History of the Merger of the United Church of Christ of Robesonia
The Coming Together of
St. Paul’s UCC in Robesonia and Zion UCC in Womelsdorf
Merger
The United Church of Christ of Robesonia is a merger of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Robesonia and Zion United Church of Christ in Womelsdorf, which officially began as a merged congregation on Sunday, January 1, 2023.
Merger Process Overview
For years, St. Paul's UCC and Zion UCC have been sharing in combined ministries in our community, not just with each other, but also through the ecumenical Conrad Weiser Ministerium and the Covenant Association of the UCC and with other churches in our local area. Those combined ministries had been growing in recent years, and included Thanksgiving Eve and Lenten evening worship services; Vacation Bible School (VBS); Mind, Body, & Spirit after school program (MB&S); local mission projects; local and global mission outreach; combined Bible studies; prayer vigils; and more.
The leadership of St. Paul’s UCC learned that Zion UCC was considering selling its building, and, in the fall of 2019, they asked the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Motz to speak with the Rev. Mary Etta Mest, to see if there were ways in which the congregation of St. Paul’s UCC could be of support to the congregation of Zion UCC. Zion UCC began the process of listing their building for sale. The Rev. Dr. Motz and members of the St. Paul’s UCC consistory were invited to come to the February 2020 Zion UCC consistory meeting. The invitation was withdrawn. A month later our world began to go through the COVID pandemic.
During the pandemic, our churches began working even closer together. We shared in a combined Bible study based on the book The Post-Quarantine Church, and explored the possibilities of how we could best minister to our community in this new world.
In September of 2021, Zion UCC in Womelsdorf sold their church building to another congregation. The congregation of St. Paul's UCC closed its doors that Sunday morning, that they might be able to join with Zion UCC in worship together on Sunday, September 5, 2021 for Zion UCC's final worship service in their building. The Sundays following, Zion UCC began worshiping in the Miller Fellowship Hall at St. Paul's UCC in Robesonia. On Sunday, November 21, 2021, St. Paul's UCC & Zion UCC began worshiping together in the sanctuary of St. Paul's UCC in Robesonia.
The Consistories (i.e. the "Board of Directors") of each congregation began meeting together regularly to discuss and better discern where God might be leading our congregations. The Conference Minister and Associate Conference Ministers of our Pennsylvania Southeast Conference of the UCC recommended the book Better Together, which we studied together. That book provides recommendations, cautions, and what are healthy and unhealthy processes for bringing two churches together, as we were seeking to have the strongest and healthiest outcome possible. The book invited us to answer the following four questions before proceeding:
Would our congregation be better by coming together than remaining separate?
Could we accomplish more together than we could separately?
Would our congregation be better served if we joined together?
Could the kingdom of God be further enlarged by joining together?
The leadership of St. Paul's UCC & Zion UCC unanimously and enthusiastically answered all four of those questions with a resounding, "Yes."
The Consistory of St. Paul's UCC gave updates and invited questions during the December 2021 Annual Congregational Meeting, while the congregation of Zion UCC also gathered for a Special Congregational Meeting for updates and questions. There was consensus for continual exploration.
By January 2022, a combined "Moving Forward Committee" (MFT) was formed, composed of six members from each congregation, including the Pastors of both congregations, and co-chaired by a member from each congregation, including: Kirk Aulenbach (co-chair from St. Paul's UCC), Cory Putt (co-chair from Zion UCC), and the pastors of both churches.
We unanimously agreed upon the "Folding-In" (or “Adoption”) process found in the book Better Together, where St. Paul’s UCC was the “lead church” with Rev. Dr. Motz as the “lead pastor” and the Zion UCC was the “joining church” with Rev. Mest as the “joining pastor.” The adoption process was also the process recommended for our situation by the Conference and Associate Conference Ministers of the PSEC, to lead us to a strong, healthy, 1+1=3 growing church.
In February 2022, the Consistories made a formal announcement to the two congregations that, "Zion UCC and St. Paul’s UCC have formed a Moving Forward Committee to explore the process and various aspects of creating a new congregation together. Through prayer, study, and consultation, we believe God’s Spirit is leading us to have intentional conversation with one another about the possibility of what we could do together." The committee also read the announcement during the Sunday, February 20 worship service.
In March 2022, the Consistories called for a special congregational meeting to take place on April 3, 2022 to provide updates about the process, invite questions, and invite members from both congregations to join the Naming Sub-Committee, which has the task of, "As Zion UCC and St. Paul’s UCC explore the possibility of creating a new congregation together, we have before us the question of, 'What will that new congregation be called?' .... Our hope is that the naming process will lead us to greater unity in a sense of consensus to a name to which the Holy Spirit is leading us."
On Sunday, May 22, 2022 both congregations had meetings to vote in a straw poll on moving forward together. The members of both congregations unanimously responded with a "yes" vote to, "Do you currently believe that God is leading our two congregations to continue to explore the vision of forming one church together?"
A great deal of work continued over the summer of 2022. In the September 2022 newsletter, the Moving Forward Committee provided an update on the work done over the summer, and the Consistories issued a call for a special Informational Congregational meeting for Sunday, September 11, 2022 after worship.
A meeting after worship on Sunday, October 9, 2022 was called to distribute and discuss the information on the "Tentative Time Line" sheet and the "Vetting the Name Possibilities" packet.
A formal Congregational Meeting for both congregations was held on Sunday, October 16, 2022 after worship to vote on the name of the potential new church. The name chosen by our members was "United Church of Christ of Robesonia."
After worship on Sunday, October 23, 2022, information was distributed during the fellowship luncheon. This information included the proposed motions, resolutions, constitution and bylaws of the new church, and a FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) sheet. Members are invited to take those home with them, prayerfully read over them, and come back the following week for a Question and Answer time.
After worship on Sunday, October 30, 2022 we had a Question and Answer period to ask questions about the proposed resolutions for our two congregations to form a new church together. A second Question and Answer period was offered on Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 6:30pm. The Moving Forward Committee and Consistories met on Wednesday, November 2 to review the input received and made a few updates to the proposed motions. Those updates were presented after worship on Sunday, November 6, 2022 during an additional Question and Answer period. All three of the those Question and Answer periods were able to be attended in person or virtually by Zoom.
In the afternoon of Friday, November 11, 2022, our attorney emailed our two churches amendments in regard to some of the wording of the resolutions and first sentence of the Preamble to the proposed Constitution. The latest version of those documents can be found below.
On Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 11:30am (following the 10:15am worship service) there was a formal Congregational Meeting to vote on the vision of forming a new church together, the new constitution and by-laws, the motion to merge, the resolution for a planned four year process of completing the merger, to remain at the St. Paul’s UCC location, to combine assets, and to call Rev. Dr. Benjamin Motz as three-quarter-time Pastor & Teacher (Lead Pastor of Vision and Administration) and the Rev. Mary Etta Mest as half-time Pastor & Teacher (Lead Pastor of Connections). The motion passed with overwhelming support, with one abstention and the rest of the votes being "Yes."
On Sunday, November 20, 2022 after the 10:15am worship service, the response sheets were handed out for members to indicate if they would like to join the new church and to update their contact information.
The new church is the "United Church of Christ of Robesonia", which was officially formed on January 1, 2023. The legal aspect of this process was for the corporation of St. Paul’s UCC to change its name to the United Church of Christ of Robesonia, and for Zion UCC to donate its remaining assets and then dissolve.
On Saturday, January 7, 2023 at 10:15am we held a "Closing Worship Service" to prayerfully lift up to God our separate identities coming to a close.
On Sunday, January 8, 2023 at 10:15am we held our "Opening Worship Service" to joyously begin our new unified church together, pray for God's blessings upon our ministries, offer vows of membership, install our pastoral leadership, and enjoy in fellowship after worship.
From January 1, 2023 to April 30, 2023 we had an "Open Charter." Those joining during that period will be "Charter Members" (Founding Members) of our newly unified church. To be a charter member, individuals needed to profess their faith during worship (in-person or by virtual worship), return their information forms, Time and Talent form, and Connection form indicating how they wished to be active, supportive disciples of Christ. Joining was automatic for the Homebound/Shut-In Members of St. Paul's UCC, and was done by request by Homebound/Shut-In Members of Zion UCC. For all other members, who do not respond by April 30, 2023 with their expressed desire to join the newly unified church or transfer to another church, the Spiritual Council received that as a "No Response" as a withdraw from membership.
In the initial process of joining, our new church began with about 190 confirmed/adult members (a little over 60% from St. Paul’s UCC, about 30% from Zion UCC, and almost 10% brand new members). In addition, our new church began with about 55 unconfirmed youth.
The final legal dissolution of Zion UCC took place in August 2024, when the legal permission was granted through the state and county for non-profit Zion UCC to donate its assets to the non-profit United Church of Christ of Robesonia and then formally dissolve as a separate corporation.
Merger Documents
Initial Announcement to the Congregation - February 2022 Newsletter - Verbally during worship announcements on February 20, 2022
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Sheet - Sent to the Congregation - October 20, 2022
Constitution & By-Laws of the United Church of Christ of Robesonia - Original - Filed with the State of Pennsylvania - November 13, 2022
Resolution for the Formation of United Church of Christ of Robesonia - Filed with the State of Pennsylvania - November 13, 2022
Resolution for the Transition from Two Congregations to One - Filed with the State of Pennsylvania - November 13, 2022
History Unfolding Beyond the Merger
Click on this History of the UCC of Robesonia link for the history page unfolding beyond the initial merger.