Prior to 1857 members of the Reformed denomination and the Lutheran faith, who lived in the Upton area, traveled, by horse and carriage, to either Greencastle or Mercersburg to worship with their respective congregations. In 1857, Rev. J. S. Foulk, pastor of the German Reformed church in Greencastle, suggested that a new congregation and church be built in Upton, a halfway mark between Greencastle and Mercersburg. It was in 1857 that members from both denominations began to worship together at the Sylvan Grove school house, located about three quarters of a mile northeast of Upton. The pastors were Rev. J. S. Foulk of the Greencastle Reformed church and Rev. Edward Bridenbaugh of the Lutheran church. On June 25, 1857, members of both denominations met at the home of George Cook, a resident of Upton and proprietor of a general store in the village. Cook’s home is the house immediately east of St. Stephen’s church building. The purpose of the meeting was to decide whether to build a new church, a union church, in Upton which would serve both the Reformed and Lutheran congregations. At the end of the meeting a fund-raising committee and a building committee had been appointed. Eight of the men present pledged a total $475 that day toward the building fund, which eventually grew to $1,037.50. The cornerstone was laid in September 1857. For over 100 years, the members of the Reformed and Lutheran congregations shared the sanctuary every Sunday morning for worship and Sunday School classes. They also divided, equally, the maintenance costs of the church building. Every other Sunday, the worshipers were led by either the Reformed pastor or the Lutheran pastor. In the fall of 1962, through mutual agreement between the two congregations, it was decided that the Reformed congregation, by then known as the United Church of Christ, would take possession of the church edifice and property, and the adjacent Fisher family property, east of the church building. A Sunday School building fund was started by the U.C.C. congregation in April 1963. In September 1963, the Lutheran congregation moved their services to the Upton Community Center until their new church and Sunday School building was complete. The U.C.C. congregation began holding Sunday services every Sunday from that time forward. The cornerstone for the Sunday School addition was laid on October 20, 1963. The Trustees who laid the cornerstone were Charles L. Bowers, Alton Gehr, and Earl R. Harbaugh. Dedication of the church school building was held on June 7, 1964. Thirty pastors have served the St. Stephen's German Reformed and United Church of Christ congregation throughout its 157 years of existence. St. Stephen's UCC closed its doors in 2015