St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church has stood on East Arch Street in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, for nearly seventy years, but its roots in the borough go all the way back to 1841. Today the congregation numbers roughly 550 baptized members, gathers each Sunday for worship and Holy Communion, runs a Christian preschool, fields six choirs, and opens its doors to recovery groups, scouts, and food-relief volunteers. It is one of about 275 congregations in the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
From a Union Church to East Arch Street
St. Paul's story begins in 1841, when Lutheran and Reformed residents of the Fleetwood and Walnuttown area pooled their resources to buy two acres of land halfway between the two villages and build a union church. For eighty years the two congregations shared that building, and in 1921 they moved together into St. Paul's Chapel on the site of what had been the Fleetwood Post Office, gaining heat and electric light in the process.
By 1952 the aging structure needed serious repairs, and the Lutherans and Reformed made the difficult decision to part ways. Ground was broken for a new St. Paul's Lutheran Church on East Arch Street in 1956, and the building was completed and dedicated the following year. The Reformed partners went on to merge with the Congregational Christian Churches, forming the United Church of Christ, and St. Paul's UCC moved into its own new building on West Arch Street in 1958. An office wing was added to the Lutheran building in 1970 to handle growing administrative needs, and the congregation has called East Arch Street home ever since.
Sunday at St. Paul's: Worship, Learning, and Fellowship
Sunday is the heart of the week at St. Paul's. Worship begins at 8:30 AM and includes a special message and activity sheets for children. Holy Communion is celebrated every Sunday, and the table is open to all who are baptized and believe that Jesus Christ is truly present in the bread and wine. Communicants may come forward to the altar rail or remain in the pew and use prepackaged elements. Children who are not yet communing are invited to come to the rail for a blessing.
At 9:45 AM, the Learning Hour fills the building. Confirmation students in grades 7 and 8 meet for two years of study, working through the books of the Bible in year one and Lutheran theology, history, and ethics in year two, with confirmation itself taking place on Pentecost Sunday. Children from preschool (age three, potty trained) through sixth grade gather for Sunday School, starting together in the sanctuary for singing before breaking into age-based classes for a Bible lesson and activity. Adults and senior high youth gather for Coffee and Conversation, an adult education hour that runs the gamut from Bible study to current events. Masking during the morning is a matter of personal preference.
One distinctive Sunday-morning touch is the children's sermon. Children are called to the steps in front of the altar during worship for a message aimed at them, though, as the church notes, the words often speak to listeners of every age. Children's bulletins with activities tied to that day's gospel are available on the narthex stand.
Children, Youth, and Family
Children and teenagers are woven into the life of the congregation rather than sent off to a corner. The Family Ministry team sees the whole church as an extended family, working to equip parents to be the primary spiritual influences in their homes while teaching kids through Bible teaching, music, group discussion, and age-appropriate activities.
Sunday School runs from the second Sunday in September through the third Sunday in May for children ages three (potty trained) through sixth grade. First Communion instruction is offered each year during Lent for children in second grade or higher, with a two-hour session that combines reading, video, and crafts; the children receive their First Communion on Palm/Passion Sunday. Parents of older children who cannot make the scheduled session can arrange an alternative time with the pastor.
Vacation Bible School takes over the church for one week each August, with evenings of themed Bible learning for children age three (potty trained) through those who have just completed sixth grade. The Youth Ministry gathers middle and high schoolers for service projects and gatherings designed to help them apply what Jesus says rather than simply memorize it. Students have built Adirondack shelters, painted storm-damaged church buildings, and waded into ocean conversations about what God is up to in their lives.
The Music Ministry
Music at St. Paul's ranges from contemporary to classical. Six choirs call the church home, and every one of them is open to anyone with the desire to sing or ring regardless of experience. The Chancel Choir is the anchor, singing weekly on a rotating basis between services and at special services such as Maundy Thursday and Christmas Eve; rehearsals are on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM. The Hand Bell Choir rings on festival Sundays and Christmas Eve and rehearses after Sunday worship. The Sunday School Children's Choir sings every four to six weeks during worship, rehearsing during the Sunday School hour, and any Sunday School child can join. A Praise Choir is hoping to resume, and Men's and Women's Choirs each sing twice a year. Organist Donna Ahrens directs the program and welcomes new ringers and singers.
Worship itself draws on the Evangelical Lutheran Worship setting. Baptism is celebrated within Sunday worship, the congregation gathers weekly around Word and Sacrament, and the acolyte program brings young worship leaders into close service at the altar. Acolytes light candles, bear the cross in processions, help with the offering, assist at Communion, and play a special role through Holy Week and Christmas Eve, from lighting the paschal candle at the Easter Vigil to passing the flame of pew candles on Christmas Eve.
Learning as a Way of Life
Faith formation at St. Paul's does not end with Sunday School. On Wednesday mornings at 10:30 AM, a Bible study called God's Word Blesses Us (GWBU) gathers in the third-floor classroom. The format is conversational: a passage is read, then each person shares what they believe God is saying to them through it, and the group listens and discusses together. On Friday mornings at 6:45 AM, the Men's Small Group meets in the same third-floor classroom for an hour of study and fellowship. Contact information for that group is available through the parish office.
Coffee and Conversation anchors the Sunday morning adult education hour, and the Sam Borrell Men in Mission Breakfast adds a second-Sunday-of-the-month gathering at 9:45 AM in the Social Room. During the summer, the fellowship moves outside: Cookies at the Cross brings the congregation together after worship at the cross on the church grounds.
Reaching Out: Food, Recovery, and Community
The congregation's motto, filled with the Holy Spirit, inspire Spiritual Growth in the Community of Christ, shows up in the variety of ways members serve their neighbors. The Fellowship Team plans Lenten Soup Suppers, Cookies at the Cross in the summer months, and hot chocolate and homemade cookies after the Christmas Barn Service. Men in Mission hosts a Sunday-morning breakfast several times a year, with proceeds supporting mission work near and far, including Lutheran World Relief during the crisis in Ukraine and efforts addressing poverty and health care in Haiti.
On the food-relief front, St. Paul's partners with the Fleetwood Food Pantry, which distributes food to those in need on the first Thursday of each month from 4:30 to 6:00 PM, with St. Paul's volunteers pitching in several times a year. Each fall, members head into the fields for the Potato Project, a local ministry that since 2009 has grown, harvested, and delivered thousands of pounds of potatoes to area food pantries and food banks; the day ends with French fries for the volunteers.
Recovery has a home at St. Paul's as well. AA and Al-Anon meet in the building every Sunday night at 7:00 PM, and a Women's AA group meets every Tuesday night at 7:00 PM. The church fields a Relay for Life team that raises funds and walks each June at Kutztown University in the fight against cancer. Girl Scouts of America troops - Daisies, Brownies, Junior Scouts, and Cadets - meet at the church, and a monthly Sunday Computer Clinic offers relaxed help with computers, Wi-Fi routers, and other devices. The Cultural Series team rounds out the outreach calendar with a handful of concerts each year, bringing varied musical talent to the sanctuary and the wider community.
St. Paul's Lutheran Preschool
St. Paul's Lutheran Preschool opened in 1969 to provide early learning with a Christian focus, and more than five decades later it remains a fixture of the congregation's ministry. Morning and full-day sessions are available, with the full-day program incorporating a STEAM curriculum. Children spend their days with building blocks, large Legos, dramatic play, art, books, puzzles, matching games, and outdoor play, alongside a daily non-directed art area that lets them express themselves freely. Teachers work in large groups, small groups, and one-on-one, reading aloud and discussing stories to build early literacy and memory.
The preschool is cooperative: a parent, guardian, or other special adult spends at least one day per semester per student in the classroom, taking an active role and getting a firsthand look at the day. Four lead teachers anchor the program: Mrs. Jones in the Preschool Class, Mrs. Pisauro in a second Preschool Class, Mrs. Roberts in the Pre-K Class, and Mrs. Davies in the Kindergarten Class. Preschool Director Jennifer Davies oversees the program, and information is available at 610-944-0922 or preschool@spelcfleetwood.com.
What St. Paul's Believes
St. Paul's stands squarely in the Lutheran tradition of the Reformation. The congregation's beliefs are rooted in the Bible, and members confess the historic creeds - the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. The Triune God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Creator, Savior, and Sustainer of faith. Jesus Christ is the Son of God who took on human flesh to meet the world where it is. Through God's gift of grace in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, sins are forgiven, and believers live in an intimate and loving relationship with God. Baptism makes a person a member of the Church, the body of Christ, and confirmation - typically in grades 7 and 8 - is the moment when young people affirm the promises made on their behalf at baptism and take on adult responsibility for living out their faith.
The mission statement, Filled with the Holy Spirit, we inspire Spiritual Growth in the Community of Christ, opens into a list of guiding practices: welcome all people, pray daily, worship weekly, read, listen, reflect on, and share the Word of God, serve one another in the congregation, the community, and the world, encourage spiritual relationships, and share God's blessings generously through the giving of time, talents, and treasures.
Pastoral and Program Leadership
Rev. Susan Fox serves as pastor of St. Paul's. The staff supporting the congregation and its ministries includes Gretchen Mertz as Parish Administrator, Linda Coutts as Treasurer, Sue Remmel as Financial Secretary, Donna Ahrens as Organist, Jennifer Davies as Preschool Director, and Carol Cox as Sunday School Director. The congregation is part of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, which is currently led by Bishop Christopher deForest, and connects to the wider ELCA, a church body of more than 8,600 congregations and 3 million members across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Worship services are livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook, and online giving is available through the church's eService Payments link. The Epistle newsletter keeps the congregation and wider community connected between Sundays. Whether someone arrives at 117 East Arch Street as a longtime resident, a newcomer to Fleetwood, or a visitor passing through, the invitation is the same: come as you are and journey together.