# St. John's UCC Chambersburg **Summary.** St. John's United Church of Christ in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. A progressive mainline Protestant congregation within the UCC's Keystone Conference. Courtney serves on the worship team. Led by Rev. Caroline E. Saxton; Rev. Stephen W. Hoffman is Pastor Emeritus. ## Tradition United Church of Christ — mainline, progressive, open and affirming in practice (the weekly welcome: "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here"). Congregational polity. Uses the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A observed at time of first ingest). ## Worship Pattern Blended worship combining: - Traditional hymns (from the New Century Hymnal numbering evident — #197, #218, #706). - Contemporary praise songs (e.g., Chris Tomlin's "How Great Is Our God"). - Liturgical prayers drawn ecumenically (United Church of Canada, United Methodist, RevGalBlogPals, etc.). - Lord's Prayer uses the "debts" form. ## Staff & Roles - **Pastor:** Rev. Caroline E. Saxton ([[Caroline Saxton]]) - **Pastor Emeritus:** Rev. Stephen W. Hoffman - **Office Administrator:** Tonya Schwartz - **Music Director:** Gary Crum - **Organist:** Barbara Motichka - **Director of Children & Youth:** Roxanne Davenport ## Vision and Mission (as stated) **Vision:** *"We are called to love, to learn, to worship and to witness in Christ as a congregation that welcomes everyone, and seeks service that will advance God's realm on earth."* **Mission:** *"To grow in love of God and neighbor."* ## Programs of Note - Sunday-evening Bible study (currently Esther, via Zoom with Pastor Caroline) - Monday afternoon book study (reading Norman Wirzba's *Love's Braided Dance: Hope in a Time of Crisis* as of April 2026) - "Bible and a Beer" — monthly public-space faith conversation at the Trojan Diner - Art showcase benefiting Fayetteville food pantry (raised $1,296 in the 2026 cycle) - April First Fruits: African Mission Healthcare, Peru School Project, UCC Disaster Emergency Fund ## UCC Polity Context St. John's sits in the UCC's **Keystone Conference** (central Pennsylvania), within the **Mercersburg Association**. The Keystone Conference Annual Meeting is June 5-7, 2026 at Millersville University, theme *"Joy at the Table Together!"* (sending two lay delegates). The Mercersburg Association Spring Meeting on May 3, 2026 is at Grace UCC Greencastle. UCC polity is congregational — each church is autonomous — but Associations and Conferences provide fellowship, resource-sharing, and mutual accountability. ## Sources Ingested - [[2026-04-12 St Johns UCC]] — Holy Humor / Thomas Sunday - [[2026-04-19 St Johns UCC Pauls Conversion]] — 3rd Sunday of Easter / Paul's Conversion (pre-service ingest) ## Open Questions > [!question] > How does St. John's UCC handle worship-song selection against the NAR-lineage concerns many progressive congregations have raised about Bethel/Hillsong material? Courtney's worship-team role makes this a live question for the wiki to track.