At 104 Green Street in the Borough of Sellersville, St. Paul's United Church of Christ is a congregation with roots in 1871 and a sanctuary whose story reaches back to 1902. It is known for growing alongside Sellersville, its organ and choir tradition, teaching Scripture, and supporting hunger relief and foster families beyond its own congregation. Sunday worship gathers at 10:15 a.m. in the Sanctuary, and St. Paul's describes its mission as sharing life's journey by building relationships with Jesus and each other.
A Church That Grew with Sellersville
St. Paul's is an active congregation in Sellersville that welcomes people wherever they are on life's journey. Its formal beginning belongs to Sellersville's German Reformed community. Early German immigrants settled in Germantown, Whitemarsh, and Skippack between 1710 and 1712; among them were 35 members of the Reformed faith. By 1727, enough Reformed members had gathered in the Goshenhoppen area to hold a communion service.
In 1856, Reverend Peter S. Fisher was called to Tohickon Reformed Church and organized congregations in Sellersville, Bridgetown, and Leidy's. The Sellersville Reformed congregation met in an old schoolhouse on Walnut Street, sharing it with Lutheran and Mennonite congregations. After the Civil War, the Lutheran and Reformed groups bought three acres from William Schlichter. Two acres became cemetery lots, and proceeds from their sale helped build a Union Church, where St. Michael's Lutheran Church now stands.
On May 21, 1870, the Goshenhoppen Classes granted permission to organize a Reformed congregation in Sellersville. Officers were elected on January 8, 1871, and the congregation was declared regularly established. That is St. Paul's date of origin. The Civil War economy continued to press the young congregation, but by the 1890s it had saved enough to build its own church.
From Green Street Corner to a 1902 Dedication
On July 23, 1900, St. Michael's Lutheran and Reformed congregations voted to separate their joint property. The Reformed congregation sold its half interest for $2,450. A lot at Green and Penn Streets had been donated by William Schlichter, and the groundbreaking took place on Easter Monday, April 8, 1901. The cornerstone followed on July 21.
The new building was dedicated on May 18, 1902, to the Service of the Triune God and named St. Paul's Reformed Church. Its $20,000 cost made it the most expensive church building in Bucks County at the time. The practical worship space has continued to shape the congregation: the sanctuary remains the place for Sunday worship, and later additions created space for Christian education, fellowship, music, and community gatherings.
War Years and a Faith Under Strain
World War I brought hardship and fear to German American congregations, including fear of persecution, while pastors left home ministries to serve as Army chaplains. German-language services were abolished in 1913. Reverend Robert A. Bausch began his pastorate on July 15, 1917, and remained for six and a half years. Shortly after Armistice Day in 1918, Bausch stood with his congregation in a commemorative group portrait; Doughboys in uniform clustered near the doorway, a shiny 1917 Model T Ford appeared at the far right, and the 1904 parsonage stood at the far left.
The Depression brought another long stretch of disruption. Reverend James R. Shepley began serving on January 6, 1924, and remained until his death on July 19, 1948. His family gave the sanctuary a large stained-glass window in his memory, and he painted an oil picture for the church whose angel holds the banner In Excelsis Deo in terra Pax, meaning To God in the highest and on earth peace to men. In 1928, Shepley took a leave to travel on a missionary journey to Europe with the Sherwood Eddy Company.
Concrete improvements continued through hard times. The church tower was rebuilt in 1932. In 1934, the Reformed Church in the United States merged with the Evangelical Synod of North America, and St. Paul's became St. Paul's Evangelical and Reformed Church. On June 6, 1943, the mortgage was paid in full and ceremonially burned. A 1944 authorization led to rebuilding the pipe organ and redecorating the chancel, followed by the church's Seventy-Fifth Anniversary and organ rededication in 1946.
Becoming United Church of Christ
Reverend C. Frederick Billmyer began a pastorate on December 12, 1948, that lasted until his retirement in 1982. In 1950, men of the church excavated the basement beneath the auditorium by hand with wheelbarrows to prepare a Recreation Room, later dedicated as a memorial to Shepley. The Social Room was dedicated in 1951. In 1952, the Sanctuary was rededicated with new carpet and improved lighting. Robert L. Swartz served as organist from 1955 until his death in 2005.
Major changes arrived in 1957, when the Evangelical and Reformed Church merged with the Congregational Christian Church and St. Paul's received its United Church of Christ name. The Baby Boom generation led to crowded Sunday School classes, so the church commissioned plans for expanded Christian education, kitchen, and Sunday School facilities in 1959. A $215,000 building program was approved, and a Christian Education addition was dedicated in 1961.
Music continued to shape the building's history. A custom Rodgers organ replaced the pipe organ in 1970 after 66 years of service. The congregation marked its One Hundredth Anniversary in the week of March 28, 1971. Reverend George H. Schmidt began a 22-year pastorate on New Year's Day 1984. The bell tower was reconstructed in 1999, the Jim Frantz Dedication Award was established in 2000, a new organ was installed and dedicated in 2003, and the God Is Still Speaking initiative began in 2004.
Reverend George H. Schmidt's final Sunday was December 31, 2006. Reverend Patti Thomas began the next day and became the first woman pastor at St. Paul's. The church's leadership team includes interim pastor Reverend Dr. Steven Simpson, organist Nathan Gulla, choir director Chris Ziegenfuss, and bell choir director Peter Ziegenfuss.
Sunday at 10:15 in the Sanctuary
Weekly worship is held in the Sanctuary at 10:15 a.m. The congregation also worships online: the livestream begins at 10:00 a.m., and videos of services are posted to YouTube afterward. The church's YouTube livestream provides the online worship connection.
Visitors driving to Green Street should note that it runs one way from North Main Street toward High Street. On Sunday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to noon, parking is allowed on both sides of the street, and overflow parking is also available. Coming up Green Street, drivers turn left on Penn Street across from the red doors; the church parking lot is on the right, next to the Sellersville Museum.
After worship, St. Paul's gathers for Cookies, Coffee, Conversation. The informal time is for connecting with one another, and participants can sign up to bring snacks.
Scripture Study and Christian Learning
Wednesday afternoon Bible study meets from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Pastor Steven leads the group in studying Scripture, and beginners and well-seasoned students of God's Word are equally welcome. A Bible can be brought or borrowed for the session.
Children and young people have distinct places in congregational life. A nursery is among the church's available rooms, Sunday School participation is part of the Jim Frantz Dedication Award criteria, and young people ages 13 through 19 can be recognized for regular attendance, volunteering, and service. St. Paul's also offers a summer camp scholarship for active member families, including help with Christian-based resident or day camp costs. The church's Celebration Sunday recognizes high school and college graduates.
Music has a prominent place alongside worship and teaching. The church's music leadership includes an organist, choir director, and bell choir director. The 1902 sanctuary's stained glass, Shepley's painting, historic pipe organ, 1970 Rodgers organ, and later organ installation make music and memory part of the building itself.
Care That Extends Beyond the Congregation
St. Paul's defines its mission in two closely joined commitments: sharing life's journey by building relationships with Jesus and each other, and living as a family of Christians that supports the congregation and people everywhere. Giving is one expression of that commitment. Online donations are securely processed through Vanco, and the church describes giving as a thankful response to new life through God's generosity and the hope Christ brings.
St. Paul's supports Pennridge FISH, a food pantry serving low-income households in the Pennridge School District with food, clothing, and emergency financial assistance. Its work addresses hunger, poverty, and homelessness. The congregation also supports RamPacks, which provides food on weekends and school holidays to children facing food insecurity so they can come to school ready to learn.
Another supported organization, Fostering Hope Bucks, operates a Foster-Share Closet for foster parents and children. Its shelves include essential gear, clothing, toys, furniture, additional childcare items, and a library of books. Items are free and available on a first-come, first-served borrowing basis. St. Paul's also supports Little Garden Library, a nonprofit based in St. Paul, Minnesota, that expands access to books through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Libraries and works to inspire readers and build community.
Rooms for Worship, Learning, and Fellowship
The church makes several parts of its building available for meetings, banquets, services, and parties. Facility requests can include the Sanctuary, Fretz Hall, nursery, parlor or library, Fellowship Hall, and kitchen. Requests are submitted at least two months ahead and require consistory approval, with staffing arranged when requested. The Fellowship Hall can also host Wednesday Bible study, and the sanctuary continues to center Sunday worship.
St. Paul's other communal traditions include coffee after worship, Celebration Sunday for graduates, the Perennials gathering, and the Jim Frantz Dedication Award. The Perennials brings people together for a light lunch and musical entertainment. The youth award honors a person ages 13 to 19 who demonstrates dedication through regular church attendance, volunteering at church activities, helping in the nursery, and Sunday School attendance.
A Continuing Family in Sellersville
St. Paul's belongs to the United Church of Christ and the Keystone Conference, formerly known as Penn South East Conference. Its history has moved from a Reformed congregation in a shared schoolhouse to a church with a continuing United Church of Christ identity, a sanctuary built in 1902, a Christian education addition, and a congregation that pairs worship with education, music, charitable support, and shared life.
The heart of St. Paul's remains its stated mission: relationships with Jesus and with one another, lived as a family of Christians that supports both its congregation and people everywhere. In Sellersville, that mission is embodied in Sunday worship, Wednesday Scripture study, choirs and organ, youth participation, hospitality after service, and practical support for neighbors facing hunger, poverty, and foster-care needs.