St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized on December 6, 1855, through the efforts of its founding pastor, the Rev. Mr. Daniel Sell. There were nine charter members who gathered to form the congregation.
Shortly after its founding, St. Paul's joined with the local German Reformed Church in building a common house of worship in which both congregations could gather. The cornerstone for this church, the original site of which is now occupied but the current building of Trinity United Church of Christ, Millersburg, was laid on June 1, 1856, with the dedication of the building taking place on Christmas Day of that same year. The first celebration of the Holy Eucharist took place in this building on March 12, 1857, with Pastor Sell presiding.
The Lutheran and Reformed congregations shared this building until it was determined that a peaceable separation of the two congregations ought to occur. This happened in 1871, with St. Paul's being granted a charter by the Dauphin County courts as a separate and distinct organization on November 20, 1871, almost 16 years to the day after founding the congregation. A plot of land at the corner of North and Walnut Streets was purchased, and the cornerstone for the new building was laid on July 13, 1873. Our congregation still occupies this same building, which is the oldest exisiting original house of worship in the borough of Millersburg.
Through the years, many developments have taken place in the life of our parish. A series of alterations, repairs, improvements and additions to the church fabric have been accomplished in the ensuing decades since the founding of the congregation. Included among those were the addition of new Sunday Church School facilities beginning in 1952 (which presently contain the Choir Vestry and Rehearsal Rooms, the Bashoar Conference Room, toilet facilities, the Kindergarten and First and Second grades SCS rooms, the fellowship hall and kitchen), and an expanstion of the SCS building in 1962 (which presently contains the Nursery and Grades 3-5, Jr. High and Sr. High SCS rooms and additional toilet facilities). The former Keiper house property beside the church on North Street (which presently houses the church offices), as well as the former Miller house property, were also purchased for use by the church. A more recent occurrence was the 1996 steeple fire and the subsequent replacement project completed in 1997.
Since its founding, St. Paul's has been blessed with dedicated members and the service of many pastors. Those clergy who have served under regular call at St. Paul's, along with their tenure in office, are: the Rev. Daniel Sell (1855 - 1860), the Rev P.P. Lane (1861), the Rev. George P. Weaver (1861 - 1863), the Rev. C.A. Fetzer (1863 - 1866), the Rev. Moses Fernsler (1866 - 1878), the Rev. George C. Henry (1879 - 1882), the Rev. J. Fishburn (1883 - 1890), the Rev. B.F. Kautz (1890 - 1895), the Rev. R.F. Fetterolf (1895 - 1897), the Rev. Benjamin R. Lantz (1898 - 1904), the Rev. D.E. Rupley (1905 - 1908), the Rev. Clifton G. White (1909 - 1916), the Rev. Dr. Joseph H. Musselman (1916 - 1920), the Rev. Frederick C. Sternat (1920 - 1935), the Rev. Charles L. Mogel (1936 - 1946), the Rev. James W. Emerick (1946 - 1967), the Rev. Ernest P. Leer (1968 - 1985), the Rev. Nancy Thomas (1983 - 1985), the Rev. Dr. Nicholas B. Martin (1986 - 1990), the Rev. Ruth H. Ballard (1991 - present), the Rev. Dr. Richard G. Ballard (1991 - present).
With gratitude to God - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the past, we as a congregation rededicate ourselves to the ministry of Word and Sacrament in this place as part of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, and boldly commit the future into the hands of the Almighty with a sure and certain confidence in the sustenance of his divine grace.