The churches merged committees and groups. They blended services and the pastors shared duties. It brought life and vitality to this place. The arrangement is all the more unusual because it was not dictated by necessity. The UCC congregation boasts 638 members and the Lutherans, 678.
New members choose to affiliate with just one congregation, though everyone worships together.
The worship calendar juggles the three types of services among the two Sunday morning slots, so someone who attends just the early or just the later service will be exposed to all three in the course of a month. Worshiping and walking together in faith has replaced acrimony with harmony. Schmoyer, now pastor emeritus, is pleased. Ecumenism tells us that, despite our differences, we are united through Christ. At Jerusalem Western Salisbury the principle is real.