Gettysburg churches highlight evening walking tours
(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) - 7/6/2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ...
CONTACT:
Dan Ebaugh
(717) 334-9013
[email protected]
Historic Church Walking Tours of Gettysburg starts its seventh season of providing local residents and tourists alike with visits to their historic churches. On Wednesday evenings during the summer months, church volunteers provide short programs about their church and how it played a crucial role during and after America’s most significant Civil War battle.
When the Battle of Gettysburg ended on July 3, 1863, the two armies left behind over 21,000 wounded and dying soldiers in this small town of only 2,400 residents. Like most of Gettysburg’s buildings, churches became surgical hospitals. Churches became scenes of both tragedy and heroism.
The visitor will get to see the beautiful features of each church, hear about its history and, in some cases, its use as a field hospital. Stories of heroic acts by brave citizens will be told through narratives and short skits. Among other things, those on the tour will see:
• The pew in the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church where President Abraham Lincoln sat in the afternoon after giving the Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19, 1863.
• The stained-glass window in the St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church given in tribute to the Sisters of Charity who ministered to the wounded and dying.
• The 120 engraved stones and plaques dedicated to Union and Confederate soldiers in the Prince of Peace Episcopal Church’s bell tower.
• The original Methodist Church building which later became the home of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and now contains GAR memorabilia.
• Christ Lutheran Church where Union Chaplain Horatio Howell was shot and killed on the church steps.
• St. Paul‘s AME Zion Church, the oldest African American congregation in Gettysburg, and hear about some of its early members.
• St. James Lutheran Church and Trinity United Church of Christ whose congregations originally shared the same building and heard sermons in German.
Beginning June 9, four churches will be featured each Wednesday, with a different four churches the following Wednesday. This schedule will be alternated throughout the summer with the “West Tour” starting on June 9 and the “East Tour” starting on June 16. (See below for churches visited.)
West Tour:
The west tour churches are: Prince of Peace Episcopal, St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic, St. Paul’s AME Zion, and Christ Lutheran. Tour dates are: June 9, 23, July 7, 21, and August 4, 18.
East Tour:
The east tour churches are: Gettysburg Presbyterian, Trinity United Church of Christ, Gettysburg United Methodist (GAR building location), and St. James Lutheran. Tour dates are: June 16, 30; July 14, 28; and Aug. 11, 25.
Tours take approximately 90 minutes and begin in front of the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church, 208 Baltimore St., two blocks south of Lincoln Square. Park free at the rear of the church. No reservations are required. The cost of the tour for adults is $5; children 12 and under free. Two tour times are provided each Wednesday evening, the first departing at 6:00 and the second at 6:30 p.m. Ticket sales begin 20 minutes prior to each tour.
For more information, visit www.historicchurchwalkingtours.org or call (717) 334-9013. Special group tours during any season of the year can be arranged by calling (717) 337-0733.
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