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Church History
Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church at Marion was established in 1812 by a group of German farmers who desired a Lutheran church for worship in their new community. Very little is known about the early years of the congregation. In 1827 the German Lutheran congregation joined with the local German Reformed congregation to purchase land, and in 1828 they jointly erected a house of public worship to be called Salem’s Church. The church’s thick walls were built of limestone obtained in the immediate neighborhood, and the exterior was finished with white stucco. Because of the color of the exterior, Salem was frequently referred to as the “White Church”. Salem served as a union church until 1877 when the German Reformed congregation dedicated Heidelberg Reformed Church in Marion. In addition to sharing a building, the Salem Lutheran congregation also shared pastors with other rural Lutheran congregations. The most enduring joint parish relationship was the New Franklin Charge begun in 1849 with four or five congregations. This parish became a two church charge in 1894, and was finally dissolved in 1978 when Salem Evangelical Lutheran became a single church charge.
In 1950 the old, one-room, Salem Church was greatly expanded to make room for a rapidly growing congregation and Sunday school. The building was extended 44 feet toward the road; side wings added two rooms on the main floor; and an excavated basement provided additional Sunday school classrooms, a kitchen and indoor restrooms. In 1999 another addition to the building added approximately 2,000 square feet of space on two levels and included an elevator to improve access to the sanctuary.
For the past 194 years Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church has strived to serve God and the community of believers in this place. May we remember and give thanks for our history as we plan and prepare for our future and continued mission of worship and service.
- We believe in the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, professed in the Creeds of the church.
- We believe in the grace of God in Christ Jesus who died for our sins on the cross, rose again that we might have eternal life and that Christ will come again.
| Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania |
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| Lutheran Disaster Response |
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Lutheran Disaster Response is a cooperative agency of both the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. They have been involved in disaster relief in a multitude of areas including Columbine, 9/11, the Amish School shootings, hurricane Katrina, and now with the flooding and tornadoes in the midwest. |
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| Lower Susquehanna Synod |
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With 262 churches and over 122,000 baptized members, our synod is one of the largest of the 65 synods in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the fifth largest Protestant denomination in the United States. |
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| Lutheran Church In America |
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The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America resulted from a union of three North American Lutheran church bodies: The American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America.
The three churches agreed to unite in 1982. They formed a 70-member Commission for a New Lutheran Church, which planned the merger. The plan was approved by church conventions in 1986, and the ELCA constituting convention was held April 30-May 3, 1987, with the church actually beginning operations on January 1, 1988.
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| Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia |
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There are two Lutheran Seminaries in the Northeast, Gettysburg, the oldest in the country and Philadelphia. |
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| Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg |
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| Augsburg Fortress |
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They are the ministry of publishing for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
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| Konde Diocese Newsletter |
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This is the link to the newsletter of the Konde Diocese Committee of the Lower Susquehanna Synod of the ELCA. it has information on Tanzania and the churches in that country. |
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We believe in the grace of God in Christ Jesus who died for our sins on the cross, rose again that we might have eternal life and that Christ will come again.
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Salem is a member of the Chambersburg Conference of Lutheran Churches , the Lower Susquehanna Synod, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
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