A national leader of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes to York Sunday.
Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson (at right) plans to stop by Christ Lutheran in York to help celebrate the congregation's 275th birthday during a 10 a.m. worship service. The regional bishop, B. Penrose Hoover, and the Rev. Patrick Rooney will also participate.
Sunday's liturgy should bring out the smells and bells. The church has historically maintained a high-church emphasis, meaning a worship practice and style that reflect a Roman Catholic influence.
Christ Lutheran considers itself the first Lutheran congregation west of the Susquehanna River, and, for almost a century, it was the only Lutheran congregation in York city. Its pastors assisted area congregations as they formed around the county and became leaders at the seminary and college in Gettysburg.
At least one historian disagrees with the congregation tracing its origins to a baptism on the banks of the Codorus Creek in 1733.
Charles Glatfelter, professor emeritus of history at Gettysburg College, claims the baptism occurred on the Lancaster side of the Susquehanna River. He argues that nothing like an organized congregation in York existed until there was a town, in 1741.
The congregation is aware of Glatfelter's quibble but pays no mind. Either way, the disagreement doesn't change the fact that the congregation is celebrating its anniversary this year, and there's a pretty important Lutheran coming to this weekend's party.
Read another story about the anniversary.
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