As gratifying as the growth in membership has been, Rogers said what most impresses him is the church’s commitment to outreach. The church supports dozens of missions around the world. “(The founding members) did something amazing in early days. They said that 30 percent of all general undesignated revenue that the church receives is set aside for outreach and missions,” he said. “That is a very high percent for a large church.”

On this date [July 7] 50 years ago, the Rev. Wilbur Siddons offered a sermon titled “Why a new church?” to 200 parishioners. The service, held in Becker Hall on the campus of Lancaster Bible College, marked the first worship service of Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Today, the New England-style church “meetinghouse” counts more than 1,200 members as well as four church plants in Lancaster County. Westminster, which has five ordained pastors and a staff of 33, is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the largest conservative Reformed denomination in the United States.

On Sunday, the church will celebrate its golden anniversary with a combined worship service and celebration gala. The combined service — the first to be held in the church in 36 years — will include special music by church ensembles under the direction of music director Patricia Bleecker, as well as the premier of “Complete in Christ,” a choral anthem written by Stuart Sacks and commissioned by the church for its 50th anniversary.

The church is known for its music ministry and Sunday’s service will showcase that.

“We’ll have about 25 instrumentalists and about 68 singers in the loft,” Bleecker said.

The day will conclude with a Time of Thanksgiving in the sanctuary featuring Beulah Williamson, widow of the Rev. Robert Williamson, former senior pastor, as well as a video envisioning the church’s future.

Eric Conner, who serves on the anniversary committee, noted that the church has hosted a number of concerts, bus tours and monthly essays highlighting the church’s history in advance of Sunday’s celebration.

A new beginning

Westminster Presbyterian Church began with a separation. A number of lay leaders from the former Lancaster Memorial Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church in Lancaster city felt that liberalism in the national church was altering church doctrine.

“Our church is one that would be concerned about doctrine,” said the Rev. Michael Rogers, Westminster’s senior pastor. “A lot of people think Christianity is strictly a relationship with God. It is a relationship, but that relationship is structured by doctrine.”

On May 17, 1968, a group of 14 laymen — some church elders, others deacons or church leaders — opted to establish a new church. Two weeks later, Siddons, who had served as pastor at Memorial Presbyterian Church, announced his decision to leave that church. He was hired as the first pastor of Westminster Presbyterian.

That fall, the congregation purchased 5 acres on Oregon Pike from farmer Albert Landis as a site for the church. Cost of the land was $30,000. The sanctuary was built in the New England style and completed in December 1970 for $275,000.

The fiberglass steeple included a copper fish — a symbol of early Christians. It is the only religious symbol at the church. There is no cross.

“Some people get upset about that,” Rogers said. “We ask, ‘Is it more important that we preach the cross or that it’s an icon of wood on the wall?’ ”

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