A Scots-Irish Congregation on Middle Spring Road
Middle Spring Presbyterian Church sits on Middle Spring Road between Shippensburg and Newburg, in a place whose name predates the church itself. The locality takes its name from its position between Big Spring and Rocky Spring, and Presbyterian preaching has been heard on this ground since at least 1736. A group of Scots-Irish immigrant families who had settled the region in the 1730s formally organized the congregation in 1738, making it one of the oldest continuously worshipping communities of its denomination in south-central Pennsylvania. The church marked its 275th anniversary in 2013.
Four church buildings have stood on the property in that time: a first log church in 1738, a second log church in the 1760s, the Old Stone Church completed in 1781 and demolished in 1847 because of a structural defect, and the present sanctuary, completed and dedicated in 1847. A Christian Education Building was added in 1964. The grounds carry their own history. The Pastors' Monument first honored Dr. John Moody, who served the congregation for fifty years and eight months, with the names of later ministers added since. After the Civil War, a monument was erected for twelve men from the area who died in that conflict. A Soldier's Monument dedicated in 1905 and a Tablet from 1910 honor men from the Middle Spring area who served in the French and Indian, Revolutionary, 1812, and Mexican Wars.
Worship on Sundays
Worship at Middle Spring is traditional in manner. The congregation sings hymns, follows a liturgical calendar, and hears its choir sing each Sunday. An organ accompanies the singing, and hymns, responsive readings, and the order of service are printed in the bulletin so anyone may follow along. The service is also carried live on Facebook and YouTube for those who cannot be present.
From September through May, Sunday School for all ages meets at 9:15 a.m. and worship begins at 10:30 a.m. In June, July, and August, when Sunday School breaks for the summer, worship shifts to 9:30 a.m.
First-time visitors are asked to come as they are. Members wear jeans and members wear a jacket and tie, and the church states plainly that there is no dress code in God's kingdom. Accessible parking is available behind the Christian Education Building. Children from birth through age four may sit with caregivers in worship or be taken to the nursery, which is staffed year-round by one church employee and one volunteer who have cleared state background checks.
Communion is celebrated by distribution of the elements in the pews and sometimes by intinction, and home communion is offered to members who are homebound. The table is open to all baptized believers. Baptism is recognized as the sign and seal of incorporation into Christ; the church practices one baptism and welcomes baptisms performed in other Christian traditions. Baptisms are offered to children of members and to unbaptized adults preparing to join.
The Christian Education Building
The Christian Education Building added in 1964 houses much of the congregation's teaching life. On Sunday mornings between September and May, two Adult Bible Studies run in parallel. One gathers in the Fellowship Hall at 9:15 a.m.; the second meets upstairs at 9:30 a.m. and requires no preparation. A separate Tuesday Bible Study meets at 10:00 a.m. and takes on a new book each September.
Small fellowship groups - Young Adults, In-Betweeners, and Friends in Fellowship - gather once a month with a break in summer. Presbyterian Women meets monthly for its own study and fellowship, and the knitters' group "Fifi" shares both yarn and prayer shawls, with the lap robes and shawls they create offered to individuals at times of illness and hospitalization.
Music That Has Spanned Generations
Middle Spring keeps not one but two choirs, plus an organist on staff. The Chancel Choir, under Director Pat Frey, sings each Sunday in worship and presents a yearly cantata. The Handbell Choir, directed by Jan Ile, takes its place in worship about once a month and mounts two concerts a year - one in December and one in May, the latter tied to the church's annual Rose Leitner Concert.
Children and Youth
The children's ministry reaches from the nursery through grade five. Children's Gathering! meets immediately after the children's sermon from September through May, gathering K through 5th graders for singing, sharing, and Bible storytelling. It is held on the second, third, fourth, and (as needed) fifth Sundays of each month; on the first Sunday children stay in the sanctuary with their families for the entire service. Children's bulletins in two age ranges (3 to 6 and 7 to 12) line up with the children's sermon and offer puzzles and games that reinforce the day's lesson. Busy Bags wait in the lobby, and a Children's Library holds books children may use during worship or, with members, take home. Some children serve as acolytes and a few as ushers alongside their families.
Each summer the church partners with Krislund Camp and Conference Center and Shippensburg Presbyterian Church to run a day camp Monday through Thursday for children who have finished kindergarten through eighth grade. Many Middle Spring children and volunteers also spend a week at Krislund's overnight camps.
For youth in grades 6 through 12, Sunday School meets at 9:15 a.m. in the Souled Out Room from September through May. Confirmation classes are offered for youth who wish to become church members. Youth are active in the worship service itself - some serve as liturgists, some volunteer in the nursery, and some sing in the choir. The Souled Out Youth Fellowship gathers on Sunday evenings during the school year for games and outings - laser tag, Harrisburg Senators baseball games, sledding at Whitetail Resort, and time at SkyZone - alongside service projects. Each summer the group travels on a mission trip in partnership with Reach Mission Trips to help families in need with home repairs, raising money through events such as a Valentine's Dinner and the Annual Chicken BBQ and Silent Auction.
Reaching the Shippensburg Community
Middle Spring's local outreach follows a familiar rhythm: cook, give, host. Members help prepare and serve the Shippensburg Community Meal, distributed as a drive-thru on the fourth Thursday of each month at 5:00 p.m. The church takes part in the Friend-A-Camp program of Fruitbelt Farmworker Christian Ministry, sponsoring the Irvin Brothers' Orchard Camp by visiting with the men each fall, sharing meals, and collecting goods for health kits. Shippensburg Produce and Outreach (SPO), a faith-based food pantry serving low-income residents, draws many Middle Spring volunteers along with donations of items such as egg cartons. The church underwrites Christ Among Neighbors (CAN), a ministry of the Shippensburg Association of Christian Ministries that helps with utility and rent bills within the Shippensburg Area School District and the Village of Walnut Bottom. It also supports Katie's Place, a Shippensburg nonprofit that houses several human-services agencies, with both financial gifts and an annual pulled-pork BBQ fundraiser held in the Fellowship Hall. The Harbor, a sober social gathering place on Friday and Saturday evenings that hosts Al-Anon, AA, and CoDA meetings, receives a portion of the church's missions giving. United Campus Ministries at Shippensburg University is supported financially and by an annual dinner hosted for the students involved.
The Service Ministry also makes small asks that add up: collecting used or broken cell phones for the Military Mama Network, empty 12-egg cartons for King's Kettle, and used printer cartridges whose rebates help offset the office-supply budget.
A Worldwide Reach
Middle Spring's mission does not stop in Cumberland County. Through Carlisle Presbytery, the congregation partners with the Presbyterian Church in Honduras and the Honduras Network Partnership. Working with three churches in Tegucigalpa, the network has built ten homes for impoverished members over seven years; mission teams travel to Honduras twice a year, often led by Middle Spring's pastor. The partnership also works to place a PC(USA) mission co-worker in Honduras. Heifer International is supported through Sunday School offerings, bake sales by the children, and gifts from members, some of whom have met Heifer recipients in Honduras.
Twice each year the church takes up PC(USA)'s six Special Offerings: One Great Hour of Sharing for disaster relief, hunger, and the empowerment of the poor and oppressed; the Pentecost Offering, which supports young people and at-risk children; the Peace and Global Witness Offering, which promotes peace, justice, and reconciliation; and Christmas Joy, which aids current and former church workers and funds scholarships at Presbyterian-related racial ethnic schools and colleges. Together with these, the Presbyterian Women's Birthday Offering and Thank Offering fund projects in agriculture, child care, community organization, criminal justice, drug counseling, economic justice, elderly care, employment training, homelessness, literacy, violence, and women's concerns.
Four Cemeteries and a Memorial Garden
Middle Spring holds four cemeteries: the Lower Cemetery, the Upper Cemetery, the Modern Cemetery, and Hanna's Cemetery outside Newburg, with entombments reaching back to 1738. The grounds and records are well preserved through the work of church members and historians. A Memorial Garden is set aside for the spreading of ashes. Genealogy requests are routed through Dr. Paul Gill, the church historian; Memorial Garden questions go to Cemetery Association chairman Fred Nordai.
Governance and Connection
Twelve Ruling Elders lead the church's Worship, Growth, Service, and Stewardship ministries. Together they form the Session, moderated by the pastor and guided by the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Book of Order. Session members are nominated and elected by the congregation for three-year terms. Twelve Deacons minister to the congregation with a focus on compassion, witness, and service for the poor, hungry, sick, lost, friendless, oppressed, and anyone in distress, and they too are elected for three-year terms.
The Session and Deacons knit Middle Spring into a wider structure. As a Presbyterian congregation, Middle Spring is part of the Presbytery of Carlisle and, through it, of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States.
Weddings and funerals are held at the church. Couples are asked to review the wedding policy before contacting the office; funeral arrangements are made by calling the church at (717) 532-8198. The office itself is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with a lunch hour from noon to 1:00, and is closed on Mondays and weekends. Online giving is available through the church's secure portal.