The Church of the Good Shepherd stands at the corner of Washington and Madison Streets. The church was dedicated and first used for worship services on Sunday, July 12, 1896, by members of the German Evangelical Association. The Evangelicals were also called German or Albright Methodists. The new church was built on the site known as the Stone Castle, occupied first by the Presbyterians (1846-1857) and the German Evangelicals (1861-1895) before it was razed to build the Evangelical's new church. After the burning of the Congregational Church, members of the German Evangelical Church and the Congregational Church voted to form a Federated Church, using the Evangelicals' building. In 1947, the congregation voted to become an Evangelical United Brethren Church. The Federated Church changed its name to Church of the Good Shepherd, EUB in 1957. Following the merger of the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist churches in 1968, the congregation adopted the name The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist, the name it has retained to the present.

 

The original building was a simple sanctuary with a bell tower to alert the fire department of a fire in the area.  We eventually purchased the neighboring building that became our education wing.  The education wing now hosts Sunday school rooms, youth activities, the church office and the Little Shepherd Preschool.  We've recently joined the two building, creating a new entrance, a gathering area for fellowship and a dining space for events including our weekly community outreach lunch and our monthly family nights.