis, usually Sunday evenings, and focuses on spiritual growth, service and fellowship.
On Monday evenings the church building is busy with Scouting. Cub Pack 115 meets at 6:00 pm under Daniel Marszalek. Boy Scout Troop 115 meets at 7:00 pm under Scout Master Sheldon Brubaker. The troop and pack hold annual events such as Merit Badge College, a spaghetti supper, an indoor rock climbing weekend and a spring clean-up at Mellingers Lutheran.
Reaching Out from Schoeneck
Outreach is central to the congregation's identity. During the season of Lent the members participate in a coordinated giving effort that directs envelopes to a list of chosen organizations, both local and far away, over the weeks of Lent. Members receive envelopes to direct their contributions to specific organizations, and non-members who wish to support one of the chosen associations are invited to contact the church office.
The Social Ministry Committee carries much of this work. The committee meets on the first Monday of each month at 6:00 pm and coordinates seasonal care for the congregation and the wider community. Volunteers deliver fruit baskets and plants to shut-in members twice a year, hang the greens in December and share a lunch afterwards, gather Christmas gifts for Ephrata Area Social Services for children in the community, host a Christmas party for committee members, and organize Spring Fling with food and entertainment. The committee also coordinates a Lenten Cluster service hosted at Mellingers and a combined Church in the Park service with Faith United Church in Denver.
Food collection for EASS is a summer rhythm, and Social Ministry supports Lutheran World Relief year round, supplying School Kits, Personal Care Kits and quilts for those in need.
A second piece of the outreach is rooted in the soil. The Garden at Mellingers plants, cultivates and harvests vegetables during the summer growing season. The produce is transported to E.A.S.S. in Ephrata and to Peter's Porch at Faith United Lutheran Church in Denver, sharing God's bounty with those facing food shortage.
Serving with Time and Hands
Volunteer life at Mellingers is organized through a long list of committees and servant opportunities. Members serve on the Church Council, the Altar Guild, Youth Group, Worship and Music Committee, the Personnel and Finance Committees, the Special Flowers team, the Wedding Coordinator, Scripture Readers, the Greeter Coordinator, the weekly Coffee Social, the Property and Grounds Committee, Lawn Care, Memorials, Christian Education, Social Ministry, and Discipleship In Life, which walks the congregation through stewardship, evangelism, the Goat ministry, the Great Eight Lenten Discipline and continual evaluation of the Great Commission. Each committee is led by a member of the congregation who is listed in the bulletin and on the church's Servant Opportunities section.
The Pastor and Staff
The Reverend Timothy L. Craven has served as the pastor of Mellingers Evangelical Lutheran Church since graduating from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in 1987. Pastor Craven grew up in western Pennsylvania in McKeesport, graduated in 1974 with a degree in English (Creative Writing) and a minor in History from Penn State University, and spent the years between college and seminary in an extensive musical career performing original and traditional American folk, bluegrass and old time music throughout the United States. He continues to play music and sing in church and elsewhere. During his years in Lancaster County he has served on the boards of LutherCare, Ephrata Area Social Services, the Lutheran Camping Corporation of Central Pennsylvania and the Ephrata School Board. Members and friends are invited to contact him at any time to discuss the church's beliefs or any questions they may have.
Vickie Kissinger directs music and Ashley Weinhold serves as secretary. The Church Council oversees the life and activities of the congregation and in particular its worship life, ensuring that everything is done in accordance with the Word of God and the faith and practice of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The council normally meets on the second Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm.
Contributions to Mellingers are received through Servant Keeper Online Giving on the church's giving page, through PayPal, and by mail at 80 Gockley Road, Stevens, PA 17578. Members are asked to include their giving envelopes so donations can be posted to their records.