The "The Neat Little Church On Cabbage Hill" Story

An early 1960s black and white of Christ Lutheran.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in the parking lot talking on my cell with Silvia who happens to be the secretary at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  In no time Pastor Beth meets me and we head toward the side entrance to the church which is tucked into a triangular corner bordered by Strawberry St., Manor Street and King Street.  I always thought the church to be interesting ever since I went with my Grandmother as a child to her Doctor's office which was located directly across the street on Strawberry.  Christ Lutheran was founded as a mission Sunday School in 1867 for Trinity Lutheran which was located  about five blocks away on South Duke Street.  

The location of the church at the corner of King, Strawberry
and Manor.  This sketch is from 1895.

The small chapel was originally located on West King Street until 1881 when it became indepen- dent from Trinity Church.  The new congre- gation struggled at first, but eventually decided to build a new church on the site of the old chapel.  Soon a better location became available and the congregation purchased the property, where I am standing today, and made plans for its new church building.  

As seen on the 1895 drawing, this building was the Buckius
cobbler shop and residence.  Still in good shape.

Ground was broken August 18, 1890 and excavation began nine days later.  The cost of the church was more than expected so their old chapel property was sold to raise more funding.  Excavation lasted into 1891 with foundation work not completed until the summer of that year.  The cornerstone was placed in position on September 13 of 1891.  

The cornerstone was laid in 1891.

The old marble cornerstone from the West King Street Mission Chapel was taken from that building and placed on the first floor wall on the new church on the Strawberry Street side.  Due to lack of funding, it was decided to complete the new church in sections until by the spring of 1892 the exterior of the new church was complete with the brick walls and slate roof in place.  As planned, the chapel section of the church was finished first.  By April the old chapel had been vacated, but the new chapel was not complete, so the congregation held its worship services in the Girls High School until the chapel part of the new church was consecrated at 10:00 a.m. on May 29, 1892.  The Lancaster Examiner, the local newspaper at the time, described the entire building as being a "magnificent church structure" and a great improvement to the southwestern part of the city.  

This photograph shows the church as
seen today.  Manor Street is to the right
with Strawberry Street to the left.

The chapel, known as the Sunday-school chapel, had seven stained-glass windows designed and made by S.S. Marchall and Brothers of Allegheny, Pennsylvania.  Money seemed to be the biggest problem for completion of the remainder of the church which eventually was completed by October 20, 1895 when a procession was formed in the Sunday school chapel and marched from there into the main auditorium.  Today Pastor Beth escorted me through the interior of Christ Lutheran Church which has beautiful curved galleries on the upper level with a magnificent wooden facade.  The completed new church now occupies a commanding position on the northernmost point of the area in Lancaster known as Cabbage Hill.  

The 1868 Marble cornerstone from the West King Street
chapel was removed from its original place and moved to
the new Christ Lutheran Church. 

Built in thirteenth-century English Gothic style, with a red brick exterior highlighted with Hummels- town Brownstone with a sixty-foot-tall square tower standing on the northern- most corner where twin main entrances are located.  The main auditorium was built in amphitheater style which slopes downward toward the altar.  The large beams in the arched ceiling are made of cypress and are very impressive as I stand in the center of the church with my camera.  

Showing the architecture on the exterior of the main auditorium

It was back in the early 1950s that I visited my grand- mother's doctor with her across the street from the church and finally, after almost 70 years, I had the chance to step inside the neat church tucked into this little corner of Cabbage Hill off King Street in historical Lancaster, PA.  My thanks to Pastor Beth and Silvia for finally giving me the chance to view their church.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The interior of the main auditorium with curved galleries and cyprus beams.

One of the beautiful stained glass windows that can be seen from the main auditorium. 

The altar is at the bottom of sloping aisles in the church.

Another look at the tall corner steeple. 

The wrought-iron railings with decorative symbols lead to the entrance.

This view is from the Manor Street side.