Church background

Lampeter United Methodist Church: Background

The Boehm's Memorial E.U.B. Church of Refton, PA was established in 1880. It was served by a circuit ministry until the year 1901, when it became a charge served by its own pastors until 1967. The church was a member of the Eastern Pennsylvania E.U.B. Conference.

The proposal to establish the Lampeter Methodist Church was made on March 12, 1962 by the Strasburg Methodist Church. The first worship service of the church was held on Sunday, September 23, 1962 in the Lampeter Community Building, Lampeter, PA. It was chartered April 28, 1963 with 40 members in the West District of the Philadelphia Conference.

The two churches decided to merge and a favorable vote was cast on Sunday, June 6, 1967, to become the Lampeter United Methodist Church. Simultaneously the Boehm's Memorial E.U.B. Church of Refton and the Lampeter Methodist Church were dissolved. The first worship service of the newly formed church was on Sunday, June 13, 1967, at the Lampeter Community Building.

Membership continued to increase and the facilities became too small. Following God's direction and leading, approval was granted to build the present church building on the corner of Book and Village Roads. In January of 1970 the congregation worshipped in their new sanctuary. The building was consecrated in February of 1970. The addition to the church began in April 1998 and the dedication of the addition was held in February of 1999.