St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
15773 Dover Road
Upperco, MD 21155
410-239-3456
[email protected]
Worship With Us!
Worship is at 9:00am.
Worship videos are posted following worship.
Sunday School is every Sunday during Worship.
Fellowship every 2nd Sunday following Worship.
SPACE
Stay in Touch!
Facebook: St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Upperco, MD
For pastoral care: Pr. Dot Lundgren, [email protected]
Church History
Our congregation is an old one, steeped in interesting history and service to our Lord. Our earliest record is “Holy Communion was received on Lord’s Day, November 20, 1794”.
We are believed to be the oldest existing Lutheran congregation in Baltimore County. The earliest church building was made of logs, followed by one of stone in 1838. The present brick structure was built in 1882 on a foundation of stone from the old church. The cupola from the old church surmounted the building. This cupola was taken down in 1999, refurbished and reinforced to hold the 1882 bell. At this time, the Cross of Christ replaced the former weather vane that was on top of the cupola.
St. Paul’s has been blessed to survive two near catastrophes. A damaging fire in January 1912 closed the Church and caused services to be held in the Grange Hall, Arcadia until April 1913. In October 1995, the main ceiling beam broke and endangered the stability of the building. Regular worship services were held in Arcadia Fire Hall and special services were held at Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church.
St. Paul’s doors reopened for worship in August 1996, and we rejoiced and gave thanks to God at the rededication of the church building on October 20, 1996.
St. Paul’s history has been both independent (1897 – 1918) and affiliated with other congregations, most recently with St. Mark’s, Hampstead and Christ Church, Trenton as the Upperco Lutheran Parish. St. Paul’s has been independent since 1982.
There have been thirty-five pastors; our last full-time pastor, The Reverend Melvina Stricklin, the first woman to be called, served October 8, 1995 to August 30, 2015. We were then blessed with our interim pastor, The Reverend R. Carl Myers, for seven years who helped guide us through the COVID pandemic. In 2022, St Paul’s voted to join The Resurrection Lutheran Parish; a parish of five congregations served by a Ministerial Team of three.
Our Church, now 230, is alive and growing. There is a thriving Sunday School, a lively Youth Group, many dedicated groups including Shepherds, Service and Fellowship, Outreach, Spirituality, A Church-wide Prayer Circle, Bible Study for all, and more! The welcome mat is out for you to join us whenever you can.
Although our history is precious to us, our focus is on Jesus Christ in our present and future.
“Let your light so shine before me, that they may see your works and glorify your father which is in heaven.”
Words from Jesus from St. Matthew 5:16
